Baker & Taylor on the brink (This week in books)

This week! Books!

Baker & Taylor Prepares Plan to Shut Down – Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly | Libraries Look to Fill the Gap Left by Baker & Taylor – Jim Milliot and Nathalie op de Beeck, Publishers Weekly | “Chaos” at B&T as Ingram Adds Staff in Light of Impending Closure – Erin Somers, Publishers Lunch | Baker & Taylor Publisher Services Operates for Now, While Court Docs Show Deep Financial Stress – Katy Hershberger, Publishers Lunch – It’s not exactly the sexiest side of the book business, but distributors and wholesalers like Baker & Taylor and Ingram provide a crucial backbone for the distribution side of the publishing business, supplying countless retailers and libraries with books. After failing to be acquired by ReaderLink, Baker & Taylor is on the verge of going under, which would wreak havoc for publishers who utilize it for distribution and for libraries who use it for acquisitions. Ingram is already reportedly staffing up in anticipation. If Baker & Taylor ends up liquidated, it would only further cement Ingram’s centrality to the modern publishing industry.

László Krasznahorkai has won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature – Emily Temple, LitHub – For the second time in three years, the Nobel Prize in Literature has gone to an author known for colossally long and intricate sentences. I’d hate to be a punctuation mark around the Nobel committee.

Here Are the Finalists for the 2025 National Book Awards – Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times – Congrats to the NBA finalists!

The Twilight Saga Deluxe Hardcover Collection – Want to feel old? Like really, really impossibly old? Yeah? You do? Well, Twilight was published twenty years ago. Little, Brown released a new boxed set in homage. Per Ron Charles, over 160 million Twilight books have been sold.

The Publishing Industry’s Most Swoon-Worthy Genre – Rebecca Ackermann, The Atlantic – A study found that nearly half of fans of romance books read a book a week, which gives you some idea of how important the genre is to the publishing industry. Rebecca Ackermann dives into the extent to which it’s also one of the more tight-knit and entrepreneurial communities in the book world.

The fanfiction written on a notes app that’s become a bestseller – with a seven-figure film deal – Ella Creamer, The Guardian – It’s currently a Harry Potter fan fiction world, and author SenLinYu is a huge reason for it.

Surgery with a Shotgun: Why Genres Matter – DongWon Song, Publishing is Hard – Agent DongWon Song’s blog is back, and they delve into genres and why, sorry to your unicorn of a book, but genres still matter.

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 Impossible Fortune by Richard Ossman
2. The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
3. Alchemised by SenLinYu
4. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
5. Vince Flynn: Denied Access by Don Bentley

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. 107 Days by Kamala Harris
2. Poems & Prayers by Matthew McConaughey
3. Truly by Lionel Richie
4. Born Lucky by Leland Vittert with Don Yaeger
5. Confronting Evil by Bill O’Reilly and Josh Hammer

Young adult hardcover:

1. Fake Skating by Lynn Painter
2. Bitten by Jordan Stephanie Gray
3. Hour of the Pumpkin Queen by Megan Shepherd
4. You’ve Found Oliver by Dustin Thao
5. Thorn Season by Kiera Azar

Middle grade hardcover:

1. The Court of the Dead by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro
2. Secrets of the Purple Pearl by Kate McKinnon
3. Sweet & Salty by King Arthur Baking Company
4. The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell
5. Troubling Tonsils by Aaron Reynolds

This week on the blog

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

• I still think the “nuts and bolts” belong after the plot description in a query letter

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Bluesky
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally:

‘Amoral, evil’: vitriolic backlash builds against comics who played Riyadh festival – Hannah Jane Parkinson, The Guardian – The backlash agains the comedians who performed at the Riyadh Comedy Festival has been immense, and Hannah Jane Parkinson did not pull a single punch, to say the least.

Have a great weekend!

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