Publishing News Daily Book News Sunday, 4th January

[AgentPete]

Daily Book News Sunday, 4th January 2026

DAILY SUMMARY:

A sleepy post‑holiday weekend still delivered some publishing fireworks. Vendors scrambled to replace a fallen wholesaler, while new translation tools stirred... controversy. Deals were struck for blockbuster books, from Ibram X. Kendi’s next nonfiction to a dystopian pigeon novel, and India’s Agartala Book Fair showed regional fairs can thrive. TikTok’s reprieve dominated self‑publishing chatter, and reviewers celebrated fresh fiction in translation, polemics on race, gritty Irish novels, and a dazzling 22‑year‑old’s debut.

Publishing Industry News​

Post-B&T, Vendors Jostle for the Library Market​

After wholesaler Baker & Taylor’s closure left libraries scrambling, vendors like Amazon Business, Barnes & Noble, Ingram and Libraria rushed to fill the gap. Ingram scaled up staffing and technology, Follett entered the public‑library market and Libraria hired former B&T staff as companies vie for new accounts.

Book Deals: Week of January 5, 2026​

Publishers Weekly’s round‑up highlighted a wave of acquisitions: One World landed world rights to Ibram X. Kendi’s Chain of Ideas; Summit bought Emma Donoghue’s dystopian novel Blaze; Dell pre‑empted Lilly Lu’s Death Wish; Atria snapped up Elizabeth Wellington Rollins’s The Three Graces of Pearl Street; and Europa and Zando secured rights to several other debuts.

Agartala Book Fair: A Publishing Barometer in Northeast India​

The New Publishing Standard reported that the Agartala Book Fair drew 300,000 visitors and $240k in sales in 2022, nearly ₹1.5 crore in 2023, and ₹1.47 crore across 191 stalls in 2024. The early‑January 2025 edition aims to boost student turnout; despite the absence of Bangladeshi publishers, the fair remains vital for Bengali and Kokborok literature and reflects growing regional engagement.

PVLF Welcomes OM Book Shop as Official Bookstore Partner​

India’s PragatiE Vichaar Literature Festival announced OM Book Shop as its official bookstore partner. The collaboration will curate titles for children, young adults and seasoned readers, aiming to deepen conversations at the festival and help books travel home with attendees.

HarperCollins Is Using AI for Book Translations​

Good e‑Reader revealed that Harlequin, a HarperCollins imprint, dismissed its in‑house translators and now uses Fluent Planet’s AI translation tool to convert romance novels into French, with freelance translators polishing the machine output. The move, intended to cut costs, mirrors experiments at other publishers and follows Amazon’s expansion of free AI translation services for indie authors.

Self-Publishing & Independent Publishing News​

TikTok Secures Its US Future, Social Media Rules Shift for 2026​

Dan Holloway’s Self‑Publishing Advice column noted that TikTok’s parent ByteDance agreed to divest its US operations, meaning BookTok and other communities will survive if users install a new app. He also predicted that 2026’s social‑media algorithms will prioritise short “clipping” over follower counts, urging indie authors to adapt.

Academic & Scholarly Publishing​

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Notable Book News & Book Reviews​

January’s Best Fiction in Translation​

In the Irish Times, novelist Rónán Hession picked January’s standout translations: Solvej Balle’s time‑looping novel On the Calculation of Volume 3; Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s satirical Kappa; Ágota Kristóf’s fragmentary I Don’t Care; Rene Karabaš’s tale of a woman becoming a sworn virgin in Albania; and Ning Ken’s Tibetan Sky, which he says shows why Chinese writing is among today’s most exciting literatures.

That Was Then, This Is Now in Mingling of the Personal and the Polemical​

An Irish Examiner review praised Moroccan‑born scholar Marie Kawthar Daouda’s Not Your Victim for blending memoir with polemic to critique Western obsessions with race and statue‑toppling. The book invites readers to consider colonial history’s complexities and non‑Western agency.

Novel of the Year ‘Nesting’ an Achingly Real Story for Women​

Deirdre McArdle wrote that Roisín O’Donnell’s Nesting—the Irish Book Award novel of the year—offers an unflinching portrait of a woman escaping an abusive marriage. She also highlighted Elaine Feeney’s Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way and Sylvia Leatham’s Chaos Theory, noting their explorations of grief, family and workplace comedy.

Books of the Year: Berlin Millennials, Belfast Mothers, Crime and Word‑of‑Mouth Successes​

Marjorie Brennan selected standout titles for 2025: Vincenzo Latronico’s Perfection satirises millennial authenticity culture; Wendy Erskine’s The Benefactors examines sexual assault and privilege through multiple voices; Adrian Duncan’s The Gorgeous Inertia of the Earth follows a stonemason wrestling with faith and art; and Jane Casey’s The Secret Room delivers a locked‑room crime plot.

10 Books for January: A Selection of New Titles​

The Irish Examiner previewed January releases, including Tanya Sweeney’s darkly comic Esther Is Now Following You, Rachel Hawkins’s gothic suspense The Storm, Rebecca Hannigan’s hometown‑return thriller Darkrooms and Dave Rudden’s fantasy Sister Wake. The list spans debuts and genre fiction, promising high‑stakes drama and fresh voices.

Blank Canvas by Grace Murray Review – A Superb Debut from a 22‑Year‑Old Author​

Rebecca Wait’s Guardian review hailed 22‑year‑old Grace Murray’s novel Blank Canvas as witty, assured and emotionally complex. The story follows art student Charlotte, who lies about her father’s death, leading to a sharp campus satire that explores detachment, relationships and the consequences of deception.

Dreaming of Writing Your Novel This Year? Rip Up All the Rules!​

In a Guardian creative‑writing guide, novelist Elizabeth McCracken urged aspiring authors to ignore generic advice. She argued that first lines should be idiosyncratic and memorable, challenged the idea that novels must follow strict structural rules and embraced disorientation as part of fiction’s pleasure.

The Kindle Is on Sale for Under $100​

Good e‑Reader noted that Amazon’s entry‑level Kindle is discounted to $90, offering a 6‑inch E Ink Carta screen with 300 ppi, front‑lighting and recycled materials. The deal makes it an attractive gateway e‑reader for budget‑minded book lovers.