New Book Publisher Listing: Two Windmills
firstwriter.com – Monday February 2, 2026
Publishes bold, colourful activity books, picture storybooks, sticker books, novelty titles and creative kits with a focus on imaginative play, artistic exploration and hands‑on creativity. Handles magic water colouring, scratch art and drawing‑instruction series, including book‑only and book‑plus formats.
Why most books sell less than 200 copies
authorlink.com – Sunday February 1, 2026
Ah…the reason so few books sell more than 200 copies “might” be partly due to the quality of the writing, but the greatest challenge looms in the marketplace. The problem boils down to sheer numbers. Excuse me if my math contains rough estimates.
The top five traditional publishers (Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, Simon & Shuster, Hachette and McMillan) collectively turn out about 100,000 titles a year. Amazon posts about 1.4 million self published books annually. There are roughly 50 million Amazon titles floating around for sale at any given time.
The typical American reads about four or five books a year. If you include avid readers, the number increases to 12 to 14 books per year according to Gallup News.
About 21% of U.S. adults, or roughly 43-45 million people are functionally illiterate, according to National University, nu.edu. An estimated 130 million adults are unable to read a simple story to their children. Consider this: 59 million U.S. adults read below Level 1 on the PIAAC (Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) scale. This level indicates very poor literacy skills, where individuals can, at best, read short texts to locate a single piece of information, or in many cases, are functionally illiterate. (Perhaps that’s why emojis have become so popular).
New Magazine Listing: By the Glass
firstwriter.com – Thursday January 29, 2026
Literary magazine from Western Kentucky celebrating regional writers. Publishes work showcasing local artistry and creativity.
New Literary Agent Listing: Michael Taeckens
firstwriter.com – Wednesday January 28, 2026
Handles literary fiction and a broad range of narrative nonfiction, including biography, cultural studies, history and current events, hybrid work, memoir, popular culture, and science. Open to queries sent by email with a synopsis, publication history, brief bio, and an excerpt of up to ten pages pasted into the message. Queries not answered within four to six weeks are not a good fit.
New Magazine Listing: National Geographic Kids
firstwriter.com – Monday January 26, 2026
Publishes an illustrated magazine for readers aged seven to twelve featuring factual articles, quizzes, activities and photo‑led features covering animals, science, geography, history, the environment and contemporary culture. Produces educational material with an emphasis on accessible nonfiction, wildlife coverage and global awareness. Offers regular themed features, news items, puzzles and competitions. Focuses on engaging young readers with clear explanations, vivid imagery and concise informational writing.
New Literary Agent Listing: Izzy Hall
firstwriter.com – Friday January 23, 2026
Currently training as a junior agent. Interested in strong, unique speculative women’s fiction that explores genre-forward themes such as romance, mystery and gender.
Alice Caprio Joins PFD to Strengthen Its Growing Children’s and YA Division
firstwriter.com – Wednesday January 21, 2026
Peters Fraser + Dunlop has announced the appointment of Alice Caprio as the newest member of its children’s and young adult representation team, marking a further expansion of the agency’s commitment to the sector. Caprio officially steps into the role on 5 January 2026.
Her move to PFD follows a five‑year stretch immersed in the international children’s book market, during which she scouted for London Literary Scouting and later represented authors at Felicity Bryan Associates. That experience has given her a broad view of global trends and a strong grounding in talent development.
Georges Borchardt, Literary Powerhouse Who Brought Global Voices to America, Dies at 97
firstwriter.com – Wednesday January 21, 2026
Georges Borchardt, a towering figure in the world of literary representation and a tireless advocate for writers whose work reshaped modern literature, has died at his Manhattan home at the age of 97. His family said he passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, including Anne Borchardt, his wife and business partner for more than six decades.
For many in publishing, Borchardt was not merely an agent but a cultural bridge. Over a career spanning more than 70 years, he introduced American readers to some of the most influential voices of the 20th century — among them Samuel Beckett, Elie Wiesel, Marguerite Duras, and Eugene Ionesco. His agency, founded in 1967, became a haven for writers whose work demanded both courage and conviction.
Ranking 2025’s Bestselling Adult Publishers
publishersweekly.com – Tuesday January 20, 2026
The dominance of the Big Five publishers over national bestseller lists is nothing new. It's such a given, in fact, that last week the Independent Publisher Caucus launched the Independent Press Top 40 bestseller list in tandem with the American Booksellers Association, with the aim of shining a spotlight on books from independent publishers that would otherwise be unable to crack those lists.
The results of our annual review of bestsellers-by-publisher did indeed show that the Big Five publishers did indeed reign supreme over the 2025 PW adult bestseller lists, powered by Circana BookScan.
But we also found that in 2025, the Big Five lost some of their grip on hardcover bestsellers compared to 2024, accounting for 83% of available slots on the hardcover list, down from 86% in 2024. Their share of trade paperback bestsellers, however, moved up to 42% from 39% in 2024.
As usual, this year’s PW rankings are derived by multiplying the 20 weekly bestseller slots PW gives to each of the adult hardcover fiction, nonfiction, and trade paperback formats by 52 weeks, leaving 1,040 spots for each list.
Penguin Random House grabbed the largest share of hardcover bestsellers, snagging 38% of available slots. The remaining Big Five were bunched up far behind PRH: Simon & Schuster 13%; Hachette Book Group 12%; Macmillan 10%; and HarperCollins 9%.
£50,000 ‘reader-led’ writing prize launched
theguardian.com – Monday January 19, 2026
The award, run by Hachette UK and Libraro, aims to ‘sidestep the traditional barricades of the book industry’ and give readers a role in discovering new talent
A new £50,000 writing prize that allows readers to select the shortlist from submitted manuscripts – and rewards them with cash prizes for their involvement – has been launched by the publishing platform Libraro, in partnership with Hachette UK.
The Libraro prize aims to “sidestep the traditional barricades of the book industry”, according to organisers. Writers upload full manuscripts to the Libraro platform, where readers champion their favourite entries to create a shortlist of six books.
It is open to adult and crossover YA fiction written in English and is designed to give readers a role in discovering new writing talent.
The overall winner will receive a £50,000 prize package from Libraro – comprising £30,000 and an additional £20,000 towards marketing the finished book – alongside a book deal with Hachette UK. Two additional reader prizes of £10,000 each will also be awarded: one to the reader who referred the winning author to the platform, and another to the reader who engages most actively with submissions.
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