After a string of record dealmaking years, the market is looking more fractured after the first quarter, highly dependent upon which market segment you are measuring. Adult fiction continues to drive the marketplace. Once again, our deal reports show a record number of major deals at the high end, and total six-figure deals were up slightly. Total fiction deals look up as well, but the comparisons are a little hard to make this year, since as of the beginning of 2026, deals by mature digital publishers are now categorized in our general pool rather than in the digital publisher category. […]
Small Digital Delights
Last November, Kobo launched a $30 remote control for their ereader that “quickly sold out and remained out of stock for several months.” The Verge offers appreciation for the tiny innovation: “I’m not ashamed to admit the Kobo Remote is the best gadget I’ve bought this year.” Spanish author Ausiàs Tsel “spent four months trying to answer a simple question: Has this book been translated into my language? Turns out no one tracks this. Not ISBN registries. Not Amazon. Not Google. Not libraries.” As a result, he built Zenòdot, a “multilingual platform for discovering a book’s translations worldwide” by “cross[ing] […]
Forthcoming: Jill Biden’s Memoir
Former First Lady Jill Biden‘s memoir VIEW FROM THE EAST WING will be published by Gallery on June 2, 2026. The publisher says, “For the first time, she reveals her experiences before, during, and after the unexpected ending to her husband’s bid for re-election. Throughout it all, she saw herself as an ordinary woman, living an extraordinary life.” Aimee Bell acquired world rights, sold by Deneen Howell at Williams & Connolly. Biden will narrate the audio book.
Former Amazon Executive Greg Greeley Named CEO of Simon & Schuster
After a longer than expected search, Simon & Schuster has hired Greg Greeley, 62, as their new ceo, effective immediately. Jonathan Karp remains with the company as publisher of the new Simon Six imprint. The company says in a release that “Greeley and Karp will work closely with Simon & Schuster’s publishing leaders to ensure continuity with authors, agents, and employees during the transition and to strengthen the company’s long-standing editorial culture.” Greeley is the first ceo of the largest trade publishers from outside the book business since Markus Dohle took over Random House in 2008. Greeley worked at Amazon […]
Lakeside Adds Digital Press to Harrisonburg
Lakeside Book Company has installed a new HP T500 digital press at their Harrisonburg facility, calling it “a major expansion of its digital print platform.” The company says it will let them “help publishers respond to changing market demand with offset-comparable quality, faster turnaround, and greater production flexibility. The press supports precise replenishment, shorter lead times, and reduced inventory exposure for both backlist and frontlist titles, while its advanced inkjet technology improves energy efficiency and sustainability performance.”
Al Zuckerman Dies at 94
Founder of Writers House and chairman emeritus Albert Zuckerman, 94, has died, of natural causes. The agency writes: “A true legend of the industry, Al was the agent for some of the most important and best-read writers of our time, helping to bring era-defining books to tens of millions of readers around the world, including Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth, Michael Lewis’s Moneyball and Professor Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time.” “At the beginning of his storied career, Al was a one-man shop, taking business meetings in a bank lobby; Al retired in 2020 after nearly 50 years, having overseen the […]