By Carlo Carrenho, Contributing Editor
Among the week’s headlines: The biggest French publishers got bigger in 2025; an academic look at the “platformization” of audiobooks; Vietnam updates its IP laws to address AI; and how the Swedish government is boosting book sales.France’s Top 10 Take an Even Bigger Slice
According to Livres Hebdo, which published its 2026 ranking of France’s 100 leading publishing groups and houses in partnership with Marianne, the market remains highly concentrated: the top 10 groups accounted for 92.9% of the €6.95 billion ($8.1 billion) generated by the ranked publishers in 2025. Their combined revenue increased 2.13% while SNE figures for its members showed declines of 0.63% in value and 1.49% in volume. Hachette Livre remained No. 1, while Editis ranked second with revenue up 9.96%. Madrigall moved into third place after growing 8.5% to €684 million ($797 million), overtaking Média-Participations, whose revenue fell 11.5% to €617 million ($718 million).
France is no different from many other Western publishing markets when it comes to concentration, with its biggest groups dominating the business. What is particularly notable here is that the top 10 grew even as SNE figures pointed to an overall decline among its members, suggesting that concentration at the top is continuing to increase. There was also movement within that elite group: Madrigall’s 8.5% growth, combined with Média-Participations’ 11.5-percent% was enough to reverse their positions and put Madrigall in third place.
Scholars Listen to Audiobooks Too
Media and communication scholar Sven Stollfuß of Leipzig University examines the contemporary digital audiobook through the lens of platformization in his article, “Audible, Spotify, YouTube & Co.: The German Digital Audiobook Market in the Context of Platformization,” published in the academic journal New Media & Society. Stollfuß uses the German audiobook market as a case study to explore “platformized audiobook culture” and distinguishes it from digital audiobook culture, while also proposing an ecosystem model to support future theoretical and empirical research. The article is Open Access.
There is a whole world of academic publishing studies, but interaction between scholars and the publishing industry remains far more limited than it could be—to the detriment of both sides. Stollfuß’s article is a good example of research with practical relevance: it treats audiobooks consumed through platforms as something distinct, focusing on how the platforms themselves can shape consumption and interact with audiences. It is a technical article, certainly, but well worth reading for anyone working in an audiobook business that is becoming increasingly “platformed.”
Vietnam Wants to Know Who Wrote It
According to Sở Hữu Trí Tuệ, a Vietnamese publication specializing in intellectual property, Vietnam’s National Assembly has approved amendments to the country’s Publishing Law covering AI, digital copyright, and electronic publishing. Publications created wholly or partly using AI will have to be clearly labeled, while the use of AI will not alter publishers’ legal responsibility for their content. The legislation also sets requirements for digital platforms, intermediary service providers, and foreign organizations serving users in Vietnam, including cooperation in removing infringing material when requested by state authorities. Publishers will also be required to submit electronic legal deposit files of digital publications.
It’s not only the Western world that is concerned about AI and looking to regulate it, and Vietnam appears to be moving quickly. Requiring labels for publications created partly with AI raises the complicated question of where “AI-created” begins, on a spectrum that runs from spell-checking to generating entire stories. Requirements for digital platforms and foreign companies operating in the country echo measures being taken elsewhere, while extending legal deposit requirements to digital books is another sign of publishing regulation catching up with the digital market.
When Saudi Arabia Brings Japan to France
Livres Hebdo reports that a planned Dragon Ball theme park in France’s Île-de-France region has yet to receive approval from the Japanese rights holders to use the characters and brand. The project is being developed by Qiddiya Investment Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which secured an agreement in 2024 for a separate Dragon Ball park in Saudi Arabia. French publisher Glénat, which has sold nearly 34 million Dragon Ball copies in France, is not involved in the French project. Rights to Akira Toriyama’s property are divided among several Japanese companies, including manga publisher Shueisha, Toei, Bird Studio, Bandai Namco, and Capsule Corporation Tokyo.
The project is another reminder of just how big manga has become in France, the world’s second-largest manga market after Japan. Also striking is Saudi Arabia’s interest after Qiddiya secured the rights for its own gigantic Dragon Ball park, planned to cover more than 500,000 square meters, with seven themed zones and more than 30 attractions. In France, things seem to be more complicated, not least because of the number of companies involved in the rights structure. Still, having already secured a deal for Saudi Arabia, Qiddiya has experience navigating those negotiations. Now the question is just how big—and how real—the proposed park near Paris will become, and, if it moves forward, whether Glénat will eventually have any involvement.
The Dutch Answer to an English Matter
According to InCT, WPG Uitgevers has become a shareholder in Van Ditmar Boeken, a specialist in the import, sales, and distribution of English-language and international books to bookstores, retailers, libraries, and other professional customers in the Netherlands and Belgium. WPG CEO Erik J. van Aalst said the Dutch-language book market remains the company’s foundation, while the market for English-language books in the Netherlands has grown structurally in recent years. The collaboration is intended to strengthen WPG’s position in the English-language segment.
This may look like another small M&A move in a publishing market that produces them almost weekly, but this deal is emblematic: WPG is one of the Netherlands’ top three trade publishers and particularly strong in commercial publishing, making its decision to invest in Van Ditmar a notable response to the growth of English-language sales. Rather than simply watching English-language publishers expand in their markets, local players are looking for ways to participate in that growth. It recalls moves by German publishers to acquire English-language rights for their domestic market—but this time, the response is coming from the Netherlands.
Sweden’s Government Gives Printed Books a Push
According to Boktugg, Swedish book sales rose 4.8% in the first half of 2026 to SEK 2.5 billion ($263 million), with second-quarter sales up 6.1% to SEK 1.2 billion ($126 million). Digital subscription services grew 7.2% to SEK 463 million ($48.6 million), while online bookstores and book clubs jumped 13.6% to SEK 445 million ($46.7 million). Physical bookstore sales fell 4.3% to SEK 262 million ($27.5 million), their first decline since 2020. Government-funded school and preschool purchases contributed to the market, while children’s and YA sales rose 14.8% overall and 33.8% through online bookstores and book clubs.
Sweden’s shift toward digital continues, with audiobook and streaming subscription services posting strong growth as physical bookstore sales decline. But the digital story has gained a print twist: online bookstores are also growing, boosted by the Swedish government’s increased investment in print books for schools and preschools over the past two years, with online retailers securing a significant share of those procurement contracts. In a related development also reported by Boktugg, Sweden’s largest online bookstore, Adlibris, has just won a major government procurement contract to supply digital and hybrid teaching materials to schools.
At PRH, Germans Do It Better
According to Börsenblatt, Bertelsmann’s Penguin Random House increased first-half 2026 revenue by 2.3% to €2.376 billion ($2.77 billion), with Germany delivering the strongest growth among its three major markets. Revenue at PRH Germany rose 11.1% to €150 million ($175 million), compared with 1.8% to €232 million ($270 million) in the U.K.; and a slight increase from €1.376 billion ($1.60 billion) to €1.381 billion ($1.61 billion) in the U.S. Both the German and U.K. businesses gained market share despite a difficult market environment. Adjusted operating EBITDA declined from €255 million ($297 million) to €251 million ($292 million), reflecting higher costs and negative currency effects.
It is always good to see the world’s largest trade publisher doing relatively well, and PRH’s performance in Germany particularly catches the eye. Perhaps even more significant is that the company gained market share in both Germany and the U.K., reinforcing the strength of its first-half performance. Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe specifically highlighted Penguin Random House among the group’s businesses that delivered particularly positive results.
Disney Princesses Have a Date With Luke Skywalker and Iron Man in South Korea
Publishers Weekly reports that Disney Publishing is moving into romantasy comics with Disney Cursed Love, a four-title series pairing Disney Princess characters with new characters. The comics will debut on South Korean digital comics platform Webtoon next year before appearing in print, with Disney also planning webcomics, graphic novels, YA fiction, and other formats around the property. The project is part of a multiyear agreement to bring around 100 comics from Disney, Marvel, 20th Century Studios, and Star Wars to Webtoon’s vertical-scroll format. The broader partnership also includes plans for a new digital comics platform, and Disney’s 2% equity investment in Webtoon.
After already bringing major characters from the Marvel and Star Wars universes to Webtoon, Disney is now taking its commitment a step further. This shows how crucial Webtoon has become to comics publishing and how firmly it has entered the mainstream. Putting digital publication ahead of print is a radical change to traditional comics publishing models, but one the industry increasingly seems to be adapting to. This is certainly a partnership to watch, particularly given Disney’s direct investment in Webtoon.
Google Pairs Artificial Intelligence With Publisher Dialogue
According to Publishers Weekly, Google has launched Expert Intelligence, an AI feature that allows readers to interact with ebooks purchased through Google Play Books. Launching with more than 100,000 English-language titles, mostly trade nonfiction, the tool lets readers ask questions, take quizzes, create infographics, and generate slide decks, with responses based directly on the purchased book. Participating publishers include Bloomsbury, De Gruyter Brill, Johns Hopkins University Press, Macmillan, O’Reilly Media, and Penguin Random House. PRH CEO Nihar Malaviya said the initiative is an example of how AI can be developed responsibly. International availability will depend on regional contract terms.
When people talk, things get resolved. Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue. In this case, it seems that Google reached out to publishers, listened to their concerns, and worked toward an agreement that makes an AI tool available to readers who actually buy the books. That is particularly significant: the AI experience takes place within a commercial transaction that remunerates the book value chain. This is a potentially positive example of how business between AI companies and the book industry can work.
What Else Caught My Eye
A Bayern Tonie. Tonies is teaming up with FC Bayern München for its first serialized sports audio production in the DACH region: a Pocket Tonie with 18 episodes that update automatically throughout the 2026/27 season. According to CEO Tobias Wann on LinkedIn.
A rich poet. Three poets are competing for Nigeria’s $100,000 Prize for Literature. The winner will be announced in October. In The New Publishing Standard.
A tariff escape. Canada’s new counter-tariffs against the U.S. exclude finished books, although paper, packaging and other supplies may still be hit. According to publishing expert Rob Clements on LinkedIn.
A ghost writer. O’Reilly Media founder Tim O’Reilly argues that AI is a creative medium, much like photography. His provocative take: “I am the author of this essay, though Claude wrote every word.” Via O’Reilly Radar
A book-fair scheme. German authors are receiving fraudulent, apparently AI-generated interview and podcast invitations ahead of the Frankfurt Book Fair — followed by demands for payment. In Börsenblatt.
A fixed front. Independent booksellers from seven Latin American countries have joined forces to defend fixed book prices, calling for their adoption or stronger enforcement. In PublishNews Spain.
A shelf bug. Bedbugs found at one library prompted the French city of Aix-en-Provence to close its entire municipal library network for preventive inspections. No bugs have been found elsewhere so far. In ActuaLitté.
Last July, the writer of this column was invited by scholar Sven Stollfuß of Leipzig University to represent the publishing industry at an academic workshop in Hanover, supported by the Volkswagen Foundation. He spent three days with publishing scholars mapping “digital book cultures.” At first, he honestly thought he had been invited by mistake. Then he learned his role was precisely to share with the scholars what the industry might want from academia. His main takeaway: the two worlds have much to learn from each other, and there is still a gap to bridge.
Still on Germany, he is delighted that Tonies is now producing football episodes—and extremely frustrated that they started with Bayern Munich. He is impatiently waiting for his German team, Hamburg’s St. Pauli, to make it onto a Toniebox.
Finally, the writer of this column has never found bedbugs anywhere other than in a bed.