At least two major newspapers recently ran an AI-generated summer reading round up that featured several books that do not exist. The Philadelphia Inquirer (on May 15) and the Chicago Sun-Times (on May 18) both published a special insert, Heat Index: Your Best of Summer Guide, which included a list of 15 boks and brief descriptions. There are no publication records for nine of the listed books, including those by Isabel Allende, Andy Weir, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Min Jin Lee, Rumaan Alam, Rebecca Makkai, Maggie O’Farrell, Percival Everett, and Delia Owens. Confusingly, a few of the books at the end […]
Activist Takes Stake In Scholastic
Activist hedge fund Ananym Capital Management disclosed in a recent SEC 13F filing that they have acquired 4.8 percent of Scholastic’s common stock. They hold approximately 1.25 million shares. Scholastic’s stock has been trading at its lowest levels since the depths of the 2008-09 recession lately, to the point that management signaled a strategic review of the education solutions division and emphasized the value of their “non-operating assets that could be monetized, if and when the company chose to,” including the headquarters building in Soho and their three warehouses. Ananym says it “focuses on constructive, value-enhancing engagements with undervalued public […]
New Books Publishing May 20
This week’s fiction releases include books by Michael Connelly, Chris Pavone, Madeleine Thien, and Alison Bechdel, while new nonfiction includes work from Barry Diller, Karen Hao, Yiyun Li, and Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper. Also publishing this week are novels by Kristina McMorris, Fred Lunzer, and Mia Sheridan, all excerpted in our Buzz Books samplers. 28 works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-may-20 17 works of nonfiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-may-20 From Buzz Books https://buzz.publishersmarketplace.com/ We consult a number of sources in compiling our weekly lists and PM members can see our lists for the coming months on Bookshop. […]
Hardcovers Helped Book Sales Rebound in March
Book sales bounced back in March after a slump in February, growing 4 percent year over year to $652 million, according to the Association of American Publishers’ StatShot report. Adult books sold $454 in the month, growing 3 percent, with $250 million in fiction (up 1 percent) and $204 million in nonfiction (up 6 percent). Hardcovers drove the lift, selling $454 million–a 21 percent jump from the same period last year–while paperbacks sold $151 million, ebooks registered $74.8 million, and digital audio accounted for $69.9 million. Children’s and YA book sales grew 7 percent to $198 million, with $160 million […]
People 5/20
The Strand Will Take Over Last Shakespeare & Co. Location
The Strand will take over Shakespeare & Co.’s last remaining location at 2020 Broadway between 69th and 70th as of June 1. In March, Shakespeare & Co. closed its two other stores on West 105th Street and Broadway and at 939 Lexington Avenue, citing rising costs and rent, but claiming that the Lincoln Square location remained “open and thriving.” Shakespeare and Co. booksellers and baristas will remain employed by The Strand. Nancy Bass Wyden, owner of The Strand, said, “Shakespeare & Co. has been an invaluable and treasured resource on the West Side since the 1980s and in 2018 opened […]