AGP Executive Report

Bookstores & Publishing: Barnes & Noble opened a new Loop location in Chicago, while a long-shuttered Gold Coast building tied to the chain is being demolished. Library Access & Ebooks: Amazon is tightening Kindle rules for library loans, blocking an old “airplane mode” workaround by requiring Wi‑Fi to verify overdue checkouts. LGBTQ History & Preservation: San Francisco’s historic preservation body backed landmarking North Beach LGBTQ sites, while another proposed venue landmark plan was shelved. Local Authors & Community Reading: Callie Murray’s WWII-era historical fiction “The Brunswick” is drawing strong local interest in Norcross, and a Black-owned indie shop in Fort Worth is spotlighted through a monthlong bookstore crawl tied to literacy events. Awards & Children’s Lit: Picture book creators Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan won major New Zealand Book Awards honors again for “A Guide to Rocks.” Education Policy: UT Austin unveiled a major core curriculum revamp, and Colorado released CMAS results showing math gains but uneven literacy progress. AI & Writing: Harvard’s writing center closure is sparking backlash over what it signals for human writing in the AI era.

Publishing & Rights: Knopf will publish Sonia Gandhi’s 544-page memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love on Nov. 10 in hardcover/ebook, with audio from Penguin Random House and an announced first printing of 100,000 copies. Global Book Fairs: Abu Dhabi International Book Fair returns Sept. 13–18 under “Turn the Page, Read the World,” with the Balkans as Guest of Honour and Don Quixote as “Book of the World.” Industry Moves: Bonnier is shutting Ithaka Press, ending its narrative non-fiction and translation imprint as Footnote pivots exclusively to fiction. Digital Distribution: Bookwire and Dutch distributor CB expanded their partnership, with CB moving digital distribution operations to Bookwire OS. Translation & Culture: Korea’s Literature Translation Institute marks its 30th anniversary with a two-day global translators’ conference Aug. 28–29, including panels on translation craft, training, and AI’s impact. Community & Libraries: A West Arlington fire destroyed businesses including Folklore Grove Bookstore; meanwhile, libraries keep programming—like “Third Thursdays Health & Wellness” at Avon Park Public Library.

Book Industry & Tech: A 404 Media investigation says Amazon has been buying rare books in bulk, cutting them apart, scanning pages, and destroying the leftovers to train AI—raising fears about what could happen to truly scarce volumes. Publishing & Reader Access: J-Novel Club rolled out a subscription refresh with clearer plan names and a redesigned Subscriptions page, saying pricing and plans stay the same. Libraries & Community Reading: Mono County Free Libraries received a Save the Children US grant boosting its youth and children’s book budget by 50%, aiming to expand inclusive Spanish and bilingual collections. Bookstores & Retail: Barnes & Noble opened a new Loop location in Chicago with three floors of books, music, and gifts, plus author signings. Local Book Culture: LitNite’s “The Greeks: Epic Odyssey to the Birth of Western Civilization” returns as a community seminar-style event ahead of its Aug. 27 run. Education & Lifelong Learning: Shenandoah University pilots a no-homework, no-exams lifelong learning program for adults 60+ to attend select courses alongside undergrads.

Publishing Losses & Accountability: Bonnier Books UK says it will stop publishing true-crime author Christopher Berry-Dee after a Guardian investigation, terminating all agreements. Book Trade & Retail: HMV is hiring a books team and rejoining the Booksellers Association, aiming to turn the high street store into a books destination. Local Book Culture: Pace’s new romance-focused shop, Nook & Quill, opens with new/used titles plus local-author events. Community & Literacy Events: Taiwan and South Korea expand library ties with book donations and a cooperation deal, including Taiwan Corner support. AI, Reading, and Education: A New Hampshire task force moves to study screen time in schools after a phone ban, while another report argues YA fiction should reflect teens’ digital realities. Rights, Safety, and Platforms: India’s government tells Meta there’s “no safe harbour” for CSAM violations and presses for more culturally tuned moderation. Literary News: Poet Marra PL. Lanot, who wrote in English, Filipino, and Spanish, dies at 82. Writer-in-Residence: Applications open for the Heaney-Miłosz Residency 2027 in Kraków, with a deadline of Sept. 28, 2026.

Publishing & AI: A new report says AI-written books are flooding Amazon, with research finding about half of 2025 books sold there containing AI-generated text—up sharply from 2023—raising fresh questions for authors and readers. Copyright & Generative Tools: A legal explainer argues copyright still hinges on human authorship and on what was copied, how it was obtained, and whether it harms real markets—so the “all AI is free” idea doesn’t hold up. Book Industry & Tech: Libro.fm expands to offer e-books, while HarperCollins prepares a big manga push as AI speeds up translation. Local Book Culture: Lenox’s bookstore plans two author evenings; a new community shop opens in Red Hook; and a downtown Avondale Estates development is building a “gathering place” that includes a bookstore. Book Bans & School Reading: Peoria Unified removed multiple books about people of color from K-8 classes, citing anti-DEI rules and age-appropriateness concerns. Community Events: Poetry in Parks returns to Lake Tahoe with free readings, music, and live art.

Publishing & Culture Loss: Marra PL. Lanot, a multi-awarded titan of Philippine literature and an MTRCB board member, died Aug. 16 at 82, remembered for Palanca-winning poetry and essays and for championing gender sensitivity and responsible media. AI & Books: New Zealand booksellers report suspicious overseas bulk orders for older non-fiction, raising fears they’re being used to train AI by ingesting book content. Tech for Agriculture: Chinese researchers unveiled “Fengshu 2.0,” a soybean-focused AI model that blends genomic data and both domestic and international literature to support data-assisted breeding. Rights & Expression: JSMM leader Shafi Burfat condemned the alleged arrest and enforced disappearance of Sindhi activist Arzoo Sindhi over India Independence Day greetings. Global Book Fairs: Qatar’s Ministry of Culture is taking part in the Istanbul International Arabic Book Fair, with Syria as guest of honour under “The Story Continues.” Language Preservation: UNESCO and IBBY launched an initiative to protect endangered languages through selected books for education and culture. Industry Moves: Olivier Nora, formerly Grasset chief at Hachette Livre, has launched his own publishing house in France. Book Trade & Access: A Supreme Court petition asks for action against social media “distortion” of what judges actually say in court.

Community Literacy Push: Lead to Read KC marks its 15th anniversary with a metro-wide KC Book Drive running through Aug. 23, partnering with 15 independent bookstores to collect new/like-new kids’ books (including Spanish and dual-language titles) for reading mentoring and “Reading Is Everywhere,” after distributing 56,000 books last year. Local Author & Book Events: Iowa City’s One of Us horror literary showcase returns Sept. 5 at Public Space One with 20+ Midwest creators and publishers, including Filthy Loot Press and Pulitzer winner Daniel Kraus. Book Culture Beyond Borders: A webinar explores how Nepali diaspora writing reshapes the Nepali literary sphere, tracing themes of ambivalence and shifting bases across South Asia. Publishing & Business: MindStir Media vs. BookBaby compares self-publishing approaches, with MindStir emphasizing mentoring and marketing beyond production services. Arts Funding Watch: New Zealand literature funding gets a smaller slice of Creative NZ’s pie than other arts, despite strong reader interest. New Releases & Covers: DC’s Absolute Cassandra Cain: The Shadow’s Hand #1 gets a manga-inspired variant cover. Book-to-Community Moments: West Shore Community College expands its 2026-27 Performing Arts Series with an author lecture by Bruce Holsinger and a Beatles tribute show.

Higher-Ed Policy: The University of Michigan plans to hide first-semester freshmen grades (showing “pass” or “no credit” instead of letter grades) starting fall 2027, aiming to ease mental-health strain. Book Culture & Community: A new QR-code Parsha book, Ohr Chazaq on the Parsha, pairs weekly Torah portions with short video teachings—built for people who “stopped reading.” Publishing & Events: The 11th Istanbul International Arabic Book Fair opens with “The Story Continues,” featuring 300+ publishers and Qatar’s Ministry of Culture as a major participant. Libraries Under Pressure: Massachusetts moves to protect local control of school and municipal libraries amid a surge in book challenges. Literature & Life: Danielle Crittenden’s memoir Dispatches from Grief explores the long, unhealed reality of losing a child. Tech & Reading: A new wave of “AI-powered design” tools is being questioned for mixing up two very different tasks—layout planning vs. photorealistic rendering. Local Picks: West Hollywood’s “Nazim & Friends” group art show opens Sunday at Plummer Park, presented by a Russian-language library.

Pakistani Culture in Qatar: Beit Al-Sulaiti (Qatar’s Ministry of Culture) hosted a heritage event for the Pakistani community, with art exhibitions, Mughal-era prints, poetry, live music, and pottery—aimed at cultural exchange for expatriates. Fraud in Publishing & Research: A science integrity specialist describes “paper mills” that sell fake authorship and research outputs via messaging apps, with the median price for authorship around $800. AI and Higher Ed: Harvard researcher Christopher Dede says colleges are preparing students to “lose to AI” by focusing on cheating prevention instead of teaching skills to work alongside AI. Literature & Community Events: Nepal’s House Speaker pledged to preserve and promote literature, art, and culture; meanwhile, a London Arabic bookshop removed Arabic copies of Mein Kampf after backlash. Books on the Move: A portable romance bookstore truck in Los Angeles/Long Beach turns reading into walking-and-friendship events for women. Fantasy Publishing Buzz: Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere keeps expanding, with Stormlight RPG campaign news and Heroes Of The Lost Desolation slated for early 2027.

Bookish “third spaces” in the spotlight: Laufey’s “A Very Laufey Day” is back for its fourth year, sending fans to museums, bookstores, cafes and concert venues across 75 cities in 25 countries—an arts-first way to turn a music fandom into real-world community. Local bookstore wins big: Mayo’s “Books at One” marks its 10th anniversary with a crowd-powered festival weekend, golden-ticket surprises, and author events that underline how indie shops keep becoming community hubs. Kids’ literature meets healthcare: Aoife’s Clown Doctors trained with vocal improvisation experts to bring playful, spontaneous music and storytelling to hospital wards in Mayo and Galway—joy as a publishing-adjacent mission. Independence Day reading culture: Google’s India Independence Day Doodle celebrates traditional textiles, while multiple pieces tie 15 August to freedom-memory and Partition reflection. AI in classrooms: Google expands Gemini access in Google Classroom for K-12 students, letting learners generate study aids and images—another publishing-and-learning shift to watch. Literary culture & awards: Pakistan’s President Zardari approved civil awards for 355 people, including writers and journalists, while a Cambridge scandal piece spotlights academic celebrity’s risks.

Higher Ed & Campus Life: University of West Florida kicks off fall classes Monday with “controlled growth” and a 1% enrollment bump, plus full residence halls and its strongest freshman class on record. Queer Books & Access: In Boone, North Carolina, Iron Orchid Tattoos reopens with a rainbow-themed shop, The Littlest Gay Bookshop, aiming to get queer titles into kids’ hands when schools and libraries fall short. Oxford Bound: A Bracknell teen celebrates A-level results and an Oxford place to study English language and literature. Publishing & Culture: Venezuelan poet José Javier Sánchez presents “From being language to not being forgotten” at the Havana Book Fair, strengthening Venezuela–Cuba literary ties. Book Trade & AI: New Book Authors Publishing warns authors and readers about AI-generated misinformation and “hallucination” risks. Retail & Community: Barnes & Noble opens a new store in Stillwater, drawing early lines and local signings. Censorship Fight: “The Librarians” documentary spotlights ongoing battles over banned books in school libraries. Tech & Reading Habits: A study finds Americans speak about 28% fewer daily words than in 2005—another sign of shifting communication culture. Literary Events: Ladakh launches a nine-day book festival in Leh with 75 publishers and multilingual stalls.

Publishing Deals: Canongate pre-empted Adrian Edmondson’s novel; Hutchinson Heinemann snapped up Olivia Wood’s debut Love, All Love; Peepal Tree Press acquired Gillian Slovo’s thriller Inheritance; and 4th Estate won Patrick deWitt’s Dodge City in a nine-way auction. Book Industry & Access: Ukraine’s Cabinet set a way to pause new applications for its state eBook program once funds hit a cap. Libraries Under Pressure: An Arizona couple faces charges after allegedly stealing hundreds of Mesa Public Library books and reselling them to a bookstore. Local Book Culture: UTA’s student-run Saxbys opens inside the bookstore, giving students hands-on management experience. Education & Curriculum: Delhi University dropped a Delhi Sultanate paper and other history topics from its revised PG syllabus. Reading & Society: A piece on House of the Dragon argues the show still struggles with strong female characters. Tech & Books: Apple says it’s sending iPhone lock-screen alerts to users targeted by Pegasus-like mercenary spyware.

Book Culture & Community: NYPL’s first citywide Big Summer Book Club ends Aug. 17 with a free Central Park finale at the Delacorte Theater featuring N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became—tickets are required and distributed via lottery and in-person pickup. Publishing & Sales Data: Circana BookScan’s July 2026 Top 20 shows Spider-Man: Brand New Day leading superhero graphic novels, with DC dominating the list (15 titles). New Releases: Palmetto Publishing releases Glenn S. Wrightson’s debut Through Ed Dempsey’s Eyes: A Matter of Thorny Justice, while Yale Strom’s The Autobiography of the Offenbacher brings Jewish history to life through a violin narrator. Libraries in Motion: Mary Wood Weldon Memorial Library in Glasgow closes Aug. 13–31 for its first full inventory since 2004, with ebooks and online audio continuing. Indie Book World: Berkeley’s Dark Carnival bookstore marks 50 years, surviving multiple near-closures since opening in 1976. Industry Watch: Kadokawa announces English-language release of Record of Lodoss War: Queen of Death webtoon across major platforms.

Publishing Deals: WH Allen bought 60 Minutes reporters Michael Rey and Oriana Zill de Granados’ The Havana Syndrome, Penguin Michael Joseph acquired former SAS officer Tom Petch’s Made by the SAS, Oneworld snapped up Ty Landers’ Baby Queen (HBO option), and Merky Books took Cerise Jackson’s Anime Unleashed. Book Industry Woes: The Society of Authors is stepping in after a self-publishing support business collapsed, leaving authors facing unpaid royalties “in limbo.” New Voices: Firehorse named Farah Rahman and AJ Pinehill winners of its 2026 New Novel Competition. Festivals & Events: Durham Book Festival unveiled a starry 2026 line-up including Neil Tennant and Susanna Clarke; Ilkley Lit Festival also announced its 2026 programme with Simon Armitage. Global Culture: China and Nigeria signed a film and literature cooperation deal, with major cultural figures attending. Education & Reading Culture: Colorado Mountain College chose Shelley Read’s Go as a River as its 2026 Common Reader.

AI & Publishing Policy: Authors are getting hit with AI-fueled scam emails that mimic major publishers, and publishers are warning writers to watch for fraud—plus a separate debate asks for transparent AI policies so creators can set clear boundaries. Book Industry & Retail: Independent bookstores keep expanding and renovating—like Jack Backers College Bookstore’s major facelift and new community-focused shops blending books with food and events. Tech in Education: A Pennsylvania district is scaling back classroom screen time and buying more hard-copy materials, reflecting growing parent and educator pushback on digital learning. Rights & Censorship: Kashmir reports book bans and forfeitures tied to alleged extremist-linked “literature,” while other regions debate how to handle radical content. Culture & Literature Events: A Pinocchio illustration exhibition opens in Tallinn, and “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” heads to Santa Cruz. Health, Food & Reading Culture: Separate studies and reviews keep circling back to diet and wellness—while local arts grants and reading initiatives highlight how communities use books to build connection.

Rights & Deals: Harvill snapped up Emma Hine’s “sweeping, post-Earth” space epic; Choc Lit signed Abi May to a three-book deal; Scribe won a four-way auction for Jan Rosenow’s “urgent blueprint” Electrostates; Brazen will publish Sara Sehdev’s feminist whodunnit; Quercus acquired Jimmy Carr’s On Jokes. Publishing Business: The US publishing industry grew 2.5% in 2025 to about $33.4bn, per AAP’s StatShot. Book Culture & Retail: A new indie comeback story: Bookdragon’s Lair is back with 20,000 titles and community events; Singapore’s Lifted Trax opened as a niche record store with an online catalogue. Reading & Community: “Rang De Basanti” uses poetry to engage Gen Z in Prayagraj, aiming for a constructive message beyond fear. Tech & Authorship: OpenAI’s Brad Lightcap exits after 8 years, while “Stake Skills” argues people must still answer for AI-assisted work. Health & Food (science notes): Reviews link Mediterranean-style eating patterns to brain health; ultraprocessed additives may disrupt the gut barrier; and a nut meta-analysis suggests a handful a day could lower hypertension risk.