AGP Executive Report

AI & Publishing Partnerships: Causaly is partnering with Sage to let AI agents read full-text from 400+ Sage and Mary Ann Leibert life-science journals, surfacing methods, results tables, and supporting data inside customers’ workflows. Music Reissues: The Beatles’ Rubber Soul gets a newly mixed special edition on Oct. 2, with unreleased session recordings and home demos, plus Dolby Atmos and fresh stereo mixes. Festival & Animation: Portland’s PFCAT expands to six days (Aug. 18–23) with 170+ films from 31 countries, including 30+ stop-motion works and world premieres. Children’s Books & Literacy: Jamaica launches a national call for locally rooted children’s books (birth–12) for a collection distributed across Jamaica Library Service parish libraries. Local Community Resilience: Northampton seniors keep their center running by exploiting a lease timing loophole after county funding pauses. Wildlife Research Tech: Emory and Georgia Tech debut CapuchinAI, an AI system using touchscreen tasks and facial recognition to automate cognitive testing of wild capuchin monkeys. Book Industry Spotlight: BOOKCamp Magazine announces a major redesign plus new initiatives to boost independent author and publisher visibility.

Renewables Deal: Inox Wind secured a ₹1,600 crore repeat 200 MW turnkey order from NLC India, promising end-to-end EPC and 24-month commissioning, lifting its order book to 4.7 GW. AI Reading Tools: Sinai.ai is rolling out chatbots that let readers query the exact e-book or audiobook they’re using, while Audible and Kindle push similar “ask” features—sparking fresh copyright and fair-pay worries. Literary Spotlight: The Booker Prize 2026 longlist is out with 13 novels competing for the shortlist, including Marlon James, Douglas Stuart and Elizabeth Strout. Publishing & Tech Rights Fight: Multiple reports highlight how AI systems are being trained on books—raising alarms about authors’ pay and publishers’ control. Book Events & Community: UT Press launched a children’s picture book, My Magic Tux, with proceeds supporting UT Libraries; meanwhile, local reading challenges and bookstore signings keep summer momentum going. Cultural Preservation: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Public Library restoration center has treated 10,861 heritage items, including rare books, maps and manuscripts.

Children & Culture: Malaysia’s Selangor Children’s Literature Festival (Aug 28–31) is built to pull kids away from gadgets, using hands-on, child-friendly activities and batik as its theme. International Book Fairs: Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair is eyeing a bigger global role for KLIBF 2027, with talks underway for broader collaboration with the British Council and more countries signaling interest. Local Literary Life: The Tennessee Book and Ephemera Fair at The Factory in Franklin drew collectors for rare first editions, manuscripts, and historic letters. Guinness for Reading: An associate professor in India helped set a Guinness World Records attempt for “Most Authors Signing Their Own Book Simultaneously,” aiming to boost reading and writing. Publishing & Schools: A Heritage Foundation legal group is stepping into a Colorado school book-ban fight, backing a district sued over restrictions on LGBTQ and race-related titles. Book-to-World Moments: A local author in Gosport launched a new short-story collection, “Windmills of my Mind,” selling 11 copies at launch. Literary Loss: Japanese mystery giant Keigo Higashino has died at 68, with tributes and renewed interest in his China-published catalog.

AI & Publishing: KDDI launched Buffmee, an AI service built on licensed content from about 150 books, magazines, and specialist media, offering search, summaries, and interactive features with citations. Copyright & Training Rights: A major U.S. copyright settlement involving Anthropic is back in the spotlight as authors and publishers weigh what it means for AI training and content ownership. Literary Legacies: Japanese mystery heavyweight Keigo Higashino died at 68, leaving more than 100 books and a global fanbase. Classics on Trial: Emily Wilson, whose Odyssey translation inspired Christopher Nolan, published a scathing critique of the film in the London Review of Books. Community Reading & Access: Bisleri International and India’s National Book Trust rolled out a multilingual eco-comic, “Chhota Bheem & Vidya - Big Green Mission,” distributing 20,000 copies in Kashmir schools. Books as Public Health: Cambodia’s CDC Yellow Book travel guidance highlights vaccine priorities and disease risks for visitors, including hepatitis A and typhoid. Local Books & Policy: Somerset Council is exploring a Manchester-style bus franchising model after receiving DfT funding for a pre-feasibility assessment.

Ukrainian Publishing Under Fire: Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky ordered Ukraine’s culture and finance ministries to build a state-support mechanism for book publishing after Russia destroyed 1.5 million copies in July, threatening libraries and publishers. Creator-to-Screen Push: Wendy M. Kok is seeking a producer to adapt her romance-and-supernatural suspense saga for film/TV, while Curiosity Entertainment named former CBS exec Laurie Seidman as Head of Film & Television for its page-to-screen slate. Kids/Teens Catalog Expansion: Dreamscape Publishing partnered with Altworld Studios and Nick Davis, adding titles like “Let’s Hunt Monstas!” and “The Night Guardians.” New Releases & Launches: “Winning Together” offers pastoral marriage guidance from Shyrone and Rebecca Richardson; Corinne Warner, 95, published a memoir in verse; and Gloria Pearson-Vasey released “Hold Gently the Shadows,” extending her Great Lakes post-apocalyptic series. Industry/Policy: Canada’s fighter plans include a major Joint Strike Missile purchase tied to its future F-35 fleet. Cultural Spotlight: “Purple Rain” heads to Broadway in 2027.

AI & Reading Tools: New platforms let readers “ask a book” in real time, pairing e-books or audiobooks with chatbots that answer using only the text—Amazon’s Audible and Kindle are among the players. Copyright & Journalism: Cosynd expands its automated copyright registration for news sites, print, and live broadcasts, aiming to help publishers act in the AI era. Poetry & Awards: Sun Hyang Kim’s So Long named Mihai Eminescu Academy Book of the Year 2026. Community & Libraries: Helsinki’s Oodi is profiled as a civic “living room,” while Campaspe libraries spotlight behind-the-scenes work during National Library and Information Week. Children’s Publishing: Seven children’s storybooks launch in Kathmandu under a British Council-linked gender arts project. Book Events: Laurie Frankel brings Enormous Wings to Stillwater for Literature Lovers’ Night Out. Publishing in the Real World: A Zimbabwean publisher reports legal pressure over stories about Mnangagwa’s term extension. Pop Culture Tie-Ins: Marvel teases Black Panther 3 and Ghost Rider at Comic-Con; multiple House of the Dragon episodes draw heavy book-to-screen discussion.

Children’s Publishing Roundup: Nepal’s British Council-backed launch event rolled out seven new children’s story collections, spotlighting regional tales from the Himalayas and Tarai. Book Reviews: Kathryn Stockett’s long-awaited Mississippi-set novel “The Calamity Club” lands as a multi-voice story of hardship and survival, while “Blob” by Maggie Su offers a dark, character-driven take on loneliness and responsibility. Cultural & Community Reading: The inaugural LA Indie Book Crawl wraps Sunday with a passport-stamp prize hunt across 13 stores, and Malaysia’s Book and Semarak Jawi Carnival 2026 aims to pull books into everyday life for families and kids. Publishing & Adaptations: Apple TV’s “Neuromancer” finally gets a teaser with Callum Turner and Briana Middleton, and “Carrie” gets a modernized trailer from Mike Flanagan. Industry/Media: Capcom reiterates why Resident Evil remakes keep coming, and Marvel confirms a leadership shift at SDCC as C.B. Cebulski steps down and Steve Wacker takes over. Real-World Book Impact: A synagogue in Hadiach was devastated by fire, with the community already planning replacements for sacred items.

Comic-Con Publishing Buzz: Marvel used San Diego Comic-Con to lock in major screen tie-ins that will keep book-and-comics readers watching—Ryan Gosling’s Ghost Rider heads to 2028 (Shawn Levy directing), while Black Panther 3 lands Dec. 15, 2028 with David Jonsson as a new T’Challa. Comic Previews: Doomquest #3 previews Doom in a Revolutionary War-era body with futuristic tech ambitions, and X-Men #34 spotlights Juggernaut’s struggle to stay heroic among reformed villains. Publishing & Adaptation: BBC’s The Rapture writer Bryony Kimmings says the TV version shifts from the novel’s disaster ending to a more personal mystery, reflecting changed attitudes toward climate and justice. Literary Culture: A new University Press of Kansas book, Shokhí: A Kanza Relative, a Monument, and Rematriation, documents the return of a sacred 28-ton boulder to the Kaw Nation. Local Book Life: Hay-on-Wye’s independent shops and bookshops are credited with keeping the town thriving beyond festival season. AI & Books: A New York Times investigation and a separate Amazon search experiment highlight how hard it can be to spot AI-written biographies and books in online listings.

AI & Copyright: A new report says AI firms are buying antique books, ripping out pages, and scanning them at scale to train models—raising fresh questions after Anthropic’s $1.5B settlement over using books to build Claude. Streaming & Adaptations: HBO’s Harry Potter TV series is set for a December 25, 2026 debut, with major fantasy rivals lining up across Netflix, Amazon and Disney+. Comics & Awards: DC dominated the 2026 Eisner Awards at San Diego Comic-Con, led by Absolute Batman and Absolute Martian Manhunter. Publishing Industry: Ize Press announced English print collector editions for Korean webcomic BL hits Codename: Anastasia and Anastasia and Mignon. Local Literary Life: A Nederland author event spotlights Dr. Annabelle Nelson’s new book on storytelling, wisdom and archetypes, with a library talk and guided archetype-finding. Cultural Loss: Seoul’s Onul Books, run by Nobel laureate Han Kang, closed after a change in ownership forced tenants out.

Book Reviews & Literary Buzz: Uma Subedi’s novel ‘Paridhi’ leans into non-realism, with a writer-protagonist whose life feels guided by unsettling voices and shifting reality. Historical & Political Writing: Herta Müller’s ‘The Village on the Edge of the World’ returns as a survival memoir of language and fear under Ceausescu, while Jesmyn Ward’s ‘On Witness and Respair’ blends essays, dreamscapes, and family lore to confront what the U.S. is becoming. Children’s Books & Reading Access: Hachette UK’s Raising Readers places a ‘Book Nook’ at Hubberston and Hakin Community Centre in Wales, and Kharis Publishing releases ‘Grammy, What Color Am I?’ plus ‘Powerful Parenting’ for tougher parent-child seasons. Community Events: The Tennessee Antiquarian Book & Ephemera Fair heads to Franklin (July 24–26), and an Athens author event spotlights ‘A Brush with History’ on July 30. Publishing/Industry Watch: A court-approved Anthropic settlement over pirated books is in the mix, alongside ongoing debates about AI training and authors’ rights.

Amazon Best-Seller Push: Jack Canfield’s co-authored business/purpose title “The Heart of Success” keeps climbing after multiple authors (Stefanie Mielert, Mary K. Ott, Dr. Camilo R. Gomez, and Lisa Gunsberg) report Amazon Best-Seller status following a July 16 launch. Arts & Culture Leadership: Arts Council England appoints Julia Kingsford as director of literature and the South West, tasked with national investment in literature and widening access for new writers. Jewish Literature Spotlight: Amir Tibon, winner of the 2026 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, discusses “The Gates of Gaza” and memory, recovery, and hope in a conversation tied to Israel’s current political stakes. Publishing/Pop Culture Adaptations: Dark Horse announces “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” as an 80-page graphic novel adaptation, arriving Jan. 19, 2027. Local Reading Life: Simcoe Reads launches a county-wide Canadian authors challenge with a finale debate and vote in September. Community Arts Funding: BRIT Trust Diaries highlights Leicester charity Pedestrian’s music program “Press Start” for young people at risk.

AI & Copyright: A major $1.5B Anthropic settlement over training with authors’ books won final court approval, while a separate music publishers lyrics lawsuit also targets Anthropic—keeping the fight over AI use of published works front and center. Book-to-Screen Buzz: Disney+ set Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 3 for November 20, adapting The Titan’s Curse, and SDCC also teased Stuart Fails to Save the Universe with DC characters. Publishing & Retail: Sony’s reported move toward an all-digital PlayStation future sparked backlash over ownership and preservation—another reminder that “access” debates are spreading beyond books. Literary Culture & Community: The first Colombo Literary Festival opens July 24 as a trilingual event (Sinhala, Tamil, English) running through July 29, with talks, music, and cinema. New Releases to Watch: Assouline charts André Fu’s hotel and restaurant interiors in André Fu: A Designer’s Vision, while Shadowpaw Press re-released Erna Buffie’s Let Us Be True for a new generation. Local Book Life: Independent shops keep growing—Stevens Point’s Bound to Happen Books marks five years, and Tucker, Georgia welcomed Black Dog Books on Main Street.

AI & Publishing Tech: UK’s Bloomsbury is set to receive £14m from an AI copyright settlement, while a US judge approved a $1.5B Anthropic settlement tied to books used to train Claude—another major test for how publishers get paid in the AI era. Book Industry & Policy: Illinois’ first-in-the-nation cryptocurrency tax is being challenged in court by the Chamber of Digital Commerce, adding to the week’s theme of legal fights over how new tech gets regulated. Libraries & Community Reading: Raymond Briggs’s personal library (1,000+ books) is now on sale at Oxfam, and Ipswich Book Festival returns Oct. 2–4 with a Schools Week aimed at getting 4,000 children meeting authors. Local Author Moments: Burlington native Robert Ficociello heads home for a Barnes & Noble storytime and signing Aug. 1, and Pawlet Public Library trustees move forward on a new director offer while preparing for their annual book sale. What’s Selling: “One-Punch Man” Vol. 37 hits No. 1 on Japan’s Book Hot 100, showing manga momentum continues.

AI & Copyright: A US judge approved a $1.5B Anthropic settlement tied to books used to train Claude, a landmark moment for authors and publishers facing generative-AI disputes. Education Policy: Nigeria’s NERDC cut textbook assessment and ranking fees and ordered refunds for overpayments, ahead of a national textbook ranking system. Publishing & Tech: Google’s Gemini now handles “life admin” on new Samsung foldables, with task automation that can book, order, and manage apps. Books & Community: Chagrin Falls police launched “Booked and Charged,” a first-ever officer-led book club with library support, plus “Badges and Books” for kids. Local History & Memoir: Chardon councilman Andrew Blackley debuted “Wielding the Trident,” a Spruance WWII naval biography. International Reading Rights: Hong Kong raids saw booksellers arrested over alleged “seditious” publications, with a viral “I am a bookstore employee” slogan rallying support. Notable Death: Charles Gaines, author of “Pumping Iron,” died at 84, leaving a legacy that helped mainstream bodybuilding. New Releases: Insight Editions is publishing companion books for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” film.

AI Copyright Ruling: A US judge approved Anthropic’s $1.5B settlement with authors and publishers after pirated books were used to train Claude, with about $3,000 per book and most covered titles already claimed. AI Policy Pressure: UK publishers say the deal should push ministers to require licensing for training data, turning a US courtroom win into a global policy test. Industry Accountability: A separate report alleges Anthropic used Dutch bestsellers from authors without consent via “shadow libraries,” adding fuel to the licensing debate. Publishing & Rights: Bloomsbury says it’s among the beneficiaries, with thousands of titles included. Book-to-World Events: Apple TV is developing Rebecca Yarros’ romance novel Peculiar Stars into a series. Community Reading: St. Maarten marked Caribbean Literature Day with a children’s authors panel, spotlighting regional voices. Local Books & Libraries: Belmont Public Library welcomed a new director focused on modernizing services and building community. Literary Culture: The Atlantic Festival announced its first speakers and programming for Sept. 17–19 in New York.

AI Copyright: A US judge has given final approval to Anthropic’s $1.5B settlement with authors over pirated books used to train Claude, though 350 authors opted out—another big test for how AI companies handle publishing rights. Publishing & Law: In Colorado, conservative law firms have joined the defense in a federal lawsuit tied to school library book bans, as a December jury trial looms. Rights Under Pressure: Vietnam faces fresh scrutiny after Human Rights Watch urged the release of five people arrested over a Ho Chi Minh book, with authorities calling it anti-state propaganda. Book-to-Screen Buzz: Disney+ is moving ahead with an “Afterlife with Archie” series, targeting a Halloween 2027 launch. Literature in the Spotlight: Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” has sparked a cultural backlash online even as classicist Daniel Mendelsohn says readers should “rejoice” the world is talking about Homer again. Local Book Life: Boston’s Healthy Rides expands a free transport program for older residents, while libraries across the US keep rolling out author events and summer reading picks.