News Today’s Book News Saturday, 13th December

[AgentPete]

Today’s Book News Saturday, 13th December 2025

Mass‑market paperbacks continue to fade as ReaderLink exits the format and sales plunge. In Ireland, a new publisher called Full Set will release current‑affairs and business books and Joseph O’Connor’s wartime novel *The Ghosts of Rome* wins the An Post Book of the Year. Tributes are paid to novelist Joanna Trollope and journalist Porter Anderson.

Last Call for Mass Market Paperbacks​

Mass‑market paperbacks are set to largely vanish from the US trade as ReaderLink will stop distributing them at the end of 2025. Publishers Weekly notes that unit sales have plunged from about 131 million in 2004 to roughly 21 million in 2024 and around 15 million this year, reflecting a steep decline for what was once the most popular reading format.

Altneuland partners with indie presses on U.S. program​

Berlin‑based Altneuland Press will launch a U.S. copublishing program with New Vessel Press, Steerforth Press and Deep Vellum. The collaboration will initially release three to five English‑language titles and expand to six to eight within two years. The program, led by editor‑in‑chief Dory Manor and advised by translator Jessica Cohen, will mix translated Hebrew works and original English nonfiction and literary fiction reflecting a diasporic vision of Hebrew literature.

News podcast: remembering Porter Anderson and Spotify’s year in audiobooks​

The Alliance of Independent Authors’ news podcast honours the late Porter Anderson, former Publishing Perspectives editor, and reflects on his influence on both traditional and indie publishing. Host Dan Holloway then discusses Spotify’s year‑end audiobook trends, noting that romantic and “spicy” fantasy titles dominate while darker genres such as dystopia and horror are gaining momentum.

The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O’Connor named Irish Book of the Year​

Books Ireland Magazine reports that Joseph O’Connor’s novel *The Ghosts of Rome* was voted the overall An Post Irish Book of the Year 2025. Judges praised the World War II tale—second in the author’s Escape Line trilogy—as both a beautiful piece of writing and a thrilling historical fiction. They said its depiction of good people standing up to the evils of fascism resonates strongly with contemporary readers.

Full Set—a new Dublin‑based publishing house​

Former Amazon Publishing Europe head Eoin Purcell and Emmy‑winning news editor Blathnaid Healy have launched Full Set, a Dublin publishing house focused on current‑affairs and business titles. They plan to publish their first list at the end of 2026 and intend to work with authors who embrace nuance and experiment with format. The company’s name is inspired by the full set of uilleann pipes, symbolising range and expressiveness.

Joanna Trollope obituary​

The Guardian remembers British novelist Joanna Trollope, who has died aged 82. She popularised the so‑called “Aga saga” genre by writing warmly and humorously about modern relationships and dilemmas. After early historical romances, she achieved success with *A Village Affair* (1989), a contemporary novel featuring a lesbian love story, and her work explored marriage, divorce, adultery, female friendship, children, second families and careers.

Google’s last “year in search” questions the future of search​

On the Scholarly Kitchen blog, David Crotty comments on Google’s 2025 “year in search” video. He notes that the top search terms included tragedies such as an assassination and wildfires and that the usual “learn more” button has been replaced by “catch me up in AI mode.” Crotty suggests this change signals a shift toward AI‑generated summaries and raises questions about the meaning of “search” in the future.

 

[Hannah Faoileán]

For those wondering how to pronounce the name Blathnaid (Full Set - Dublin based publishing house), it is Blo (as in blossom or blonde) - nid.