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Legal
- What authors need to know about loan-out companies and copyright termination: If your LLC is named on your publishing contracts, then it could affect your ability to terminate a publishing agreement under US copyright law. Learn more from the Authors Guild.
- Publishers sue pirate site WeLib. WeLib is essentially another version of Anna’s Archive, except that it charges for quicker access to files. Notably, Anna’s Archive remains accessible, although it has to keep changing domain names due to increased legal pressure. This is a game of Whac-A-Mole. Read Jim Milliot at Publishers Weekly.
Libraries
- Manga is the hot category on library shelves. It’s particularly enlightening to read about this trend in the context of the Authors Guild study mentioned above. While ebooks can be expensive, manga publishers often offer libraries special deals. And what gets shelf priority isn’t necessarily new releases but the classics. Read Brigid Alverson at Publishers Weekly.
- Who’s filling in the gap after the closure of Baker & Taylor? The answer is: many providers. Some of the new services offer ways to decrease patron hold times for digital books. Read Nathalie op de Beeck at Publishers Weekly.
Culture & Politics
- Why is there a bookstore boom if literacy is in decline? Part of the reason: Romance bookstores in particular are flourishing. But also: People are seeking community and social interaction. Read Ellen O’Connell Whittet at Lit Hub.
- The latest literary phenomenon, Emma M. Lion. Literary agent Alyssa Morris takes a closer look at a series of historical novels that have taken off—and not just because of BookTok. Read at Romancing the Phone.
AI
- Kobo grapples with whether to allow AI-generated or AI-assisted books in its catalog. The team asked three questions: For any book, how much AI is too much? Is Kobo going to make rules about AI use in books and, if so, how do they enforce those rules? And, in a world with AI in it, what kind of bookstore does Kobo want to be? CEO Michael Tamblyn asks, “For books, is AI like plutonium? Or is it like salt? Plutonium is deadly in the smallest quantities. Salt can kill you if you use too much of it, but in small quantities, it makes things better. Another way of saying it: Should AI be treated like plagiarism, where the presence of it, no matter how small, means a book should be disqualified? Or is AI a tool that can be used in moderation?” Read at Publishing Perspectives.
- Google Play will launch AI insights feature for books. Just as readers can refer to Amazon’s “Ask This Book” feature (powered by AI), anyone who buys or rents an ebook from Google Play will be able to ask for a recap or ask a chatbot questions about the book. Publishers and authors can opt out of this feature. Learn more.
- Sweden-based subscription service Storytel is also launching a chat interface for its books. It’s called Storytel Genie and can also help readers discover their next read. Learn more.
- Authors’ lawsuit against six AI companies cannot move forward as is. A judge ordered that each company must be sued individually and not collectively because there is not enough commonality or evidence of a conspiracy between the companies. Read Annelise Levy at Bloomberg Law.
