Getting Down to Business
By Densie Webb | July 8, 2024 |
Surprisingly, AI was not in forefront of publishing news for June. Could be things have quieted down or it could be that it’s slowly becoming the norm and not quite so newsworthy—we’ll see. Audiobooks are still climbing the charts, but AI-generated voices may be bad news for narrators. Speaking of audiobooks, revenues are up and so are audiobook subscriptions. Blockbuster authors like Emily Henry manage to make it big (hint: with a little help from book lovers on BookTok). In the ridiculous file—Florida is banning a book about book banning. But Texas and Oklahoma have been taken down a notch on their efforts to enforce wide book bans. And, contrary to popular belief, the New Adult genre is not dead.
AI
Audio Books
Authors
How author Emily Henry made it big without going on TikTok or touring.
Seven reasons authors use pen names and does it still make sense?
Book Bans
Florida school board bans book about book bans.
A librarian in Louisiana is speaking out about her experiences battling book bans.
Official launch of authors against book bans organization
Oklahoma Supreme Court stops State effort to ban books from public schools
Book Sales
Print book sales were up in May.
Queer books seeing a bump in sales.
Bookstores
Feminist bookstore sets up shop in Oakland, CA.
Barnes & Noble buys Denver’s Tattered Cover bookstores.
Literary Agents and Publishing
New literary agency, Greenstone Literary, launches
Literary works are far down the list on Amazon’s bestseller list
Macmillan to launch Saturday Books, a New Adult Imprint, Next Fall
So, my favorite source for publishing news, thepassivevoice.com, is no more. Or at least the website has been inaccessible for the last 6 weeks or so. If you have a favorite source for publishing news (preferably something that doesn’t have a paywall) please share! I would be forever grateful.
Densie Webb has spent a long career as a freelance nonfiction writer and editor, specializing in health and nutrition and has published several books and tons of articles on the topic over the years. She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Red Adept Publishing released her debut women’s fiction novel titled, “When Robins Appear” in 2020. It is available in ebook, audiobook, and paperback formats. Her second novel, best categorized as romantic/domestic suspense, “Breathing in Reverse” was published in 2023, also with Red Adept Publishing. She is currently working (but not fast enough) on novel #3. She grew up in Louisiana, spent 13 years in New York, and settled in Austin, TX, where it’s summer nine months of the year. She’s an avid walker (not of the dead variety, though she loves anything to do with zombies, vampires, or post-apocalyptic worlds), drinks way too much coffee, and has a small “devil dog” that keep her on her toes. And she is thrilled to be a part of the Writer Unboxed family!
Missing TPV and PG – any idea what happened? There was a lot of gold there. I’d hate to have permanently lost some of those older posts, but more worried about its host.
It was a daily habit.
No idea what happened with The Passive Voice. It’s been out of commission for at least 6 weeks now.
AI is stealing work from artists and writers and you want to promote it?
Not sure what exactly you’re referring to. If it’s about the report of licensing work to AI, I think it’s important that, as writers, we know what’s happening out there, whether or not what’s happening is good.
What a great post. Look forward to your next.
Thank you! So glad you found it informative.