Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.
Creative Writing Grant by NEA Has Ended
AI Legal Cases on Stealing Author’s IP Continue
Changes in Publishing Over the Last 10 Years
BOTM and How They Have Survived 100 Years in Publishing
A Record Attendance at Edinburgh International Book Festival
Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.
Boston Library Uses AI for Archives
Self-Publishing Company Opus is Thriving
Schools Starting to See Book Ban Effects
Taylor Swift’s Bookshelf in “Life of a Showgirl” Announcement
Why Writers Should NOT Use AI for Research
Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.
US Users Now Have Spotify’s ‘Audiobooks Plus’
Trump is Warned on His IP Being Stolen by AI
The Trend of ‘Bookshelf Wealth’ Is Nothing New
How NEA Grant Changes Are Affecting Small Presses
Official Launch of the National Association of Black Bookstores is Here
PEOPLE
At Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, Robin Bermel has joined as backlist & brand director. Bermel previously led brand efforts for NavPress Publishing. Savana Bishop joined as associate marketing manager. She was previously at Portfolio Books.
At Macmillan, Cinthia Andrade has joined as manager, social media content, central marketing. Cordia Leung has joined as a contracts associate. Jenni Surasky has joined as designer. Oui Wong has joined as a director of finance.
At Union Square & Co, Erica Gelbard joins as executive director of publicity. She was previously at Chronicle. Nicole Fisher joins as senior editor for cookbooks and lifestyle books. She was previously deputy director at Hearst Books. Eric Geron joins as senior editor for licensed books. He was previously senior editor at Insight Editions.
At Catapult Book Group, Shane Hawk will join as a contributing editor, focusing primarily on the Counterpoint list, and will acquire fiction and nonfiction by Native writers.
At Sourcebooks, Cristina Cushing has joined in the new role of director of sales strategy. She was previously at Macmillan.
At Chronical, Erynn Im-Sato has joined as senior sales manager, Amazon and digital. Allyn Savage has joined as trade sales coordinator.
At Chronicle Books, Emily Paik has joined as sales, marketing, and publicity assistant. Jennifer Bravo has a social media assistant.
At Adams Media, Cindy Tran has joined as marketing associate. She was previously marketing assistant at Hackett Publishing.
At Abrams, Erik Cruz has joined as senior financial analyst. Randy Odaga has joined as e-commerce channel manager.
At The Story Division, Arielle Jovellanos has joined as illustration and creative lead. Leah Persaud has been named managing editor. She was previously at Penguin Random House Canada. Steffie Davis, publishing director, is additionally taking on the role of leading the new rapid-response Publishing911 Studio.
At Alcove Press and Crooked Lane Books, Katie McGuire joins as editor, focusing on romantasy, romance, sci-fi/fantasy, and horror.
At ABA, Lauren Ciborski has joined as chief financial officer.
At Indiana University Press, Heather Lengyel has joined as rights and permissions manager.
At Sarabande Books, Michelle Malonzo has joined as director of marketing and sales.
At ReaderLink, Alexandra Rauchfuss has joined as demand planner. Matthew Lowe has joined as senior SQL server database administrator.
At Created Humans, Julie MacKay has joined as head of business development. She was previously senior lead of audiobook strategy at Audible.
At Amazon Publishing, Hayley Weaver joins as acquisition editor at Montlake and Amazon Publishing. She was previously at Grand Central Publishing.
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In Agency News…
At SteelWorks Literary, Faith Lane has joined as agency assistant.
At Transatlantic Agency, Noelle Falcis Math has been promoted to literary agent.
At The Future of Agency, Bridget Kearney has joined as operations manager.
At Marjacq Scripts, Sonny Marr has joined as a primary agent looking after commercial fiction and non-fiction. He was previously an independent agent.
At Harvey Klinger, Grace Demyan has joined as an associate agent, specializing in adult and YA sci-fi, fantasy, and romance. She was previously at Rosecliff Literary.
At David Black Agency, Mark Tavani has been named vice president, business strategy.
At Aevitas Creative Management, Kevin Hanson joins as an agent. He was most recently president and publisher at Simon & Schuster Canada.
At Cottage Door Press, Sean Hayes has joined as EVP of sales. He was previously SVP of sales at VTech.
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PROMOTIONS
At Penguin Random House, Marisa Melendez is promoted to assistant production director, supporting Vintage. Lisa Brown has been promoted to director, finance and operation. Jeri Castro has been promoted to senior associate, production, supporting Berkley. Daniel Brount has been promoted to senior designer. Heather Haase has been promoted to associate managing editor. Jenny Ko has been promoted to sales director, client sales. Jamie Sterner has been promoted to senior manager, client sales.
At Random House Children’s, Stacey Sundar has been promoted to administrator, creative services and resources, for the art department. Haley Brown has been promoted to junior production designer, reprint and proprietary design.
At PRH Corporate Bookmaking Department, Madeline Rohlin has been promoted to associate production director, supporting Viking. Gunjal Patel has been promoted to managing editor, supporting Penguin Young Readers. Diane Hobbing and Liz Eno have been promoted to assistant director, art/design, supporting the Random House Publishing Group and PRH Christian Publishing. Aly D’Amato to executive managing editor. Ali Wagner has been promoted to senior production associate. Chanler Harris has been promoted to production associate. Nathalie Mairena has been promoted to production associate.
At Penguin Publishing Group, Heather Mill has been promoted to associate director of backlist publicity. Cassier Marini has been promoted to associate manager of backlist publishing.
At Penguin Workshop, Lynn Portnoff has been promoted to VP and executive art director. Mary Claire Cruz has been promoted to senior art director.
At Macmillian, Kemi Umogbai has been promoted to VP of finance. Kleopatra Benyam has been promoted to senior director of finance.
At Arctis Books USA, Nic Lyons has been promoted to marketing manager.
At Chronicle, Emily Malter has been promoted to sales manager, ecommerce and digital merchandising. Mirabelle Korn has been promoted to senior editor, art & entertainment. Sarah Hamilton has been promoted to senior designer, brand design. Emma Hill has been promoted to associate marketing manager, children’s.At Sourcebooks Landmark, Liv Turner has been promoted to associate editor.
At Pamela Dorman, Natalie Grant has been promoted to assistant editor.
At Harper and Harper Perennial, Liz Velez has been promoted to associate editor.
At HarperCollins Christian, Laura Wheeler has been promoted to senior acquisitions editor.
At Bookshop, Daniel Berkowitz has been promoted to VP.
At Avery Books and Tarcher, Viviana Moreno has been promoted to publicist. Carla Iannone has been promoted to senior marketing manager. Abby Stubenhofer has been promoted to senior marketing associate.
At Candlewick Press, Holiday House, and Peachtree, Saskia den Boon has been promoted to marketing coordinator, school and library.
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DULY NOTED
Library Journal, School Library Journal, and The Horn Book – Media Source Inc. has reorganized its media group “to reflect a renewed emphasis on editorial excellence, cross-brand collaboration, and a commitment to addressing the long-term needs of the communities it serves.” Group publisher Rebecca T. Miller and editor-in-chief of SLJ Kathy Ishizuka, (who was also partnerships & innovation director at LJ & SLJ) will both leave the company as a result of the restructuring.
DK announced a restructuring internally and will lay off an unspecified number of people across different teams and departments, the Bookseller reports. Reasons cited include a decline in education and translation markets, as well as backlist; inflation; and high costs. While the total number of job cuts is not specified, the reductions are significant enough that the company will engage in consultation with unions as well as individual employees, due to “the number of roles impacted.”
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EVENTS
August 13-17th
World Science Fiction Convention
Seattle, WA
August 13-23rd
Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference
Ripton, VT
August 14-15th
Durham Children’s Book Festival
Durham, ENG
August 30th
New York, NY
Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.
A Closer Look at NPR and It’s Influence on Book Sales
AAP’s May StatShot- US Trade Revenue Down 7.5%
US E-Book Sales Continue to Flatline
The Prevalence of Fan Fiction in Traditional Publishing
How Book Culture Will Withstand Generative AI
Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.
The Trump Slump, Second Term Sees Lackluster Book Sales
From TBR to Design Inspo, How Book Deocor Became a Business
McGraw Hill Raises $415 Million in US IPO
Can You Guess The Most Popular Book By State?
AI Book Market Sees More Than 30% Growth
PEOPLE
At Simon & Schuster, Ricki Blaustein has joined as adult demand planning coordinator. Kayah Hodge has joined as digital marketing associate. She was previously a marketing assistant at Macmillan.
At Penguin Random House, Annette Kiesow has joined Random House Children’s Books as photo editor for National Geographic Kids. At PRH Christian, Emily Loper has joined as marketing designer, and Olivia Peitsch has joined as assistant director of marketing. At Crown, Elora Weil has joined as senior publicity manager. She was previously a senior publicist at Knopf.
At Macmillan, Jessica Thurber has joined Macmillan Audio as publicist.
At Scholastic, Milena Alberti and Anne Clarke Wolff have been appointed to the board as independent directors. Directors John L. Davies and David J. Young have stepped down.
At Open Road Integrated Media, Hema Sukhram has joined as senior accountant.
At Ingram, Giuliana Caranante, formerly director of marketing and publicity at Quarto, has joined as director of marketing and e-commerce.
At Steerforth & Pushkin Press, Frankie Karnedy has joined as marketing and sales operations manager.
At Zando, Ava Shaffer has joined as editorial assistant for Slowburn and Original Development. Tiffani Ren is joining as marketing manager.
At Tin House, Laura Schmitt is joining as editorial assistant.
At Baker Publishing Group, Jennifer Guo has joined Baker Academic as acquisitions associate. Kristen Padilla has joined as acquisitions editor.
At Page One Media, Bella Gibb has joined as publicity and marketing assistant.
At Haymarket Books, Michelle Betters has joined as senior publicist. She was previously at Verso.
At Arcadia Publishing, Melody Beacher has joined as COO.
At Poets & Writers, author Christina Baker Kline and EVP, chief legal officer at Penguin Random House Anke Steinecke have joined the board of directors.
At Medill Books, Agate Publishing will pair with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications to publish reported nonfiction books written by journalists, starting in late 2026.
At the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, AWP made Michelle Aielli executive director of the organization as of July 1. They previously served as interim executive director since September 2024. Prior to joining, Aielli was VP and publishing director at Hachette Books.
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In Agency News…
At Regal Hoffmann & Associates, Paul Lucas has joined as literary agent.
At K. Co Press, Lauren Owens has joined K. Co Press as its 2025 editorial fellow.
At KO Media Management, Veronica Grijalva has been promoted to literary agent for foreign language works. She will also continue her role as international licensing manager.
At MacGregor & Luedeke Collaborative, Bethany Jett has joined as literary agent. She was previously at the C.Y.L.E. Agency.
At Franklin & Siegal Associates, President Todd R. Siegal will retire at the end f 2025 after 39 years in book scouting. Danny Yanez will take over as president on January 1 and the agency will be renamed Franklin Siegal & Yanez.
At Laura Dail Literary Agency, Aashna Avachat has joined as an associate agent.
At Talcott Notch Literary Services, Nadia Lynch, junior agency and agency coordinator, will be assuming the additional role of agency author event liaison.
At Jackson Literary Agency, author and literary agent Michelle Jackson has launched her own agency. Sobi Burbano has joined as an associate agent.
At Jaberwocky, Sam Morgan has rejoined the agency, in a new position as their first book-to-film rights agent. Most recently he was at The Lotts Agency before taking a hiatus from publishing.
At Ampersand Agency, Katie Blagden and Abigail Fenton have joined as agents. Blagden was previously at the Bright Agency and Fenton was previously editorial director at HQ Digital and a freelance editor.
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PROMOTIONS
At Penguin Random House, Mary Baker and Candice Coote have been promoted to associate editor at Berkley. Lauren Stuart has been promoted to assistant editor at Random House Books for Young Readers. At Putnam, Shina Patel has been promoted to senior marketing manager. At PRH Corporate Bookmaking, Stephen Ryan has been promoted to publishing manager, Paul Gilbert has been promoted to senior managing editor, and Toni Marotta has been promoted to senior manager. Toni Marotta will also be the senior manager at KDPG Production.
At Hachette Book Group, Michael Coulter has been promoted to editor at Union Square & Co..
At HarperCollins, Michelle Lecumberry is being promoted to senior marketing manager at William Morrow. Danielle Yadao has been promoted to associate director or marketing. Shannon Cox has been promoted to manager, marketing. Kelly Haberstroh has been promoted to publicist. Paige Pagan has been promoted to assistant editor for Clarion Books. Gretchen Schmid has been promoted to senior marketing manager. Alfredo Fee has been promoted to associate editor at Harper Via. Julia Negrete has been promoted to associate editor at Harper Collins Español.
At Sourcebooks, Valerie Pierce has been promoted to VP, independent sales and retail marketing.
At Ingram, Devyn Nance has been promoted to senior manager of digital marketing.
At Baker Publishing Group, Dustyn Elizabeth Keepers has been promoted to acquisitions editor at Baker Academic.
At New Directions, Declan Spring has been promoted to executive vice president. Christopher Wait has been promoted to VP, director of subrights and permissions, and editor. Tynana Kogane has been promoted to editor in chief. Mieke Chew has been promoted to executive director of publicity and senior editor. Maya Solovej has been promoted to publicity manager and associate editor. Oliver Preston has been promoted to production associate.
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DULY NOTED
NYU School of Professional Studies opened registration for its Third Annual NYU Advanced Publishing Institute, a five-day immersive executive education program, taking place January 5-9, 2026. Click here to register
HarperCollins announced that it will acquire the French and German based manga publishing operations of Crunchyroll. The transaction is set to close in the second half of 2025. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The team will be led by senior publishing director Hideki Iyama-Desseigne, who will report to Chantal Restivo-Alessi, CEO of international foreign language publishing at HarperCollins. The day-to-day operations will be supported by HarperCollins France and HarperCollins Germany.
Berkley and Penguin Children’s are partnering to launch Berkley Crossover (Berkley XO), “a boutique imprint publishing titles with crossover appeal for both adult and young adult readers”. The imprint will publish 10 titles a year.
In Memoriam
Katie Cunningham, the children’s book publisher of Nosy Crow Inc. and former associate publisher of Candlewick Press, died on July 4th following complications from ovarian cancer. She was 43. . In lieu of flowers, her family has suggested donations in Katie’s memory to the Pan Mass Challenge: Katie’s Ride, Team Ovarian Cancer, MGH Cancer Center, or the Center for Coastline Studies. Memories of Katie, which are being compiled to share with her family, friends, and colleagues, may be emailed here.
Sophie Stabile, CFO of Lagardere, died on July 16th after a longtime illness. She was 55.
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EVENTS
July 18- August 3rd
Lima, PE
July 24-27th
San Diego, CA
July 24-27th
Writer’s Digest Annual Conference
Linthicum Heights, MD
July 30th
Lambda Literary Awards Finalist Announcement
Jul 30th- Aug 3rd
Paraty International Literary Festival (FLIP)
Paraty, BR
Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.
The Truth Behind The Endless “Kids Can’t Read” Conversation
The Salt Path’s Slippery Slope As Penguin Random House Says It Did “All Necessary Diligence”
Is The Art of Audio Narration At Risk To AI?
Did You Know There’s Still Time To Take Action And Save The IMLS?
Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.
The Fanfiction Foundations Behind Today’s Romantasy Debuts
Writers Call on Publishing Houses to Commit to Human-Only Content
Bookstore Owners Exit South Dakota Over Anti-Trans Legislation
Which Kindle Should You Buy in 2025?
AI Firm Wins Partial Victory in Copyright Lawsuit Over Book Use
