BookCon is back (This week in books)

This week! Books!

First up, I’ll be out for the next few weeks to take a break around the 4th of July holiday, so I will see you again later in July.

BookCon Will Return in 2026 – Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly – After shuttering during the pandemic, the exposition formerly known as BookExpo will make an unexpected return in 2026.

Distressing details coming to light about authors’ experiences with 8th Note Press, owned by ByteDance – Jane Friedman – ByteDance (TikTok’s owner) made an extremely short-lived experiment with print books, allegedly leaving authors in the lurch.

The Vicious Cycle of Book Publishing – Kathleen Schmidt, Publishing Confidential – Publicist Kathleen Schmidt looks at the decisions publishers make around “crashing” books and how marketing budgets are allocated, which can result in some books getting a boost and some all but dropped in the ocean.

Notes From Ms. Morrison – Dana A. Williams, Slate – Toni Morrison wasn’t just a celebrated author, she was also an accomplished editor at Random House.

What’s Happening to Reading? – Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker – Is A.I. fundamentally altering how we read?

Kate McKean on the nuts and bolts of a query letter – KateMcKean, LitHub – Tips from an agent on what belongs in a query letter.

Interview: Editor Sean deLone on How Modern Publishing Actually Works – Lincoln Michel, Counter Craft – A fascinating interview with Sean deLone on the role of an editor in the publishing process.

This week in bestsellers

Here are the top five NY Times bestsellers in a few key categories. (All links are affiliate links):

Adult print and e-book fiction:

1. Caught Up by Navessa Allen
2. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
3. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4. The First Gentleman by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
5. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
2. Mark Twain by Ron Chernow
3. Original Sin by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson
4. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
5. Big Dumb Eyes by Nate Bargatze

Young adult hardcover:

1. Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi
2. Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft
3. Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter
4. A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
5. Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
2. Refugee by Alan Gratz
3. Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
4. Growing Home by Beth Ferry. Illustrated by Terry Fan and Eric Fan
5. Odder by Katherine Applegate

This week on the blog

In case you missed them, here are this week’s posts:

• It’s tough out there right now

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Bluesky
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally:

Roger Federer’s commencement speech wasn’t just a viral moment. It was masterful – Rustin Dodd, The Athletic – Over the course of his career, Roger Federer only won 54% of his points. Some very relevant wisdom for writers.

Have a great weekend!

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Photo: Beijing, China. Photo by me.