Today’s Book News Wednesday, 3rd December 2025 (London date)
Trade book sales rebounded in September, major players reported significant deals, and industry organisations confronted leadership and rights issues. A children’s publisher condemned a weaponised version of a beloved character, while new contests and reading lists encourage young readers. Academic librarians warned that shrinking budgets harm student research, and a media study revealed how many Americans listen to audiobooks.
After slumping during July and August, U.S. publishing sales jumped 14.4% in September at 1,324 reporting publishers. Religious books rose 21.2%, children’s and YA fiction climbed 9.2%, adult fiction jumped 15.4% – with hardcover sales up more than 40% – and adult nonfiction increased 6.8%. Print formats drove the rebound while digital formats lagged, with ebooks down 7.3% and digital audiobooks up just over 1%.
Scholastic agreed to sell its New York City headquarters and its Jefferson City, Missouri, warehouse for a combined $401 million, selling the Broadway building to Empire State Realty Trust and the warehouse to Fortress Investment Group. The children’s publisher will lease back the spaces and expects to close the deals by year end. Proceeds will be used for capital needs, share repurchases and debt reduction while reducing the company’s real‑estate footprint.
Publishers Weekly appointed journalist Kerensa Cadenas as its news director, succeeding John Maher. Reporting to editorial director Jonathan Segura, she will oversee the publication’s news staff and correspondents. Cadenas previously held editorial roles at New York magazine and Entertainment Weekly and most recently led entertainment coverage at Thrillist.
The Folio Society reported that its 2025 turnover rose by 8 percent and profits by 21 percent, describing its year of trading as “spectacular.” Further details were behind a paywall.
In a U.S. class‑action lawsuit brought by authors, Judge Ona Wang ordered OpenAI to turn over internal communications about why it deleted the Books1 and Books2 datasets – troves of pirated ebooks used to train ChatGPT. OpenAI originally said it removed the data for lack of use but later argued that the reasons were privileged; the judge directed the company to testify about the deletions.
Publishers Lunch highlighted notable December releases. Fiction includes novels by Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk, fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson and romance author Katee Robert. Nonfiction titles feature political journalist Olivia Nuzzi’s new book and biographies of Dolly Parton and Theodore Roosevelt. Children’s releases include a collection of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters stories and a graphic novel edition of Jewell Parker Rhodes’s “Ghost Boys.”
Publishers Lunch reported that Simon & Schuster will begin selling and distributing Humanitas Media titles on January 1, 2026.
Publishers Lunch’s “People 12/2” column listed a series of job moves. Jason LaCoursier will become vice‑president of distribution operations at Simon & Schuster, replacing Pat Kelman, who retires after 35 years. Nancy Conescu has joined FSG Children’s as editorial director, Elianna Kan joins Massie McQuilkin & Altman as literary agent, and Melissa Rodman becomes associate agent at the Nancy Yost Literary Agency. Alexander Slater joins Ingram Content Group as manager of Media Scout to connect rights buyers with screen projects, Anke Göbel becomes publisher of Heyne and the first woman to lead the division at PRH Germany, and Kitanna Hiromasa joins Grand Central as publicist.
During The Bookseller’s FutureBook conference, small independent presses said they plan to commission an independent study to prove their cultural impact. Organisers said the research is needed to demonstrate the sector’s value to funders as small presses face a challenging economic environment.
Historian Hannah Durkin won the 2025 Wolfson History Prize and its £50,000 award for her book “Survivors: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade,” published by William Collins.
Ian Fleming Books announced a new James Bond Book Club that will deliver curated spy‑fiction titles to subscribers each month, promising to spotlight classics and contemporary espionage novels.
At The Bookseller’s FutureBook conference, Yoto co‑founder Ben Drury told attendees that the children’s audio company’s 2025 revenue will be far higher than the prior year’s £95 million, citing stronger international sales and new licensing deals.
The Bookseller reported that the 2026 edition of “Guinness World Records” debuted at number one on the UK charts with sales of about 33,600 copies. The achievement marks the 50th year that a Guinness World Records annual has topped the UK listings.
A Publishing Perspectives column by Arpita Das argued that women remain largely excluded from leadership roles in Indian publishing associations. The Federation of Indian Publishers and other national bodies have almost no female board members despite women forming a large part of the workforce. The article called for more networks and forums to empower women and highlighted initiatives such as PublisHer that provide mentorship and solidarity.
Canadian children’s publisher Kids Can Press denounced U.S. television host Pete Hegseth’s social‑media post featuring a doctored image of their character Franklin the Turtle wearing military gear. The publisher stressed that Franklin promotes kindness and inclusivity and said the violent depiction undermines the values of the 1986 book series, which has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
Canada’s Ripple Foundation opened its annual Kids Write 4 Kids contest, inviting students in grades 4–8 to submit original stories by March 31, 2026. Winning entries will be published in print and digital formats, with proceeds donated to charities chosen by the young authors.
A Scholarly Kitchen guest post warned that university libraries’ shrinking budgets and staff undermine students’ ability to conduct rigorous research. Librarians teach essential skills such as database searching, citation management and information evaluation, and their support is crucial as AI tools proliferate. Without adequate resources, first‑generation and non‑native‑English‑speaking students lose support and research integrity suffers.
The Alliance of Independent Authors’ news summary highlighted the 2025 US Media Consumption Report. It found that 5 percent of Americans listen to an audiobook every day and 18 percent listen weekly, while 42 percent stream music daily. Audiobook engagement is highest among 31‑ to 49‑year‑olds, but only 8 percent of people over fifty listen. About 34 percent of Americans hold a print or digital subscription – with print representing just 4.5 percent – and overall subscription rates fell 2 percent year over year, with the steepest drop among people aged 18–30.
