News Summary: Amazon’s New A10 Algorithm Prioritizes Reader Engagement, Sparking Concern Among Indie Authors
ALLi’s Orna Ross discusses Amazon’s new A10 algorithm and how its focus on reader engagement affects indie author sales.
News Summary: Frankfurt Survey Reveals AI Use Across Publishing; EU Act Draws Criticism
As foreshadowed on Tuesday, I end the week with a round-up that includes news from Frankfurt, where last week’s other major conference took place. One of the things that particularly caught my eye there was the release of a survey by BISG (Book Industry Study Group) on the use of AI in the publishing industry.
News Summary: Spotify Expands AI and Audiobook Initiatives; New Romance Call Opens for Indie Authors
It’s not just conferences that have been going on, and following the report on SelfPubCon we’ll have a short break before recapping Frankfurt. Neither Spotify nor AI has disappeared from the news. In fact, they appear in the same story.
News Summary: SelfPubCon25 Highlights New Marketing, Streaming, and Reader Connection Trends
Last weekend was ALLi’s SelfPubCon25. Did I mention that? It was also Frankfurt Book Fair during the week, and I’ll look in the next column at some of the themes emerging from that. But I want to start where it really matters—with our own event and the key topics that came out on the subject “New Trends in Self-Publishing.”
News Summary: Reedsy Launches Novel Sprint to Replace NaNoWriMo, with Prizes and No AI
Reedsy introduces its Novel Sprint as an alternative to NaNoWriMo, offering cash prizes and requiring all 50,000 words to be human written.
News Summary: Baker & Taylor Closure Reshapes Library Supply; Frankfurt Fair Opens Ahead of SelfPubCon 25
The last story I ran last week broke right at the time of writing, meaning there was little time to include much detail. (Well, both did: the Nobel Prize announcement was made about two and a half minutes before I filed with Howard, but while I love its drama, it is not, sadly, indie-oriented enough to warrant a larger unpacking here.)
News Summary: Spotify Clarifies ChatGPT Integration; AI Video App Sora Sparks Debate
Spotify’s relationship with AI feels as though it has become increasingly— for want of a better phrase—a slightly edgy one. The company is, first and foremost, a tech company rather than an arts company. Daniel Ek was a coder before anything else and has always taken the company in a direction that favors innovation. On the other hand, Spotify is passionate about working with creative people—nowhere more so than when it comes to writers.
News Summary: Nobel Prize for Literature Announced; Baker & Taylor to Close After Two Centuries
This is one of my favorite times of year as a reporter in the book world—and even more so as a literary civvy, someone who just loves books, whether writing or reading them. Yes, of course, I mean SelfPubCon (for which there is still time to sign up!). But I also mean the announcement of the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature—our highest-profile and highest-paying moment in the media sun.
News Summary: Digital Publishing Awards Highlight AI Innovation and Accessibility Trends in Book Industry
It's award season in the books world. If you scan the headlines of literary media, you'll see shortlists for the likes of the Goldsmiths (experimental fiction), Booker (fiction), Baillie Gifford (nonfiction), Cundill (history), and Schroders (business). Each of them has a large five-figure sum for the eventual winner. Not to mention the Nobel and its nearly seven-figure purse, and last week I reported on the Speakies.
News Summary: Amazon Launches New Kindle Scribe Models with AI Features for Prime Day
This week is, of course, the time of year for Amazon Prime Day(s). Over the years, Amazon’s red-letter days have been a good indicator of the direction they want to take the business in over the coming year(s).
News Summary: Bookshop.org Expands Ebook Distribution to UK, Supporting Indie Authors and Bookstores
Excellent news to end the week for those who want to sell ebooks while helping independent retailers: Bookshop.org has expanded its ebook distribution to the UK.
News Summary: L. J. Ross Shortlisted for British Audiobook Awards; TikTok Deal Approved; Universal Turing Machine Launches
Let’s start with the celebratory news. The shortlists for the first British Audiobook Awards (which are styling themselves as the “Speakies”) have just been released. The categories reflect many of those in the more established Audie Awards across the pond. As is often the case with audiobooks, in some instances it’s tricky to tell which titles are self-published, especially in the “originals” category.