AGP Executive Report

Kuwait Media Overhaul: Kuwait’s Official Gazette published a new Media Regulation Law, replacing older publishing and media rules and requiring executive regulations within six months; media owners must regularize status or face license cancellation. Marvel Publishing Push: Marvel launches a horror-themed “Midnight” line with debut books including Midnight Spider-Man, previewing a deeper Peter Parker origin built around “power and responsibility.” Banned Books Week: Libraries and publishers are gearing up for Oct. 4–10, with renewed focus on protecting the freedom to read amid ongoing challenges to titles like Where the Wild Things Are and Captain Underpants. Reading Culture Debate: A new wave of discussion asks whether Gen Z is abandoning books, sparked by viral claims and broader concerns about attention habits. OpenAI Safety Shakeup: David Robinson, an OpenAI safety leader, quit and warned the company isn’t careful enough—another reminder of how tech policy is shaping publishing and media. Local Library Wins: UW-Eau Claire’s exhibit spotlights Japanese-American WWII experiences, tying archives to community learning. Book-to-Screen Buzz: Verity keeps dominating headlines as multiple reviews and adaptation coverage roll in.

Publishing & Books in the News: A Supreme Court case is set for Oct. 5 over the proposed relocation of Delhi’s 135-year-old Central Secretariat Library, home to 8.5 lakh books, after reports it wasn’t properly planned for in the Central Vista redevelopment. Local History & Community Reading: Bolton’s Halliwell Local History Society held its first post-pandemic gathering at St Peter’s Church, with displays ranging from steam-engine models to local ephemera and books. Book Culture & Events: Universal Studios Japan is bringing back The Apothecary Diaries for a new attraction opening Feb. 10, 2027, tied to the franchise’s movie-era story. Literary Industry Loss: Hilary McPhee, who founded McPhee Gribble and helped launch major Australian writers, has died at 85. Media Regulation: Kuwait issued a new Media Regulation Law covering print, broadcast, electronic outlets and social media ads, with licenses at risk for noncompliance. AI & Reading Tech: Publishers warn that AI rules are needed to counter “click-to-publish” books, as AI-generated publishing pressures human work.

Banned Books Week in Brooklyn: Penguin Random House’s “Banned Wagon” rolls into Brooklyn Public Library’s Bushwick branch Oct. 5 with 50 challenged titles for all ages, plus related library programming. Censorship & scholarship: Aliaksandr Fiaduta, released from Belarusian imprisonment, discusses his commentary on Vladimir Karatkevich’s KGB-era manuscript “The Ears of Rye Beneath Your Sickle.” Publishing in the region: HBKU Press says it has published 800+ titles, with Qatari authors making up about half its writers. Book-to-screen buzz: “Verity” hits theaters Oct. 2, with cast interviews spotlighting favorite reads and the film’s real-location tie-in. Community reading spaces: Warrenton Community Library reopens across the street in a bigger “third space” with expanded events and collections. Arts & literature events: Brighton’s “The Coast is Queer” returns Oct. 15–18, and Peterborough mayoral candidates face questions on taxes, housing, and infrastructure.

Festival Spotlight: Wild Atlantic Words returns to Castlebar Oct. 6–11, with free events and book launches tied to Mayo’s All-Ireland win, plus talks on faith, poetry, and the ocean. Author & Craft: Min Jin Lee discusses writing through health fears and the long arc from Pachinko to her new novel American Hagwon. Sci-Fi for Readers: Star Trek’s 60th anniversary gets a new novel, Echoes in Eternity, by David Mack, arriving Oct. 27. AI & Learning: A Yale professor tells Mizzou’s Open Minds Initiative that AI may be most useful in its “dumbest” form, while other coverage keeps pushing how to get students reading again. Publishing Industry Watch: A report highlights a fake-professor scheme at a Nigerian university, and another details how impersonators have tried to scam the book business for manuscripts. Book Culture & Adaptations: Verity keeps driving buzz as film reviews and reading lists circle Colleen Hoover’s next big moment.

AI Costs: A new report argues AI budgets miss a “hidden data tax” — the staff time spent fixing messy, inconsistent data and cleaning up downstream damage when systems act on it. True-Crime Publishing: WILDBLUE PRESS says reader feedback helped finalize the cover for DIXIE’S LAST STAND: WAS IT MURDER OR SELF-DEFENSE? Fantasy Spotlight: Goodreads’ October picks highlight a crowded fantasy month, including major returns and debuts like Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Splintered Harmony and Charlotte B. Plumb’s Reap & Sow. Children’s Books: Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Gruffalo Granny is driving fresh record-breaking sales 26 years after The Gruffalo hit shelves. Publishing Awards: Chicago Review of Books named finalists for its 2026 CHIRBy Awards across fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and essays. Book Industry & Rights: The ADL launched a platform alleging systemic exclusion of Jewish and Israeli artists across museums, entertainment, and publishing. Local Events: Burbank Public Library’s free Oct. 3 Burbank Book Festival returns with authors, readers, and a new bookmobile design.

New Fiction Buzz: Lucy Foley’s “Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel” brings Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple back for a new full-length mystery, with Foley pitching “fair play” and Marple’s “invisibility” as her modern superpower. Student Writing Spotlight: Ulysses student Amelia Prince won first place in the Margaret Sutton Writing Contest for “The Museum Mystery Book,” with two other finalists also honored and winners’ work set to appear online. Publishing & Business on the Ground: Ukraine’s Nova Poshta is piloting “Nova Books,” a self-serve book space stocked with business titles, reporting strong early demand. Bookish Industry Moves: Skylight Books made its first acquisition, Anna Walden’s debut “Between the Years,” a second-chance love story. Library Life: Rauner Special Collections acquired a palm-sized Magna Carta manuscript (c. 1300), adding to its rare holdings. Reading Culture & Events: Namibian group BookSprint Namibia is urging families to get more local children’s books into kids’ hands, adding four new titles to its collection. Retail Watch: Provisional retail sales data for August 2026 shows total sales up 5.6% year-on-year, with online sales rising 9.9%.

Kindle Watch: Amazon’s redesigned pocket-friendly Kindle line is getting early buzz, with readers comparing portability and first impressions as the e-reader refresh rolls out. Publishing & Print Reality Check: New industry figures show print still drives most publisher revenue, while physical retail revenue rose—so “books are dying” isn’t the story. AI Authenticity Debate: Researchers and readers are clashing over AI detection in ebooks, with concerns about false positives and what it means to label work “AI-like.” Christian Curriculum Lawsuit: An Oregon school district is sued over alleged reimbursement denial tied to a Christian curriculum’s biblical worldview. Nonfiction Prize Spotlight: Anand Gopal’s Days of Love and Rage makes the Baillie Gifford Prize shortlist, alongside major biography and history contenders. Tech Meets Keepsakes: Fujifilm takes over Google Photos printing operations in the U.S., running storefront, support, and fulfillment. Book-to-Community Events: Libraries and local groups push author talks, used-book sales, and literacy art installations—keeping reading visible in everyday places. Space & Storytelling: SpaceX launched NASA’s Crew-13 to the ISS, a reminder that big missions still fuel the bookshelves.

Publishing & Bookselling: Simon & Schuster Children’s Books lands Lizzo’s debut picture book, Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin’, with a QR code to an original flute song. Publishing Deals: Bonnier Books UK appoints Stefanie Bierwerth publisher-at-large for Zaffre; Hachette Children’s Group signs a five-book Tom Tinn-Disbury deal; Gallery YA acquires Sarah Shaffi’s historical YA debut The Line from Me to You. Community Reading & Libraries: Spokane Is Reading 2026 brings author Laurie Frankel to two Oct. 7 events; Wrexham libraries offer free access to the British Newspapers Archive and run a Dewey Decimal mascot art competition. Book Culture & Events: Virginia’s 36th Children’s Festival returns Oct. 3 at Town Point Park. Books & Society: A PEN America-related debate on antisemitism in publishing is framed as part of a broader “crisis of truth.” Local Business: Bemiss’s Page 42 Bookstore owner Emily Peterson opens HoneySpell Cafe, expanding from books to coffee.

Royal Book Controversy: Charles Spencer’s “Swan Song” is topping Britain’s non-fiction lists after major backlash and even a Buckingham Palace statement, reigniting debate over Princess Diana’s legacy. Publishing & AI: Authors and publishers are still pushing back as AI training and “click-to-publish” tactics reshape the industry, with new reporting highlighting security risks and governance fights at the UN. Banned Books & Libraries: Ferris Public Library is gearing up for Banned Books Week with a display and kids’ trivia, while Greater Victoria’s little free library network hit 150,000 books delivered. New Releases & Events: R.F. Kuang’s “Taipei Story” is getting attention for its grief-and-identity focus, and local festivals like Decatur’s Book Festival and Ipswich’s Book Festival are bringing big author lineups to readers. Faith & Kids’ Reading: Coverage spotlights children’s saint books and a residential-school art project tied to Truth and Reconciliation. Local Policy: Dover-Foxcroft paused data center applications for 180 days as communities weigh AI-fueled growth against local impacts.

AI in Publishing: South Korea’s Korea Publisher Society unveiled new principles for using AI in bookmaking, aiming to keep human responsibility clear as “click-to-publish” mass books spread. AI Accountability: A separate report warns that AI-detection tools shouldn’t be treated as verdicts, since detectors can misread human writing and create legal risk when used to punish authors. Publishing Rights Under Pressure: University Press Limited says staff at its Banglabazar showroom were harassed after people demanded sales stop for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s The Unfinished Memoirs, despite the publisher saying the book isn’t banned. Book Culture & Community: October reading picks highlight new paperback releases, while Wellcome Collection named six winners for its 2026/27 non-fiction awards. Literary Recognition: Missouri Williams, China Miéville and others made the Goldsmiths Prize shortlist, celebrating fiction that pushes the form. Controversy Watch: A New Orleans judge filed a police complaint against a CBS affiliate over a segment involving her, adding to ongoing tensions between courts and journalists.

Publishing Industry & AI: Japan’s used bookstores are booming, but owners fear bulk buyers are scanning books for AI training and then pulping them, with some shipments reportedly sent to logistics hubs for destruction. New Releases & Preorders: Ali Hazelwood announced a surprise sequel to The Love Hypothesis, The Two-Body Problem, publishing Feb. 2, 2027, with preorders already open. Book Culture & Literacy: Dolly Parton’s legacy of literacy and philanthropy remains a headline as tributes and a “love letter to literacy” piece circulate. Local Writing & Publishing Events: The Alaska Writer’s Guild conference brought editors and agents for manuscript critiques and workshops, plus a juried illustrator art show. Children’s Books: A rural Malcom author released Bison Brave: Facing the Storm, using AI-assisted images alongside traditional storytelling. Sports & Publishing Crossover: A new Escape from New York comic series sends Snake Plissken from Chicago toward the North Pole. Book Reviews: Jodi Picoult’s Hollow Bones gets a 5/5 review tying 9/11 and postpartum psychosis to current public conversations.

VAT Watch: Sri Lanka’s PM says the 2027 Budget will revise VAT on books, calling out the Colombo International Book Fair as proof of books’ cultural value. BookTok Travel Boom: A new look at how BookTok turns titles into destinations, with South Africa’s literary tourism seen as a major growth lever. Independent Retail Spotlight: Ireland’s An Post Bookshop of the Year longlist names 12 shops, including Books at One, with a shortlist due Oct. 22. Publishing Recognition: The New York Globe launches a Bestseller List that blends sales with critical and cultural impact, aiming to broaden what “bestseller” means. Pricing & Consumer Protection: A consumer advocate’s new book argues tech-fueled personalized pricing is the modern “rip-off,” and offers ways to protect your wallet. Book Trade Under Pressure: Bangladesh’s UPL says an outlet was locked after objections to a book’s sale, insisting it isn’t banned and that any restriction must follow due legal process. Crime Writing Loss: Scottish author Peter May has died in France; his final novel is due in January 2027. AI in Publishing: Dartmouth students debate provost Schnell’s AI use in academic works, while other coverage warns about “AI slop” slipping into library collections.

School & Rights: A Christian legal group says Pennsbury School District hid a student’s name and pronouns from parents for nearly three years, as the Trump administration escalates pressure on transgender protections under Title IX. Libraries & Books: Meg Anderson’s debut, “The Memory of Borrowed Books,” arrives Oct. 6, centering a librarian fighting to save a historic library; Rowan Public Library also hosts author Katherine Reay Oct. 9 for “The Undercover Bookshop.” AI & Costs: Blue Cross says hospitals’ AI billing coding added nearly $1B in spending over two years, with insurers arguing patients didn’t get extra care. Tech & Security: Q-Day—when quantum can break common encryption—is framed as the next major cybersecurity reckoning after AI-driven threats. Culture & Reading: Qatar National Library expands AI programming while keeping books and community at the center. Media & Access: AG Blanche defends banning some outlets from White House access as a “privilege,” not a right.

Publishing & AI: AI World Media Group launched AI World Publishing to help independent authors from manuscript to editing, design, publishing, and distribution, with a focus on AI and tech books. Reading Platforms: StoryGraph is positioning itself as a Goodreads alternative, leaning on more flexible rating options and reader-led features. Book Trade Events: Bookselling Ireland and Publishing Ireland detailed Irish Book Week (Oct. 17–24) with ambassador announcements and a push to “shop local & shop Irish.” Author/Publisher Deals: Embla Books signed self-published crime writer Alex Scarrow to a 17-book deal; HarperCollins Children’s Books acquired five Adam Stower titles; Hachette Children’s Group picked up a new children’s murder mystery series by Kristen Perrin. New Releases & Reviews: Manjula Padmanabhan completes her Meiji trilogy with “Zone” (Hachette India); Dorthe Nors’s “Range” gets a review spotlighting its astrophysics-meets-fiction premise. Comics & Market Data: ICv2’s white paper will examine shifting comics and graphic novel dynamics for 2026 at New York Comic Con. Community & Culture: Sharjah was named Colombia’s Guest of Honour for FILBo 2027, aiming to deepen publishing and translation ties.

Romantasy Boom: South African romantasy is surging thanks to TikTok, with authors mining local myths and romance tropes for new audiences. Classical Education: A new essay collection argues classical education is a mindset and method—not just a list of “Great Books”—and warns against modern tech dependence. Book Events & Community: Montague’s library hosts Dana Precious for The Psychic Sisters of Oleander Street (Sept. 30), while Kalamazoo Public Library spotlights free card access and programs beyond books. Kids & Holiday Reading: A Kirkland Lake author debuts Sasha’s Christmas Adventure, starring her real dog, and a Scottish Greens plan would fund school lending libraries with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library-style book support. Publishing Tech Watch: Kobo’s 6.0 beta is causing missing books and lost reading data on some models, with a fix promised. Reading Benefits: A new synthesis links reading for pleasure with lower cognitive decline risk and less stress. Film/TV Adaptations: Brandon Mull says Fablehaven is moving toward a movie with director Cameron Sawyer, calling it “cautiously optimistic.” Royal Media Culture: Coverage of Princess Diana’s legacy is criticized as a cycle where rumors become headlines and entertainment blurs with journalism.

AI & Authorship: At Qatar National Library’s “Write to Inspire,” author-AI specialist Mohammed al-Qassabi argued AI can draft fast, but writers must keep the “thinking” and lived perspective that prompts real originality. Festival & Publishing Events: Mumbai’s YathaKatha Film & Literature Festival (Sept. 28–Oct. 1) returns with panels, workshops, and a book launch, including sessions on AI filmmaking and Russian literature’s influence on visual storytelling. Community Reading & Libraries: Explore Books in Aspen spotlights Emily St. John Mandel’s Exit Party and other fall picks, while Charleston’s library system prepares a temporary peninsula branch opening Oct. 5 during renovations. Books as Cultural Memory: Assam’s women Hajj memoirs get gathered in Teresa Rehman’s Her Hajj Story, preserving private “hajj kathas” that rarely make it into formal history. Local Literary Life: Mississippi’s 11th annual Book Festival draws thousands to meet authors and celebrate reading, with “Reading Rainbow” host Mychal the Librarian at the center of the kids’ push. New Releases & Shelf Talk: Colorado SunLit features Stephen Collector’s late-blooming shift from photography to prose, plus bookstore staff recommendations and reviewer picks for September releases.