It’s been another eventful year, and the industry did not escape these tumultuous times of change. While we’ve been reporting on various aspects throughout 2023, we now want to showcase the main events that shook the publishing industry, much like our own version of Spotify Wrapped.

An explosion of artificial intelligence

The biggest buzzword of our times is indeed artificial intelligence, and while every trade has been impacted to some degree, writers have certainly borne the brunt of this issue. They are among the first to bring lawsuits against major tech companies such as OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta in an effort to protect their work. While most of these cases are still ongoing, a significant divide exists between how the legal system perceives ownership, what Big Tech considers as training material, and how authors view their books being pirated.

Comedian Sarah Silverman’s case was already partially dismissed after a Californian federal judge determined that the evidence did not clearly indicate plagiarism. The judge stated, “When I make a query of Llama, I’m not asking for a copy of Silverman’s book – I’m not even asking for an excerpt.”

Already, thousands have signed open letters to protect themselves from the upcoming challenges and have called on governments, such as the one in the US, to ensure the continued protection of their work. Consequently, in October, President Biden issued a landmark Executive Order to ensure that America leads the way in harnessing the potential and addressing the risks of AI. This Executive Order establishes new standards for AI safety and security, safeguards Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, supports consumers and workers, fosters innovation and competition, enhances American leadership worldwide, and more.

Read: Authors’ pirated books used to train Generative AI

At the same time, Europe adopted a similar yet more stringent approach. The use of AI in the EU will be governed by the AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive AI law, which was initially proposed in April 2021. Just this month, on December 9th, EU officials reached a provisional agreement to regulate its usage. However, any legislation will not come into effect until at least 2025, pending a vote by the European Parliament on the AI Act proposals early next year.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the AI Act would promote the development of technology that does not endanger people’s safety and rights. In a social media post, she said it was a “unique legal framework for the development of AI you can trust”.

In the past month, the Authors Guild conducted a recent survey to collect the opinions of authors regarding the use of generative AI trained on books. The survey garnered responses from over 2,400 authors representing diverse backgrounds, and there was nearly unanimous agreement among them that they should have control over the use of their works for AI training and be compensated for such use. Additionally, the survey yielded valuable insights into authors’ perspectives on how a licensing system should be structured and how royalties should be distributed between authors and publishers. Only 3% of respondents expressed their belief that it was acceptable for AI to utilise their books without their consent or compensation.

Read: Amazon’s KDP AI audiobooks faces backlash from authors

We’ve also witnessed the consequences, with Amazon being inundated by AI-written books, some of which even posed potential dangers. Consequently, the consumer giant has intensified its efforts to safeguard its self-publishing platform by attempting to introduce new measures. These measures include limiting the number of books that can be published to three per day and requiring authors to notify the platform when using AI.

The proliferation of book bans

The surge in book bans was noticeably pronounced this year in the US, with organisations like PEN America reporting a notable 33% increase during the 2022-23 school year compared to the previous one. Surprisingly, Florida led the way, surpassing traditionally conservative states like Texas. Consequently, we witnessed our first lawsuit against this trend in Escambia County, Florida, where publisher Penguin Random House joined forces with a literary rights organisation to address this escalating issue.

We even saw celebrities like Idina Menzel, Ariana Grande, and Mark Ruffalo joining forces to oppose book challenges and bans. Pink went a step further by distributing banned books at her Florida performances.

Read: School book bans: alarming rise as Florida takes lead

On the other end of the spectrum, Illinois became the first state to take a stand against book bans. Although the bill doesn’t outright prohibit book bans, it encourages libraries to incorporate the Library Bill of Rights or similar intellectual freedom statements into their policies. Just this week, Representative Ayanna Pressley introduced the Books Save Lives Act, and the Fight Book Bans Act has also been proposed. However, several states, including Wisconsin, New York, and Pennsylvania, are contemplating the opposite.

The good news is that anti-censorship made progress in the local elections, as most of the right-wing candidates backed by Moms for Liberty were not elected.

Read: My Shadow is Purple author Scott Stuart on book bans extremism

Unfortunately, we’ve received reports of wrongdoing against librarians and teachers. In Georgia, for instance, Katie Rinderle was dismissed from her position for reading the book “My Shadow Is Purple” by Scott Stuart, which deals with gender fluidity, to her class. We subsequently interviewed Stuart in response to this incident. He told us he found the situation “so upsetting”, adding “I can’t imagine why they would want to get rid of a stable part of their children’s lives in a great teacher just because they don’t believe in something that was read.”

Another teacher was astonishingly dismissed for assigning an illustrated adaptation of “The Diary of Anne Frank” to her eighth-grade class. Anne Frank, a celebrated diarist and German Jewish girl, documented her life in hiding during Nazi persecution. This incident sparked widespread condemnation. Additionally, the chief librarian in Wyoming was fired over reports of conflicts arising from a new book policy, which some supporters likened to actions in Nazi Germany.

The issue has become such a thorn in the side of US schools that a government czar, Matt Nosanchuk, who previously served under the Obama administration, has been appointed to oversee the response to content-related controversies.

KKR acquires Simon and Schuster

In October, the private equity firm KKR successfully completed its $1.62 billion acquisition of the renowned publishing house, Simon & Schuster. KKR emerged as the winning bidder in early August, after the government rejected Penguin Random House’s attempt to acquire S&S in late 2022. Under this new ownership, the publisher will retain its current leadership, with Jonathan Karp continuing as CEO and Dennis Eulau as COO and CFO.

In a letter addressed to the company’s employees, Karp underscored a glaring change brought about by KKR’s acquisition: Simon & Schuster is no longer part of a media conglomerate for the first time since 1975 when Gulf + Western as well as Paramount acquired it. Instead, it now forms a part of KKR’s diverse portfolio of companies, which includes the digital distributor OverDrive. As of December 31st, 2022, KKR’s traditional private equity portfolio encompassed over 125 companies, generating a combined annual revenue of approximately $290 billion.

Though the average reader may not immediately notice these shifts, the future remains uncertain. Could Simon & Schuster follow a path similar to that of Google and Motorola? We do understand that KKR is poised to vigorously pursue expansion, with perhaps less emphasis on adhering to the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of the publishing industry compared to the parent companies of the Big Five.

On one hand, this approach might lead to Simon & Schuster having a healthy influx of capital, potentially enabling its staff to explore exciting new ventures – as long as they align with their KPIs. On the other hand, it could also usher in considerable transformations at the publishing house, possibly entailing workforce reductions and altered contract terms for authors.

Booktok gets bigger

Booktok continues to mature, with the TikTok trend now boasting over 207 billion views—100 billion more than in December of the previous year. The platform has produced several major hits, including R. F. Kuang‘s book “Yellowface”, Rebecca Yarros’ fantasy novel ‘Fourth Wing,’ and Emily Henry’s “Happy Place” in the romance genre. Since Henry has another book, “Funny Story,” scheduled for release in 2024, it’s likely to generate a similar response.

A bad year for Goodreads

Goodreads, the book database, received massive backlash over review bombing issues throughout the year. Several royal books, including Prince Harry’s bestselling memoir “Spare” and Omid Scobie’s “Endgame,” had their review features disabled due to users trashing the books without reading them.

Read: Goodreads review bombing: action taken to preserve trust

Recently, the platform faced criticism when it was discovered that a debut author had been review bombing writers of colour using fake accounts. Cait Corrain was dropped by publishers after admitting to sabotaging fellow authors on the popular book recommendation site. This incident followed a move by the book site in October, where they asked users to report the “authenticity of ratings and reviews” as part of their efforts to address this issue.

Goodreads said: “Earlier this year, we launched the ability to temporarily limit submission of ratings and reviews on a book during times of unusual activity that violate our guidelines, including instances of ‘review bombing’. This kind of activity is not tolerated on Goodreads and it diminishes the community’s trust in people who participate.”

Read: Author Cait Corrain loses book deal over secret review bombing

The platform has previously been embroiled in controversies related to online comments. Last summer, author Elizabeth Gilbert postponed the release of a historical novel set in Siberia after hundreds of users criticised the book as insensitive, even though it had not yet been published. This criticism coincided with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The issue with Goodreads, as rightfully pointed out, stems from its origins. It was originally created by computer programmer Otis Chandler and Elizabeth Khuri, who served as the assistant style editor for the Los Angeles Times’s Sunday magazine. Consequently, there is no oversight or literary scrutiny, unlike newspapers and magazines. Goodreads lacks regulatory bodies comparable to Ofcom or Ipso, resulting in a lack of standardised content evaluation. Consequently, the platform can be easily manipulated and gamified, allowing authors to be torn down before they even establish a presence in the publishing world.

Read: Book reviews: erosion of trust due to AI, bombing and misrepresentation

We’ve previously spoken to people about review bombing, in which independent publicist and author Terena Bell told us: “Goodreads used to be helpful — at one point I even used it. But the Elizabeth Gilbert nonsense proved the site is swiftly becoming nothing but swill.”

Gordon McClellan stands as the forward-thinking figurehead of DartFrog Books, an independent publishing company renowned for its offerings encompassing traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing platforms. In a recent conversation with How To Be Books, McClellan asserted the same, confirming: “I’d say AI is the biggest story in the publishing world this year (even bigger than KKR’s purchase of Simon & Schuster) for the way it is forcing conversation about copyright rules.”

What we’ve learnt this year

As we’ve seen, we’ve faced significant challenges in the publishing industry in 2023, and it’s clear that these issues won’t disappear on their own. It’s evident that we must carefully monitor various aspects, such as AI and book banning, to prevent destabilising parts of the literary world. Additionally, there’s a pressing need for ongoing discussions about defining free speech, establishing a consistent response to training models with robust legislation, and ensuring accountability, particularly in the realm of reviews.

Diverse literature remains a focal point, and reversing the current trends will require sustained effort. In a recent report, Penguin Random House, the largest publishing house in the United States, disclosed that approximately 75% of its authors were white between 2019 and 2021. Hence, as we look ahead to 2024, the industry must take substantial steps to address these formidable challenges.