New Shelves Books

09/18/2026

✨ Dolly Parton wanted to be remembered as the “book lady.” And she made sure the books kept coming. 💗

Through Imagination Library, launched in 1995, more than 330 million books have been placed in the hands of children across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and Ireland. By September, that number is expected to surpass 336 million.
The program sends children a free book every month from birth through age 5, giving kids something that can feel surprisingly powerful: a book with their own name on it.

And perhaps the most fitting part of her legacy? Dolly didn't build something that simply needed to be remembered. She built something designed to keep reaching readers.

That's a legacy worth passing on!

For publishing, it’s a powerful reminder: sometimes the most lasting impact of a book is the reader it creates.

🔗 Read the full Los Angeles Times story: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-08-26/dolly-partons-contributions-to-literacy-will-outlive-star

Dolly Parton spent decades gifting books to millions of children. Following her death at 80, the Dollywood Foundation plans to carry her mission with Imagination Library forward.

09/17/2026

📚 Are students reading fewer books in school?

A new Washington Post report looks at the growing shift from full-length novels to excerpts and shorter texts in middle and high school English classrooms.

The reasons aren't exactly simple: standardized testing, budget constraints, limited classroom time, and different student reading levels are all part of the picture. And researchers say there's not enough evidence to definitively declare one approach better than the other.

But here's the fascinating part for anyone who cares about books and literacy: One researcher argues that reading whole books can help students develop reading stamina, confidence, and the ability to form and defend ideas—while excerpts can expose students to more texts and provide useful opportunities for comparison and analysis.

So the real question may be: How do we make room for both?

🔗 Read the full story from The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/08/26/schools-are-assigning-fewer-novels-are-excerpts-just-good/

Standardized testing, budget cuts and time constraints factor into decisions over whether students read more books or more excerpts.

09/16/2026

📚 What happens to books after they become AI training data? 🤖

A new report from 404 Media takes readers inside an Amazon facility where an employee says books are scanned for AI training—with their spines cut off and pages discarded after scanning.

The report raises big questions for publishing, copyright, book preservation, and the future of AI: What happens to physical books when their contents become training data? And what does it mean when rare or out-of-print material may no longer be reusable afterward?

A fascinating—and complicated—look at the intersection of books and artificial intelligence.

Read the full story from 404 Media: https://www.404media.co/inside-the-warehouse-where-amazon-scans-and-destroys-books-for-ai-training/

An interview with one of the Amazon employees at Amazon’s AI training facility VGT3.

09/15/2026

⚠️ BIG News! Audiobooks just got a bigger marketing boost. ⚠️

Amazon Ads is expanding Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands to let authors—including ACX creators—advertise their audiobook titles in the U.S.

That means authors can now promote print, digital, AND audio formats together, making it easier for readers to discover a book in the format they prefer—and giving authors more ways to track cross-format sales.

A small ad update with some pretty big possibilities for book marketing.

Learn more from Amazon Launch Announcements: https://advertising.amazon.com/resources/whats-new/authors-can-now-advertise-audiobooks

Authors, including ACX creators, can now advertise audiobooks with Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands ads.

09/07/2026

🤖 Who gets to decide if a book was written by AI?

Pangram has emerged as a major player in AI detection, with its scores increasingly entering conversations around manuscripts, publishing deals, and originality.

But there’s a bigger question behind the percentage: Can a number really tell the whole story? WIRED explores the growing influence of AI detectors—and the concerns around false positives, bias, and human judgment.

For publishing, the conversation is only getting more important. 👀

Read the full story from WIRED: https://www.wired.com/story/pangram-has-emerged-as-the-gold-standard-of-ai-detection/

Meet the AI police who can make or break careers—in publishing and beyond.

09/04/2026

📚 Buy a book. Give a book. Grow a reader.

Amazon has launched a new You Buy, We Donate initiative with UK publishers, donating one children’s book for every two eligible books purchased through September 20.

With Hachette, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan and DK among the participating publishers, the campaign will put thousands of books into local communities through The Multibank.

Because sometimes, one book is all it takes to spark a lifelong love of reading. 💛

Read the full story from The Bookseller: https://www.thebookseller.com/news/amazon-launches-childrens-book-donation-scheme-with-uk-publishers

Amazon has launched a four-week You Buy, We Donate initiative with UK publishers in support of the National Year of Reading 2026.

09/03/2026

📚 Fiction is still having a moment—and Books-A-Million is riding the wave.

Books-A-Million is reporting strong momentum heading into fiscal 2027, with transactions up and fiction, manga, and graphic novels leading the charge. Media adaptations, live events, and the renewed appetite for screen-free experiences are also helping books find readers.

And with new stores opening and major romantasy releases on the horizon, the industry has plenty to watch. 👀

Read the full story here: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/101169-books-a-million-continues-to-ride-fiction-wave.html

The country’s second largest bookstore chain is having a good year driven by fiction, manga, and graphic novel sales, according to CEO Terry Finley, who is planning chain-wide events for upcoming titles by Rebecca Yarros and Sarah J. Maas.

09/01/2026

📖 Is your brain team paperback? 💻

A new study highlighted by Inc. suggests that how we read may affect how our brains process and remember what we read.

Researchers found that people who read the first half of a manga story on paper were faster at answering more complex comprehension questions—and showed different patterns of brain activation—than those who initially read it on a tablet.

The researchers suspect that physical cues like where something appeared on the page and the tactile experience of turning pages may help with recall.

But before we declare screens the enemy: this was a small study of just 25 participants, and even the article emphasizes that it isn't the final word.

The bigger takeaway? Match the format to the goal. Paper might have an advantage when you're wrestling with a complex text—but sometimes that e-reader is exactly what you need.

🔗 Read the full story here: https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/your-brain-prefers-to-read-on-paper-rather-than-on-screens-new-study-says/91363608

A clever new brain imaging study shows our brains have to work harder when we choose e-devices over dead trees.

08/31/2026

Congratulations to Keri-Rae Barnum on winning TWO first place Outstanding Creator Awards for Tough Love for Indie Authors!