AGP Executive Report

Children’s Literature & Reading Culture: Michael Rosen urged authors to create “special pleasures” screens can’t match, as a UK rail campaign pushes summer reading with mini libraries at stations. Graphic Novels & Comics: DC announced an “Absolute Edition” collecting Alan Moore’s Superman stories, remastered with new essays and bonus art, due April 20, 2027. Publishing & AI Ethics: An OpEd on Anthropic’s “Project Panama” argues the bulk buying, destructive scanning, and pulping of books shows printed knowledge being treated as disposable training material. Thrillers & Lists: The New York Times Book Review published “The 50 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century,” led by “Gone Girl,” with reader-friendly notes on why books often beat films. Book-to-Screen Buzz: Hulu’s “The Shards” leans into the mystery of the “Trawler” killer, while “The Summer Book” review says the adaptation is respectful but slow-moving. Controversy in Authorship: Cambridge professor Jason Arday resigned after claims he falsely listed a book and exaggerated credentials, reigniting scrutiny of academic publishing claims.

Kaiju Comics Mystery: IDW’s Godzilla vs. America: Texas wrecked much of the Lone Star State—Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Dallas twice—but somehow skipped Houston, even after a Houston artist pitched a variant cover. Teen Memoir-to-Fiction Buzz: Matt Johnson’s Tony imagines a young Anthony Bourdain as a spoiled, insecure would-be writer learning humility in 1975 kitchens. Climate Thriller Review: BBC’s The Rapture turns climate anxiety into a psychological thriller, but critics say it doesn’t quite ignite. Coming-of-Age Variety: Reviews spotlight how coming-of-age stories land differently across settings, from 1980s LA privilege to Canadian mystery vibes. Literary Community Calendar: Quincy’s The Next Chapter Books and More hosts short-story authors Rebecca Reynolds and Jessica Treadway on Aug. 12. Publishing & Power: Cambridge’s Jason Arday appointment is questioned again after claims it followed “listening to black students,” amid plagiarism-related fallout. Local Book Culture: Wilkes Community College’s Bowman Rare Book Collection preserves thousands of classic youth adventure titles. Tech Meets Storytelling: Dua Lipa will curate the 2026 London Literature Festival, blending music and books via her Service95 Book Club. Courtroom Update: New WhatsApp messages in the Shailen Singh murder case reportedly expand what prosecutors disclosed to the defense.

AI Authorship Tensions: The UK Society of Authors rolls out a voluntary “human authored” label as the Commonwealth Short Story Prize AI storm fades—after accusations, the Commonwealth Foundation cleared writers but demanded drafts and notes, hinting at a future where authors may have to prove origin. Manga & Comics Shelf News: Seven Seas licenses two new manga titles for 2027, while Image brings back Wildstorm classics “Ocean” and “Automatic Kafka” in new collected editions. New Fiction Spotlight: Claire McGowan’s dystopian novel “The Quickening” imagines a Britain where women’s reproductive freedom is crushed by digital monitoring and re-education camps. Publishing & Culture: Keigo Higashino’s death hits South Korea hard, with his books surging back to bestseller displays. Community Reading Access: A “Bus Station Book Locker” in Macon lets riders order and pick up library books 24/7. Literary Awards: Omar Musa’s “Fierceland” wins the Miles Franklin Award, praised as a tour de force against Borneo rainforest destruction. Book-to-Screen Buzz: Netflix’s Philip K. Dick series adapts “The World Jones Made,” and Ryan Murphy’s “The Shards” leans into Bret Easton Ellis’s 1981 prep-school serial-killer premise.

AI & Writing: A Cambridge University Press study finds readers can’t reliably tell AI stories from human ones, even as AI plots get rated “higher quality” when labeled human. Publishing & Ethics: New reporting claims Anthropic’s “Project Panama” involved secretly scanning millions of books to train Claude, reigniting fears about consent and author rights. Health & Care: A Canadian review says antisemitism in healthcare education and practice has surged since Oct. 7, with a 2024 survey showing Jewish medical professionals reporting a dramatic jump in perceived severity. Books & Society: A piece on sobriety pushes back on the “smug” backlash, arguing abstinence is getting treated like a provocation. Literary Culture: John Carpenter’s debut graphic novel Cathedral arrives with a new single, “Revenge,” as the creator leans into underground-monster storytelling. Sports Diplomacy: Routledge publishes a Handbook of Sports Diplomacy—the first to map the field’s full scope—co-edited by Malaysian journalist Haresh Deol. Local Reading Life: Wilmington’s Cape Fear Literacy Council brings back Adult Story Hour this fall with six weekly author events.

Publishing & Books in the News: A new eco-adventure for kids, The Great Nicobar Journey, turns conservation into a hopeful march story as animals “petition” Parliament over threats to their island home. Local Library Life: The Friends of Paul Sawyier Public Library gear up for their Aug. 11–15 summer book sale, with extra security after a recent “camp” in the storage cages. Literary Events & Community: California’s Sikh Research Institute plans a Sept. 12 discussion and book conversation on Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, while Pakistan marks the 127th birth anniversary of poet-scholar Sufi Tabassum with seminars and recitals. Books on Screen: Netflix is moving ahead with Carley Fortune’s This Summer Will Be Different, casting its leads and starting production on Prince Edward Island. Publishing Industry Watch: The American Chemical Society unveils a unified brand identity tied to its 150th anniversary, aiming to connect its publishing, education, and advocacy work under one look.

Royal Monarchy Fallout: Catherine Mayer’s new book Divide & Rule argues Prince Harry and Meghan’s 2020 exit has done “very serious damage” to the British monarchy’s appeal to younger audiences. School Library Rules: Knox County, Tennessee approved a step-by-step process for reviewing book challenges under the state’s age-appropriate materials law, as more than 120 titles are already under review. Publishing Deals: RBmedia acquired UK indie Boldwood Books, folding its 2,000-title catalogue into RBmedia while keeping Boldwood as an independent division. Royalty Meets Publishing Controversy: A dispute involving Palestinian activist Susan Abulhawa, her book Every Moment is a Life, and Jewish critics spills into New York political and campus circles. New Fiction Spotlight: Radhika Agrawal’s Not Safe For Work returns to Mumbai’s office politics and romance in a “love letter” to the city. Genre & Adaptation Buzz: FX’s The Shards brings Bret Easton Ellis’ novel to 1980s Los Angeles, while Spielberg’s Ready Player Two sequel gets a rare development update from writer Zak Penn. Literary Awards: Doley Henderson won the 2026 Irene Adler Prize for her essay “Oyibo.”

Education & Literacy: Barratt Homes launched a summer reading challenge for Pocklington schoolchildren, pairing book reviews with a chance to win a family day out, plus donated titles for the school library. Youth Publishing: A 10-year-old Mongolian student translated Raina Telgemeier’s graphic novel Sisters into Mongolian and published it after a year of careful work. Local Book Culture: Tryst, a romance-focused bookstore, opened in downtown Walla Walla, leaning into the genre’s steady popularity. Literary Prizes: The Astley Prize returned for its second year, with Wales-based writer Issariya Morgan winning for Autobiography. Books & Society: A new academic noir debut, The Secrets of St. Jude’s, explores the stress, integrity, and mentorship demands on school principals. Global Publishing: Nigeria LNG and CORA hosted the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature longlist poets event in Lagos ahead of the October winner announcement. Film-to-Book Conversation: Reviews and scholarship around Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey keep the debate on how “accurate” adaptations should be front and center.

Local Book Retail: Likely Story opens in downtown Leesburg, Florida as a fiction-only shop with author events and a trade-in program, betting that a focused catalog can still feel welcoming. Reading Access: Texas’s Talking Book Program is urging families to use its free, lifelong audiobook library (180,000+ titles) for students with dyslexia. Community & Events: DeKalb Public Library’s free author fair on Aug. 8 spotlights dozens of local writers. Publishing & Culture: Lithuania proposes removing Russian author Mikhail Lomonosov from school reading lists, arguing his imperial-era ideology doesn’t belong in modern curricula. Controversy in Book Culture: A Nashville bookstore cancels an Alyssa Rosenheck launch after anti-Zionist backlash, reigniting First Amendment and “cancelled for unpopular views” debates. International Literature: France’s court rejects a pro-Kremlin commentator’s appeal over expulsion, while Russia’s strikes continue to damage Ukraine’s book production. Books & Media: Spider-Man: Brand New Day gets praised for its more grounded, character-driven neighborhood feel.

New Fiction Spotlight: Andrew Cunning’s debut Clara and Christina frames literary life through Sunday-morning interviews between a young writer and an elderly novelist, while Amal Singh’s Slow Burn uses a magic-mirror doppelgänger setup to probe identity and ambition in contemporary Mumbai. Experimental & Indie Publishing: Aria Lane’s Nobody Can Play You launches a 30-day program for spotting manipulation, and Amelia Nicol’s chapbook Pronounce Experiment turns language into a lived, border-crossing art project. Literary Culture & Events: Toronto Metropolitan University hosts a major Hemingway conference on his early Toronto Star journalism, and Bhutan’s DLAF festival positions literature as global “soft power.” Publishing Under Pressure: Vietnam’s crackdown on writers over historical narratives continues, with a recalled Hồ Chí Minh-related book drawing state action. Books in the Real World: A Nebraska cold-case book, Chasing Evil In America’s Heartland, claims to answer decades-old questions in the Mary Kay Heese murder. AI & Reading: EU AI Act transparency rules begin enforcing, with new duties for labeling AI outputs and deepfakes.

J.K. Rowling’s Ukraine letter: The Harry Potter author sent a handwritten note and a signed copy of Philosopher’s Stone to a Ukrainian marine major released after more than four years in Russian captivity, after he said the books kept him going. Book reviews & new fiction: Don’t Cross Mo Ellery turns a chaotic birthday into a quirky mystery-sleuth setup, while Louis Delano’s debut Shades Of Grey Vs. Shades Of Pink launches a Berlin trilogy about identity and power. Publishing & culture: A new book on Telangana’s history was launched at the ATA conference in Baltimore, and a Kyrgyz-language edition of Xinhua’s The Governance of China under Xi Jinping is set for publication in Bishkek. AI and research integrity: Wispaper says its new agent and “True Cite” tool aim to stop AI-generated citations from derailing academic trust. Rights & speech: Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen renewed her push for a Uniform Civil Code in India, arguing it’s key to equality for women.

Prison Reading Initiative: Canada’s Giller Foundation is partnering with Book Clubs for Inmates, backing volunteer-led book clubs in correctional facilities and creating a writers’ circle to shape its support for the literary community. Children’s Publishing: University of Tennessee Press launched its first children’s picture book, “My Magic Tux,” based on the “Big Orange Tux Guy” story from ESPN coverage. Literary Culture in West Bengal: Taslima Nasrin returned to Kolkata after nearly 19 years, with West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari pledging full security and framing it as a shift toward protected free expression. Publishing & AI Backlash: A book database (ISBNdb) pulled a marketing page after outrage over fears that rare books were being bulk-ordered and destroyed for AI training. Global Classics Debate: Christopher Nolan’s “Odyssey” is fueling a wider argument about who gets to interpret Homer—and how modern casting and adaptation politics collide with the canon. Reading Renaissance: South Korea’s young adults, heavy AI users, are also driving a renewed reading boom, with book-fair lines and rising participation. Library Milestone: Australia’s Kiama Library received a Greek antiquities volume returned about 150 years overdue, found bricked inside a sealed fireplace.

Publishing & Education: Veteran Philippine journalist Julius Segovia is turning newsroom know-how into a self-published workbook, “Eere Tayo! A Practical Workbook for Journalism, Broadcasting and Digital Media,” launching this September. Nature Writing: Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris’ “The Book of Birds” returns to their wonder-and-loss mission, spotlighting nearly 50 birds through lyrical sections on nest, egg, beak, song, feather, flight and migration. Literary Culture & Debate: A new controversy swirls around London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, who could face a City Hall investigation after calling for Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest. AI & Books: ISBNdb removed pages pitching physical books for AI training after reporting exposed the practice, though the broader legal market for scanning and destroying books remains. Libraries & Access: San Antonio’s Book Festival is pushing a petition to protect city funding amid a major budget shortfall. Community Reading: A Rikers Island nonprofit, Rosebuds Reading Collective, is expanding book clubs and writing workshops for incarcerated women. Health & Learning: Karnataka’s KEA says document verification for new medical/dental/AYUSH applicants runs Aug. 4–8.

Spider-Man Box Office Buzz: “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” swings into theaters with strong audience demand, praise for Tom Holland’s more mature Peter Parker, and standout action/cinematography. Publishing & Rights: Massachusetts lawmakers advanced a bill to protect free expression in schools and public libraries, aiming to curb political book bans and set clearer rules for removals. Self-Publishing Watch: MindStir Media topped a 2026 ranking of self-publishing services, highlighted for full-service support from editing to marketing. New Book-to-Game: Shueisha Games announced a fully voiced Nintendo Switch/PC mystery game based on Honobu Yonezawa’s novel, launching in winter 2026. International Literary Events: The 9th Yerevan Book Festival runs Sept. 4–6 with a bridge-building theme and major international participation. Library Surprise: An Australian library got back a book “Antiquities of Athens” found bricked in a fireplace—about 150 years overdue. AI & Copyright: Authors’ court fight against Anthropic’s training practices continues, with the dispute centered on what “fair use” should cover.

Publishing & Politics: Taslima Nasreen returned to Kolkata after nearly 19 years in exile, praising renewed security and arguing that freedom of expression is essential for democracy. Film-to-Books Buzz: Rebecca Hall has officially joined Netflix’s adaptation of Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets, starring opposite Morgan Spector as Robert Langdon. Community & Events: Sacramento’s first romance convention, KnottyCon 2026, runs Aug. 15–16 with more than two dozen authors and panels. Local Theatre Milestone: Athlone Little Theatre marks its 90th anniversary with a BBQ and a civic-centre exhibition celebrating nine decades of drama. Book World Oddity: An 1858 copy of Antiquities of Athens was found bricked into a fireplace in Kiama, Australia, and returned about 150 years late. Health & Reading: A new journal for family caregivers aims to spark shared conversations as memory fades, while a separate study suggests daily multivitamins may improve older adults’ day-to-day functioning. Satire & New Fiction: Kent Heckenlively’s This Never Happened: A Call Girl in D.C. blends political satire, romance, and suspense set in 1972 Washington.

Film & Casting Buzz: Paramount’s trailer for Children of Blood and Bone spotlights Tomi Adeyemi’s Orïsha world, with Ayra Starr debuting on screen and Tems serving as executive music producer and curator for original songs. Publishing & Community: A new Independent Manga Alliance launched at San Diego Comic-Con to help indie creators and smaller publishers with marketing, translation, distribution, and global sales. Global Reading Growth: China’s online literature keeps scaling up—over 33 million works and about 250 million overseas readers in 2025, with exports topping 130,000 titles. Book Culture & Events: Coronado Public Library hosts Annie Jacobsen for Biological War: A Scenario on Aug. 6, while local festivals and signings keep rolling, including a History Book Festival spotlighting trailblazing women. Opinion & Policy: Gabriel Zucman’s short We Need to Tax Billionaires argues for a global 2% minimum wealth tax on fortunes over $100M. Pop-Culture Reviews: Spider-Man: Brand New Day lands as a big, emotional franchise entry—spectacular action, but built on familiar beats.

Arabic Literature Honors: Qatar Foundation and the University of Granada named Aya Mansour (Iraq) and Gerges Shokry (Egypt) winners of the Radwa Ashour Award, spotlighting new work that reworks epic memory and war-time oral histories. Community Education via Royalties: Indian author Mithilesh Khandwala says all book royalties from Bansi – The Melody of Eternal Knowledge will fund schools, digital learning, and digital libraries in Gujarat border villages. Publishing & Culture in Motion: Su Che Publishing released Happy Rath Yatra: The Festival of Chariots, a children’s non-fiction guide to Puri’s Rath Yatra. Book-to-Screen Buzz: Children of Blood and Bone author Tomi Adeyemi renewed her criticism of the film adaptation, calling it the “worst thing” she’s lived through. Crime and Books: A New Jersey man was convicted for attempting to support Hizbollah in a case tied to the 2022 stabbing of novelist Salman Rushdie. Tech Meets Reading: Cambridge Analytica’s old domain is reportedly back as an AI “slop farm,” raising fresh concerns about data and content. Health Research in Print: Astrin Biosciences published results for a blood test aimed at early-stage breast cancer detection, touting high sensitivity and specificity.