News Today’s Book News Friday, 19th December

[AgentPete]

Today’s Book News Friday, 19th December 2025

Trade and consumer publishing delivered strong October revenues, with the AAP reporting gains in adult fiction and digital audio while physical formats continued to slide. Major industry shifts included, Ablaze’s acquisition of graphic‑novel pioneer NBM, and reports that Barnes & Noble and Waterstones could soon list on the stock market. Awards season heated up as the NBCC and PEN America released longlists.

Publishing Sales Remained Solid in October​

The Association of American Publishers’ StatShot program recorded a 6.7 % year‑over‑year rise in October 2025 publishing revenue. Adult fiction sales climbed 11.3 %, religious presses were up 10.6 % and children’s/YA fiction slipped 6.7 % as hardcovers and digital audio formats led the gains.

NBCC Announces Award Longlists​

The National Book Critics Circle unveiled longlists for its 2025 awards in fiction, criticism, autobiography, biography, nonfiction, poetry and translation. Finalists will be named on 20 January 2026 and winners revealed at the New York ceremony on 26 March 2026.

Trump‑Aligned Law Firm Files Civil Rights Complaint Against PRH​

America First Legal, a conservative law firm founded by Stephen Miller, lodged a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing Penguin Random House of race‑ and sex‑based discrimination. The filing claims the publisher’s diversity and inclusion policies and demographic reporting violate federal civil‑rights law and demands an investigation.

Ablaze Publishing Buys NBM​

Portland‑based Ablaze acquired NBM Publishing in an asset deal that transfers its backlist and active contracts. NBM, founded in 1976, will operate as an imprint; founder Terry Nantier remains a consultant as Ablaze plans to expand the imprint’s European‑comics and literary graphic‑novel program.

Books Escape EUDR Enforcement​

The European Parliament voted to exempt printed products – including books, journals, newspapers and magazines – from the EU Deforestation Regulation, postponing the law’s implementation on other goods by a year. Legislators concluded that printed materials do not significantly contribute to deforestation, easing compliance worries for publishers and printers.

AAP Reports Strong Adult Sales in October​

The Association of American Publishers’ October StatShot showed trade book revenue rising 2.8 % to US$1.03 billion. Adult books reached a record US$745 million, with fiction up 11.3 % and nonfiction nearly flat. Hardcovers grew 8.8 % and paperbacks 3.5 %, making October 2025 the second‑biggest October on record for trade sales.

B&N and Waterstones Owner Considers IPO​

Hedge fund Elliott Investment Management has begun sounding out advisers about floating Barnes & Noble and Waterstones on the stock market. Reports suggest bankers could be appointed early next year with a listing most likely after summer 2026 and potentially in London.

RBmedia and Norton Announce Exclusive Audiobook Partnership​

W.W. Norton deepened its relationship with audiobook producer RBmedia by signing an exclusive production and distribution deal. Future Norton audiobooks will be created across RBmedia’s imprints – Recorded Books, Tantor, Dreamscape, HighBridge and Ascent Audio – and distributed through major platforms; Norton executives said audio is now essential to reaching readers.

Personnel Moves: PEN America, UTA and Podium Entertainment​

PEN America elected novelist Dinaw Mengestu as its new president, succeeding Jennifer Finney Boylan. United Talent Agency promoted Kelly Karczewski to agent, and Jiayun Yang joined Podium Entertainment as subsidiary rights manager after leaving Assemble Media.

AAP Monthly Revenue Report​

Publishing Perspectives’ take on the October StatShot highlighted overall U.S. publishing revenue of US$1.5 billion, a 6.7 % year‑over‑year increase, with year‑to‑date revenue up 0.4 % to US$12.4 billion. Growth in hardcovers (4.5 %), trade paperbacks (1.5 %), ebooks (1.9 %) and digital audio (7.3 %) offset steep declines in mass‑market and physical‑audio formats.

China Bestsellers Highlight Nobel Prize and Web Novels​

Beijing’s OpenBook bestseller lists for October 2025 showed László Krasznahorkai’s novel *Satantango* surging after his Nobel Prize win, while web novel adaptations like *The Scum Villain’s Self‑Saving System* dominated the fiction charts. Nonfiction bestsellers focused on wealth‑building and wellness, and children’s charts mixed classics such as *Charlotte’s Web* with educational manga explaining social skills.

E‑book Sales Recover After Months of Decline​

Good e‑Reader reported that U.S. e‑book revenue rose 1.9 % in October 2025 to US$88.3 million after months of downturns. Digital audiobook revenue grew 7.3 % to US$92.6 million, but physical audio revenue fell sharply. Year‑to‑date trade revenue slipped 2.3 %, with hardcovers up slightly and paperbacks and mass‑market titles declining.

Storytel and Onet Premium Launch Bundled Subscription in Poland​

Audiobook platform Storytel joined forces with media company Ringier Axel Springer Poland to offer a combined subscription that pairs 15 hours of audiobook and ebook access with Onet Premium’s ad‑free news, analysis and podcasts. Executives called the partnership a strategic first; Poland’s book market is valued at around €940 million, with audiobooks capturing roughly 8 %.

Blurb Marks Twenty Years and Media Giants Battle in Court​

ALLi’s news roundup noted that print‑on‑demand pioneer Blurb celebrated its twentieth anniversary, having provided high‑quality image‑based books to indie authors before KDP Print. The column also highlighted Disney’s lawsuit against Google over alleged use of its characters while simultaneously partnering with OpenAI’s Sora video‑generation app, and it pointed to the high‑stakes competition between Netflix and Skydance/Paramount to acquire Warner Bros.

PEN America Reveals 2026 Literary Awards Longlists​

PEN America announced longlists for its 2026 literary awards, which will award nearly US$350,000 across categories. The lists span the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, the PEN Open Book Award, the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection, the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection and numerous prizes for translation, essays, science writing and biography, with finalists to be named ahead of the March 2026 ceremony.

Waterstones and Barnes & Noble Owner Plans Stock Market Listing​

The Guardian reported that Elliott Investment Management is preparing to float Waterstones and Barnes & Noble, the two largest booksellers in the UK and the U.S. Sources indicate the listing could occur in London after the group’s April year‑end; CEO James Daunt said an IPO is inevitable and preferable to another private‑equity sale. Combined, the chains operate more than 600 U.S. stores and over 300 UK shops.

 

[Pamela Jo]

Could we have the full story on the audio book deal? I still strongly suggest that there be a thread just for audiobook info on the forums.

W.W. Norton deepened its relationship with audiobook producer RBmedia by signing an exclusive production and distribution deal. Future Norton audiobooks will be created across RBmedia’s imprints – Recorded Books, Tantor, Dreamscape, HighBridge and Ascent Audio – and distributed through major platforms; Norton executives said audio is now essential to reaching readers.