DAILY SUMMARY:
A flurry of book deals dominated the industry as publishers snapped up new novels, thrillers and graphic series. PEN America named co‑CEOs, Kindle Scribe plans a U.K. and German launch, and audio sales grew 13%. Awards longlists, TV adaptations and celebrated booklists made headlines, while romantic fake‑dating tales, sci‑fi round‑ups and notable Goodreads favourites kept readers buzzing.
Publishing Industry News
The week’s biggest deal saw Grand Central preempt world rights to Blair, a novel by Cecily von Ziegesar set twenty years after the original Gossip Girl series, with publication planned for summer 2027.
Crown preempted world rights in a three‑book deal for Nancy, a reboot featuring the famous sleuth as a 40‑something mother solving cases; authors E. Lockhart and Sarah Mlynowski will co‑write the series.
Random House bought North American rights to Sunrise by Téa Obreht, a novel spanning a century in an Arizona mining town; the book is scheduled for August 2026.
Avon acquired U.S. Commonwealth rights to an untitled romance by Lauren Asher about exes who decide to use their non‑refundable honeymoon together, with a spring 2027 release planned.
Thomas & Mercer acquired world rights to The Face Last Seen, a crime novel co‑authored by Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado featuring detectives Sanchez and Heron; publication is slated for late 2026.
Kensington snapped up North American rights to the fifth and sixth entries in Amber V. Nicole’s Gods and Monsters series; Viking bought U.S. rights to Reza Satchu’s debut self‑help book The Power of Commitment; Severn House took world English rights to Elia Winters’s Scarlet Pimpernel‑inspired romance Sex, Texts, and Sweater Vests; and 23rd Street obtained world English rights to Cinnamon Sugar’s graphic‑novel series Heartstrings.
PEN America appointed Summer Lopez and Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf as co‑chief executive officers after they jointly led the organization on an interim basis. President Dinaw Mengestu praised their advocacy and said the duo would lead PEN’s free‑expression work.
Random House acquired world rights to an untitled novel and a nonfiction book on writing by George Saunders, adding to its long‑standing relationship with the author.
Nearly forty members of the Independent Publishers Guild wrote to several artificial‑intelligence companies warning that they might face legal action over alleged copyright infringement if they continue to train models on publishers’ content.
The Bookseller announced a string of promotions: Tom Tivnan becomes deputy editor, Alice O’Keeffe is named head of books, Katie Fraser becomes deputy books editor and Caroline Carpenter takes on the role of children’s editor and deputy features editor.
Bloomsbury Trade acquired rights to See You On the Other Side, the concluding volume of Jay McInerney’s fictional tetralogy about a publishing couple, Russell and Corrine Calloway.
Bonnier Books UK announced it will immediately stop acquiring new titles for its Australian imprint Echo Publishing, citing strategic changes. The move was reported by both The Bookseller and Books+Publishing.
Independent poetry publisher The Emma Press acquired world rights to There Is No Word Alive for What I Am by poet Rachel Jeffcoat, described by the publisher as an uplifting debut.
Good e‑Reader reported that Amazon’s third‑generation Kindle Scribe, featuring an 11‑inch colour e‑paper display and AI‑driven handwriting tools, will be released in Germany and the UK later in 2026. The device is currently available only in the U.S., where stocks are low, and is the most expensive Kindle yet.
Publishing Perspectives reported on a study that estimates book piracy accounts for nearly one‑third of Italy’s book market, costing about €722 million annually; 36% of Italians admit to piracy and 64% use AI tools for unauthorized summaries and content, prompting industry calls for stronger enforcement.
Self‑Publishing & Independent Publishing News
The Alliance of Independent Authors reported that Bookshop.org will sell e‑books through Draft2Digital, expand its audiobook offerings via Libro.fm and launch a new subscription with Spotify; the platform will also allow customers to switch between formats, providing independent bookstores with more sales opportunities.
Audiobook News
The Audio Publishers Association said audiobook revenues rose 13%, taking the market’s value to around $2.22 billion, and it announced the 2026 Audie Awards finalists for excellence in audiobook publishing.
Notable Book News & Book Reviews
The Women’s Prize Trust revealed a 16‑book longlist for its 2026 nonfiction award, featuring titles spanning politics, memoir, science and history. Chair Rebecca Godes praised the breadth of the selection and noted the £30 000 prize will be awarded in June.
The Irish Times books newsletter reported that Channel 4 has commissioned a four‑part television adaptation of Michael Magee’s novel Close to Home; production begins in Belfast with Anthony Boyle and others starring. The newsletter also celebrated Hodges Figgis booksellers Liam Donnelly and Tony Hayes, winners of The O’Brien Press Bookseller of the Year Award, and noted that Chloe Walsh’s Boys of Tommen series will be adapted for Amazon Prime.
The Irish Times reviewed The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother), calling Rabih Alameddine’s polyphonic novel deeply human and lauding his craft in exploring stories and memory.
The Guardian’s review round‑up recommended recent genre titles including Catriona Ward’s Nowhere Burning—set in a remote valley haunted by a past crime—and works by James Alistair Henry, Simón López Trujillo, Matt Dinniman and Alice Evelyn Yang.
A Guardian feature examined the role of books on dating apps, noting a 29% rise in reading references in Tinder bios and quoting users who judge potential matches by their favourite authors; tastes ranged from Jordan Peterson (a “massive ick”) to Ben Lerner, Sheila Heti and Annie Ernaux.
The Guardian praised Patmeena Sabit’s thriller Good People for its chorus of short testimonies exploring the death of Afghan‑American teenager Zorah Sharaf; the review noted that the novel’s short pieces cater to modern readers’ shorter attention spans.
Following the death of Dutch author Cees Nooteboom at 92, a Guardian essay remembered his travel writing’s blend of history and sense of place and noted that he wrote around 60 books across genres.
Lit Hub reported that Arundhati Roy resigned from this year’s Berlinale jury after members said art should not take political stands; she called the jury’s refusal to speak on Gaza “jaw‑dropping” and insisted that art must engage with urgent realities.
In a Valentine’s Day guide, Lit Hub suggested seven romance novels using the fake‑dating trope—including Emily Henry’s Funny Story and Talia Hibbert’s Take a Hint, Dani Brown—describing them as charming tales of pretend relationships blossoming into real love.
The Washington Post reviewed Super Nintendo: The Game‑Changing Company That Unlocked the Power of Play, noting that Keza MacDonald traces Nintendo’s story from Donkey Kong through Pokémon and Wii, and argues that the company prioritises fun over profits.
Book Riot’s roundup of the most‑read books on Goodreads this week found a surge in thriller favourites, with Alice Feeney’s My Husband’s Wife joining the list and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights resurging thanks to a film adaptation; new releases like Bethany C. Morrow’s The Body were also highlighted.
On Book Riot’s All the (More!) Books! podcast, Liberty Hardy highlighted a wide range of titles including Heba Al‑Wasity’s Weavingshaw, Benjamin Hale’s Cave Mountain, Dan Santat’s children’s novel A Fishboy Named Sashimi, Deston J. Munden’s speculative Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife and Alexis Wolfe Mbassa & Gregory E. Jacobs’s music history Keep It Beautiful.
Book Riot recommended new and forthcoming audiobook mysteries and thrillers, praising Yosha Gunasekera’s The Midnight Taxi for its two narrators and claustrophobic atmosphere, Taylor Adams’s Her Last Breath about friends trapped while caving and Claire Douglas’s The New Neighbors, which uses multiple narrators to heighten suspense.
Publishing Perspectives also highlighted mounting concern over AI‑generated summaries, noting that 64% of piracy cases involved AI tools. The report urged regulators to hold tech firms accountable for facilitating infringement.
