On February 19 at 7 PM Eastern, we’ll host our second Buzz Books panel of the season: Horror’s New Horizons. Join Ivy Pochoda, Markus Redmond, Hester Steel, and Daphne Fama and their editors as they discuss their dark new novels. You can register here and find excerpts of their books in our Buzz Books 2025: Spring/Summer collection here.
Archives for February 2025
People 2/10
Meta Documents Suggest Licensing Books Would Preclude Them From Pirating Them
According to newly unsealed filing in the case of several authors against Meta for copyright infringement, plaintiffs note that Meta’s documents show that the tech company knowingly used pirated material to train their AI tool Llama, even after employees raised flags that it was unethical and looked into paying for licenses. According to the filing, in one document, a Meta employee stated that she’d “been helping with buying content” from a redacted textbook publisher. Other internal messages “openly discuss licensing efforts and weigh the tradeoffs of using pirated textbooks and other copyrighted works from LibGen instead, including a statement that […]
Forthcoming: ‘What We Can Know’ by Ian McEwan
Knopf will publish Ian McEwan‘s new novel WHAT WE CAN KNOW on September 16, 2025. Jordan Pavlin, Knopf evp, publisher and editor in chief calls the book a “literary love story, a murder mystery” and says “the plot pivots on a legendary dinner party, and the recitation of a poem that is heard once and then lost for all time.” Rights were acquired from Georges Borchardt, with Knopf executive editor John Freeman editing.
People 2/7
Christian Publishing, Digital Sales Up at Harper Collins
News Corp announced results for the second quarter ended December 31, reporting sales at Harper Collins of $595 million, up 8 percent. On a call with investors, News Corp ceo Robert Thomson attributed the growth to Bible sales and strong performance from Harper Collins UK. Top titles in the quarter included Cher’s memoir, Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, and Laurie Gilmore’s The Pumpkin Spice Café. EBITDA grew 19 percent to $101 million due to the increase in overall sales in print and digital, “partially offset by higher manufacturing costs due to higher sales volume and higher employee costs.” The company reports that […]