A GAME OF THRONES Movie is Coming

Don’t let anyone tell you that books won’t sell.

According to Circana BookScan Industry Analyst Brenna Connor, book sales are not only stable, but have reached a new, higher baseline. Covering the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute 2026, Publishers Weekly Here’s a summary of the good news from Mr. Connor’s talk on US book market trends and strategies. Adult novels and escapist novels like dark romances are boosting book sales even as Americans tighten their grip on the economy. I think you can guess how other categories are performing. Yes, it’s a dystopian novel. In nonfiction, hope, comfort, and community are key, with authoritative sources, mental health, and religious and spiritual content on the rise. In this era, we have started to seek a more analog lifestyle. What’s more analog than a book? We may think we’re highly intelligent, but book sales are reading us dirty.

Speaking of which…

Are we living in a “dirty renaissance”? Amanda Hess explores our current obsession with all things erotic, focusing on the new Wuthering Heights film adaptation, the Rivals books and series, and the recent success of, and hunger for, romance. Hess emphasizes a “longing for male admiration” as a common denominator in the modern attraction to smut, with women seeking an escape from lived heterosexual experience and drawn into inaccessible and exciting worlds, such as male-on-male action or sex with magical men in the fairy world. I wouldn’t call this a comeback, but it’s still interesting to ask what smut trends can tell us about modern culture.

BookCon announces schedule of events

ReedPop is bringing back BookCon after a long hiatus due to the coronavirus, with a schedule that includes heated rivalries, trans and non-binary stories, and a celebration of Indigenous authors. Learn more about BookCon’s upcoming events (and recent critiques).