Publishers Test AI Tools for In-House Processes
Recent news and lawsuits have discussed the use of artificial intelligence with regard to creative work—whether AI-produced work can be copyrighted (it can’t) and if using books to train machine learning is a copyright violation. Much of the conversation within the industry is focused on contract language, where agents and authors are hoping to limit the use of AI without permission and block any training on their material, while publishers are trying to retain flexibility for the future and not make promises they can’t fulfill. Quieter perhaps is how publishing companies are using the technology in their day-to-day operations, and […]
Trade Sales Down 6 Percent in July, While eBooks and Digital Audio Grow
The AAP released Statshot data from participating publishers for July, reporting trade sales of $557 million, down 6.4 percent from $595 million last year. Sales for adult books were $399 million, down 4.6 percent from $418 million. Hardcovers sold $96.4 million, down 2.3 percent, while paperbacks fell 10.1 percent to $149.6 million. The biggest gain in the category was in digital audio, which grew 14.6 percent to $61.5 million. Consistent with the year’s trend, children’s and YA sales declined more, at $158 million, a 10.7 percent drop from $177 million in July 2022. Hardcovers were up 3.4 percent to $49.3 […]
Texas Judge Explains Order Blocking Book Ban Law
On Monday, Judge Alan D. Albright of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division filed his full order blocking “READER,” a state book banning law that would require retailers to review and rate millions of books according to vague state standards for obscene content (ratings that the state could change anyway). The court ruled that the state could not delegate the rating of books to third parties, holding that it violates the First Amendment as “compelled speech.” In the preliminary injunction, the judge all but calls the Texas law dumb: “For whatever reason, Texas chose […]
New Books Publishing September 19
Amy Chua, Jessica Knoll, Daniel Mason, Richard Osman, John Scalzi, and Lawrence Wright all publish novels this week, while new nonfiction includes work from Tiya Miles, Leslie Jones, and Ross Gay, plus Jonathan Raban’s posthumous memoir and former Macmillan publisher John Sargent‘s book. Also out this week is Nathan Hill’s second novel WELLNESS, which was picked today as the next selection for Oprah’s Book Club. Finally, there is the release of Freda Love Smith’s I QUIT EVERYTHING, excerpted in our Buzz Books 2023: Fall/Winter anthology. 17 works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-september-19 24 works of nonfiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-september-19 […]
Agent, UK Publisher Stop Work with Russell Brand After Assault Allegations
Publisher Bluebird Books, an imprint of Pan Macmillan in the UK, has “paused” all future publishing with comedian Russell Brand. Brand was accused of sexual assault and rape by four women, as well as allegations of “controlling, abusive and predatory behavior” by other women, in a lengthy joint investigation from the UK’s Sunday Times, Times, and Channel 4 Dispatches. Brand has denied all allegations. Bluebird was slated to publish Brand’s next book, RECOVERY: THE WORKBOOK, in December. “These are very serious allegations and in the light of them, Bluebird has taken the decision to pause all future publishing with Russell […]