Publishers Weekly

The bookstore proprietors of today are putting inclusivity first, building communities, and opening up shop in unexpected places.

The heads of the Independent Book Publishers Association, Independent Publishers Caucus, and PubWest share their insights on the challenges and opportunities in independent publishing today.

This spring has come with its fair share of excellent debut novels. Here are three more, for your reading pleasure.

After nine of the 10 longlisted authors for this year's PEN/Jean Stein Book Award withdrew their books for consideration for the prize, effectively rendering it unawardable, the PEN America board executive committee "charged a working group of authors and scholars to review PEN’s work—not just over the last six months, but indeed, going back a decade.”

Read on for news about Paw Prints new series of books tied to 'Fraggle Rock,' Hasbro's anniversary-related publishing programs, PAW Patrol at 10 years old, a Bluey YouTube series that brings licensed books to life, an IndyCar license for start-up publisher Red Racer Books, a new agency specializing in intellectual property development, publishing, and licensing, and more.

The Professional Booksellers School has educated nearly 1,000 booksellers since it was launched in 2021, and has recently rolled out new self-study courses as well as “Bookstore Year One,” a year-long program designed to provide mentorship for new bookstore owners.

The Penguin Random House district sales manager, who handles indie bookstores from Pennsylvania through North Carolina, is celebrated for her personal touch.

Davis, her husband Julius Tennon, and publisher Lavaille Lavette are launching JVL Media, a new publisher and packager focused on diverse and underrepresented voices.

The winners of the 36th annual Triangle Awards, which honor the year’s best LGBTQ fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and trans literature published in 2023, were honored at a celebration held at the New School in New York City on April 17.

In the past decade, Writer’s Block, which sells new books for both adults and children, has become a literary hub of the Greater Orlando metro area.

For the second time in less than a year, Barnes & Noble Education has reached a last-minute agreement that provides the company with the liquidity it needs to continue to operate.

Launched earlier this year, PW Content Studio is devoted to creating new experiences and offerings for the professional publishing community, including custom content and events. Murray has been with 'Publishers Weekly' for 25 years, most recently serving as v-p of sales and associate publisher.

The Red Balloon, founded in 1984 in St. Paul, Minn., specializes in books for children of all ages. It has been a community gathering space for decades.

Mirchandani, who has been editor-in-chief of Picador in the U.K. since 2019, has been named publisher of the U.K. arm of the newly revived Simon & Schuster imprint.

The Ingram sales rep “represents a dizzying array of imprints” and is “a tireless partner in smoothing hitches in the supply chain,” according to one bookseller partner.

Sales fell at 69% of responding retailers in 2023 compared with 2022, with sales of new comics periodicals down at 73% of responding comic shops and graphic novel sales down at 65%.

A return to doing industry research and broadening the organization's ties to such industry key players as literary agents and authors are part of the Book Industry Study Group's new three-year initiative.

The report, 'Banned in the USA: Narrating the Crisis,' reports 4,349 book bans recorded from July to December 2023, with more book bans recorded during the first half of the current school year than in all of the last school year.

In a Bologna Book Fair session called "Dead Bunnies and Naked Bottoms: Meeting the Challenges of Children's Publishing Across Cultures," moderator Maria Russo led a discussion on international picture book successes, obstacles, and taboos.

Bethany House to publish Way Church co-founder Noah Herrin's book on manhood, Tyndale takes bestselling author Jim Cymbala's book of devotions, and more.