AGP Executive Report

Reading Series: Minnesota State University’s Good Thunder Reading Series returns with workshops, craft talks, and readings featuring Rita Bullwinkel, Danez Smith, and Palestinian American writer-translator Sarah Aziza. AI & Books: RTL reports tech firms buying second-hand Dutch books at scale to train AI, sparking online outrage over spines being cut and fears for rare editions. Book Fairs: Britain’s York National Book Fair is back Sept. 11–12 with 100,000+ books, from bargain finds to rare first editions, plus new dealer exhibitors. Publishing & Memoir: A posthumous memoir from Rebecca Alton (illness battle) is set for Nov. 25, while Corinne Entratter Sidney’s “Private Stock” spotlights Hollywood and Rat Pack-era Las Vegas from an insider’s view. Literary Culture: Isabel Allende promotes “Story Telling: A Writing Life,” and a review roundup keeps attention on Rachel Cusk’s “Life of M” and the controversy around it. Local Library Picks: Library Reads recommendations roll out for patrons, alongside community book-sale and author-event announcements.

Publishing Industry Watch: The Federation of Indian Publishers and NielsenIQ BookData will launch the India Book Market Report 2026–2030 in New Delhi on Sept. 3, mapping how AI, digitisation, new distribution, and Indian-language growth are reshaping print and digital publishing. Author & Event Circuit: AR Rahman announces his memoir, Rahman: A Renaissance, co-written with Rupa Chakravarty, while Penarth gears up for a run of autumn author events including Robert Harris’s Agrippa and Meg Mason’s Sophie, Standing There. Crime & Fiction Releases: Maldon crime writer Benjamin Lloyd’s DI Carson series continues with Misstep, set in Greenland’s remote south coast. Literacy & Community: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library keeps expanding after her death, with local book giveaways and remembrance messages continuing the “Book Lady” legacy. Books, Politics & Rights: A new memorial site, “The Unfinished,” launches to honor 289 literary figures killed by Russia, offering searchable biographies and materials. Tech & Reading Habits: A study warns that many food-contact chemicals still lack safety data, and proposes a grouping approach to prioritize what regulators should review first.

Publishing & Community: A new 9/11 tribute photo book, “America’s Providence,” opens pre-orders today, tracing the Twin Towers back to a 1789 prayer and a 25-year visual archive. Local Book Culture: Naples’ “Books on Third” is carving out a neighborhood hub with events, clubs, and local-author focus, while the Cleveland Botanical Garden hosts a full-on book fair with panels and community activities. Literary Events: Guantánamo’s Book Fair returns Sept. 4–6 with new titles and a Fidel Castro centennial program. Books & Health: A study in Sleep links hypothyroidism with higher rates of obstructive sleep apnea, including more disrupted sleep. Author News: Wendell Berry, the agrarian writer and environmental activist, has died at 92. SFF & Awards: Amal El-Mohtar and Alix E. Harrow win 2026 Hugo Awards, underscoring another strong week for speculative fiction.

Civil Rights & Publishing: Journalist Bankole Thompson is dedicating a major chapter of his forthcoming seventh book to his late mentor, Rev. Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr., framing it as a moral reckoning timed with the U.S. 250th anniversary. Canadian Nonfiction Roundup: CBC Books highlights a fall slate of must-reads, from Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida’s memoir to Donna Morrissey’s grief-centered Tell It to the Water. Literary Culture: Wendell Berry, the Kentucky farmer-writer and sustainability icon, has died at 92, leaving behind decades of essays and novels that helped shape the modern food-and-farm conversation. Book Industry Watch: HarperCollins’ MrBeast–James Patterson thriller The Most Dangerous Games faces weak presales, raising questions about star power vs. reader demand. Tech Meets Books: Samsung is launching the New Galaxy Book 6 in South Korea, leaning on Galaxy AI features aimed at everyday study and work. Library Life: Rare 1970s photos spotlight Leeds Central Library’s staff and behind-the-scenes operations.

Ukrainian Publishing Under Fire: Russia’s strikes have destroyed over 10 million books in Ukraine, including millions of titles and school textbooks, as Kyiv says the attacks aim to erase Ukrainian culture. Big-Stage Book Events: Kyiv will host the sixth “Book Country” festival at VDNG Sept. 17–20, with free entry and a “Mysterious” theme, plus charity efforts supporting Ukrainian publishers and the Defense Forces. New Releases & Author Moments: Mauritania and the U.S. are spotlighted at a culture ministry book presentation for “Archaeology: Sand and Snow in Symbiosis,” while South Africa’s Exclusive Books hosts the launch of Jakkie Cilliers’ “Africa’s Road to Prosperity: 10 Things to Know.” Literacy & Reading Culture: Ghana’s tourism/culture minister urged stakeholders to make reading fashionable at the Ghana International Book Fair, and Qatar National Library announced a September lineup mixing mentoring, AI in education, and a Palestine-focused documentary workshop. Community Book Clubs: A New Forest hotel’s Lime Wood Book Club returns with author-led evenings featuring Rick Stein, plus other regional reading initiatives.

Cybersecurity & AI: 100 AI firms warn that agentic attacks are moving from “sandbox” to real-world harm, urging faster defenses in legacy systems. Publishing & Culture: News24 spotlights Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi’s Love and Violence as it digs into colonial violence and “permanent juniority,” including a personal Spur interview excerpt. Book Festivals & Literacy: Whitby Lit Fest lands Hugh Bonneville as a children’s author guest, while Evesham Vale of Tales pairs school visits with award-winning writers and illustrators. Legal Fight Over Training Data: Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell sue Anthropic, alleging large-scale illegal downloading of copyrighted music and even citing BitTorrent claims. Tourism Through Reading: Korea Tourism Organization reports overnight stays rising 5.1% over three years, driven by foreigners booking experiences-first stays. Literary Spotlight: A Cambridge Companion to Martin Amis review notes his enduring “celebrity difficulty” and the canon debate around placement.

Publishing & Policy: Bengaluru’s new Greater Bengaluru Authority was meant to fix ward-level problems, but a workforce still stuck in the old 198-ward setup and a ~40% vacancy rate mean the “novel concept” isn’t reaching residents. Publishing & Culture: Vinnytsia’s 15th anniversary VinBookFest returns Sept. 5–6 with 35 publishers, 60 events, and 80 authors under the theme “A Time for Discovery.” Copyright & AI: Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell sue Anthropic, alleging large-scale scraping and “blatant theft” of music to train Claude, seeking damages per work and per violation. Books & Community: A silent reading session in Ahmedabad turned violent after students and book lovers were attacked over Malala’s I Am Malala and Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl; police registered cases and detained suspects. Literary Events: Amy Tan headlines a Fort Vancouver library gala Oct. 6, with discussion of her 2024 bird journal book The Backyard Bird Chronicles. Tech for Readers: Google AI Mode expands in Search to track flight prices, compare loyalty points, and help book hotels via conversational prompts.

Publishing & Scams: Kerala police say a “read book, get paid” WhatsApp scheme lured at least 106 people into task-based fraud, with losses topping Rs 1 crore, and investigators suspect a UK link. Book Reviews & Culture: Dostoevsky’s White Nights gets a fresh look through the lens of unrequited love, while The Most Normal Woman (Róisín Kiberd) turns sharp, funny essays into an unsettling critique of appearance and sexism. Literary Power & New Audiences: Bloomsbury is translating 32 Marathi works by Dalit writer Annabhau Sathe for English readers worldwide, including Master and Chitra. History, Memory & Journalism: A new book on Trump’s second term, Regime Change, frames the administration’s first year as a test of democracy; meanwhile, Jyoti Yadav’s Faith and Fury pushes back against pandemic “forgetting” in India. Global Publishing Pressure: Ghana’s book industry faces piracy, high production costs, and weak distribution, with leaders warning the strain could hit education and national reading goals. New Releases & Adaptations: Random House Worlds will publish a Baldur’s Gate 3 prequel novel starring Astarion, and MGM+ sets a six-part Treasure Island series for Oct. 11, 2026.

Sonia Gandhi memoir row: India’s Penguin India is at the center of a fresh freedom-of-expression fight after reports it backed out of publishing “Belonging” unless references to Modi, RSS and China were changed or deleted; Kerala CM Satheesan and Congress leaders question “pressure,” while Penguin says it is not the publisher and disputes the claims. Censorship and reading rights: In Ahmedabad, Congress condemned an attack on people at a Malala book-reading session, calling it an assault on the right to read and discuss peacefully. Publishing under fire: Russian strikes hit Ukraine’s postal and publishing supply chain, damaging Nova Poshta depots and burning warehouses tied to dozens of Ukrainian publishers and retailers. New releases and reviews: “God’s Country” by William Kent Krueger brings Boundary Waters mysteries; “The Dog Stars” (Ridley Scott’s adaptation of Peter Heller) continues to draw mixed reactions. Science and medicine: The FDA granted fast track designation to SOT106 for soft tissue sarcoma. Literary culture: Abu Dhabi’s book fair names the Balkans as Guest of Honour, spotlighting the region’s literary legacy.

Sonia Gandhi memoir row: Congress leaders escalated their fight with Penguin Random House India over Belonging: A Journey of Love, alleging pressure to remove references to Modi, the RSS, and China-related border claims—while Penguin India insists it isn’t the publisher in India and denies backing out over editorial demands. Publishing under fire: Russian strikes hit warehouses storing Ukrainian publishers’ books, with Readeat and Vivat among those reporting major losses and disrupted supply chains. AI and books: UK second-hand shops are reportedly being targeted by tech firms for “destructive scanning,” raising fresh alarms about books being stripped for AI training and then destroyed. New releases to watch: Taschen announced a two-volume Lucas Museum of Narrative Art tied to the museum’s Sept. 22 opening, plus Faber’s Ghost Month and Granta’s snow-leopard advocacy The Ghost of the Mountains. Literary spotlight: Alka Saraogi’s Register Me as Kulbhushan review highlights identity and Partition-era survival, while Luke Harding’s Betrayal returns to the politics of war and media.

Publishing Under Fire (Ukraine): Russian strikes have burned through more than 10 million Ukrainian books, with Kyiv-region warehouse hits destroying tens of thousands of copies for major publishers and online sellers, prompting calls for targeted support for small presses. Book Safety & Supply Chains: Nova Poshta-linked storage damage has forced some retailers to pause shipments, showing how war is now disrupting reading itself. Literacy in the Real World (Canada): In Greater Victoria, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is still growing—over 2,000 free books delivered so far—keeping “the Book Lady” alive for kids through monthly mail. Education & STEM (Malaysia): Selangor says its 2027 budget will strengthen education support and push more students into STEM. Book Controversy & Politics (India): Penguin Random House India is again in the spotlight over Sonia Gandhi’s memoir “Belonging,” with Congress accusing the publisher of yielding to pressure while PRHI insists it remained willing to publish. Censorship by Violence (India): A Malala Yousafzai memoir reading in Ahmedabad turned violent, with arrests after Bajrang Dal-linked workers confronted attendees. YA & New Tech Ethics: A new YA VR thriller prizewinner, “Traumaland,” spotlights what happens when therapy tools lose the clinician. Community Events (Bulgaria): Sofia’s Book Alley returns Sept. 7–13 with author talks, signings, and kids’ programming.

Publishing & Tech: Google rolled out “Expert Intelligence,” linking Play Books with Gemini Notebook and letting eligible readers use tools across 100,000+ publisher titles. Local Library Policy: A Sydney library reversed its earlier removal of “How to Sell a Genocide” after State Library of NSW guidance, reigniting debate over collection independence and public access. Book News (UK/India): Penguin Random House India won’t publish Sonia Gandhi’s memoir “Belonging: A Journey of Love” after she rejected requested editorial changes; HarperCollins is reportedly close to taking over. Literary Spotlight: Simon & Schuster will publish Cambridge professor Jason Arday’s memoir “Great and Unfortunate Things” in the UK after his death amid plagiarism and achievement allegations. Fiction & Culture: A new “Phantom of the Opera” retelling, Erin A. Craig’s “Our Strange Duet,” arrives Sept. 1 from Christine’s perspective. Health & Reading: A review on obesity and cardiovascular disease highlights new prevention and treatment angles, while a study links higher HbA1c in youth with T1D to early retinal thinning. Film Tie-Ins: Netflix’s “The Whisper Man” continues to draw mixed reviews for its serial-killer thriller setup.

New Fiction Launch: Former radio announcer David Tindell has released his romantic suspense debut novel, The Dance We Shared, inspired by a personal memory tied to Garth Brooks’ “The Dance.” Series Spotlight: M. MacKinnon’s Hector continues the Echoes in Time series, linking Nova Scotia romance and mystery to the 1773 Atlantic crossing of Scottish Highlanders. AI Literacy Push: Vibrant Publishers marks a milestone for author Karthik Chandrakant, with “Bridging the AI Divide” now featured on the UN AI Dialogue Partnerships Hub after his Geneva participation. Publishing & Culture: Turkmenistan’s State Publishing Service released Paryz-Depe — A Heritage of Millennia, a new archaeological book on the Paryz-Depe site, published in Turkmen, English, and Russian. Adaptation Watch: Prime Video announced Crouch End, its first Stephen King adaptation produced in the UK, based on the 1980 short story. Community Reading: Southbury Public Library is hosting an author talk with Kim L. Shipe on Fear Not, Angels Are Summoned, plus a separate illustrated lecture on American beer history for the U.S. 250th anniversary.

Pop-Culture & Publishing: Tampa Bay Comic Convention returns Sept. 4-6 with major celebrity guests including John Cena and Katee Sackhoff, plus authors like Fonda Lee and Kristin Wollet, underscoring how comics and books keep feeding mainstream fandom. Memoir & Reputation: Simon & Schuster will publish Cambridge professor Jason Arday’s memoir “Great and Unfortunate Things” in the UK, following his death amid intense media scrutiny over his credentials. War Reporting in Book Form: Åsne Seierstad’s “Never Say War: Life inside Russia” spotlights a Russian asylum-seeker’s account of joining Wagner, blending frontline testimony with investigative travel. Children’s Books & Community: A Ghana Tourism Authority CEO-backed project, “Ama Ghana,” is set for launch at the Ghana International Book Fair, while a local educator’s “Love You Like You’re Mine” turns a long-kept poem into a first children’s book. Censorship & Reading Rights: Austin leaders push a “Book Safe Harbor” resolution as officials warn districts to remove “offensive” titles. Publishing Industry Shock: Bookshops in Australia report empty shelves after a cyber attack disrupted Hachette distributor Alliance Distribution Services. Literary Loss: Hungarian writer Péter Nádas dies at 83, prompting tributes across European publishing.

Local Publishing Spotlight: A Winchester teen’s photo-led community book, Away from Home: A Collection of Life Stories, lifts up Nepalese business owners and the emotional realities of settling in a new place. Literary Events: DC poet Brian Gilmore’s No More Worlds to Conquer book talk spotlights a century of Black writing in Washington, DC. Book Fairs & Governance: West Bengal forms a 24-member committee to oversee the Kolkata International Book Fair 2027, aiming to broaden participation and curb any single group’s dominance. Theatre & Adaptations: Panola Playhouse’s stage run of John Grisham’s A Time to Kill opens to sell-out crowds, bringing the novel’s courtroom stakes to live audiences. Publishing Calls: Orion opens September pitch windows for digital stories and a Spring 2027 poetry issue themed on Memory and Place. Arts & Culture: A new JAMA Dermatology paper reports skin-specific outcomes from the Phase 3 VALOR trial, adding medical research coverage to the week’s publishing mix. Pop Culture Meets Books: Prime Video drops the trailer for The Love Hypothesis, adapted from Ali Hazelwood’s bestselling romance (with its fan-fiction origins noted).