AGP Executive Report

Space & Tech: India’s Skyroot Aerospace says its Vikram-1, a privately built orbital-class rocket, will take its maiden test flight between July 12 and Aug. 4, aiming for small-satellite launches after one or two successful demos. Publishing & Books: Seven Dials acquired chef-musician Si King’s Proper Home Cooking; Hodder & Stoughton snapped up Alan Titchmarsh’s How to Kill a Gardener; and Akram Aylisli’s People and Trees: A Trilogy won the 2026 EBRD Literature Prize. Libraries & Learning: Sharjah delivered a keynote at the ALA’s 150th anniversary, praising its “Library for Every Home” initiative that has reached 42,000 Emirati families with 2.1 million books. Publishing Careers: PublisHer launched PublisHer Studio, a free global online learning platform for women in publishing, with applications open July 1–Aug. 1. Privacy & Consumer Tech: CNET reviewed data-removal services Kanary and DeleteMe, highlighting tradeoffs between automation, cost, and transparency. Print Industry: Konica Minolta unveiled the AccurioPress C5080 Series digital presses aimed at faster, simpler production for print service providers. Local News Impact: An American Press Institute summit in Pittsburgh focused on how newsrooms can better track impact beyond basic KPIs.

Sony’s PS5 shift to digital-only: Sony says it will stop producing physical PS5 discs in early 2028, sparking fears about higher prices and fewer resale options—plus fresh legal risk that the PlayStation Store could be treated like a monopoly. AI in embedded design: Mouser and Arduino released an eBook arguing AI-ready hardware can bridge the gap between simple microcontrollers and heavier edge-computing setups. Insurance and AI “build vs buy”: Insurers are increasingly choosing to build AI tools in-house after past buying disappointments, as AI capabilities mature. Medicare agent squeeze: Agents say Medicare Advantage commission cuts and plan pullbacks are making the market “chaotic,” squeezing income even as renewals continue. Publishing-adjacent tech: A new “print-on-demand” debate resurfaces as platforms promise easy fulfillment—until orders arrive. Books & libraries: Gibbs Library’s July 11 summer book sale spotlights local buying that funds collections and programs. Gaming culture meets publishing: A “Games Inbox” discussion reflects how digital-only changes how players buy, trade, and discover games.

Book trade shake-up: France’s Nosoli (Le Furet du Nord and Decitre) plans to close 11 of 27 stores to stave off bankruptcy, a stark reminder of how hard retail book chains are being squeezed. Publishing & IP: Shueisha is ending its Marvel manga publishing agreement with Disney, with several licensed titles set to be discontinued after Sept. 30. Children’s reading push: Bath’s Children’s Literature Festival announces its biggest-ever programme for Sept. 25–Oct. 4, aligned with the National Year of Reading and featuring major author/illustrator names. AI and books: Apple Books is reportedly flooded with AI-generated plagiarism, raising fresh concerns for self-publishing platforms and storefronts. Media business strategy: Mediahuis says it’s leaning on “signature journalism,” stronger brands, and higher customer value to build sustainable growth as AI reshapes creator-driven media. Music publishing tie-in: Forbes Books launches in the UK after acquiring Rethink Press, adding to the churn in global publishing imprints.

AI Copyright Clash in Australia: Author Anna Funder says big tech “hoovered up” her books for AI, as creatives lobby Parliament to block copyright changes that would let training happen with little or no compensation. Space Research Funding: Caltech’s Keck Institute selected five new study topics to shape future space exploration concepts, linking academia, JPL and industry. Wildfire Mitigation Policy: Sen. Adam Schiff joined a bipartisan push to fund hauling hazardous woody debris from forests, aiming to reduce fire intensity. Housing Affordability Deadline: Pasadena’s Holly Street Village faces an early-2027 countdown as 75 restricted units near the end of affordability rules, with tenants warned rent could jump. Local Business Grants: Altavista named Rooted Exchange and Butterfly Bakehouse as Fire-Up Altavista recipients, each getting $25,000 to launch downtown ventures. Publishing & Rights: Former Faber publishing director Joanna Mackle has died, marking a loss for UK book-industry leadership. Royal Reading Politics: Queen Camilla faced backlash for posing with J.K. Rowling, reigniting debate over Rowling’s views and children’s reading messaging. Chinese Books Abroad: A London shop, Weidu Bookshop, opened to meet demand for Chinese-language contemporary literature and humanities titles. Food Recall: Kaisi Melbourne Wu Xian Zhai soybean snacks were pulled over an undeclared egg allergen.

Publishing & Rights: Reservoir Media signs singer-songwriter Jarrett Doherty to a publishing deal covering his catalogue and future works, marking his first publishing agreement and a new Reservoir/Tinman joint venture. Media Ownership: Axel Springer is set to complete its £575m Telegraph takeover, promising “AI-powered transformation” after regulatory approvals. Books & Culture: Viking acquires historian Antony Beevor’s diaries volume “Literary Life and Shameless Gossip: Diaries 1998–2007,” adding to its literary nonfiction slate. Digital Publishing: Pugpig’s 2026 report finds publisher apps are improving engagement, with news apps and daily publishing leading key metrics. AI & Compliance: Wall Street regulators keep tightening AI enforcement, stressing existing rules still apply to AI-enabled conduct. Creative Economy (Nigeria): A new report flags power outages and poor internet as the biggest barriers to Nigeria’s creative sector scaling globally. Music Royalties: Spotify says it paid a record $11bn in 2025 royalties, but the earnings debate for artists remains unresolved.

Creator-Led Publishing Shift (Australia): Racat Group is shutting down youth title Punkee as it restructures around a leaner, “creator-led” model centered on Junkee, citing tougher advertiser economics. Retail & Media Convergence: Amazon and Walmart keep pushing beyond stores—Amazon opens logistics to more businesses, while Walmart moves deeper into connected-TV ads via its Vibe.co acquisition. Streaming Legal Pressure (Books/Publishing-adjacent): Australia’s ACCC launches court proceedings against Amazon AU over alleged unfair Prime Video terms tied to ad rollouts for over a million subscribers. Game Retail Reality Check: Early GTA 6 pre-orders show demand skewing toward digital Ultimate Edition, with some GameStop locations reporting far lower-than-expected Standard Edition sales. Publishing/Tech Trust: UNMIRI launches a literature intelligence platform for oncology medical affairs, pitching variant-aware search for faster, more targeted reading. AI & Access Controls: A report warns frontier AI model access can become an enterprise risk as export-control directives restrict hosted model availability. EU Chemicals Oversight: EU lawmakers agree a new legal framework to strengthen ECHA’s chemicals management and funding. Carers Support Gap (Policy): Research highlights the need for earlier recognition and more timely support services for unpaid carers in Australia.

Publishing & Books: A new political book, Regime Change, is driving fresh controversy after claims about internal White House deliberations tied to Jeffrey Epstein, with the reporting now fueling renewed scrutiny of Trump-era handling of sensitive material. Reading Tech: Bibliobeats is pitching a “book + music” app that matches titles to background playlists via search or barcode scanning, aiming to make reading feel less interrupted. Children’s Publishing: Puffin is releasing a second Roald Dahl anthology, while DK Children’s plans Questions, Questions by Pippa Goodhart and Corrie Gorman. Market & Retail Culture: In Santa Rosa, younger shoppers are increasingly showing up downtown—helping niche comic and board-game stores—while Canada Day events in Stratford spotlight libraries and community programming. Games & Consumer Leisure: A report forecasts the tabletop games market reaching $5.3B by 2035, with children’s demand a key growth driver.

AI & Language Policy: Kazakhstan’s school AI push via KazLLM is criticized for being overhyped and for failing to fix Kazakh’s “translation-first” legal and scientific vocabulary gaps, putting a September 2026 pilot at 500 schools at risk. Regional Stability: Bosnia and Herzegovina faces a looming institutional crossroads as Republika Srpska leaders challenge the constitutional order and NATO integration goals ahead of October 2026 elections. Publishing & Books: Salt Lake City launches its first citywide book festival in October, headlined by Jodi Picoult, with additional author events planned. Local Culture & Print: Edinburgh’s festivals warn of “complacency” after new research shows residents drive a large share of bookings and public funding remains significant. Business Outlook: The UK’s private sector growth expectations weaken further, with firms forecasting softer activity into September. Tech & Security: Chinese open-weight AI model Zhipu AI’s GLM-5.2 is reported to match top US systems in cybersecurity tasks, raising new concerns for open deployment. Energy Policy: The US and Canada plan major nuclear reactor builds, framed as a response to AI-driven demand and geopolitical risk.

Community & Culture: Port Charlotte’s Caitlin Barrett is turning local events into real community impact as chief of creativity for the Charlotte DeSoto Building Industry Association, running about 200 fundraisers and programs a year. Health Research Gap: Canada’s adolescent and young adult cancer community is growing fast, but dedicated research funding remains tiny—less than 0.5%—leaving “lost tribe” needs under-addressed. Publishing/Books & Media: A spotlight on Megan Prelinger’s Prelinger Library shows how archives, newspapers, and oddball collections are becoming living cultural resources, not just shelves. Tech & Discovery: Microsoft is rolling out an Azure Copilot Observability Agent to help engineers diagnose cloud outages, while Apple’s price hikes and AI-driven marketing keep reshaping how customers find and trust brands. Scams & Trust: Harare residents are warned about fake WhatsApp accounts impersonating city housing officials to steal money from stand seekers. Education & Access: Telegram’s NEET controversy continues to raise questions about exam coaching, piracy, and platform risk.

Publishing & Books in the Real World: A new Netflix neo-Western, Ransom Canyon (based on Jodi Thomas’s novel series), returns July 23 with 11-book source material fueling hopes for multiple seasons. Local Book Culture: Oldspeak opens as a “book bar” in Garden City, mixing shelves, beer, and conversation—while First Chapter Book Store in Parkersburg ramps up America 250 events with story time and themed discounts. Book Industry & AI: Kobo rejected 45% of self-published books last year, mostly over AI concerns, as publishers and platforms tighten rules. Copyright & AI Fight: Newspapers sue OpenAI and Microsoft over alleged mass copyright infringement, adding pressure to the AI training debate. Global Reading Access: Digital boost efforts support Indigenous-language books in outback Australia. Media & Community: A Virginia homeschool “Curriculum Show and Tell” highlights how families use learning events to build networks beyond textbooks.

Publishing & Books: Dr. Seuss archives at UC San Diego surfaced an unpublished “Sing the 50 United States!” manuscript, with Penguin Random House and Dr. Seuss Enterprises reportedly hunting for new 70th-anniversary marketing material. Local Retail & Community: A new consignment boutique, “The Trove,” opened in American Falls, giving local makers a storefront for 3D-printed items, art, and other crafts. Climate & Consumer Habits: Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action is pushing “Plastic-Free July,” urging shoppers to rethink everyday produce bag use and reuse options. Business of Publishing/Books: A translator interview highlights how translation is shaped by lived experience and politics, as publishers weigh AI tools to cut costs and speed up work. Tech & Reading Ecosystem: A report warns that “vibe-coded” self-hosted apps can become security and maintenance risks, leaving users with data exposure—an issue for anyone running tools that support reading, libraries, or publishing workflows. Regulation & Marketplaces: Senators and the CFTC face renewed pressure over Polymarket after claims of staged wagers and misleading creator ads.

Publishing Policy & Culture: Vietnam’s government is pushing a plan to turn publishing into a modern digital content industry by 2030, aiming to shift incentives beyond academic paper output toward real economic and cultural impact. Books & Community: Delhi’s Daryaganj Sunday Book Bazaar is profiled as an informal, pavement-based public library that for decades helped generations of students access cheap reading. Bestsellers & Reading Lists: A U.S. bestseller roundup highlights how major new nonfiction and guided journals are performing, including political and faith-adjacent titles. Local Publishing Ecosystem: A piece on libraries’ early-learning space redesign (Beloit’s Discovery PLAYce) argues that “low expectations” aren’t inevitable and that libraries can drive brain-ready learning for ages 0–6. Industry Watch: Vietnam’s publishing push and the library/market stories together underscore how policy and physical reading spaces still shape what readers can access.

Book Trade Deals & Publishing: Hachette Children’s will publish two picture books by Smriti Halls and illustrator Ged Adamson, while Harvill Secker acquired dark-academia fantasy debut Monstrous Alchemy. Biteback Publishing also plans to release TV presenter Anneka Rice’s 50-years-on-BBC autobiography Challenge! Rights & Reading Access: Quick Reads (The Reading Agency) marks 20 years by signing Booker Prize authors for new stories aimed at adult readers returning to books. Marketing & Discovery: A new focus on BookTok shows how book merchandise and publishing visibility are being reshaped by social platforms. Tech, Platforms & Consumer Pressure: Apple’s big Mac/iPad price hikes are feeding retailer advice to buy now, and Kobo rejected 45% of self-published books last year, mostly over AI. Industry Backdrop: Germany’s BaFin opened an accounting review tied to Zalando’s About You takeover, adding volatility to online retail. Culture & Memory: Bayreuth reinstated a Holocaust memorial event after cancellation sparked public outcry, with proceeds funding scholarships for Israeli musicians.

Publishing & Culture: The 32nd Beijing International Book Fair drew nearly 300,000 visitors and generated 2,835 copyright deals, with children’s, social sciences and science/tech among the most active categories, while the UAE served as guest of honor. Books & Community: Shenandoah University’s Children’s Literature Conference kicked off its 40th year with “Reading Rocks Winchester,” aiming to connect teachers with authors and illustrators. Local Housing & Reading Life: A $34M renovation wrapped up on city-owned affordable housing, adding modern upgrades for nearly 2,000 subsidized homes. Tech + Publishing Adjacent: OpenEvidence and JOMI partnered to bring peer-reviewed surgical videos into clinician Q&A, training models to surface the exact relevant segment. AI/IPO Watch: OpenAI is reportedly leaning toward delaying its IPO to 2027 amid a volatile public tech market. Consumer Tech Costs: Apple and Microsoft raised prices on Macs/iPads and Xbox, blaming a memory/storage surge tied to AI data centers.

Pharma Traceability Push: India expands QR-code track-and-trace to cover vaccines, antimicrobials, anti-cancer and narcotic/psychotropic drugs, aiming to curb counterfeits and speed verification across the supply chain. Retail & Media Culture: ThriftBooks survey finds summer now feels “faster” and more structured, with many readers turning to books to reclaim slower, pleasure-first time. Tech Job Cuts: Walmart files WARN notices for 306 more tech roles in Sunnyvale, continuing a wave of layoffs tied to product and engineering reorgs. AI Governance in Publishing Adjacent Tech: A coalition of publishers sues OpenAI and Microsoft over alleged copyright scraping for AI training, adding pressure to how content is used and licensed. Book Trade Community: Book Trade Charity (BTBS) recruits runners for the 2027 London Marathon to support book-industry colleagues facing hardship. Prime Day Books & Deals: Prime Day day 3 continues with book-focused promotions alongside major gadget discounts, keeping bargain hunting front and center. EU Trade Update: EU gives final approval to tariff commitments under the EU-U.S. trade deal, clearing the way for the package to enter into force.

Publishing & Books Abroad: The Caribbean Collective brought eight Caribbean territories to the Beijing International Book Fair, aiming to plug a long-running gap in global visibility for regional authors and publishers. Local Book Culture: Mortlake Library’s new Book Review Club (ages 11–18) will publish member reviews monthly, pushing teens toward reading and writing through early access to new releases. Publishing Industry & Finance: JoongAng Group’s affiliates—including JTBC—are headed for court-led rehabilitation as liquidity problems worsen, with JoongAng Ilbo’s fate tied to creditor negotiations. Tech + Publishing Workflow: A report on AI-driven B2B buying highlights how AI tools are reshaping vendor discovery and validation—changing what publishers and media sellers need to prove earlier in the buyer journey. Community Reading & Events: The Bronx Book Festival drew hundreds for what’s billed as the biggest literary gathering in the borough, reinforcing demand for in-person book programming.