U.S. librarians tracked 4,235 unique book challenges in 2025, nearly matching the record of 4,240 recorded in 2023, and almost double last year’s count.
Penguin Random House Urges U.S. Congress to Reject Republican Book Banning Bill
“The bill creates strong incentives for schools to remove or avoid a wide range of books and materials,” wrote PRH SVP Skip Dye in a letter to lawmakers, adding that, if passed, the law would also force educators and librarians to self-censor, resulting in “further marginalization of vulnerable communities.”
U.S. Appeals Court Deals a Blow to the Freedom to Read
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that school officials and politicians have broad discretion to order the removal of books from school libraries as long as the removals are “reasonably” related to “legitimate pedagogical concerns.”
Suzanne Collins’ ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ Takes Top Honors at the 31st Annual Audie Awards Gala
The APA also honored the inaugural Audio Publishers Association Hall of Fame inductees: veteran narrators George Guidall, Hillary Huber, January LaVoy, Robin Miles, and Simon Vance.
AAP Announces 2026 PROSE Award Winners, with Cambridge University Press Taking the R.R. Hawkins Award
Cambridge University Press Managing Director Mandy Hill said receiving the prestigious R.R. Hawkins Award was “a real honor for Cambridge” and “an extraordinary achievement” for Eltis.
In Praise of Edward Gorey at the End of the Centenary
As the year of events and celebration for American writer and artist Edward Gorey come to an end, Erin Cox muses on the lasting importance of Gorey’s work.
As Key Hearing Draws Near, Publishers Defend Their Bid to Join Authors’ Copyright Lawsuit Over Google’s AI Training
In a February 5 brief, the publishers stressed that their intervention in the case was necessary to ensure “the publishing industry’s discrete interests are fairly treated” and rejected Google’s “over-the-top” opposition to their joining the litigation.
International Awards Round-up: Arabic Literature, Climate Fiction, Stories of Tolerance
Publishing Perspectives highlights some recent award announcements from around the world.
Bookshop.org, Draft2Digital Partner to Make Self-Published Ebooks Available Through Indie Bookstores
“Partnering with Draft2Digital means self-published authors, an essential and rapidly growing part of the publishing landscape, can now work with indie bookstores, and they can support each other,” said Andy Hunter, Founder & CEO of Bookshop.org.
AAP Announces Tyrrell Mahoney as Its Next Board Chair
Mahoney, who has served as President of Chronicle Books since January 2017, succeeds HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray.