Publishers are “stepping back” from LGBTQ+ books amid bans & the current GOP president
lgbtqnation.com – Tuesday January 13, 2026
"In the face of so many book bans and so much concern about decreasing school library sales of queer content" publishers are "passing" on LGBTQ+ books.
2025 and the return to a GOP president, as well as ongoing efforts to ban books by and about LGBTQ+ people across the country, have created a chilling effect in the publishing industry, according to a new report from The Hill.
Several industry professionals told the outlet that over the past year, more publishers have rejected queer book proposals and manuscripts, while authors have seen a drop in royalties for their queer books. The anti-LGBTQ+ right’s fixation on children’s books has made things particularly difficult in children’s book publishing.
As The Hill notes, PEN America tracked over 10,000 book bans across the country at the height of the book-banning craze — which has targeted books by Black authors along with LGBTQ+ titles — during the 2023–2024 school year. During the 2024–2025 school year, the group identified nearly 7,000 bans across 87 school districts in the U.S.
Some authors of banned books have reported spikes in sales in recent years, and at least one bookseller told The Hill that sales of queer novels remain steady.
New Online Session for Scriptwriters: Rewrite Techniques for TV and Film
northernirelandscreen.co.uk – Monday January 12, 2026
Refresh your script in just two hours with Pilar Alessandra
A short, practical online session for screenwriters and television writers who want to revisit and rework an existing script.
Screenwriters and television writers are invited to apply to this online workshop designed to help you unlock new energy in your script. Rewrite Techniques for TV and Film is a focused two-hour session led by renowned writing coach Pilar Alessandra, offering hands-on tools you can apply immediately to elevate your work.
Date: Monday 2nd February
Time: 12pm–2pm
Location: Via Zoom
Whether you’re stuck in a rewrite or looking to sharpen a draft, this session is built to help you rethink, refresh, and re-engage with your story.
What is next for kids' books in 2026?
thebookseller.com – Wednesday January 7, 2026
As we look ahead to 2026, we find the world in a state of instability. Yet within that uncertainty there is comfort in how we have adapted to finding a way forward, no matter what lies ahead.
In the creative realm, we are witnessing a shift towards nostalgia, traditional, comfortable and analogue. There is an increasing desire among audiences to buy work that feels safe, familiar and wholesome. A demand for stories that are uplifting, spiritual, with a deeper meaning; dreamy and full of hope. Alongside this sits fantasy, escapism and educational progress.
The key themes I see emerging are bravery, hope, comfort and meaning.
Visual shifts: a return to the hand-drawn
Visually, at a time when digital imagery and AI make everything look the same, we are seeing a rise in hand-drawn, imperfect work. There is also a resurgence of heritage brands with traditional settings. This is an exciting time for illustrators and authors, as many of these brands are being reinvented, updated or extended with careful approvals and estate collaborations.
Literary agent Alia Habib on "What is an Agent For?"
humanities.uci.edu – Wednesday January 7, 2026
Literary agent Alia Habib on publishing non-fiction trade books
You have an idea for a book or you're curious about the route to publication outside of academia, but don't know where to begin. How do you go about finding an agent and what role will they play in the process? What kind of materials do you need before you query agents and what should that query include? And what will the process of publishing a trade book—from proposal writing to editing to publication--look like for an author?
The Humanities Center invites you to hear from literary agent Alia Hanna Habib and her client Anastasia Berg , UCI Assistant Professor of Philosophy, as they share insights from both sides of the publishing relationship and process.
New SFF Award Announced for 2026 Times/Chicken House Competition
firstwriter.com – Tuesday January 6, 2026
A major expansion is coming to one of the UK’s most prominent competitions for emerging children’s writers. Chicken House has revealed that its long‑running Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition will introduce a dedicated science fiction and fantasy award in 2026, created in partnership with specialist bookseller The Broken Binding.
The new category, titled The Broken Binding Prize, is designed exclusively for YA authors working in fantasy, sci‑fi, and speculative storytelling. Its winner will secure a £10,000 publishing contract with Chicken House, along with a conversation about literary representation with Stevie Finegan of the Zeno Agency.
Predictions: what lies ahead for the book trade in 2026?
thebookseller.com – Monday December 29, 2025
As we enter 2026, it is clearer than ever that the way audiences discover and consume content is rapidly evolving, and our priority must be to evolve with them – not just maintaining our existing readership but actively reaching and building future audiences.
There are huge opportunities if we are smart about how we reach readers. At HarperCollins we are seeing global success with responsive, reader-driven publishing, subscription boxes and TikTok Shop and – crucially – developing strategies that are founded on a comprehensive understanding of the reader.
AI enables us to dramatically change the way we interact with and grow audiences. The opportunities are genuinely exciting – finding new ways to help readers discover books they will love, innovating in the ways we market and reach audiences, building new channels and adapting to new methods of consuming content.
Gareth Brown Expands Access to Goldsboro Writing Academy with New Scholarships
firstwriter.com – Monday December 15, 2025
Novelist Gareth Brown has announced financial support for three new scholarships at the Goldsboro Writing Academy, opening opportunities for aspiring writers to join the Academy’s 2026 and 2027 programmes at no cost. The first of these fully funded places will be available from March 2026.
The BSME and Caitlin Moran launch Young Writers’ Prize
inpublishing.co.uk – Thursday December 11, 2025
The British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) has announced the launch of the BSME & Caitlin Moran Young Writers' Prize: a new annual award designed to discover and support young writing talent aged 18-25 from across the UK.
The prize, announced at the BSME Awards 2025 at Rosewood London, specifically targets young people who show real promise, but lack the connections or financial resources typically needed to break into journalism.
The BSME says winners will receive not just prize money, but a year of personal mentorship from Caitlin Moran, work experience with leading UK editors, and genuine pathways into the industry.
Caitlin Moran said: “At fifteen, I was on a council estate in Wolverhampton, obsessed with the idea of being a writer, but clueless as to how I could get ... there. Into the rooms where it all happens. And then I won my whole career— my whole future— in a writing competition. God bless everyone behind the 1990 Observer Young Writer of the Year, who gave me my first bylines, and showed me those rooms.
Eoin Purcell and Blathnaid Healy launch new non-fiction publishing house
thebookseller.com – Sunday December 7, 2025
Former head of Amazon Publishing Europe Eoin Purcell and news editor and former BBC and CNN media executive Blathnaid Healy have launched a new independent non-fiction publishing house called Full Set.
According to the founders, Purcell and Healy are bringing their "influences from traditional book publishing and journalism into this new venture".
Full Set’s initial focus will be current affairs and business titles, both full-length and essay-length books with the aim of "delivering rewarding reads to audiences in all formats".
The publisher – which is based in Dublin – is actively commissioning for its first list, which they expect to launch in late 2026.
Oxford University Press completes acquisition of Karger Publishers
corp.oup.com – Thursday December 4, 2025
Oxford University Press (OUP) and Karger Publishers are pleased to confirm the completion of the acquisition of Karger by OUP. Announced in early November, the closing of the transaction means that Karger is now wholly owned by OUP and becomes part of the wider OUP organization.
Owned by the Karger family for four generations, Karger Publishers has a long history of high quality publishing in medical and health sciences. The acquisition brings together a shared commitment to quality and scholarly integrity and an opportunity to extend the reach and impact of Karger’s leading academic and research publishing in medicine and health sciences.
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