AGP Executive Report

Royal Memoir Fallout: Charles Spencer’s “Swan Song” is drawing heat for its icy, grievance-heavy take on the British royal family, with the palace reportedly pushing back on claims. Horror Reading Rush: October’s horror slate is stacked, from gothic and dark academia to Lovecraftian monsters and even a “Hamlet” reimagining—plus a spotlight on “Dive Bar at the End of the Road.” Shakespeare, Reframed: Wrexham University’s Michael Kerr Scott completes a Shakespeare trilogy with a time-travel psychotherapist angle on the playwright’s final months. Book-to-Screen Buzz: Colleen Hoover’s “Verity” is back in the spotlight as the film release drives renewed interest in the novel. Publishing & Translation Ethics: Estonian publishers warn that AI-assisted re-translations of classics are unethical and harmful to human translators. AI in Publishing: Publishers are also pushing back on AI translation practices, arguing they devalue translation labor and mislead readers. International Literary Stage: Ukraine lands as guest of honor at Italy’s Pisa Book Festival, with major programming for authors and illustrators. Sports Betting Meets Regulation: A major legal fight over prediction markets and sports wagering could reshape who regulates and taxes the fast-growing money stream.

Poetry & Memoir Spotlight: Eric Paul’s sold-out new collection Providence turns fatherhood, autism, and Rhode Island life into three braided threads, while Truong Tran’s How to Exi(s)t (City Lights, Oct. 6) reframes a lifetime of silence into a memoir about racism, queerness, dyslexia, and thriving. Publishing & Industry Moves: Ignition Press announced 12 new creators for upcoming projects ahead of NYCC, and Baker Books reviewed leadership title The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders as a guide for real-world decision-making. Book Fairs & Global Reach: China brought nearly 800 titles to Jakarta’s book fair, and Menassah Distribution showcased 554 Emirati titles to expand rights and distribution across Asia. Reading Culture Debate: Oregon’s governor race may hinge on the Oregon Education Association’s missing endorsement, and the UK’s National Year of Reading is being challenged for not answering what, in which language, and in what format families should read. AI in Publishing: Syntharis released a free 200-page AI Visibility Playbook on GEO, while Audible adds AI-driven interactive storytelling.

Publishing & Business: Thomson Reuters closed its sale of a 51% stake in its global print unit, creating Westbridge Print as a joint venture focused on legal and tax publishing and commercial printing—part of a broader tech-and-AI push. Comics & Manga: GlobalComix expands its catalog with Kadokawa titles via Dwango and action-fantasy series from REDICE STUDIO via Riverse, timed for New York Comic Con. Faith & Books: Pope Francis praised an English-language death-row ministry memoir, “A Christian on Death Row,” prefaced in the Italian edition by the Vatican publisher. Education & Culture Wars: Texas standards fight spotlights who gets to shape what children learn about Israel and antisemitism, with Laurie Cardoza-Moore pressing the issue. Reading Culture Debate: A Korean column questions whether “text hip” is evolving bookstore culture—or turning reading into display. Industry Tech: FlipHTML5 launched a free AI magazine generator to speed up layout creation from prompts or uploaded drafts. Ukraine Publishing Crisis: Reports say Russia has destroyed a huge share of Ukraine’s printed books this year, including millions of children’s titles from Ranok’s warehouse. Children’s Publishing: Tori Amos announced a new picture book, “A Sorta Fairytale,” for April 2027.

AI & Publishing Rights: A new court-filing dispute spotlights how AI systems consume human knowledge without a clear payment model, reigniting calls for rights, credit, and compensation beyond “fair use.” Industry Deals: Thomson Reuters closed its sale of a majority stake in Global Print to KKR, with the print unit serving book publishers while Reuters doubles down on AI for legal and compliance. Global Book Trade: China–Indonesia publishing ties are deepening at the Indonesia International Book Fair, with Chinese publishers pitching interactive children’s titles and printing know-how. Dystopian Fiction Spotlight: Friesen Press backs A. G. Fleury’s “Kill Per View,” a near-future thriller where state violence is packaged as reality TV. Cultural Policy & Inclusion: The ADL released reports alleging systemic exclusion of Jewish and Israeli artists across museums and publishing, urging arts institutions to change hiring and programming. Book Safety for Families: Texas Authors Museum promotes ReadSafe Ratings as a voluntary content-labeling system during Banned Books Week. Publishing Business Watch: Korea’s Munhakdongne sale talks signal how trade publishers are shifting toward broader IP-driven content strategies. Local Publishing Loss: Hometown News mourns publisher Kirk B. Dougal, who led the newsroom since 2021.

Local News Funding: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law creating tax credits for struggling local newsrooms, including $20,000 for up to five journalists plus add-ons for more hires, aiming to slow newsroom closures and counter misinformation. AI & Publishing Rights: A new wave of coverage keeps circling the same fight—whether AI training and “click-to-publish” systems should pay creators—while a major settlement highlights how authors and publishers are pushing for compensation. Book-to-Screen Buzz: Colleen Hoover’s “Verity” is back on bestseller charts as the film hits theaters, with new editions and renewed reader demand driving chart movement. Publishing Industry Moves: Spain’s Liber trade fair in Barcelona drew thousands of international professionals and thousands of meetings as the country looks to deepen global publishing ties. Comics & Culture: Portland’s comic-book boom gets a documentary spotlight, while Marvel artist Joshua Cassara’s death is confirmed, underscoring the human side of the industry. Community & Events: Decatur’s 21st Book Festival returns with dozens of authors and free public programming, and a Colorado bookstore hosts two poets/authors Oct. 3. Campus Bookselling: Monmouth University’s campus bookstore is outsourcing to Follett, reflecting the ongoing consolidation trend in higher-ed retail. New Releases to Watch: Goodreads’ weekly sci-fi favorites include Matt Dinniman’s “The Eye of the Bedlam Bride” and J.D. Robb’s “Fury in Death,” showing how series momentum keeps readers coming back.

Local Literary Calendar: Norfolk’s October lineup leans hard into community and big-name authors, with the rebranded King’s Lynn Book Festival (Oct 2–4) and Norwich Book Festival returning, plus events tied to the River Wensum and live poetry. Author Spotlight: High Point Literary League’s fall meeting featured Mary Kay Andrews, while Arkansas memoir “From Spavinaw to DC” by Tim Hutchinson traces faith, farm life, and a political climb. Publishing & Business: Scholastic is buying Cottage Door Press for about $71M to expand early childhood and novelty formats. AI in Publishing: South Korea’s Korea Publisher Society unveiled voluntary AI principles to curb “click-to-publish” mass output and clarify human responsibility. Copyright & Training Fight: AI copyright lawsuits over training data and fair use keep heating up, with publishers and creators pushing back on scraping-at-scale. Books in the Real World: Guttenberg Public Library is assessing the care and value of its Gutenberg Bible facsimile, and Ocean County Library marks Banned Books Week (Oct 4–10). New Releases & Culture: Audrey Niffenegger’s “Life Out of Order” brings “The Time Traveler’s Wife” back; and “Verity” lands in theaters with mixed reviews.

AI in Science: A new Financial Times look says generative AI is speeding up lab work—scanning papers, drafting manuscripts, and proposing hypotheses—while raising worries about diversity and accuracy. Publishing & Policy: South Korea’s Korean Publishers Society and partners have issued voluntary AI usage principles for publishers and authors, aiming to protect creative work and keep reader trust. Book Industry Under Pressure: In Bangladesh, UPL protested the forcible closure of its Banglabazar outlet after a sale of “Oshomapto Attojiboni,” with civil society calling for investigations and security for sellers. Digital Education Push: Nigeria’s Accessible Publishers Limited marked its 30th anniversary by expanding beyond print into digital learning via its SmartEdu Hub. Reading Culture & Community: Room to Read India’s India Gets Reading summit and Read-a-Thon drew record participation, tying local-language reading to NIPUN Bharat goals. New Titles: Ali Hazelwood announced “The Two-Body Problem” sequel; Mad Cave launched “Escape from New York: Escape from Chicago,” with Snake Plissken headed to the North Pole next. Literary Spotlight: Horror and Halloween lists keep rolling, while “Hollow Bones” tackles 9/11 and postpartum psychosis.

Publishing leadership: Hachette UK reshuffles its top team, naming Katie Espiner CEO while David Shelley moves to executive chair, with changes effective Jan. 1, 2027. AI in publishing: A Copyright Clearance Center panel at Frankfurt Book Fair will tackle “Publisher Strategies for Navigating the AI Value Chain,” as the industry debates licensing and how AI changes discovery and permissions. AI authorship controversy: France’s Goncourt Prize drops Haitian-Canadian novelist Thélyson Orélien’s debut amid AI and plagiarism claims, with his publisher pausing promotion over wellbeing concerns. Book market & culture: The New York Globe launches a new Bestseller List that weighs sales, critical acclaim, and cultural impact. Royals & record sales: Charles Spencer’s Diana memoir “Swan Song” hits major UK hardback sales milestones in its first week. Books in the real world: Sri Lanka’s Colombo International Book Fair opens with government talk of revising VAT on books, while PickMe adds QR ticketing and shuttle support for easier visits. Crime fiction loss: Peter May, author of the Lewis Trilogy, dies at 74. Indie/retail: A new downtown Fayette bookstore, The Reading Nook, opens with a focus on new titles and special orders.

AI Authorship Row: France’s Goncourt has removed Haitian-Canadian writer Thélyson Orélien’s novel from the prize after AI and plagiarism claims, reigniting debate over whether detectors can be trusted and what “authorship” means in 2026. Prize & Publisher Fallout: The same controversy wave has already seen other major literary recognition wobble, with Orélien denying the allegations and promising documentation. UK Visa Pressure: Britain’s Board of Deputies of British Jews urged the Home Secretary to block Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah from visiting, citing her past remarks about Oct. 7 and warning it’s “profoundly insensitive.” Publishing & Tech Ethics: Ghana’s Prof. Kwofie urged publishers to train AI with indigenous knowledge systems while keeping human creativity, ethics, and plagiarism safeguards central. Book Industry on the Ground: Qatar National Library is expanding AI use for services and programming while insisting books and community stay at the core. Rights in Practice: Bangladesh’s UPL sales outlet was locked after objections to selling a book by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, with staff detained briefly. New Releases & Adaptations: Harvard UP published Jon Else’s nuclear history “Frenchman Flat,” and Keenspot’s horror comic “The Crying Boy” is moving toward a film adaptation.

AI & Books: Volker G. Fremuth’s dystopian novel “Dreams and Dissension” imagines a near-future society run by an omnipresent AI that optimizes away suffering—at the cost of memory and free will. Publishing Industry: Russia’s Individuum, founded in 2015, is shutting down after senior staff were prosecuted over LGBTQ+ “extremism,” with upcoming titles moving to other publishers. Literary Awards & AI Claims: France’s Académie Goncourt has dropped Thélyson Orélien’s debut from the first selection, citing plagiarism and analyses suggesting AI likely produced much of the text. Book Trade Policy: Ukraine approved rent compensation for bookstores in communities up to 100,000 people, with first payments planned for early 2027. Global Publishing Networks: Istanbul hosted the International Islamic Publishing Congress, and a new Islamic Publishing Observatory will track rights, translation, distribution, digital shifts, and book-fair trends. Author News: Scottish crime writer Peter May, creator of the Lewis Trilogy, has died at 74; his final novel “Island of the Dead” is due in January 2027. Local Book Culture: Ireland’s Irish Book Week returns Oct. 17–24 with a push to “shop local & shop Irish.”

Jewish Identity in Biography: Journalist Daniel Okrent says Stephen Sondheim was “Americanized Yiddishkeit,” pushing back on the idea that a biography can’t foreground Jewishness when it wasn’t overtly religious. Political Publishing Milestone: Taiwan’s ruling DPP marks 40 years since its secret founding under martial law, with pioneers recalling the risks and the party’s current challenges. Book Industry Debate in India: A Delhi launch for “Saffron Shadows,” an anthology of RSS essays by Leher Sethi, spotlights the centenary-year clash between ideologues and critics. Neighborhood Bookstores in Japan: A Matsuyama arcade is getting a new/returning bookstore, part of a broader fight against Japan’s shrinking bookstore footprint. Harry Potter Rebrand: Scholastic is updating the U.S. title back to “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” for a TV tie-in cover rollout. Early Literacy Push (Scotland): The Scottish Greens back a £3.54m plan to fund unstaffed lending libraries and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library-style book access in primary schools. Publishing & AI Tensions: Multiple reports keep circling AI-writing allegations and prize controversies, underscoring how fast publishing rules are being rewritten. Comics Preview: Marvel’s “Sorcerer Supreme #10” tees up Wanda facing the “magic cost” of an Extinction King weapon. Royal Memoir Legal Fight: Sarah Ferguson’s memoir chatter continues as disputes over Diana-related claims spill into legal action involving publishers.

Publishing Training: Sharjah Book Authority’s Onshur selects new publishers for a four-day “Launch” programme through Oct. 18, focusing on business planning, production costs, and reaching readers. Serialized Memoir: Maggie O’Brien’s “Two Birds One Stone” becomes a “book-not-book,” with readers mailed one volume a month until the full 12-part memoir completes by Aug. 2027. Poetry Rights Row: Nayyirah Waheed renews accusations against Rupi Kaur over “salt” and “milk and honey,” tying the dispute to race, recognition, and credit in publishing. AI and Authorship: At Qatar National Library’s “Write to Inspire,” an author and AI specialist argues AI can generate text fast, but writers must keep the thinking, emotion, and decisions that make work distinctive. Early Literacy Push: Scotland’s Scottish Greens call for £3.54 million to fully fund Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in primary schools, citing falling reading levels. Book Industry Meets Screen: Iberseries & Platino Industria pitches 15 literary works for TV and film adaptation, linking publishers and production companies across Spain and Mexico. Book Retail/Formats: A Dutch publisher’s 1970s “newspaper” novel format resurfaces as a reminder that publishing experiments can reshape how stories are consumed. Bestseller/Comics: Absolute Batman #24 tops a Wednesday-to-weekend comics sales list, beating Absolute Wonder Woman #24 by 150%.

AI & Authorship Clash in France: The Goncourt prize removed Haitian-Canadian author Thélyson Orélien’s buzzy novel from its longlist after AI-writing and plagiarism accusations—while tests reportedly conflict and Orélien denies using AI. Publishing Industry Tech Debate: Qatar National Library’s “Write to Inspire” program convened authors and publishers to discuss AI’s ethics and practical impact on writing and publishing workflows. AI Lawsuits Ahead: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says AI developers should expect lawsuits as a normal business cost, echoing how older tech industries absorbed legal battles. Memoir Spotlight: Tara Westover returns with “Brothers and Sisters,” revisiting the family fallout from “Educated” and asking who gets to define memories. Books & Community: San Antonio authors launched a co-op publishing house, Inbound Books, built around marketing support and author control. Literary Culture & Events: Queen Camilla drew star power to the Braemar Literary Festival, while Cal State Northridge won funding to digitize Vera Jackson’s photos documenting Black life in Los Angeles. Book Publishing How-To: A guide explains when authors need an ISBN and how to plan identifiers across formats. Comics & Adaptations: Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead) taught students; and “Magpie Murders” returns for its final TV run.

AI & Authorship Clash: France’s Prix Goncourt removed Canadian-Haitian novelist Thélyson Orélien’s debut from its longlist after AI and plagiarism allegations, while his publisher paused promotion and the author denies wrongdoing—fueling a wider fight over whether AI-detection can be trusted. Publishing Integrity & Detection Debate: Sebastian Bailly argues the literary world is forcing authors into “fraud or innocent” categories, calling for transparent, rights-respecting use of tools instead of witch-hunts. Fantasy Hype Watch: A Manifold Markets prediction put the odds of George R. R. Martin’s next “A Song of Ice and Fire” book arriving by end-2030 at 48%, driven by renewed chatter around development delays. Book Trade & Community: Local Comic Shop Day spotlighted early sales and exclusives like “Amazing Spider-Man #1000,” underscoring how physical retail still builds fandom. Author Spotlight: Chloe Gong discussed wrapping “The StrangeLoom” trilogy and what’s next after “Eyes of Kings,” while Passager Books’ Henry Morgenthau prize winner Kathy O’Fallon prepares “Proof of Life.” Book Discovery & Retail Survival: A Cyprus bookseller profile and a broader “can bookshops survive the digital age?” discussion both point to in-person curation as the differentiator.

Publishing & Prizes: Canada’s top literary awards say publishers are best placed to spot AI-written submissions, while the Canada Council is drafting clearer expectations for future cycles after France’s Goncourt controversy. Ethics & Power: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. disclosed $4 million in book advances from Skyhorse, tied to a longtime associate, as the department defends compliance. Book Fairs & Community: Chennai’s golden jubilee book fair logo was unveiled for Jan. 7–19, 2027, and Vermont communities marked Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library “Dolly Day,” while Mississippi’s annual book festival returns with major celebrity guests. Reading Culture & Learning: PISA results show reading declines, with OECD noting a broad drop even among students from wealthier families. Books to Watch: Publishers Newswire highlighted 10 small-press “books to bookmark” for Q3 2026. Pop Culture Publishing: Tapas is shutting down in North America, ending Solo Leveling’s long home there, while Yen Press announced 19 new manga/light novel/audiobook acquisitions. Literary Spotlight: John Boyne’s new novel imagines Oscar Wilde’s alternate life after choosing to sue, and R.L. Stine shared five horror picks for Halloween.

AI in French Prizes: France’s Goncourt has removed Thélyson Orélien’s prize-winning debut from its longlist after online claims he used AI, with plagiarism allegations also swirling; Orélien denies it and Grasset backs him. Ukraine’s Book Losses: Russia’s strikes have destroyed about 13 million Ukrainian books in three summer months, with publishers and editors warning that unlike food, books can’t be replaced. Publishing & Security: Investigative Russian journalist Roman Badanin says FBI agents warned him his family could be targeted by a foreign intelligence service; his Putin exposé has just won a major French award. Best-seller Spotlight: Colin Kaepernick’s memoir “The Perilous Fight” debuts at No. 1 on the NYT hardcover nonfiction list. Rights & Hiring Scrutiny: Cambridge has scaled back its investigation into late education professor Jason Arday’s hiring, focusing first on support and policies rather than him personally. Literary Culture: Ireland’s An Post launches four stamp designs featuring modern Irish novels. Bookselling & Access: A new report highlights how digital libraries and licensing limits can leave readers with disappearing content.