Peelhouse Press Launches as a New Boutique Imprint Focused on Artefact‑Quality Fantasy Books
firstwriter.com – Tuesday April 7, 2026
A new player has entered the small‑press landscape with a distinctly tactile vision. Peelhouse Press, a boutique imprint founded by fantasy author Michael S. Jackson, has officially launched with a mission to create books that feel less like mass‑market products and more like artefacts from the worlds they depict.
Jackson, best known for his epic fantasy series Ringlander, describes the imprint as a response to a growing appetite among readers for high‑quality, collectible physical editions. “Readers want books that feel special,” he has said in recent discussions about the project — books that justify their physical presence in an increasingly digital age.
Wasafiri Calls for Creative Submissions: Fiction and Non-Fiction | Deadline: 1 May 2026
brittlepaper.com – Monday April 6, 2026
Wasafiri, one of the world’s leading magazines of international contemporary writing, is now open for creative submissions in fiction and non-fiction from 1 April to 1 May 2026.
The magazine is looking for innovative creative writing that, in form, focus, or theme, aims to expand the boundaries of global literary culture. With decades of publishing behind them, Wasafiri has consistently platformed cross-genre and inter-regional conversations, and this open call is an invitation to be part of that tradition.
HarperCollins forges ahead with AI-assisted YouTube series based on books. Some authors have concerns
fastcompany.com – Sunday April 5, 2026
Reactions to two announcements this week underscore how book publishers are treading into thorny new territory.
HarperCollins Publishers and AI-powered animation studio Toonstar have announced a multiyear partnership to coproduce original YouTube series based on HarperCollins titles.
It marks the second announcement this week from the book publishing giant regarding a partnership with an AI-centered company.
On March 30, Harlequin, a division of HarperCollins, said it entered a multiyear agreement to coproduce 40 animated micro-dramas with AI entertainment company Dashverse. Inspired by Harlequin Romance titles, the collaboration launches in April, beginning with an adaptation of A Fairy-Tail Ending by Catherine Mann.
The deals highlight how book publishers are turning to AI as a way to explore new modes of storytelling, but they are also generating backlash from those who are not thrilled about the effort.
Penguin to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT version of German children’s book
theguardian.com – Tuesday March 31, 2026
Publisher alleges AI research company’s chatbot violated its copyright over Coconut the Little Dragon series
Penguin Random House has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging its chatbot ChatGPT violated copyright by mimicking and reproducing the content of a popular series of German children’s books.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday with a Munich court against OpenAI’s Ireland-based European subsidiary, states Penguin Random House’s legal team had prompted ChatGPT to write a story in the vein of Penguin author and illustrator Ingo Siegner’s Coconut the Little Dragon series.
In response to the prompt “Can you write a children’s book in which Coconut the Dragon is on Mars”, the chatbot generated text and images the publishing group said were “virtually indistinguishable from the original”.
As well as generating the text of a story, the AI-powered chatbot created a cover featuring Siegner’s orange dragon and two sidekicks, as well as a blurb for the back cover and instructions for how to submit the manuscript to a self-publishing platform.
£10.5M investment to establish North East Centre for Writing and Publishing
placenortheast.co.uk – Tuesday March 24, 2026
Building on one of the North East Combined Authority’s key areas of investment for the region, it is teaming up with Northumbria University to establish the creative hub in Newcastle.
The centre, a partnership with the charity New Writing North, has already received £5m from the government’s Cultural Development Fund and £1m from Newcastle City Council.
Now, Northumbria University has committed £2.5m, with a further £2m to come from NECA, set for approval later this month, taking total funding to £10.5m.
The intended location is the grade-two listed Old Post Office on St Nicholas Street, subject to approval. The building underwent a £5.8m renovation in 2016 and was used as offices until it was put on the market by NBS in July last year.
Horror novel reportedly pulled from publication after suspected use of AI during writing process
independent.co.uk – Saturday March 21, 2026
One of the largest book publishers in the U.S. has pulled an upcoming horror novel on Thursday after widespread accusations that the author used artificial intelligence to write it.
Hachette Book Group was approached by apparent evidence, collated by The New York Times, that the novel “Shy Girl” by Mia Ballard appeared to be AI-generated. A day later, the company said it was removing the book from publication and from Amazon as well as Hachette’s websites.
The publisher said that Orbit Books, one of its publishing divisions, decided not to publish “Shy Girl” after reviewing the text, adding that the book will be discontinued in the UK, where it was published last fall and has sold around 1,800 print copies, according to NielsenIQ BookData.
Author, publisher not blood-sucking vampires of unpublished material
businessinsurance.com – Saturday March 21, 2026
In a decision that may unsettle no one more than the nation’s supply of fictional boyfriends, a federal judge has clarified that the brooding, alluring, faintly menacing young man — so often encountered lurking in the corridors of young-adult fantasy — belongs not to any single author, but to the culture at large.
A judge in the Southern District of New York this week issued a ruling that might be described, depending on one’s temperament, as either a victory for creative freedom or a reminder that certain literary archetypes are lurking in the public-domain the same way vampires and werewolves seem to find themselves in the pages of certain types of books, according to Publishers Weekly.
The author Tracy Wolff, whose “Crave” series has populated bestseller lists with vampires, intrigue, and hormonal peril, was found not to have plagiarized anything at all.
Layoffs, Moves at Penguin Young Readers as Dial Imprint Shuttered
publishersweekly.com – Thursday March 19, 2026
Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers established in 1961, has been closed, resulting in layoffs and moves within PYR.
A representative at Penguin Young Readers confirmed the closure, but declined to offer further comment or details regarding the names and number of staffers affected. According to industry sources, several individuals are being let go from PYR, and three Dial editors are being moved over to G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, where the Dial books will be absorbed.
The Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize Is Open for Entries
brittlepaper.com – Tuesday March 17, 2026
Since 2009, the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize has been one of the most internationally minded literary prizes for emerging writers anywhere in the world, and it is now open for entries for its 2026 edition. The deadline is 11.59pm BST on 30 June 2026.
The prize accepts work in three categories: fiction, poetry, and life writing. This year, for the first time across all three categories, it also welcomes entries in translation, with the cash prize split equally between author and translator if a translated work wins. There are no restrictions on age, gender, nationality, or background. The one condition is that entrants must not have published a book-length work. Winners in each category receive £1,000 and publication in Wasafiri magazine; all winners and shortlisted writers are also offered a mentoring scheme in partnership with The Literary Consultancy, along with a one-year print subscription to the magazine.
The judges this year are Ellah Wakatama OBE, also chair of the Caine Prize for African Writing, who leads the panel, with Santanu Bhattacharya judging fiction, Jen Calleja judging life writing, and Mona Kareem judging poetry. Wakatama has said she is looking for stories of hope, resistance, love, and joy. Calleja, whose own work straddles memoir and translation, says she appreciates life writing that places the reader beside the writer as events unfold. Bhattacharya is looking for fiction that enlightens, engages, and entertains in ways we do not often see.
London book fair roundup: Idris Elba’s thriller deal, the rise of romcom, and fights against censorship
theguardian.com – Tuesday March 17, 2026
The annual London book fair wrapped on Thursday, marking the end of three days that saw 33,000 people connected to the book industry – agents, publishers, authors, among others – gather at Olympia to make deals and discuss the state of the publishing world, and its future. Here’s our roundup of the biggest deals, trends and takeaways from the fair.
The starriest book deal of the week was a new thriller series co-authored by Idris Elba, featuring an MI6 field operative who gets deployed to Mauritius to investigate an attempted murder. Elsewhere, rights were scooped for Alex Ferguson’s first autobiography in 13 years, broadcaster Mishal Husain’s debut children’s book, and the story of designer Paul Smith’s life.
It was a strong week for fantasy and romcom, with acquisitions including journalist Moya Lothian-McLean’s “sharp, sexy romantic comedy”, Matchmakers, and two adult fantasy books by Shannon Chakraborty, acquired for a seven-figure sum. Topics driving nonfiction deals included GLP-1s (Federica Amati’s The Appetite Reset), sober curiosity (Hangxiety by Millie Gooch) and assisted dying (Fight to the Death by Paul Brand).
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