AGP Executive Report

Publishing Spotlight: A Tucson mother, Adiba Nelson, turned a missing picture book for her disabled daughter into the self-published “Meet ClaraBelle Blue” in 2013—and now her books are stocked at the Obama Presidential Center and libraries nationwide. Comics & Crossovers: Marvel’s “Doctor Aphra” is pitched as Star Wars meets Indiana Jones energy, while Webtoon revealed three 2027 vertical series (including “X-Men Korea”) and Marvel confirmed Spider-Verse’s comeback with new compact editions for Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen. Children’s Books: Chinese illustrator Cai Gao, 80, won the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration, with her work rooted in close attention to everyday details. Industry & Power: India’s government escalated talks with Meta over platform rules, signaling a broader fight over who sets the terms for the digital public square. Books & Conflict: Russian attacks have destroyed over 1.1 million Ukrainian textbooks, with the state urging support for damaged publishers. Memoir Fallout: Cambridge’s Jason Arday resigned amid plagiarism and “fake book” claims, as publishers face fresh scrutiny over what gets edited, promoted, and believed.

Media Policy: The FCC lifted a national TV ownership cap in a 2-1 vote, a move critics say will accelerate consolidation, cut local jobs, and reduce diversity in who gets to own outlets. Publishing & Bookselling: Small publishers are banding together for post–Diamond distribution and printing, with the Indie Comic Alliance pitching direct-market distribution plus affordable services. Controversy in Publishing: Simon & Schuster is still set to publish Cambridge professor Jason Arday’s memoir after scrutiny over plagiarism and false claims, with reports saying the publisher made late edits to soften allegations. International Rights & Censorship: A Russian court suspended a Popcorn Books publisher’s sentence for LGBT-themed content, underscoring tightening controls on books. Manga Globalization: Shueisha launched “Manga Million,” translating over a million pages into 100+ languages, including Tagalog for the first time. New Books & Series: Jeff VanderMeer teased the final Southern Reach novel, “Abdication,” while Marvel confirmed a new Mary Jane Watson comic series. Community Reading: Two “little libraries” made from old newspaper racks were installed at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve to encourage daily reading.

Cambridge Hiring Review: Cambridge says it will review its process for appointing senior academics after the Jason Arday scandal, as questions swirl over plagiarism, fake claims about publishing, and whether standards were lowered. Publishing Integrity Under Fire: The fallout keeps expanding beyond one case, with calls for an independent, transparent inquiry into how the professor was hired and what checks were missed. Hybrid Publishing Launch: MindStir Media rolled out Avenroth Hybrid Publishers, pitching a more selective, higher-touch hybrid model with professional editing/production plus major promotion; engagements start at $20,000. Bookselling & Community: Edinburgh’s Book Fringe returns across local bookstores, aiming to keep independents thriving through author events and readings. Genre Demand Watch: Romantasy is still surging, with reports of big sales growth pushing romance-fantasy deeper into mainstream shelves. Food Politics in Print: HarperCollins India announced Dr. Sylvia Karpagam’s nutrition-and-politics book, releasing Aug. 18, targeting how policy and power shape what people can eat. Ad Fraud via Reading Apps: An ad-industry report warns that AI-powered schemes are using fake “novel-reading” apps to generate fraudulent clicks and engagement. Counterfeit Books Allegations: In Lahore, publishers accuse police of delaying action after a raid recovered counterfeit educational books, prompting calls for a transparent inquiry.

Cambridge Plagiarism Fallout: Jason Arday resigned from the University of Cambridge after The Telegraph raised questions about plagiarism and even whether a claimed memoir/book existed, triggering a wider audit of his academic “qualifications and honorary appointments.” Publisher Scrutiny: New reporting says Simon & Schuster edited back fundraising claims in Arday’s memoir, while Arday now claims he was offered “£1.4million” for a pre-empt deal—adding fuel to an already messy publishing story. AI in Books, Real Stakes: Nigerian author Jerry Falade says he’s “definitely innocent” after losing a reported $2m deal for his debut crime novel over allegations of AI use; his agents said they couldn’t verify how the manuscript evolved. Rights, Deals & Adaptations: Paramount Animation and Reel FX are developing “Diya,” a Bollywood-musical crossover project, while Marvel’s X-Men plans face fresh criticism for event-driven storytelling. Industry Watch: Diamond Comic Distributors’ bankruptcy fight is settling, but the “Odyssey” ahead for publishers and distribution remains. Kids & Culture: Oratia Books’ Māori picture books were named to the IBBY-UNESCO Remarkable Books collection, and Barbra Streisand announced a 2027 children’s picture book.

Publishing Policy: Germany’s Buchpreisbindung (fixed book pricing) keeps new titles at the same price everywhere, protecting book culture and small shops while limiting retailer discounts. Cambridge Memoir Fallout: Jason Arday resigned from Cambridge amid a plagiarism/credentials storm; he says Simon & Schuster offered him £/$1.4m for his memoir, while critics argue he’s being held to higher standards. Rights & Deals: Seven Seas licensed multiple manga/light novel titles (including Wandmaker of the Ruined World and Rapid Current’s webtoon adaptation), signaling continued cross-platform push. Industry Under Fire: Ukraine urged clearing book warehouses faster as Russian strikes destroyed massive stock, including 100,000+ more books at BookChef. Media Business: Hello! says it recovered lost Google Discover revenue via content syndication and paid membership plans. Culture & Books: John Carpenter’s Cathedral graphic novel and album arrive, while a new crop of climate-change books keeps debate hot. Books & Society: A Japanese woman allegedly placed 2,100+ unpaid manga orders with Shueisha, causing $27m in losses.

AI Book Scanning Backlash: A new report on Anthropic’s book-buying and “spine severing” for language training adds fuel to the wider panic about rare and out-of-print titles being pulped after scanning, with ISBNdb again in the spotlight. Cambridge Plagiarism Fallout: Sociology professor Jason Arday resigned from Cambridge after an investigation into alleged plagiarism and disputed claims about his academic and personal record, just as his memoir release loomed. Media vs AI “Piracy” Fight: News Corp posted record results while doubling down on its “woo or sue” stance, calling AI answer engines Perplexity and Brave “pirates” and warning major clients about stolen content. Publishing Deals Under Scrutiny: Multiple high-profile book deals were reportedly pulled or delayed over suspected AI-generated text, keeping publishers’ verification and detection wars front and center. Ukraine’s Cultural Targeting: Coverage says Russian strikes have destroyed millions of Ukrainian books and hit publishing infrastructure, framing it as an attack on language and memory. Books & Community: A student-led drive collected 600 books and 60 stuffed animals for the Friends of the Folsom Library, while independent bookstores keep building local reading communities. Pop Culture Publishing: Reese Witherspoon named Kelly Anderson’s The Wild Beneath for her August book club, and Torrent by Jung Dae-gun topped 400,000 copies with screen and webtoon adaptations confirmed.

Publishing & Rights: Polish author Jakub Ćwiek offered free publishing rights to Ukrainian house Zhorzh after a Russian strike destroyed the Ranok warehouse in Kharkiv, with the author stressing no staff were killed. Industry Moves: Berrett-Koehler launched Montgomery Station Press, extending its editorial and distribution muscle via a tiered service model for nonfiction authors. University Press Support: University of Georgia Press announced a new endowment to fund paid undergraduate internships. Books in the Spotlight: Nolan’s The Odyssey film is driving a major sales surge for Emily Wilson’s translation, with WW Norton reporting domestic sales crossing one million and libraries seeing big demand jumps. Literary Awards: Omar Musa won Australia’s Miles Franklin Award for Fierceland. Comics & Pop Culture: Marvel confirmed a new Guardians of the Galaxy direction after Imperial Guardians, while San Diego Comic-Con’s anime presence was lighter than expected but still drew strong panel interest. AI & Publishing Debate: Multiple pieces keep circling the same pressure point: AI’s role in translation and “writing,” and the pushback from creators and publishers.

Publishing & Books in the News: UT Press debuts its first children’s picture book, “My Magic Tux,” launching a new kids imprint program. Awards & Shortlists: The 2026 Miles Franklin shortlist is getting attention for its mix of empire, ruin, migration, and formal experimentation. Publishing Industry & Policy: Ukraine’s parliament backs an urgent appeal for real support mechanisms for the book industry, citing non-functional library procurement and bookstore rental compensation. AI & Authorship Fallout: A Cambridge professor’s Simon & Schuster memoir faces scrutiny after claims of long-running falsehoods and scrubbed fundraising details; meanwhile, a debut novelist’s $2M deal was pulled over suspected AI use, and he calls the allegations racially motivated. Rights & Legal Watch: A Fifth Circuit copyright ruling on songwriter termination and worldwide rights is now drawing Supreme Court attention. Business Moves: RBmedia acquires UK fiction publisher Boldwood Books, expanding multi-format reach. New Releases: Crime, romance, and genre fiction keep rolling out—from cozy dog-mystery “Exercise Finished” to Chloe Gong’s “Eyes of Kings” finale.

Publishing Deal: RBmedia has acquired Boldwood Books, turning the indie commercial fiction publisher into an RBmedia division while keeping Boldwood’s leadership and independent operation. Book Industry & Tech: Zentrovia Solutions launched ZenPub, a white-label digital publishing platform for academic publishers and aggregators, with fast storefront setup and library-ready catalog exports. AI & Books: Reports of AI firms buying and destroying physical books to train models are fueling new preservation and ethics alarms, as bulk purchases and “destructive scanning” spread beyond court filings. War on Books: Russian strikes have destroyed or damaged nearly 10 million books in Ukraine since May, severely disrupting publishing and printing capacity. Censorship Backlash: A UK publisher (Jessica Kingsley) introduced removable “safety covers” so readers can hide sensitive LGBTQIA+ and disability titles at home—while a separate US story highlights outrage over efforts to restrict young adult books in schools. Reading Formats: A Dutch study finds paper books still dominate, with readers valuing the tactile experience and the “possession” aspect. Events: National Book Store’s Philippine Readers & Writers Festival returns Aug. 14–16 with 40+ free events and a first-time partnership with Komikon.

Publishing & Politics: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used social media and TV to tout his 2021 book on Anthony Fauci as a top seller, as critics argue the controversy around Fauci’s ethics and earnings has helped drive sales for multiple political books from the same publishing orbit. Cultural Heritage in Books: Russia’s drone strikes have destroyed about 8 million books at a Kharkiv warehouse, with publishers calling it an attack on Ukrainian education and culture. Literary Ecosystems: Nigeria LNG and CORA hosted readings for the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature poetry longlist—11 poets from 223 submissions—aiming to keep literature in the public sphere. Community & Representation: Minnesota’s Midwest Black Book Fair is set to bring Black booksellers, authors, publishers, and readers together for panels and workshops on publishing’s real-world barriers. AI & the Book Trade: A new opinion piece warns that AI firms’ bulk digitization and pulping of out-of-print books could accelerate a future where models grow while shelves shrink. Loss & Legacy: Benjamin Alire Sáenz, the first Latino to win the PEN/Faulkner award, has died at 71.

New Fiction Releases: Jennifer Manocherian’s sophomore novel “And No One Knew” leans into identity, family secrets, and a decades-old discovery that upends a lonely woman’s carefully built life. Community & Books: Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur Alexander Debelov and Stefania Leão, behind the #1 “The Prayer: Rise with Jesus,” are handing out free copies in San Francisco’s Tenderloin—where readers are choosing the book first. Science-Fiction With Big Themes: Dr. Raghavan Jayakumar’s “Gods and God Particles: The Silence Equation” blends hard science fiction with authoritarianism, resistance, and a five-dimensional idea of harmony. Poetry Spotlight: Finishing Line Press publishes “Skeletons, Sequins, and Kin,” a debut chapbook by Wednesdae Reim Ifrach on trans self-becoming, body autonomy, and chosen family. War’s Toll on Publishing: Russian strikes hit Ranok publishing warehouses in Kharkiv, destroying millions of books and school textbooks, with damage estimated at about $24 million. AI & Academic Licensing: Princeton University Press partners with Cashmere to license catalog content for copyright-compliant AI platforms. Independent Book Trade: Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt says he’s using indie-store know-how to revive the big-box chain’s feel and selection. Rights & Representation: A UN-supported study backs a PhD thesis on harmful portrayals of albinism in modern and contemporary fiction.

AI Transparency Rules: The EU AI Act’s Article 50 kicked in Aug. 2, forcing clearer labeling for AI audio/video/text, emotion and biometric uses, and deepfakes in public-interest publishing. AI & Publishing Integrity: Editors at major literary and medical outlets say AI-written submissions are getting harder to spot, raising pressure to judge faster without losing quality. Copyright vs. Training Data: A judge-approved Anthropic settlement targets downloading books from pirate sites, even as training on copyrighted text remains broadly legal under fair use. Books & Libraries: A Library Company of Philadelphia acquisition includes clandestine 19th-century birth-control manuals kept hidden in tiny protective packaging. Children’s Reading for Loss: New picture books aim to help kids process grief and change, including stories about missing siblings and saying goodbye. Comics Solicits: Mythos Comics announced October 2026 launches for Magick and Vamp with full solicit details. Tabletop Industry: Gen Con 2026 highlighted major shifts at Wizards, Paizo, and Brotherwise—more crossovers and more open rule systems. Cultural Exchange: Kyrgyz-language publication rights for the first volume of The Governance of China under Xi Jinping were signed in Bishkek.

AI & Copyright: Anthropic’s $1.5B settlement approved by a US judge focuses on downloading books from pirate sites, not on whether AI training on copyrighted text is legal—while editors at major journals say they’re struggling to spot AI-written submissions. Destructive Scanning: A new report alleges “Project Panama” used industrial cutters and scanners to strip millions of physical books for AI training, raising fresh alarms for publishers and libraries. War on Books: Russian strikes hit a Kharkiv publishing warehouse, destroying millions of books and textbooks and disrupting Ukraine’s distribution network. Publishing Policy: South Korea is considering tax credits up to 30% for publishing production costs, aiming to ease financial pressure on publishers. Global Book Deals: Kyrgyz-language publication of the first volume of Xi Jinping’s “The Governance of China” signals continued state-backed translation and cultural exchange. Book Culture & Events: Taipei’s To-uat Books is hosting a Ghost Month-themed “Spirit of Books” bazaar with NGOs and independent publishers, while Kinokuniya reopens in LA’s Little Tokyo with a manga-forward push. Climate Reading: Journalist Fred Pearce’s “Despite it All” highlights green progress and why positive climate stories are finding an audience.

Ukrainian Publishing Under Fire: Russian drones hit a Kharkiv warehouse tied to Ranok and KnyhoLand, destroying millions of books and disrupting textbook supply for schools. AI & Books: ISBNdb quietly pulled its pitch to AI labs after reporting exposed how companies can buy, scan, and destroy physical books for training—without new legal brakes. Reading Boom in South Korea: Seoul’s book fair drew long lines as South Koreans in their 20s and 30s—also heavy generative AI users—push a renewed reading culture. Book Trade & Community: Kinokuniya reopened in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo with a bigger focus on Japanese pop culture, including manga. Cultural Events: Havana’s International Book Fair moves to a new venue in Vedado amid Cuba’s energy crisis, with the event still scheduled for August 10–16. Publishing Spotlight: A surge in print sales for Emily Wilson’s Odyssey translation follows Christopher Nolan’s film, showing how blockbuster adaptations can pull young readers back to classics. Memoir & Politics: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced a Sept. 22 memoir release and a 13-stop book tour. Tradwife Trend: “Yesteryear” keeps riding the tradwife wave, with major Hollywood interest growing around the genre. Comics Market Pulse: Marvel slightly closed the gap with DC in direct-market weekly market share, while “Queen In Black” led comic bestseller lists.

Comics Market Pulse: Marvel narrowed the gap with DC in the Comics Publisher Weekly Marketshare Chart, lifting weekly share to 29.06% while DC slipped to 37.91% in direct-market shop sales. Bestseller Watch: Terminal #1 topped the Top 400 bestselling comics list, helped by blind-bag momentum, while Absolute Batman #22 stayed in the top 20. Manga Licensing: Manga Mavericks Books licensed ZENZO’s ROYD and ONI KING for English digital releases, plus Ippan Nakamura’s Town Walking with Ghost Dog for print/digital in 2027. Posthumous Publishing Debate: A fresh look at whether publishing authors’ books after they die is ethical—framed by new releases and legacy questions. AI & Books: New reporting and commentary keep circling the same alarm: AI firms are scanning and destroying physical books for training, raising cultural and legal concerns. Education & Textbooks: Lawmakers push for a long-term plan to tackle textbook shortages, expanding the role of the National Book Development Board. International Book Rights: Hong Kong bookseller Mandy Lau’s case spotlights how national-security rules can chill sales of politically sensitive titles. Publishing Industry Moves: Bentham Science launched Current Surgical Endoscopy, a new peer-reviewed journal accepting submissions.

Textbook Supply Push: A Philippines lawmaker urged House action on HB 7868 to expand the National Book Development Board’s role in preparing and producing public school textbooks, aiming to tackle shortages beyond Metro Manila and Luzon. AI Copyright Clash: Authors and publishers are still fighting over whether AI training violates copyright, as Minotaur/Macmillan reportedly backed out of a $2.4M debut deal after “AI use” suspicions raised rights concerns. Publishing Labor Wins: Workers at Hachette Book Group and University of Chicago Press voted to unionize, adding momentum to a broader organizing surge across publishing. Comics Milestone: A Korean graphic novel, “Purgatory Funeral Cakes,” won the Eisner for Best US Edition of International Material-Asia—its first Korean win—highlighting translation power in global comics. Book World Notes: A 150-years-late library return in Australia (a Greek antiquities volume found behind a sealed fireplace) and a major anti-censorship award for Books & Books founder Mitchell Kaplan. Reading Culture & Deals: Restaurant Week continues to spread as a nationwide “try somewhere new” format, while bestseller lists spotlight fresh momentum for major translations and novels.