January 18, 2026

Big Moves, Big Tech

Last week, the Independent Publishers Caucus and the American Booksellers Association debuted the Independent Press Top 40, a weekly bestseller list collating the most popular titles from independent publishers, as reported by ABA member stores. Association of American Publishers members Cengage and Hachette Book Group petitioned to join an ongoing class action lawsuit against Google and its generative AI product Gemini. Folio Literary Management acquired the boutique children’s agency Greenhouse Literary, with director Chelsea Eberly to become a VP and agent in Folio’s children’s division. Wiley named Armughan Rafat as its inaugural chief AI and data services officer. And Ingram announced that client publishers can now opt out of sales to tech firms, which are increasingly using print books to train AI.

Beejhy Baharny (far r.) discussed the story behind her debut cookbook Gursha (Knopf), written with Elisa Ung, at House of SpeakEasy’s author talk series held at Joe’s Pub on January 13. Pictured with Baharny (from l.) are JVNLA agents Cole Hildebrand, Alice Tasman, Ariana Philips, Jennifer Weltz, and Sally Ekus, who represents Baharny.
(Photo: Toby Tenenbaum/House of SpeakEasy)

Independent Publishers Caucus Launches Bestseller List with ABA

The Independent Press Top 40 is a new weekly bestseller list that ranks the most popular fiction and nonfiction titles from indie publishers, as sold by American Booksellers Association member stores. “When you take out Amazon, when you take out the large press books, you get this really interesting list,” said IPC cofounder Dan Simon. more

Publishers Seek to Join Class Action Against Google

Two members of the Association of American Publishers, Cengage and Hachette Book Group, have asked a court to allow them to join an ongoing class action lawsuit first brought by illustrators and authors in 2023. By joining the suit, AAP believes it can strengthen the claim against Google and its Gemini product. more

Folio Literary Management Acquires Greenhouse Literary Agency

The deal, which Folio said reinforces its commitment to children’s and YA books, will see Greenhouse’s list and team join the agency’s children’s division, Folio Jr., with director Chelsea Eberly taking the role of VP and agent. more

Wiley Names Inaugural AI Chief

To accelerate its efforts to make more licensing deals with AI developers and other tech companies, Wiley has named Armughan Rafat to the newly created position of chief AI and data services officer. Since January 2024, Wiley has generated about $100 million in AI deals. more

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