Roll Call
Employees at Brooklyn’s Center for Fiction
could soon join a growing roster of New York City bookstores to unionize through RWDSU, pending recognition from the Center’s board. Unbound, a U.K.-based crowdfunding publisher that lost $39 million for shareholders before being sold in March,
still owes an estimated $3.1 million to creditors. After nearly a dozen Philadelphia school districts managed to add librarians and increase library services amid nationwide declines in school library staffing, districts across the country are
taking steps to replicate their success. And the Authors Guild has launched a petition to Congress to
reinstate register of copyrights Shira Perlmutter. Speaking of Congress, Republicans have added a proposal to the House budget bill that would
ban all state regulation of AI for 10 years, per
Bloomberg Government. Tribal communities
could lose their libraries due to the Trump administration’s cuts to the IMLS, and an Ohio man has been accused of
burning 100 books on Black, Jewish, and queer history from his own local library, reports NBC News. U.K. publishers and authors are breathing a sigh of relief after
proposed changes to the country’s IP laws were scrapped, reports the
Bookseller. Ottessa Moshfegh’s
Death in Her Hands will be
adapted into a film starring Tilda Swinton, per
Variety. And
ScreenRant unpacks the controversy around a
new dystopian novel blowing up on BookTok.

Center for Fiction Employees Seek to UnionizeA supermajority of staff at Brooklyn’s Center for Fiction have filed with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and requested recognition from the nonprofit bookseller. A growing number of New York City bookstore employees have joined the RWDSU in recent years.
more »
U.K.’s Bankrupt Unbound Still Owes Millions to CreditorsThe U.K.-based crowdfunding publisher Unbound lost $39 million for its shareholders and owed an estimated $3.1 million to creditors, prior to its being sold in March for just $64,000. The new owners are operating the updated version of Unbound as Boundless.
more »
A Roadmap for Restoring School LibrariansHow did 11 large, urban K–12 districts manage to add librarians and increase library services for their students when the U.S. is experiencing a decades-long decline in school librarian staffing? The School District of Philadelphia and the volunteer advocacy organization Philadelphia Alliance to Restore School Librarians teamed up to find out—and to create a replicable model for achieving similar success.
more »
Learn How They Reached More Readers Safely
Trade publishers are chasing reach, but losing control. One religious education publisher found a way to do both. Join this session to hear how their journey can help you rethink your own digital publishing strategy.
(Sponsored) More »
Jo Henry Calls It a Career at ‘BookBrunch’ After nearly 50 years in the book business—as a literary agent, book publisher, market researcher, and journalist—Jo Henry has stepped down as managing director of the U.K. publishing newsletter
BookBrunch, a role she has held since 2018.
more »
Two New Books That Explain Pope Leo XIVCatholic historian Matthew Bunson’s biography of the new pope, once known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, goes on sale Monday. It joins a just-released book on Catholic social teaching, established by Leo XIII, which many expect will be foundational in Pope Leo XIV’s papacy.
more »
Fantasy MG Series Dragonborn Set for October Launch from DuttonScottish author Struan Murray’s new fantasy series Dragonborn, originally scheduled to begin in spring 2026, is now slated for fall publication, due to strong in-house buzz. Murray said inspiration for the story came from a chance encounter in Oxford with a scholar who specialized in the study of dragons. “This got me thinking: what if dragons exist, but have found a cunning way to hide themselves?”
more »
NCTE, PRH Announce Anne Frank Award for Teaching MemoirThe new program from the National Council of Teachers of English, Penguin Random House, and the Anne Frank Fonds will award $1,000 grants to 10 educators to teach memoir in the classroom, with a particular focus on children’s wartime experiences.
more »
Awards News
- Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees: Tom King, Leela Corman, and Olivier Schrauwen are among the nominees in 32 categories for this year’s Will Eisner Comic Industry Award, presented by Comic-Con.
- Center for Fiction Honors Murakami: Haruki Murakami will be receive the Lifetime of Excellence in Fiction Award at the Center for Fiction’s annual awards benefit in Brooklyn on December 9.
- Yasmin Zaher Wins Dylan Thomas Prize: The Palestinian author’s novel The Coin has won the Dylan Thomas Prize, which awards £20,000 for writers aged 39 or under.
Bookstore News
- Washington’s Newest Romance Bookshop: Hardcovers Romance Bookstore opened in Mills Creek earlier this spring, and is the town’s first bookstore since the local University Book Store branch closed in 2019.
Click here to join the conversation in
PW's Facebook group for booksellers.

Picture of the Day
On May 9, author and illustrator Yesenia Moises celebrated the release of her new picture book Sounds Like Joy (Versify) with a presentation to students at P.S. 5 in the Bronx, N.Y., with nonprofit Start Lighthouse.
Courtesy HarperCollins