AGP Executive Report

AI & Copyright: The Trump DOJ urged withdrawal of its “fair use” stance in the OpenAI copyright fight, arguing Big Tech shouldn’t get unlimited scraping rights. AI for Teens: OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens with stronger safety defaults and study-focused tools. Publishing & Platforms: BookWalker marked 10 years with Kodansha via a Sept. 4–14 global manga promo. Books & Readers: Goodreads editors shared September picks, including Meg Mason’s Sophie, Standing There. Backlist Returns: Octavia Butler’s Survivor goes back into print after nearly 50 years, despite her objections. Book Culture & Events: A Cherokee youth book-signing tour spotlights Riding the Trail ahead of the Oct. 1 Remember the Removal ride. Tech & Security: CrowdStrike Falcon faced a newly published Windows privilege-escalation exploit, prompting mitigations. Controversy in Branding: Adidas drew boycott calls after featuring an Israeli amputee veteran in a single-shoe campaign.

Obituary: Wendell Berry, the Kentucky agrarian writer who warned against industrial excess and championed place-based life, has died at 92. Publishing & Culture: Resil B. Mojares, National Artist for Literature and a key voice in Filipino literary history, died at 83. Books & Society: A new study argues microplastics can act as “pollutant shuttles,” moving toxins and antibiotic resistance through ecosystems. Reading Access: Trinidad and Tobago’s education minister defended late distribution of school supplies and book grants, saying verification delays left many families waiting. Human Rights Literacy: A talk on the UN Universal Periodic Review aims to explain how countries judge each other’s rights records. Literary Spotlight: Harvard University Press publishes Anna Arno’s biography of Paul Celan, tracing the poet’s multilingual life and wartime losses. AI & Books: Reports say AI firms are destructively scanning used books to train systems, raising ethical and legal alarms. Kids & Libraries: Australia’s school-library and reading-for-pleasure groups push for mandatory, properly funded libraries as Book Week costume culture worries educators.

Publishing & Markets: A new Indiana law expands what homesteaders and small farms can sell directly to consumers, turning “gift only” goods into real retail for growers like Black Sheep Farms. Book Culture & Events: The Louisiana Book Festival announced its 2026 WordShops faculty, while the Delaware Valley readies more festivals and the Latin American Book Fair returns to Philly. Author Spotlight: Wendell Berry dies at 92, with tributes highlighting his refusal to fit “liberal” or “conservative” labels and his critique of corporate power. Rights, Censorship & Access: Reports from schools and libraries point to ongoing friction over what students can read, even as community programs push books into hands. Media Adaptations: HBO’s Harry Potter season 2 reportedly faces production delays, and Crave’s Heated Rivalry season 2 adds Paul Gross to the cast. International Literature Funding: The Dutch Foundation for Literature backs Caribbean projects, including translation and tours for a children’s novel across the Dutch Kingdom. AI & Publishing: A new push to use AI in education and publishing raises fresh questions about what tools can truly replace.

Hospice Basics: A nurse answers readers’ “Toni Says” question with a plain-language guide to what hospice is and what families can expect when end-of-life care shifts. Publishing Law vs. Censorship: The Sonia Gandhi memoir Belonging is shelved in India after Penguin Random House India’s legal review, sparking debate over where risk-checking ends and censorship begins. AI and Education Policy: LAUSD blocks generative AI on district devices while drafting rules, raising the question of how students learn to evaluate AI if they can’t use it at school. Climate Media Clash: Australia’s Climate Change Authority report on “misinformation” reportedly triggers a sharp reaction from News Corp, fueling another culture-war fight over climate messaging. Books & Community: A new teacher library program opens applications, while local book events and festivals keep pushing reading for all ages. Global Publishing Outlook: A report forecasts India’s book market could hit ₹2 lakh crore by 2030–31, citing education growth, language publishing, and digital adoption. Literary Spotlight: Geetanjali Shree discusses Tomb of Sand and the expectations placed on women writers, extending the conversation on language, borders, and identity.

Security Publishing: Omar Rao’s new book The Quiet Door argues breaches often start with ordinary, documented missteps—like reused passwords, propped access, and ignored alerts—rather than flashy exploits. Media & Books/Publishing Culture: New Zealand’s Seven Sharp faces sponsor pressure as Media Insider reports crunch time for the show and its path to RNZ chief executive leadership. Reading as a Craft: Clara Sneed pushes back on AI’s role in writing, saying strong writers are built by strong readers. Children’s Shelf: Disney-published Lowrider for Sale brings a Texas debut story to young readers, while Lax Cat introduces lacrosse to ages 3–8. Literary Spotlight: Ann Patchett’s Whistler returns to themes of loss and art, with reviewers asking whether the novel sets grief against creativity. Publishing Industry & Labor: A commentary on peer review challenges the idea that “unbiased” evaluation must be unpaid, citing faster decisions when reviewers are paid. Film-to-Book Buzz: By Any Means and Marble Hall Murders keep the cross-media spotlight on storytelling and adaptation.

Climate Overshoot: A new UN report says the world will likely pass the 1.5°C warming target by 2030, with a pathway of “overshoot, peak and decline” hinging on steep emissions cuts and carbon removal. Public Health: US medical groups (including the AMA and AAP) issued updated guidance urging flu, COVID and RSV vaccinations, aiming to reduce confusion as federal advice shifts. AI & Books: Tech firms are buying large quantities of second-hand Dutch books to train AI, with critics alarmed by reports of spines being cut and pages scanned. Publishing & Culture: USA TODAY bestselling author J.J. Hebert’s The Breaking of Time won Gold at the 2026 Readers’ Favorite awards; meanwhile, The Paper returns for Season 2 with early reviews calling it faster and funnier. Local Policy: Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed broad data privacy bills, lowering coverage thresholds and expanding opt-outs for automated decisions. Tech Consumer Watch: iPhone Ultra foldable pricing rumors put it around $2,000–$2,500.

Courtroom Delays: A South African defence team for Feroz Khan says the state’s document handover delays are undermining his right to a fair, fast trial in a precious metals corruption case. Disaster & Risk: A Nepal flash-flood analysis argues the 26 August disaster exposed major gaps in early-warning and cascading-hazard planning, from ice-rock falls to barrier-lake outbursts. AI & Reading Culture: Opinion and reporting push back on “Gen Z isn’t reading” claims, arguing reading is shifting across print, audio, and web platforms; meanwhile, AI detection tools and AI-in-politics debates keep raising questions about authenticity and trust. Publishing/Books in the Wild: Local library and festival updates highlight summer reading wins and upcoming children’s events, while a new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art exhibit spotlights illustrators and cartoonists as a kind of cultural counter-archive. Media & Rights: An Arkansas judge weighs whether to block outlets from publishing details of a data-center agreement tied to Google.

Korean Publishing Push: Korea’s Ministry of Culture and a state-backed agency are staging the “Outreach New York Book Fair,” pairing 15 Korean publishers with 40 U.S. buyers (including major houses like Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette) to boost exports of Korean books and webtoons. Literacy & Libraries: International Literacy Day gets a reminder that literacy is more than decoding words, plus a Library Card Sign-Up Month roundup that spotlights kid-friendly reads to pull families into local libraries. Author Spotlight: Meg Mason talks about her new novel Sophie, Standing There—and pushes back on “sad girl lit” labels—while AR Rahman announces his co-authored memoir Rahman: A Renaissance. Health & Care: A new review finds very low-quality support for lumbar braces in chronic low back pain, and separate research maps childhood Crohn’s disease responses to treatment. Climate Reality Check: The UN says the world must “navigate” overshooting 1.5°C, shifting focus from avoiding it to managing impacts.

Belarus Publishing: Homer’s Odyssey is getting a first-ever complete Belarusian translation, with hexameter work and reader commentaries from Połackija Łabirynty. Tech & Reading Culture: Google is pushing deeper into books with AI features that can analyze ebooks and help with travel planning, while China tightens rules that can mean confiscated power banks at airports. Publishing Business Watch: MrBeast and James Patterson’s The Most Dangerous Games faces reported weak preorders, and Guantánamo’s book fair returns with new local titles and a Fidel Castro-focused program. Books as Big Ideas: A new horror slate for September leans hard into the season’s biggest scares, and Supernatural Machines from Naga Archives traces two centuries of spirit-communication devices. Author News: Wendell Berry dies at 92, and the Odyssey retranslation news spotlights Emily Wilson’s new approach. Social Impact: A review calls for a national mentoring standard for care leavers after deaths tied to isolation, and Connecticut orders parts of a Waterbury captivity case internal review disclosed to the victim’s lawyers.

Investigative Publishing: Frank Connolly’s new book Exposed, Scandals that Rocked the Irish State revisits major Irish political shocks, including Garda corruption in Donegal and a planning scandal tied to whistleblower Tom Gilmartin that helped topple careers. Literary Loss: Wendell Berry, the Kentucky writer and farmer who “came home and stayed,” has died at 92, a reminder of how place-based writing can shape readers for decades. Wellbeing Research in Print: WellBalance released peer-reviewed findings on burnout risk, arguing the biggest signals can come from feelings of significance and emotional distress, not just workplace stress. Library & Censorship Fight: Texas school-library book challenges keep escalating, with districts facing pressure to remove titles deemed “harmful.” Sports-Politics Memoir Ripple: A decade after Colin Kaepernick took a knee, the cultural and publishing aftershocks continue, including renewed attention on his memoir The Perilous Fight. Reading Culture: Book Week and local library programs spotlight community reading habits, from youth events to author visits. Media/Streaming Culture: HBO Max’s The Pitt remains a fan-driven appointment show, showing how audiences still build rituals around stories.

AI & Publishing Business: Forbes’ Nina Gould says traditional search traffic is shrinking fast as AI search grows, pushing publishers to “own the direct relationship” with readers through deeper personalization. Tech Infrastructure & Books/Media: A new $3.2B-scale AI data center lease highlights how power-ready land and energized capacity are becoming the real bottleneck for the next wave of digital content. Reading Habits: A Malaysia report finds some readers are choosing physical paperbacks to reduce screen fatigue and keep a tactile, satisfying reading routine. Kids, Libraries & Literacy: The Scripps Howard Fund’s “If You Give a Child a Book…” campaign marks 10 years and nearly 2 million books distributed, betting on home libraries and kids’ choice. Community Book Culture: A Big Bad Wolf Books event spotlights the continued pull of print, while local library programs keep manga and family reading on the calendar. Pop Culture Tie-Ins: Prime Video’s “Off Campus” gets licensed Halloween costumes, showing how book-to-screen fandom keeps spilling into retail. Education Policy: Florida’s new “History of Communism” standards push required instruction into grades 6-12, with debate over what students should learn. Open Access Publishing: JMIR Publications renews an unlimited open-access subscription for six UK research institutions, expanding access for readers and authors.

Copyright & Fees: The U.S. Copyright Office is set to raise registration fees by nearly 43% this November, with rights holders urged to register catalogs before a Sept. 10 deadline to lock in current rates. Book Festivals & Authors: Whitby Lit Fest lands a surprise headline: Downton Abbey and Paddington star Hugh Bonneville will appear Nov. 21 to introduce his children’s book Rory Sparkes and the Spy Who Loved Tea. Memoir & Poetry: Michaelia Morgan’s debut memoir That Yankee Girl: The Early Years recounts growing up in segregated Florida through a child’s eye, while Cherie L. Davis releases The Maps We Make, a poetry collection tracing trauma, healthcare, grief, and resilience. Publishing Community: Oil City’s Festival of the Book spotlights independent publishing and how authors navigate e-books vs print. Media & Rights: A Colorado college closed a case against student journalists after restrictions on interviewing and publishing—though clearer rules are still in question. Tech & Reading: A study-backed push for “digital home nursing” in China raises readiness and safety questions as hospitals expand into patients’ living rooms.

Texas Politics & Publishing: Texas Agriculture Commissioner race heats up as Republican nominee Nate Sheets leans on his agriculture-industry profile while the office’s wide consumer and farm oversight keeps the stakes high. Food & Culture: A new “Tony” movie moment brings Anthony Bourdain’s New Orleans favorites back into focus, from Antoine’s to Domilise’s, with his “uniquely wonderful” city quote doing the rounds again. Superhero Nostalgia: A look at the cast behind 1978’s “Superman” revisits where Christopher Reeve and co-stars went next. Local Book Retail: Hello Darling Books & Beyond expands its romance-focused indie model at McHenry’s Riverwalk retail incubator, with signings and workshops planned through December. Faith & Publishing: A guided-journal release, “Healing Hearts, Renewed Minds,” targets trauma, grief, and reflection through Scripture-led prompts. Surveillance & Accountability: Texas lawmakers’ $1 car-insurance fee is tied to thousands of Flock cameras, raising fresh questions about how public money lands on the ground. Books & Controversy: Malala and Anne Frank reading sessions in Gujarat face mob attacks, underscoring how school curricula and book access remain flashpoints. Film-to-Book Buzz: Ridley Scott says he’s already storyboarding “Treasure Island,” with Hugh Jackman set to star. AI at School: Teachers warn that student AI use is eroding critical thinking and in-class writing skills.

Publishing & Books in the News: A Kerala “read book, get paid” scam has left hundreds out of pocket by more than Rs 1 crore, with police tracing a suspected UK link and describing task-based rewards that funnel commissions to recruiters. Global Reading Access: Bloomsbury is translating 32 works by Marathi reformer Annabhau Sathe for worldwide English readers, spotlighting novels like Master and Chitra. AI & Translation: A translation conference debates whether AI can replace translators for “formula fiction,” while Debian’s vote says AI-assisted contributions are allowed but must meet the same quality and legal standards. Censorship & Books Under Pressure: Hong Kong booksellers face threats as political titles draw scrutiny, and Gujarat reports attacks on Malala reading sessions. Book-to-Screen Buzz: Fall brings major adaptations, including Colleen Hoover’s Verity and Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping. Literary Culture: A new study on Van Gogh’s signatures links his use of “Vincent” to self-criticism and life stages.

Strait-of-Hormuz Shock: Gulf states are rerouting trade and pouring money into ports and pipelines as Iran-related disruptions expose how dependent energy flows are on the chokepoint. AI in Publishing & Pop Culture: Fans are questioning whether generative AI was used in a Marvel/Sony Spider-Man art book, while a separate debate rages over how digital reading affects recall versus paper. Sonia Gandhi Memoir Row: In India, politicians and critics are trading accusations over Penguin India’s handling of Sonia Gandhi’s “Belonging,” with claims of pressure to change passages and a pushback framed as a freedom-to-read issue. Right to Read Under Threat: Gujarat Congress condemns attacks on a Malala reading session, calling it mob rule against peaceful discussion. Education & Text Choices: An A-level English exam board is accused of “dumbing down” by replacing older non-fiction set texts with much newer ones. Literacy Programs: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library expands locally with free books delivered to young children. Book-to-Screen Buzz: Prime Video’s “The Last Sunrise” is drawing strong early viewership after adapting Anna Todd’s novel. Publishing Events: Pegasus Publishing highlights African learning at the Ghana International Book Fair, and the Abu Dhabi Book Fair names the Balkans as Guest of Honour. Reading Tech & Safety: Studies and consumer alerts keep circling back to how screens change comprehension and how expired cards can still enable fraud.

Publishing & Politics: Congress leaders are pressing Penguin Random House India over Sonia Gandhi’s memoir Belonging, after Penguin India said it won’t publish in India and denied government pressure—while allegations swirl about requested edits tied to Modi, RSS and India-China border claims. Sports & Health: A BMJ study of donated brains suggests at least a quarter of NFL players who died between 2016-2021 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, reigniting pressure on the AFL/NFL head-trauma response. Children’s Reading & Community: Utah’s first lady Abby Cox kicked off “Utah Reads” with storytime, as the state targets early literacy gaps; in Missouri, a rebuilt Joplin bookstore keeps funding school lunches via its book buffet. Book Reviews & Culture: New releases span grief and identity—Timor Mortis on what death clarifies, Ghost Month on London’s mass haunting, and Register Me as Kulbhushan on Partition-era identity and bureaucracy. Local Book World: A New Hampshire game warden’s century-spanning newspaper columns are compiled into Tracks N Trails, preserving outdoor history for modern readers.