AGP Executive Report

Publishing & Books in the UK: The 47th Annual Conference on Book Trade History is set for Stationers’ Hall, London, focusing on the “story of auction catalogues” and how printed sales records shaped book culture from 1676 to today. Royal Reading & Homelessness: Queen Camilla visited St Mungo’s to back The Queen’s Reading Room, highlighting shared reading and donated bookshelves as part of support for people recovering from homelessness. Local Library Politics: Essex County Council has been accused of “abuse of power” after pausing promotion of certain community events in libraries, with Pride and Black History Month at the centre of the row. Children’s Books & Sport: An Edinburgh mum has launched The World Cup Files—an ebook series and podcast bringing tournament history to children ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Tech, Books & AI Search: UK publishers have been pushing for the right to opt out of Google’s AI use, with new rules requiring clearer sourcing and an opt-out for UK content. Climate Context: May 2026 is reported as the world’s second-warmest May on record, adding fresh pressure to the climate debate.

Publishing & Books in Brief: A new June reading round-up and “Books in Brief” picks are doing the rounds, with Father’s Day and youth-month recommendations also highlighted for UK readers. New Book Launch (UK audience angle): Hema Dey’s business how-to The AI Translator hits Amazon worldwide today (June 10), positioned as a practical framework for professionals navigating AI in marketing and hiring. Climate Fiction Watch: A fresh look at the state of cli-fi points to a crowded inbox of new novels tackling grief, late capitalism and climate collapse, with Climate Fiction Prize momentum continuing. Book Culture & Craft: A spotlight on community archiving shows how people preserve labour-movement history even when surveillance and “red-tagging” threaten their collections. Royal & Literary Oddity: A personal Diana letter to Superman villain Terence Stamp—mentioning Prozac—heads to auction, alongside scripts and costumes tied to Stamp’s film roles. Media Business: Vinyl Group’s acquisition of Time Out Australia (via a franchise deal) signals continued consolidation of culture brands.

Google & publishers: The UK competition watchdog has forced Google to improve AI search attribution and let publishers opt out of AI summaries/training without losing ranking, shifting power in the AI search fight. Book sales surge: Sarah Wynn-Williams’ Careless People has jumped about 305% week-on-week after the author was “silenced” at Hay, according to NielsenIQ BookData. Netflix YA finale: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder will end with a shorter Season 3 (four episodes) in 2027, with UK premieres on BBC iPlayer/BBC One/BBC Three. Reading support: A Wrexham library update highlights resources for struggling readers and archives now based at the library, plus HiVis Fortnight support for people with sight loss. Awards spotlight: The 61st Nebula Awards name winners across fiction, games and screen, with Titan UK and Gollancz among the UK-linked publishers in the top categories. Local culture: Ojude Oba 2026 is reported to have hit record media visibility and social engagement growth, underlining how festivals are becoming global brands.

Google & AI Publishing: The UK’s CMA has forced Google to improve AI search results by adding clearer sourcing and letting publishers opt out of AI Overviews and training—an important win for UK media and book publishers worried about being scraped without consent. Publishing & Books: Two major Chinese translation releases—The Four Books of Xenophon and Quintilian: A Roman Educator and His Quest for the Perfect Orator—are set to be showcased in Athens, underlining how classics are being reconnected to modern readers. Books & Culture: The Embassy of Greece in London is hosting Odyssey, a new exhibition built around a four-volume artist’s book based on a British Library manuscript, blending Homer with contemporary art. Community Reading: National Year of Reading celebrations get a boost as the British Library marks the moment, while National Year of Reading book blitz efforts continue to push books into schools and communities. Books Pints & Laughs Picks: Our 50th-edition subscriber prize draw has announced 50 winners, including print and digital back-issue bundles.

Publishing & AI Regulation: The UK’s competition watchdog has forced Google to improve AI search results and give publishers real opt-out controls for AI Overviews, shifting power toward UK media. International Publishing: Penguin Random House India has pulled Joe Sacco’s graphic reportage The Once and Future Riot ahead of a local release, citing internal concerns over editorial issues. Books & Culture: UCL research says arts engagement can help slow biological ageing, adding fresh fuel to the case for protecting “soft” subjects. Media & Books: The BBC is launching a new Hercule Poirot series with Edward Bluemel as the youngest actor to play the detective, filmed mainly in Liverpool. Reading Life: The Economist is recruiting a London-based intern for its Culture coverage, with a 26 June deadline. Sports-Books Crossover: A viral Ghanaian “barefoot England” story is being challenged as fake folklore, with writers urging readers to separate history from viral fiction.

UK Publishing & AI Regulation: The UK’s competition watchdog has forced Google to give publishers clearer attribution and an opt-out from AI overviews/scraping, shifting power in the ongoing fight over how news content is used. Book Culture & Events: A Malvern show returns with big animal and farming draws, including author signings from Clarkson’s Farm’s Kaleb Cooper. Literary Spotlight: Profile Books’ Emily Wilson explores how to “cross” into ancient literature without projecting modern bias in Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea. Global Publishing Watch: UK-linked publishing deals and catalog moves continue, while Chinese genre fiction promotion highlights growing international demand for web novels. Reading & Society: A reminder that access to books still matters—especially as campaigns push summer reading and literacy. Sports & Storytelling: FIFA’s World Cup memorabilia project turns match history into a long-running archive, with “22 items, 22 stories” spanning past tournaments.

AI & Publishing Policy: The UK competition watchdog has forced Google to give publishers clearer control over AI search use, including opt-outs for AI summaries and training/scraping—another big step in the fight over who gets paid when platforms use news and books. Local Housing & Homelessness: A Guardian investigation alleges London councils are “dumping” vulnerable families hundreds of miles away, with charities calling the practice inhumane and councils facing legal and political backlash. Books & Culture: Zendaya’s bookstore stop in California sparked a literary buzz, with fans spotting her with Dune: Messiah and Homer’s The Odyssey—a pop-culture reminder of how classics keep resurfacing. Publishing/Books in the UK Orbit: Penguin won’t distribute Joe Sacco’s graphic novel on the 2013 riots, reported as a dispute over rights and distribution. Sport & Storytelling: FIFA says it will collect World Cup items after every match for future museums—yet another example of how sport memorabilia becomes narrative history.

UK publishing & AI regulation: The UK competition watchdog has pushed Google to give publishers real control over AI search summaries, including opt-outs from AI scraping/training—another big step in the ongoing fight over who gets paid when tech uses news content. Book trade & access: Independent bookshops are under pressure abroad too, with Australia seeing a sharp decline and more closures, a reminder of how fragile the high-street book ecosystem can be. Local community books: A free community showcase is coming to Bicester Methodist Church, with books and a jigsaw sale among the activities. New releases & reading culture: A new M.A.S.K. comic launch is set to expand Skybound/Image Comics’ Energon Universe, while a revived early-1900s novel reappears in print under a more familiar film-linked title. History & books: A new multi-volume World Cup history project, Glittering Prize, aims to turn tournament lore into a readable, accessible sweep from the start to today.

Publishing & AI: The UK competition watchdog has ordered Google to let publishers opt out of AI scraping and AI search summaries, giving media sites more control over how their content is used. Banking & Books Culture: The Bank of England has defended its plan to put wildlife on new banknotes, replacing historical figures, after a public consultation. Royal Wedding Watch: Peter Phillips married Harriet Sperling in Kemble, with Princess Anne and other royals attending—another reminder of how publishing-adjacent celebrity coverage keeps driving attention. Local Publishing/Community: Newsquest Cumbria’s in-Cumbria magazine has launched a rebrand with more long-form business and tech coverage. Harry Potter (Screen-to-Books Buzz): HBO’s Potter reboot is already casting for Season 2, with Colin Creevey reportedly in the frame. Sport & Storytelling: Scotland’s World Cup history piece spotlights key moments like Jimmy Murray’s first goal in 1958 as fans look to progress in the tournament.

Publishing Deal: Wiley has bought UK-based Emerald Publishing for £337m in an all-cash move that boosts its research and AI/data analytics ambitions. UK Tech & Media Policy: The UK’s CMA has ordered Google to improve AI search attribution and let publishers opt out of AI use of their content. Book Reviews (UK readers): Maggie O’Farrell’s Land lands as a sweeping Ordnance Survey-era Ireland novel, while Patrick Gale’s Love Lane and Blake Morrison’s On Memoir offer homecoming and craft advice for life-writing fans. Controversial Distribution: Penguin Random House India won’t distribute Joe Sacco’s The Once and Future Riot after legal red flags, including an allegedly inaccurate India map. Culture & Reading: A new Books in brief round-up plus June TBR lists keep the focus on what to pick up next. Local Notices: Greenwich Council validated planning updates for Brookhill Estate in Woolwich, including EV charging changes, alongside extensions and tree works in Blackheath.

Google vs publishers: UK regulator rules Google must improve AI search attribution and let publishers opt out of AI summaries/training, shifting power in the AI search fight. EU legal pressure: European publishers are also suing Google for £552m+ over alleged adtech monopoly abuse after the Commission’s €2.95bn fine. Publishing & tech: OpenAI’s Codex gets new business plugins and deeper ChatGPT integration, while Microsoft pushes an always-on AI agent for Microsoft 365 workflows—both signals of more automated content and marketing work. Books & culture: Peter F. Hamilton’s Exodus sequel, The Helium Sea, lands June 16 with an exclusive extract; and Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall hosts Rehana Zaman’s Plantation films, spotlighting precarious immigrant labour and empire’s afterlife. Reading for summer: Boothbay’s “Unearth a Story” club picks Daniel Mason’s North Woods for shared discussions.

AI & Publishing: The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has ordered Google to let publishers opt out of having their content used for AI Overviews and other AI search features, and to provide “effective tools” to block scraping for AI training, with clearer sourcing links required. Local Community & Reading Culture: Nairn businesses are being urged to get behind Scotland Loves Local Week (June 13–20), with shops encouraged to run special offers and events that keep money in the local economy. Children’s Books: A new picture book, Cobie the Cactus: Happy As He Is, launches in the UK with a neurodiversity-forward story about belonging, written for ages 3–7. Crime & Safety (Data): Shetland Islands Council disclosed 200 personal-data breaches over five years, with more than half involving sensitive information sent to the wrong recipient. Books & History: A fresh appeal has been launched in the 30-year-old Melanie Hall murder case in Bath, as her family continues to push for answers.

AI & Publishing: The UK’s CMA has ordered Google to let publishers opt out of AI Overviews/AI Mode via Google Search Console, without losing normal search ranking; Google must also add clearer source links/attribution and has started rolling the controls out with a UK pilot before wider rollout. Tech Policy: The CMA’s move is framed as a “world-first” shift in bargaining power for publishers, after complaints that AI summaries cut referral traffic. Publishing Business: Wiley has agreed to buy UK-based Emerald Publishing for $452m, expanding Elsevier’s reach in academic and professional publishing. Local Reading & Libraries: A new independent children’s publisher, Messy Press, is launching in the UK, while libraries continue to push events and reading schemes. Book Culture: Maggie O’Farrell’s Land is highlighted as a summer must-read, and the Week Junior Book Awards shortlist has been unveiled.

UK Publishing & Big Tech: The UK regulator has ordered Google to let publishers opt out of AI Overviews/AI Mode and to add clearer links and attributions, after complaints that AI summaries cut referral traffic; Global Media Payback: Meta has attacked Australia’s proposed “news for pay” draft laws as discriminatory and likely to fail, with a compulsory levy if deals aren’t struck; Publishing Deals: Wiley is buying UK-based Emerald Publishing for £337m, while Elsevier has acquired Wellsheet to plug EHR data into ClinicalKey AI; Books & Culture: Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer manuscript is being displayed for the 150th anniversary, and a new exhibition at London’s Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration opens this week; Press Freedom: Egypt sentences poet Ahmed Douma to prison with labour over “fake news”, part of a wider crackdown on writers; Road Safety Policy: Oxfordshire’s “quiet lanes” pilot would physically block some traffic beyond DfT guidance, sparking fears it’s being “weaponised” against cars.

AI & Publishing: The UK’s CMA has ordered Google to let publishers opt out of AI Overviews/AI Mode and to avoid penalising them with reduced visibility, plus require attribution and reporting—while a wider global SPUR coalition pushes for fair value sharing with AI firms. UN Watch: A UN report warns AI’s growth is straining power grids, water and land, urging standardised environmental reporting from providers. Books & Culture: The Queen backs the National Year of Reading at the British Library, meeting young author Betsy Griffin. Publishing Industry: Wiley’s £337m Emerald Publishing deal is in the mix, and Quentin Blake’s new illustration centre opens in London. Local Reading Life: Libraries and literacy groups keep summer programmes going, including Reading Bridge’s building-fund boost. Tech/Media: Ofcom flags poor mobile coverage on trains, adding to the “digital access” pressure.

Publishing Awards: The deadline for entries to the 2026 Licensing Awards is Thursday 4 June, with categories spanning licensed products, retail, marketing, sustainability and live events, and winners revealed at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Tuesday 8 September. Reading & Community: A UK-wide push for kids’ literacy continues, with Waterstones Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce calling for national action on the reading crisis, while local library programmes keep rolling out summer reading challenges and book giveaways. AI in Writing: Granta’s Commonwealth Short Story Prize has sparked fresh debate after allegations that some winning stories show signs of AI use, putting AI-detection tools under scrutiny. Royal Cancer Support: Princess Kate and King Charles attended a Cancer Research UK reception at St James’s Palace marking the charity’s 125th anniversary, with both royals highlighting the cause’s work as they continue cancer treatment journeys. Sports & Culture Crossover: World Cup fever is everywhere, with coverage spotlighting star players and group matchups as the tournament approaches.