News Today’s Book News Friday, 21st November

[AgentPete]

Today’s Book News Friday, 21st November 2025

Digital distributor OverDrive sued OpenAI for trademark infringement over the name and branding of the AI video‑generation tool Sora. The Miami Book Fair highlighted inclusive programming for its sixty‑thousand‑plus visitors, and small press Lighthouse Press announced a deluxe reissue of the cult dinosaur comic *Tyrant*. Publishing experts discussed streaming’s growing role in film and TV scouting and highlighted winners of the 76th National Book Awards.

Reading Is Entertainment: PW Talks with Lissette Mendez​

Miami Book Fair director Lissette Mendez told *Publishers Weekly* that this year’s fair expected more than sixty thousand attendees and aimed to treat reading as entertainment. She highlighted a robust Spanish‑language program, extensive children’s activities, a vibrant street fair and panels that pair authors from different communities. Mendez said the fair’s mission is to celebrate literature and reflect Miami’s diverse cultures.

Lighthouse Brings ‘Tyrant’ Back in Deluxe Edition​

Lighthouse Press announced plans to reissue Steve Bissette’s cult dinosaur comic *Tyrant* with a crowdfunding campaign early next year. The new edition will combine a trade collection with an oversize “original art edition” reproducing Bissette’s 1990s artwork. Founder Chris Stevens said the goal is to bring the long‑out‑of‑print series to new readers and celebrate its creator’s work.

OverDrive Sues OpenAI Over Sora App​

OverDrive filed a lawsuit in Ohio federal court claiming OpenAI’s recently launched text‑to‑video generator Sora infringes its Sora trademark. The company’s complaint notes that its Sora reading app has been in schools since 2018 and alleges the AI service uses a similar name, icon and colour palette. OverDrive says confusion has already led schools and users to mix up the services and seeks an injunction and damages.

Octavia Spencer to Publish Memoir ‘Give Them Their Flowers’​

Publishers Lunch reported that Flatiron’s Moment of Life imprint will release actor Octavia Spencer’s memoir *Give Them Their Flowers* on 26 May 2026. Editor Kukuwa Fraser acquired the book, in which Spencer reflects on friendships and mentors who helped shape her life and career. The memoir title echoes her mother’s advice to appreciate people while they can be celebrated.

Winners of the 76th National Book Awards Announced​

At the National Book Awards ceremony, prizes went to Rabih Alameddine for fiction, Omar El Akkad for nonfiction, Patricia Smith for poetry, Gabriela Cabezón Cámara and translator Robin Myers for translated literature, and Daniel Nayeri for young people’s literature. Lifetime achievement honours went to Roxane Gay and George Saunders, and presenters highlighted free speech and the need for stories that confront global crises. Winners called on the publishing community to support marginalized voices and resist censorship.

Inside the Changing Marketplace of Film/TV Scouting​

Claire Lundberg of CTL Scouting explained that streaming services have made film and TV scouting more international and diverse. She said scouts must quickly flag books with cinematic potential as producers face tighter deadlines and more competition. Lundberg noted that AI and streaming broaden the kinds of stories that can be adapted and that success requires resilience and a readiness for inevitable disappointments in the creative process.

Random House Canada’s Anne Collins to Retire​

Quill & Quire reported that veteran editor Anne Collins will retire from Random House Canada in March 2026 after nearly three decades at the company. Before entering publishing she won a Governor General’s Award for nonfiction and later became publisher of Knopf Canada. Penguin Random House Canada CEO Kristin Cochrane praised Collins for championing Canadian authors and mentoring colleagues.

Winners of the Inaugural DC Reid Poetry Book Prize and City of Victoria Book Prizes​

The Victoria Book Prize Society announced that Melanie Siebert won the new DC Reid Poetry Book Prize for her collection *Signal Infinities*. Barbara Black received the City of Victoria Book Prize for her short‑story collection *Little Fortified Stories*, and Uma Krishnaswami won the City of Victoria Children’s Book Prize for *Birds on the Brain*. Each award comes with a $5,000 cash prize.

Reimagining Scholarly Publishing Workflow: A High‑Level Map of What Changes Next​

Hong Zhou argued that scholarly publishing must redesign workflows to integrate human–AI collaboration. Rising submission volumes and integrity threats demand data‑driven processes rather than adding AI features onto existing systems. The article suggests using preprints as enriched research accelerators, implementing submission copilots that check scope and ethics, and shifting from reactive screening to proactive integrity assurance.

News Summary: Beehiiv Unveils New AI Marketing Tools; Experts Trace How Discovery and Promotion Are Rapidly Changing​

Dan Holloway examined Beehiiv’s new AI marketing tools and broader trends in how readers discover books. Beehiiv’s platform now offers web‑building, analytics and monetization features that use AI to help authors manage newsletters and segment audiences. Holloway highlighted Mark Williams’s view that generative AI will change metadata and search from keyword matching to conversational queries, and noted that TikTok Shop can be a powerful sales channel but requires significant effort and a diversified marketing mix.

 

[Pamela Jo]

Claire Lundberg of CTL Scouting explained that streaming services have made film and TV scouting more international and diverse. She said scouts must quickly flag books with cinematic potential as producers face tighter deadlines and more competition. Lundberg noted that AI and streaming broaden the kinds of stories that can be adapted and that success requires resilience and a readiness for inevitable disappointments in the creative process.

This is interesting. What does it mean in real time? Agents are watching You Tube more? Also that they will be stealing Ideas there to put to AI?

 

[Pamela Jo]

Also Hong Zhou, PhD, MBA - Society for Scholarly Publishing | LinkedIn. "Salesman says buy my product-even tho it is inferior and full of holes." Why even report this guys views? So what if he has a PHD/ MBA. If there is a future history, MBA's will be revealed as the parasitic evil sorcerers who ended civilisation.

 

[AgentPete]

This is interesting. What does it mean in real time? Agents are watching You Tube more? Also that they will be stealing Ideas there to put to AI?

No, these are “film scouts” , not literary agents. Also, “streaming’ means the likes of Netflix, i.e. where there’s a production company involved.

 

[AgentPete]

Also Hong Zhou, PhD, MBA - Society for Scholarly Publishing | LinkedIn. "Salesman says buy my product-even tho it is inferior and full of holes." Why even report this guys views? So what if he has a PHD/ MBA. If there is a future history, MBA's will be revealed as the parasitic evil sorcerers who ended civilisation.

Yeah, I’m still adjusting the sites we crawl to get as full and useful representation of today’s important publishing news as we can, in one overview.

I may have overdone it with scholarly publishing, quite a few of the news items aren’t really relevant to us.

On the other hand, Irish publishing has been woefully neglected, and I’ve just changed that, so you’ll be seeing more Irish news items soon.

 

[Pamela Jo]

Yeah, I’m still adjusting the sites we crawl to get as full and useful representation of today’s important publishing news as we can, in one overview.

I may have overdone it with scholarly publishing, quite a few of the news items aren’t really relevant to us.

On the other hand, Irish publishing has been woefully neglected, and I’ve just changed that, so you’ll be seeing more Irish news items soon.

Yeah Go Irish. Where you can still submit wo an agent! But scholarly matters to me because my husband publishes. Horrified to learn some AH arguing for lowering standards of peer review to accommodate AI.

 

[Pamela Jo]

Tried to put up Oxford University Press interview in the bookseller because it is of interest to academic writers, but bad formatting. But if you can see this little FB reel there is a very good analysis by "smart sibling" as to why LLM's should not be anywhere near nonfiction.