Archives for June 2026
Google Play Books Launches AI Insights Feature–With A Little Time to Opt Out
Google Play Books will launch a generative AI Book Insights feature — their version of an in-book chatbot — which they call a “reading companion.” It will allow readers to get a recap or ask a chatbot questions about the text. Starting July 6, it will be automatically enabled for most English-language books and will be available for books in other languages in the future. Unlike Amazon’s similar “Ask this Book” feature, launched late last year without advance notice or permission, and imposed by fiat with no escape, Google’s feature is opt out. Though it’s not a lot of advance […]
Storytel Launches AI Companion Feature
Storytel has launched Storytel Genie, an AI-powered discovery tool that “can explain why a specific book will resonate, help [users] pick their next story, and generate recaps when a listener has lost the thread of a story in progress.” Functions also include a chat interface, and use “leading language models from Google Gemini, OpenAI, and Anthropic with Exa’s real-time knowledge capabilities.” The tool launches for Swedish subscribers today, and will be fully availability across Sweden by July 1 and in other markets starting in August. “Storytel Genie is the most powerful set of features we’ve built and really defines the next chapter at Storytel, […]
Forthcoming: ‘A Woman of Substance’ Back in Print
Open Road will republish Barbara Taylor Bradford‘s A Woman of Substance, timed with the release of BritBox’s series based on the book. The novel was released in 1979 and has sold 30 million copies worldwide, but has been out of print in North American for more than 10 years, according to Open Road. A repackaged ebook is available now, a print edition will publish on August 25, and Open Road will release an audiobook on a to-be-determined date this summer.
Obituaries: Diane Leslie, Karen Mitchell
Diane Leslie, 84, longtime bookseller at Dutton’s Brentwood and Diesel Books as well as the author of two novels, died on June 9. Leslie’s books Fleur de Leigh’s Life of Crime (1999) and Fleur de Leigh in Exile (2003) were published by Simon & Schuster. A celebration of life will be announced along with the release of her forthcoming novel later this summer. Karen Mitchell, director of strategic projects at Penguin Random House, will be honored in a memorial service celebrating her life and memory on July 5 in New York City. The family invites the publishing community to join […]