DAILY SUMMARY:
Friday’s publishing headlines were a study in contrasts. Tech and entertainment giant Amazon boasted record sales and promised big bets on AI and satellites, while the audiobook world prepared for Spotify’s print‑and‑ebook store with its snazzy Page Match feature. Publishers in Egypt and France forged cross‑border alliances, book fairs in Cairo and Taipei shattered attendance records, and censors in US legislatures faced an energetic backlash. Meanwhile, a wave of deals brought aliens and folklore horror to future bookshelves, and Emily Brontë’s classic rocketed back into the charts ahead of a film adaptation. Even as AI companies mulched used books for training data, readers seem more eager than ever to buy the physical thing.
Publishing Industry News
Amazon’s latest earnings report showed its AWS cloud division powering a 14% jump in Q4 revenue to $213.4 billion, with overall sales hitting $716.9 billion for 2025 and net income surging to $77.7 billion; CEO Andy Jassy nevertheless spooked investors by pledging a $200 billion spend on AI, chips and satellites while the redesigned Kindle Scribe line was given only a passing mention.
Publishers Weekly’s round‑up of new acquisitions reported that Simon & Schuster’s new Simon Six imprint preempted Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Take Me to Your Leader, a book exploring how alien life might look and behave; Grove Atlantic bought Jake Maynard’s linked story collection Hicksters and novel Jerry, Ballantine took Natasha Lester’s fashion‑mystery Girl of the Year, and Europa picked up Chantel Acevedo’s multigenerational novel Cages.
PW noted that Netflix adaptations consistently push source books back up the charts—adaptations racked up 4.5 billion global views last year and sent titles like Bird Box and Leave the World Behind flying—yet warned that prestige projects can flop on the page; Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein tie‑in bucked the trend by triggering a sales surge while other Oscar‑bait adaptations barely moved units.
BookBrunch reported that Tor UK acquired Mina Templeton’s folklore‑horror novels, starting with She Speaks Milk & Blood, which reimagines the Cornish legend of Jan Tregagle; the deal gives Tor the rights to Templeton’s planned series, signalling strong interest in literary horror rooted in regional myth.
Publishing Perspectives revealed that Egypt’s Diwan bookstore chain and France’s Gallimard have struck a groundbreaking deal to print 30 titles from the Folio imprint in Cairo at local prices; the collaboration aims to make French‑language literature affordable in Egypt and could serve as a model for co‑publishing ventures across the Middle East.
The New Publishing Standard celebrated the Cairo International Book Fair’s record‑breaking 57th edition, which attracted over 6.2 million attendees, hosted 1,457 publishers from 83 countries and held more than 400 seminars; with 80% of visitors under 35, organisers claimed the fair has eclipsed Frankfurt and Beijing as the world’s biggest book event.
TNPS reported that the 2026 Taipei International Comics & Animation Festival opened to 30,000 eager fans who queued overnight; pre‑sales were up 15%, organisers expect half a million visitors to spend NT$250 million across 800 booths, and a government voucher scheme encourages attendees to buy books and merchandise despite strict new rules on cosplay prop safety.
Lit Hub revealed that AI company Anthropic ran a covert project nicknamed “Project Panama” in which it bought millions of used books, scanned them to train language models and then pulped the originals; critics said the destructive harvesting of copyrighted works shows how tech firms are willing to erase physical books for data while hiding behind nondisclosure agreements.
Book Riot’s censorship‑news update highlighted that legislatures in Massachusetts, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Virginia are considering “Right to Read” bills that tie library funding to anti‑book‑ban policies; advocates say such measures give teeth to the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read statement and could slow the spread of censorship.
In coverage of the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute in Pittsburgh, PW reported that around 1,500 independent booksellers gathered to hear sessions on profitability, safety and community outreach; speakers urged retailers to diversify revenue, embrace handselling and protect staff amid increasing protests and harassment.
Self-Publishing & Independent Publishing News
The Bookseller reported that Bookshop.org has partnered with Draft2Digital to allow independent bookstores to sell self‑published ebooks; the integration aims to give indies a share of the burgeoning self‑publishing market by making Draft2Digital titles available through Bookshop’s storefronts.
Academic & Scholarly Publishing
TNPS noted that a US federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing major academic publishers of colluding to restrict access, ruling that STM ethical guidelines amount to best‑practice recommendations rather than price‑fixing; the decision leaves the ‘big five’ publishers, who control around half of all peer‑reviewed output and enjoy profit margins exceeding 30%, free to maintain exclusivity and paywalls.
Audiobook News
Good e‑Reader reported that Spotify will launch a book‑retail feature this spring via a partnership with Bookshop.org, letting users buy print and ebooks directly in the app; a new “Page Match” tool will sync audiobook narration with the page of a physical or digital book, and Spotify’s audio chief said the move helps connect readers to independent bookstores while offering seamless switching between formats.
Notable Book News & Book Reviews
The Guardian reported that sales of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights rose 469% year‑on‑year, with 10,670 copies sold in January 2026, after news broke of Emerald Fennell’s forthcoming film adaptation; booksellers said the gothic romance’s surge shows the enduring power of screen tie‑ins to revive classic literature.
BBC News announced that Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler have revealed the title of the third Gruffalo picture book, Gruffalo Granny, due for release on 10 September 2026; Donaldson, herself a grandmother, said the new story introduces a cardigan‑knitting granny who’s unafraid of monsters, and Macmillan will publish the book in hardback and audiobook editions.
The Washington Post’s review of the essay collection The Big M praised its candid and humorous takes on menopause from writers like Cheryl Strayed and Lidia Yuknavitch, noting that the anthology balances frank talk about hot flashes with thoughtful reflections on aging and women’s autonomy—even if some pieces feel like magazine filler.
Frontlist observed that Indian children’s publishing is shifting from myth‑laden tales to stories grounded in contemporary realities: new books tackle identity, disability, gender roles and diverse families, guided by the “mirrors, windows, and doors” framework; publishers like Woodpecker Books say young readers crave representation and authenticity.
