Today’s Book News Tuesday, 23rd December 2025
Barnes & Noble plans 60 new stores, while Jisc’s deals with major academic publishers promise cost savings and open access; from Chicago to the Philippines, bookstores and education sectors face challenges, and authors respond to scam marketing and scheduling controversies.
A Publishers Weekly report on mergers and acquisitions noted that 2025 saw significant deals such as Lakeside Book Company’s purchase of Baker & Taylor Publisher Services after ReaderLink abandoned a bid to buy Baker & Taylor outright. Macmillan bought the self‑help publisher Sounds True, Penguin Random House acquired Cherry Lake Publishing, Wonderbly and Text Publishing, and HarperCollins expanded internationally with deals including Crunchyroll’s manga division. Smaller presses were also active, reflecting a busy year of consolidation in the industry.
Finland’s Get Lost launched the BookID tool, which uses an extensive taxonomy to analyse manuscripts for emotion patterns, audience personas and BISAC guidance while respecting author privacy by operating offline. Cofounder James Cramer said the platform aims to empower writers with marketing insights and plans to license the technology to major publishers and self‑publishing platforms.
Publishers Marketplace reported that Barnes & Noble will open 60 new stores across the United States in 2026, building on 67 new stores opened in 2025 and 57 in 2024. Chief executive James Daunt attributed the growth to giving local booksellers control over their stores and noted that some openings replace closed branches.
Times Higher Education reported that Jisc negotiated new open‑access agreements with Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, Springer Nature, Wiley and Sage, hailed as a key milestone for UK universities. The deals remove per‑article fees and provide access to more than 11,000 journals and about one million articles annually, although some institutions may still struggle to sign up.
The New Publishing Standard covered the Philippine Educational Publishers Association’s 75th anniversary, where speakers criticised a new law centralising textbook procurement that has delayed textbook delivery for the 2025–2026 school year. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called for reforms to let teachers choose books like private schools do, warning that the reforms could undermine both educational and trade publishing in a country already struggling to promote a reading culture.
Publishers Weekly profiled Los Amigos Books in Chicago, noting that owner Laura Rodríguez‑Romaní faced reduced foot traffic after U.S. immigration agents began operating nearby and increased tariffs on imported books. To survive, she cut weekday hours, opened only on weekends and pivoted into book distribution, focusing on bilingual children’s titles for Latinx readers.
Publishers Marketplace’s People 12/22 column noted several promotions: at Little Bee Books, Jaime Gelman was promoted to editor and Sydney Hackley to junior designer; at Simon & Schuster UK, Holly Harris became managing director of the adult division and Polly Osborn associate managing director. The column also issued a correction clarifying that Riverhead’s title “A Marriage at Sea” by Sophie Elmhirst had been misidentified as “Maurice and Maralyn”.
Publishers Weekly reported that the Book Industry Charitable Foundation launched an end‑of‑year fundraiser aiming to raise $50,000 to help booksellers and comic shop workers in need. The group noted that the average financial assistance grant has risen to $2,333—an increase of 12 per cent—and said donations during the campaign would be matched by the estate of bookseller Michael Powell.
BookBrunch, citing Scholastic’s second‑quarter results, said children’s trade sales and book fair revenues increased, driving an 11 per cent rise in profits, although book club sales fell 14 per cent.
BookBrunch reported that communications agency FMcM was appointed to handle public relations for the National Year of Reading campaign. Chief executive Fiona McMorrough said the initiative aims to demonstrate that reading is central to culture, creativity and opportunity and to create a lasting impact across the country.
BookBrunch highlighted former U.S. president Barack Obama’s annual reading list, noting that his favourite books of 2025 included works by Kiran Desai, Zadie Smith and Ian McEwan.
BookBrunch announced that London’s Southbank Centre will host an Indie Night in February featuring authors Deepa Anappara, Khairani Barokka, Vigdis Hjorth and Tim MacGabhann.
BookBrunch’s roundup of its most‑read stories of 2025 recalled star‑studded interviews and industry scandals that shaped the publishing year.
The Bookseller reported that Penguin Random House imprint Transworld appointed two new marketing executives and a marketing analyst while promoting four members of its marketing team.
The Bookseller said Allen Lane acquired “Intense Life”, Harriet Baker’s group biography exploring artmaking, motherhood and time through the lives of Penelope Mortimer, Doris Lessing, Maeve Gilmore, Jean Cooke and Beryl Bainbridge.
The Bookseller warned that authors have been receiving a deluge of scam emails from imposters posing as publishing professionals or famous authors offering paid promotions.
The Bookseller reported that Waterstones removed David Walliams from the 2026 Children’s Book Festival line‑up, but the author denied the allegations that led to his exclusion.
In a comment piece, The Bookseller argued that independent bookshops need support year‑round, not just during the Christmas shopping season.
The Irish Times celebrated the completion of the “History and Society” series chronicling all 32 counties of Ireland; the final volume on County Antrim features essays by 31 writers and concludes a project that began in 1985.
The Guardian added further details to the Waterstones controversy, reporting that the bookstore chain dropped David Walliams from its festival following allegations of inappropriate behaviour toward junior staff; HarperCollins had already cut ties and said it would not publish new titles by Walliams, who said he was never told of the allegations.
In a review of Mike Bird’s “The Land Trap”, The Guardian discussed the book’s argument that land ownership is at the heart of political economy and has long allowed wealth and status to be passed down; the reviewer noted that Bird’s history arrives as Britain debates rent freezes and property tax policy.
A guest post in The Scholarly Kitchen warned that the current U.S. political climate threatens diversity, equity and inclusion in academic publishing and called for collaborative, cross‑stakeholder strategies to defend research freedoms, noting that censorship of scholarship has global implications.
Good e‑Reader previewed Barnes & Noble’s Nook Glowlight 4 Ocean Teal, describing its 6‑inch E Ink display with adjustable front light, Allwinner B300 processor, physical page‑turn buttons and a new screen protector; the device is expected to offer three weeks of battery life.
