AGP Executive Report

Children’s Reading Push: Malaysia’s Selangor Children’s Literature Festival (Aug 28–31) is built as a gadget-free alternative, using batik-themed, hands-on activities to help parents steer kids toward reading. International Publishing Spotlight: The Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair is already lining up bigger global ties for KLIBF 2027, with talks on a British Council collaboration and more countries signaling interest. Book-to-Community Moments: A Minnesota thrift-store find turned into a real-life “time capsule” of medical school notes, while Chicago photographer Mati Maldre is set to launch a new local history book with a talk and signing. Literary Awards Watch: The 2026 Booker Prize longlist is out, including Irish debut novelist Djamel White, as well as past winners Douglas Stuart and Marlon James. Fantasy Adaptation Buzz: The first full trailer for Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Children of Blood and Bone brings Tomi Adeyemi’s Orïsha quest to the screen with a star-heavy cast. Tech & Publishing Security: OpenAI and Hugging Face’s autonomous-agent breach is a reminder that basic cybersecurity still matters most.

AI & Work: A new aviation-focused look at “intelligent automation” argues AI doesn’t cut labor or mental load—it often shifts it into heavier layers of oversight and accountability. Literary Culture: A Shanghai symposium replays the famed 1933 meeting between George Bernard Shaw and Lu Xun, underscoring how one brief exchange still echoes in modern literary ties. Book Fairs & Access: Egypt’s inaugural El Alamein Book Fair runs Aug. 1–Sept. 15 with workshops and family programming, while Santo Domingo launches “Book Bank: A book, a hope,” collecting used books for free distribution. Publishing & Community: A Los Angeles indie bookstore crawl drew huge crowds across 13 shops, and Wisconsin’s Madison debate over body cameras is reigniting calls for transparency—an issue that’s now spilling into local public conversation. Major Loss: Japanese mystery titan Keigo Higashino dies at 68, leaving a global legacy from Devotion of Suspect X to the Galileo series. New Fiction: Naeem Murr’s Every Exit Brings You Home lands as an absorbing novel shaped by Palestinian life and loss.

Dog-park inspiration: Camille Perri says her “pandemic puppy” sparked her new novel, turning everyday park gossip into a crime-solving vibe. Graphic-music crossover: Sumerian Comics announced “Janis Joplin: Pearl,” a full-color hardcover graphic novel arriving in October. Royal-family chatter: A new documentary claims Prince Harry resented a childhood “heir and spare” snub, with Diana pushing back on the Queen Mother. Housing policy spotlight: Vermont named Shane Phillips as keynote for its Nov. 18 statewide housing conference, focusing on supply, stability, and subsidies. Queer TV impact: “Heartstopper” returns for its final chapter, with coverage noting how rare LGBTQ+ representation still is on U.S. screens. Publishing & tech: Notabene and Ripple plan to expand enterprise stablecoin payments by integrating Ripple USD into Notabene Flow. Author news: Japanese mystery star Keigo Higashino, 68, has died.

AI & Reading: New tools let readers “chat with” a book while they read or listen, pulling answers from the text itself—Amazon’s Audible and Kindle are among the players, alongside startups like Sinai.ai and My Smart Book. Literary Journalism Spotlight: A major Hemingway conference in Toronto is zeroing in on his 1920–24 Toronto Star articles, arguing they shaped his shift from reporter to writer. Publishing Tech & Access: The rise of AI reading assistants is being pitched as a way to make books more approachable—especially for listeners who want help with characters, themes, and context. Book-to-Screen Adaptation: Director Ruchir Arun says his Musafir Café adaptation aims to keep the novel’s character simplicity and relationship honesty, not just replicate every page. Cultural Events: The San Francisco Art Book Fair drew 30,000 visitors and rejected a “haunted” proposal that didn’t fit the fair’s book focus. Local Media Legacy: Nigeria’s Daily Times marks 100 years with calls to preserve history and strengthen credible journalism in the digital era.

Indie Book Culture: Los Angeles’ inaugural Indie Book Crawl wraps Sunday, with readers visiting 13 local stores, collecting $10+ purchase “passport” stamps, and meeting authors including Taylor Jenkins Reid, Gabrielle Zevin, and Marie Lu. Publishing & Adaptation Buzz: Apple TV has released a teaser for its “Neuromancer” series, bringing William Gibson’s “unfilmable” cyberpunk classic to the screen with Callum Turner as Case. Comics & Franchise News: IDW teases a new era for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—Gene Luen Yang’s run ends at issue #24, with Matthew Rosen and Juann Cabal taking over in 2025, plus the final “Last Ronin” volume arriving in 2027. Kids & Community Reading: A major free children’s exhibition, “Wild Things: Animals in Children’s Books,” opens at Lowry in Salford, featuring interactive, screen-free activities and original illustration art. AI & Creativity: Cory Doctorow warns that the AI “bubble” could burst as skills and systems fail to keep up, urging creators not to rely on copyright alone.

Bahrain’s Literary Memory Work: Muharraq Governor Salman Bin Hindi praised Bahraini writers and researchers for preserving the kingdom’s collective history, spotlighting Dr Khalid Ismail Al Alawi’s book From the Neighbourhood’s Memory. Partition-Era Publishing: A new historical account, From Raj to Republic, revisits how Sardar Patel’s States Department tried to block princely-state fragmentation ahead of 1947. Student-Protest Resonance: A 150-year-old Jyotiba Phule play, Trutiya Ratna, translated into English, is being read anew as debates over education and who it’s for. Stephen King on Screen Again: Prime Video set Carrie for an Oct. 7 release, with Mike Flanagan reworking the mother-daughter dynamic and updating the story for the social-media era. Sci-Fi Adaptation Watch: Apple TV announced Neuromancer for Jan. 22, 2027, and also previewed Dark Matter Season 2’s Aug. 28 return. Comic Publishing Moves: Marvel and Kadokawa are launching a Japan-only manga line in 2026, while Thump Records debuted East Side Story at Comic-Con.

Book Culture vs. Real Estate: Nobel laureate Han Kang’s Seoul bookstore Onul Books has closed after a change in ownership forced tenants out, a stark reminder that even major literary stars can’t outlast rising costs. Children’s Publishing: Pitt Community College instructor Christine Bates released “The Tiny Door: An Irp’s Tale,” a colorful new picture-book style adventure about an artist saving her village. AI in Schools: A new report warns that AI tools are spreading through K-12 faster than safeguards for student data, raising privacy fears. True Crime & Publishing: Author James Renner’s new book “A Cruise to Nowhere” revisits the Amy Bradley disappearance, arguing she may have jumped after depression and family conflict. Publishing & Pop Culture: Lucasfilm announced “Star Wars: Twin Crossroads,” a new adult novel exploring Luke and Leia’s mission to Coruscant, due April 2027. Book Trade & Events: Albuquerque’s Books on the Bosque lists multiple author talks this week, including Annie Hartnett’s “The Road to Tender Hearts.” Global Publishing: China’s 34th National Book Expo opened in Hangzhou with 1,000+ exhibitors and nearly 1 million books on offer.

AI & Creative Work: “Open Intelligence: Education Between Art and Artificial” argues creative arts can be taught, but also asks what’s uniquely human when AI learns the teachable patterns. Myth on the Big Screen: Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is driving renewed interest in Homer, with related books climbing charts. Book Fairs & Culture: Hong Kong’s 36th Book Fair opened July 15, spotlighting global literary exchange. Reviews (Fiction): Missouri Williams’s “The Vivisectors” is praised for its ideas but criticized for not revealing them early enough; Mark Bowles’s “How Do People Stay the Same” uses reverse chronology to make small life moments hit harder. Community Reading: Venezuela’s National Bicentennial Reading Plan kicks off from transitional camps, aiming to bring youth closer to Bolívar’s legacy. Health & Sleep: A small trial reports fecal transplants improved chronic insomnia sleep for up to six months. Publishing Events: Goodyear hosted sci-fi author book signings, while Comic-Con continues to spotlight new graphic novels like John Cusack’s “Momo.”

Obituaries & Publishing: Fermanagh educator and broadcaster Bryan Gallagher has died, remembered for decades of school leadership and memoirs including Barefoot in Mullyneeny (HarperCollins). Politics & Propaganda: Michael Blitz’s essay “So you want to be a despot?” breaks down how leaders manufacture “truth,” flip yesterday’s claims, and target dissent. Domestic Violence Response: Marinette and Oconto counties are strengthening high-risk domestic violence teams after research and community training show warning signs can predict homicide risk. Literary Spotlight: South Carolina writer Elizabeth Boatwright Coker reflects on a life shaped by storytelling, from a Robert Frost–encouraged breakthrough to ongoing work on family tales. War Correspondence Preservation: “Behind the Lines” follows NYT author Andrew Carroll’s mission to archive war letters and emails, inviting audiences to donate materials. Children’s Books: An 11-year-old from Watsontown launches a debut children’s book after building a publishing company with Bucknell’s SBDC. Tech & Security: UK-linked “Laundry Bear” is tied to a new zero-click phishing attack targeting Zimbra systems. RPG & Comics: Dark Horse announces an ongoing Dungeons & Dragons comic series starring Mordenkainen, launching Nov. 4, 2026. TV-to-Book Culture: Apple TV’s The Morning Show will end with a fifth and final season.

Literary Landmarks: Ursula K. Le Guin’s Portland home has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, cementing her legacy as a speculative-fiction force and future writers’ residency site. Publishing & Copyright: Anthropic’s $1.5B settlement over alleged book piracy training won final court approval, while a separate ruling that training on legally bought books can be fair use remains in place. Book-to-Screen Buzz: Peacock and Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl adds voice talent Jeff Hays as Princess Donut, and HBO Max’s Stuart Fails To Save the Universe brings a Big Bang Theory spinoff to Comic-Con with DC cameo teases. New Fiction & Reviews: Debut novel Vasiliki: A Novel of Love, Secrets and Revenge spotlights return, guilt, and rebirth on Lesvos; Find Me at the Jaffa Gate earns major praise as a displacement-and-memory memoir. Local Book Culture: Bound to Happen Books marks its 5th anniversary with a downtown block party featuring authors and live music. Science & Reading Crossover: A peer-reviewed Nature study reports a rare transmissible cancer in Lake Memphremagog catfish, with researchers stressing it’s not a human health risk.

AI & Books: A veteran Turkish antiquarian bookseller says claims that AI firms are bulk-buying and scanning Europe’s secondhand books lack solid proof and don’t add up economically. Publishing & Culture: Porto Book Fair returns Aug. 21–Sept. 6 with 200+ events, 140 stands, and a major tribute to poet Inês Lourenço. Health & Research: UVA researchers report a glioblastoma therapy that delivers microRNA across the blood-brain barrier using nanoparticles, ultrasound, and microbubbles. Kids & Reading: A new free guide maps 52 classic children’s titles to modern favorites, with age- and interest-based activities. Community Events: D.C.’s all-queer Little District Books hosts Lavender Con this weekend, spotlighting LGBTQIA+ authors and stories. Books in the News: Hong Kong raids on independent bookstores spread a “I am a bookstore employee” slogan in Taiwan, as booksellers face “seditious” content allegations. Publishing Business: Canada’s retail sales rose 1% in May, with book and miscellaneous retailers up 1.8%.

Hong Kong Crackdown on Booksellers: Police raids on independent bookstores led to arrests over “seditious” publications, and a viral T-shirt slogan—“I am a bookstore employee”—has turned into a Taiwan-backed show of solidarity. AI Copyright: A judge approved a landmark $1.5B settlement against Anthropic over pirated books used to train Claude, marking the biggest recovery in a major U.S. AI copyright fight. Publishing Policy Shake-Up: Nigeria’s textbook watchdog cut assessment and ranking fees and ordered refunds for publishers who overpaid, aiming to ease costs ahead of a national ranking system. Book Bans in Court: An appeals court is set to weigh whether boards must testify in a book-ban lawsuit, keeping pressure on local censorship decisions. Literary Culture & Events: Comic-Con will stay in San Diego through 2030, while the Hong Kong Book Fair reported strong attendance and spending—proof that reading culture still draws crowds. Local Author Wins Attention: A WWII memoir built from letters home shows how self-publishing and print-on-demand can make personal history easier to share.

Local Government Rebrand: Perlis’ Kangar Municipal Council has been renamed the Perlis State Municipal Council, with changes to buildings, bank accounts, and local licensing approvals. Book Safety Alarm: Thames Valley Police are investigating arson after “after-school book burnings” in Carterton, warning it could have spread in dry, hot conditions. Author Spotlight: Deephaven’s Jade MacRae turns Lake Minnetonka history into a new sailing tale in “Volante.” Publishing & Culture: Amazon is bringing London’s first open-air library for self-published authors to Victoria Park for one weekend. Industry Watch: Publishers are sharing bullying policies after The Bookseller’s investigation, as Hachette UK responds to allegations. Health & Reading: A new wireless skin sensor aims to track soft-tissue disorder progression at home, while doctors urge faster action after child drownings. AI & Copyright: A judge approved Anthropic’s $1.5B settlement over pirated books used to train Claude. New Releases: Rhonda Byrne announces “Thought Rules,” and Audible rolls out full-cast “Dracula” in multiple languages.

AI Copyright Fallout: A US judge approved Anthropic’s $1.5B settlement with authors and publishers after it used pirated books to train Claude, with about $3,000 per claimed work and 91% of covered titles already claimed. Global Publishing Under Pressure: Hong Kong police raided and arrested booksellers over Emily Feng’s “Red Flowers,” while Vietnam detained five people for publishing a controversial Ho Chi Minh book. Literature Meets Institutions: Stanford Libraries and the US Library of Congress cataloged Ghanaian author Benjamin Akyena Brantuo’s cancer memoir “Dying Many Times,” boosting global discoverability. Reading, Community, and Events: Jaipur Literature Festival USA expands to six cities including a 2026 Los Angeles debut; libraries and bookstores also push August story times and local author programming. Tech for Health, Not Just Books: Researchers reported a bionic auditory nerve interface and ultrasound-based oral cancer cell targeting, both pointing to new ways to treat hearing loss and oral cancer.

AI & Copyright: A landmark $1.5B Anthropic class-action settlement with authors won final court approval, with the deal framed as a major moment for AI training and publishing rights. Publishing & Tech: CCC was named to KMWorld’s 2026 AI 100 list for its licensing tools aimed at helping organizations manage AI use of scholarly content. Book-to-Screen: Universal released details and a trailer push for Other Mommy, a psychological horror adaptation of Josh Malerman’s Incidents Around the House, starring Jessica Chastain, with a theatrical Oct. 9, 2026 release. Local Lit Life: The LA Indie Book Crawl returns July 24–26 with 13 participating stores, prizes, and author appearances. Science & Reading Culture: New research highlights SORLA’s role in defending against tau damage in Alzheimer’s models, while a fully human antibody showed promise against aggressive prostate cancer in lab studies. Community Books: Grand Island Public Library will host award-winning illustrator Pedro Martín for a free zine-making workshop this September.

AI Copyright: A federal judge has given final approval to Anthropic’s $1.5 billion settlement over alleged book piracy used to train Claude, with millions of authors set to share the payout. Publishing & Ethics: A Philippine literary contest says it may ask for drafts and revision history to prove predominantly human authorship, flagging undisclosed AI use. Libraries & Access: Arunachal Pradesh plans “book cafe” concepts and digital library upgrades to modernize state library spaces. Community Reading: A Percy Jackson summer campaign pushes kids toward library trips and reading resources tied to the Camp Half-Blood world. New Releases: Routledge publishes “How to Think Like an Ecologist,” a non-scientist guide to restoring the planet, while a Yardley author’s “City Tavern” reframes revolutionary history through food and a Philadelphia meeting spot. Local Book World: Bound Booksellers opens a new location after a water-line mishap threatened hundreds of books. Indigenous Voices: Adrian Sutherland’s memoir “The Work of Our Hands” spotlights life in Attawapiskat beyond crisis headlines.