Trump allies buying TikTok (This Week in Books)

This week! Books!

First up, a happy plug. It’s always so exciting to see a book I’ve worked on in manuscript form come to fruition, let alone when it becomes a freakin’ Jenna Hager Bush Today Show book club selection. Congrats to Heather O’Neill and The Irish Goodbye, which is on sale next Tuesday! So psyched for Heather, who fully deserves all the accolades.

Meanwhile, this was quite a week for “sign of the times” publishing news.

Trump Clears Way for American-Owned TikTok Valued at $14 Billion – Lauren Hirsch, Tripp Mickle, and Emmett Lindner, New York Times – In a development that could have huge ramifications for the publishing world, which has been buoyed by BookTok-generated sales, the Trump administration is clearing the way for an American version of TikTok controlled by Trump-allied investors.

Anthropic $1.5 Billion Copyright Pact Wins Judge’s Approval – Annelise Levy, Bloomberg Law – After many clarifications, the judge in the Anthropic plagiarism case has given approval to the $1.5 billion settlement.

The audiobook business is booming. But the bounty isn’t being shared by all – David A. Keeps, Los Angeles Times – Audiobooks have exploded in recent years, but wages for performers remain very low and A.I. narration is looming.

For Fox News Authors, the Path to the Best-Seller List Is Fox News – Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times – Since its launch five years ago, Fox News Books has had quite a few successes connecting books with the Fox News fan base. The vertical integration (Fox News Books is an imprint at Murdoch-owned HarperCollins) has some rival conservative authors and imprints grumbling about favoritism.

Amazon removes likely AI-generated books about Charlie Kirk that sparked conspiracies – Matt Binder, Mashable – A.I. slop books were up for sale almost immediately after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, including one with an erroneous publication date the day before the shooting, which then sparked conspiracy theories. It’s all giving 2025, as the kids might say.

Private Equity Firm Acquires Two Leading Hybrid Publishers – Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly – Two of the best-known hybrid publishers, Greenleaf Book Group and Amplify Publishing Group, have been acquired by a private equity firm.

How Translations Sell: Three U.S. Eras of International Bestsellers – Jed Kudrick & Sean DiLeonardi, Public Books – Translated books have a reputation for not selling well… until they do. In the 20th and 21st centuries there have been three distinct eras where translated books caught on in a big way.

3 Tricks For Easily Jumping Between Projects – Susan Dennard, Misfits & Daydreamers – For the most part I’m a one project at a time creative, but for those of you who like to bounce between projects, Susan Dennard has some advice.

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. The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
2. The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham
3. The Gingerbread Bakery by Laurie Gilmore
4. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
5. The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. Poems & Prayers by Matthew McConaughey
2. Confronting Evil by Bill O’Reilly and Josh Hammer
3. All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert
4. The Book of Sheen by Charlie Sheen
5. History Matters by David McCullough

Young adult hardcover:

1. Hekate: The Witch by Nikita Gill
2. Hour of the Pumpkin Queen by Megan Shepherd
3. Thorn Season by Kiera Azar
4. A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid
5. Blood Moon by Britney S. Lewis

Middle grade hardcover:

1. The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell
2. Troubling Tonsils by Aaron Reynolds
3. Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate
4. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
5. The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser

This week on the blog

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

• Rely on A.I. at your peril

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Bluesky
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally:

The magic of the printed word – Dan Blank, The Creative Shift – Really enjoyed this deep dive by Dan Blank into the very physical world of the film All the President’s Men. It’s amazing just how much stuff has disappeared into our phones and computers in such a short time.

Have a great weekend!

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