AGP Executive Report

Publishing & Books: Jane Yolen, whose Holocaust classic The Devil’s Arithmetic became a staple of children’s literature and a Showtime adaptation, has died at 87. New Fiction: Random House has acquired Connie, an authorized Godfather novel by Adriana Trigiani, shifting the Corleone saga to a woman’s point of view for a fall 2027 release. Debut Buzz: Caro Claire Burke’s Yesteryear is drawing attention for its tradwife premise—an influencer’s life collapses when she wakes up in 1855. Crime & Community Memory: A new Rhode Island-set debut novel, Narragansett Wild, revisits the Dorchester drug-smuggling case through the author’s personal connection. Summer Reading Culture: Portland Book Festival is expanding into a full week (Nov. 2–8) after last year’s sellout. Film/TV Tie-ins: Every Year After continues to dominate conversation as its Prime Video adaptation rolls out, with cast and fan-edit talk fueling the hype.

Women’s Prize Spotlight: Virginia Evans won the Women’s Prize for Fiction for her epistolary debut The Correspondent, a word-of-mouth hit told entirely through letters—and she used the moment to plead for a comeback in letter writing. Nonfiction Prize: Lyse Doucet took the Women’s Prize for Nonfiction for The Finest Hotel in Kabul, tracing Afghanistan through the Inter-Continental Kabul and decades of reporting. Literary Awards (Canada): Otoniya J. Okot Bitek and Hajer Mirwali won the 2026 Trillium Book Awards, with We, The Kindling and Revolutions earning top honors. Publishing & Community: BookTok’s Community Summer Reading List spotlights buzzy picks like HM Wolfe’s dystopian Daggermouth and Chloe Michelle Howarth’s Sunburn. Books & Culture in Wartime: A report on Kyiv’s literary festivals argues that books are both resistance and refuge as libraries and publishing face destruction. Tech Meets Reading: ZDNET covers Anthropic’s cybersecurity safety backlash around “Fable 5,” keeping the focus on transparency and guardrails. Local Events: Bloomsday returns with Joyce performances, and libraries roll out summer reading programs.

Synthetic Food Safety: A peer-reviewed study warns “animal-free” synbio milk may contain 93 uncharacterized compounds and 236 fungal proteins that haven’t been tested for human consumption, raising fresh questions about regulation and consumer risk. Music & Books: The American Liszt Society returns to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for a Sept. 28–30 festival themed “Toward Re-Enchantment,” with concerts and talks spotlighting music as a “portal to the sacred.” Poetry Spotlight: Joel O’Connor’s Locust and Other Poems uses the locust as a metaphor for everything from everyday wonder to political collapse. Reading for Health: A neurologist argues daily reading is a “full-brain workout,” citing links to better cognition and lower mortality. Publishing & Prizes: Virginia Evans wins the Women’s Prize for Fiction for The Correspondent (letters novel, film adaptation in the works), while Lyse Doucet takes nonfiction for The Finest Hotel in Kabul. New Fiction Releases: Franklin Publishers announces KC Lewis’s sci-fi thriller Recurve and Jim Franklin’s humorous community novel Trailer Chic. Screen-to-Page Culture: Warner Bros. taps Maggie Gyllenhaal to adapt Rachel Kushner’s Creation Lake, and Prime Video’s Off Campus issues a harassment warning ahead of Season 2.

AI & Copyright: Prominent authors including Ta-Nehisi Coates, Junot Díaz, and Laura Lippman ask a federal judge for permission to appeal a pro-Meta ruling that found the company’s use of allegedly pirated books to train its Llama AI could qualify as fair use. Publishing & Books on Screen: Lionsgate keeps building its thriller franchise: Paul Anthony Kelly joins the sequel The Housemaid’s Secret, based on Freida McFadden’s bestselling novels, opening Dec. 17, 2027. Libraries & Censorship: Elizabethtown Area School District is considering scrapping its opt-out system and removing books it deems to have “explicit sexual content,” a move that would reshape what students can access. Short Fiction Spotlight: A Stephen King short story adaptation, Mister Yummy, has found a director, Ben Young, for a film based on King’s The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Community Reading: Camden Public Library hosts a talk on translated prison poetry by Mahvash Sabet, bringing her work to English readers. Literary Culture: A major William Blake collection—600+ books and papers—has been donated to the Blake Cottage Trust for future public research access.

Literary Debut: Sports journalist E. Shaw Brown is turning to fiction with Helena: A Woman of Mischief, an age-gap romance set between sweltering London and the South of France. Publishing & Culture: ACCA Journal’s 76-page Rodeo Drive Edition reframes Beverly Hills’ luxury corridor as an outdoor art museum, tying local arts to the 2028 Olympics and World Cup. Books & Community: Independent Bookshop Week returns June 15–20, with author events and kids’ programming spotlighting the role of local stores. Poetry & Prizes: Scotland-based Fidan Meikle wins the 2026 Jhalak Children’s and Young Adult Prize for My Name is Samim, inspired by a real Channel tragedy. AI & Writing: Dave Eggers warns that using AI to “speak for you” steals your voice as his new novel Contrapposto lands. Health & Care (reading-adjacent): A study using Indigenous sharing circles finds heart health shaped by emotional, spiritual, social, and systemic factors—plus trauma’s impact on trust and access. Local Arts: York’s volunteer-run Escrick Tea Shop marks 10 years with a Junior Bake Off and performances by local children.

Literary Honors: Julian Barnes has won Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award for Literature, with the jury praising his humane, memory-driven storytelling and wide-ranging cultural essays. Publishing & Reading Culture: A library book overdue since 1949 has finally been returned—77 years late—after being found in a family attic, a reminder that “lost” books sometimes just need time. Book-to-Screen Romance: Prime Video’s Every Year After is now streaming, with showrunner Amy B. Harris highlighting how the adaptation leans into “precipice” moments and expands side-character arcs from Carley Fortune’s novel. More Adaptations: FX and Hulu set an Aug. 5 premiere for The Shards, based on Bret Easton Ellis’ novel, starring Homer Gere and Kaia Gerber. Poetry Prizes: Canada’s Griffin Poetry Prize will reinstate a separate Canadian award after pushback over a 2022 category merger. Community Events: Warren County Memorial Library kicks off summer reading June 15 with “Unearth a Story,” dinosaur-themed activities, and reading-minute prizes.

Publishing & Books: Camden Public Library hosts Barbara Kent Lawrence for a June 11 talk on Both Sides of the Pond: My Family’s War, 1933–1946, a photo-and-document-rich WWII family story. AI & Education: A new study finds students writing without ChatGPT generate more diverse ideas than AI-generated essays, challenging the “more creative” assumption at scale. Health Policy & Pharma: The FDA accepted Takeda’s supplemental application for IV ENTYVIO (vedolizumab) for pediatric ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s, aiming to expand gut-focused options for ages 2+. Science & Environment: Researchers at the University of Amsterdam are testing a mobile reactor that turns mixed, unsorted plastic waste into reusable oil in under 30 minutes. Immigration Courts: Australia’s top court ruled the government liable for compensation for non-citizens held unlawfully in indefinite immigration detention. Culture & Community: Ledbury Poetry Festival returns June 26–July 5 with Simon Armitage and more, while BAYFEST’s intergenerational theater project pairs teens and older adults through poetry and testimony.

Film & Books: 20th Century Studios dropped a teaser for Whalefall, adapting Daniel Kraus’s novel: Austin Abrams plays a diver swallowed by a sperm whale, with only one hour of oxygen to escape. Publishing & Culture: Maxwell Vagus released neo-noir speculative novel New Stanton, a surreal town mystery about memory, identity, and a missing 1964 Chevy Malibu. Poetry & Community: Two Oregon poets—Matthew Friday (Wunderkammer) and Amelia Díaz Ettinger (Between)—are set for readings at Paulina Springs Books. Tech & Reading Life: Apple used WWDC to “rebuild” Siri with Apple Intelligence, aiming to bring voice back to the center. AI & Security: Anthropic released Fable 5, positioned as a safer public model in the same family as its Mythos systems that previously shocked cybersecurity. Policy & Money: A study argues instant payments force banks to hold more liquid assets, changing risk-taking incentives. Rhetoric & History: A look at Hermogenes of Tarsus’s seven ancient Greek styles of speech shows how rhetoric still shapes persuasion today. Obituary: Marjane Satrapi, creator of Persepolis, died at 56.

Publishing & Books: Kate DiCamillo drew a sold-out crowd at Lykke Books, answering reader questions and spotlighting the role of teachers and librarians. Literary Festivals: Kathmandu’s Himalayan Literature Festival & Writers’ Workshop wrapped after eight days, including a new poetry-film program. Awards & Shortlists: Scotland’s Highland Book Prize shortlist is out, with the winner due June 30. Fiction & Reviews: M John Harrison’s near-future novel The End of Everything lands as a London-set SF vision; Lizzie Damilola Blackburn’s The Re-write is praised for balancing laughs with heartbreak. Short-Form Horror: Yvette Tan’s collection First of the Gang blends Filipino culture and folk Catholic amulets across stories and a novella. Adaptations & Screen Buzz: Ridley Scott is set to direct Treasure Island with Hugh Jackman as Long John Silver, and The Dog Stars trailer keeps the post-apocalypse hype rolling. Food & Reading Culture: Nestlé’s precision-fermented donkey milk patent points to dairy-allergy alternatives, while Betagro’s “Chicken Made Noodle” pushes protein into everyday meals.

Bayou Mystery & Race: Louisiana author Troy Broussard’s new novel Where Lies the Truth follows Ezra Brasseaux and friends in rural St. Landry Parish, then drags them back decades later to confront an unsolved crime tied to Black victims and long-buried assumptions. Magical Realism Short Novel: A review of The Volcano Keeper spotlights a 70-vignette, dated family saga where the impossible (a real volcano rising in a pasture) is treated as fact, turning grief into a recurring, almost fable-like force. Big-Screen Publishing News: Ridley Scott is directing Hugh Jackman as Long John Silver in a fresh Treasure Island adaptation, with Jack Thorne writing; and Beach Read begins production with a May 7, 2027 release date. Comics Spotlight: Montreal cartoonist Lee Lai’s graphic novel Cannon wins the 2026 Doug Wright Award for best comic. Disability & Writing Scholarship: Bloomsbury releases Divergent Writers, a disability-focused creative-writing anthology co-edited by Christie Collins and Saul Lemerond. Poetry & Translation: A new biography, Paul Celan: A Life (Belknap Press), revisits the poet’s Holocaust-era work and the challenges of rendering it in English.

Publishing & Culture: A Green Poetry Festival in Kathmandu marked World Environment Day with readings on conservation and climate responsibility, while a separate Pushkin anniversary event celebrated Russian language and poetry through recitals in Russian and Nepali. Books & Reading Life: In Kashmir’s Aragam village, homes are becoming “mini libraries” as teens read and retell stories to younger siblings, turning literacy into a community project. Literary History: Today in history notes George Orwell’s 1984 first published on June 8, 1949. Media Adaptations: Daniel Radcliffe shared a backstage update from John Lithgow ahead of HBO’s Harry Potter TV adaptation, and Interview with the Vampire Season 3 is reframed as The Vampire Lestat with Lestat’s rock-star pivot. Health & Safety (publishing-adjacent): A MedSafe alert warns about unregulated peptide products sold online, highlighting risks from injections, infections, and mislabeled substances. Tech & AI: Meta’s AI glasses launched in Korea, offering spoken calorie estimates via built-in cameras and audio.

Dystopian Book Review: Celeste Ng’s Our Missing Hearts imagines a post-collapse America run by PACT, where “un-American” families are punished and Chinese-Americans are targeted—another sharp reminder that words and institutions can become weapons. Publishing & Community: Bulgaria’s Georgi Gospodinov and Kostadin Kostadinov spoke at Bucharest’s spring book fair about how books survive crises, with translators framed as “new parents” for a text’s afterlife. Poetry in Public: Yakima Coffeehouse Poets spotlights Otter Fisher’s debut poem “The Goathead,” while Orillia’s Orillia Museum of Art and History and Leacock Museum team up for an outdoor poetry-and-music lawn night. Global Book Culture: The Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair spotlights China-ASEAN reading events and Chinese publishing, from pinyin editions of classical poetry to youth dialogues. New Story Formats: Kakao Entertainment is adapting the web novel Got Dropped Into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work into a webtoon on Kakao Page. Game Storytelling: Fellow Traveller’s Story-Rich Showcase at Summer Game Fest 2026 highlighted dozens of narrative-driven games and demos. Science Meets Story: Researchers report a new Ecuadorian spider species, Taczanowskia waska, mimicking fungus—nature’s own plot twist.

Publishing & Community: Former Nigerian defence chief Gen. Lucky Irabor praised the Association of Nigerian Authors’ mentorship for young writers, spotlighting its monthly Reading and Writers Dialogue in Abuja. Libraries & Access: Coforge opened a free public library in Vasant Kunj, Delhi—15,000+ titles, a children’s zone, and year-round borrowing. Reading for Youth: Maharashtra’s Solapur district launched a “one day sarpanch” program letting top students run village governance for a day. Books & Festivals: Hungary’s 97th Festive Book Week returns nationwide (Budapest June 11–14), with David Szalay’s Booker-winning Flesh among the highlights. Writing & Craft: A flash fiction workshop invites writers to draft surreal, myth- and folklore-driven short-short stories. Health & Aging (research): A BMC Geriatrics study links older adults’ fear of falling to perceived control, pointing toward new intervention ideas. Tech & Precision: Research on hybrid AI optimization aims to improve robotic arm trajectory planning for precision assembly. Book Buzz: Ann Patchett’s Whistler gets a spotlight for its quieter love story inside blended families. Literary Loss: Tributes continue after Marjane Satrapi’s death, with Persepolis framed as an enduring act of rebellion.

Publishing & Culture: Broadway’s “Ragtime” is still striking a chord nearly 30 years after its debut, with the revival finding new relevance for today’s audiences. Graphic Novels & Adaptations: Netflix is expanding its “KPop Demon Hunters” universe with a sequel and a deluxe “screen comic” boxed set. Poetry & Books: Lynn Jenner’s new collection “The Gum Trees of Kerikeri” pairs intimate poems with colonial-era reflection; Lynn Jenner’s work also includes a featured Sunday poem. Author News: Marjane Satrapi, creator of “Persepolis,” has died at 56, with tributes highlighting her memoir-in-comic storytelling and human-rights impact. Crime Fiction: Gary Helzer releases “Where Losers Live, Heroes Die,” a Bahamas-set thriller about veterans pulled into organized crime. Reading Life: USA TODAY’s Book Challenge returns with a summer bingo card and a chance to win a $100 Bookshop.org gift card. Tech & Health (book-adjacent): New sleep-apnea research points to gut-microbe and bile-acid pathways as potential therapeutic targets.

Publishing & Rights: Penguin Random House India won’t distribute Joe Sacco’s graphic nonfiction “The Once and Future Riot,” citing red flags from Penguin UK—an inaccurate India map and unresolved content/citation questions. Author Spotlight: Maggie O’Farrell talks “Land,” her Oscar-era follow-up to “Hamnet,” mapping Ireland’s history, family fault lines, and the emotional cost of official record-making. Book Reviews: “What Am I, a Deer?” by Polly Barton digs into reinvention fantasies; “First of December” by Karen Jennings brings the week before emancipation in Cape Colony into sharp, harrowing focus. Community Reading: Vermont libraries and local groups keep summer reading front and center, from agritourism-fueled “Seek & Savor” to “Vt. Book Nook” profiles of working readers. Arts & Events: A Heswall Hall visit from Lorraine Kelly spotlights her new Orkney-set novel “The Island Secret,” while Belfast’s Linen Hall Library hosts “Chapter Coffee” for bookish hangouts. Culture & Literature: A week of Irish and global literary coverage includes Oscar Wilde “best works” roundups and fresh fiction picks. Arts & Access: Youngstown’s JCC reopens its visual arts studio after accessibility renovations.

Publishing & Reading Culture: A Valley Stream debut novelist, Sashy Palaguachi, is set for a Barnes & Noble signing after turning a teen class idea into her romance “Back to You.” Libraries & Inclusion: Prince Edward County’s library strategic plan spotlights inclusion and diversity, with Pride programming and teen-led projects. Poetry Spotlight: Kevin Young won the 2026 Griffin Poetry Prize for “Night Watch,” earning $130K. Book Releases to Watch: June’s must-reads include Daniel Kraus’s sci-fi/horror “The Sixth Nik” and Danny McBride’s “Thrilling Tales of Modern Men.” Ann Patchett: The author discusses how “Whistler” draws from personal life. Community Events: Juneteenth celebrations in Indianapolis include museum programming, a foodways festival, and a Center for Black Literature book fest. Book-to-Screen: Cynthia Jele says she’s writing new screen work after “Happiness is a Four-Letter Word.” Local Author Ecosystem: Wordsley Library’s reading group helped shape a short story for a 2026 anthology.