The book publishing industry saw a rousing first half with life getting back to some state of normalcy, offices opening up and in-person events taking place. Publishers are hopeful that the increased interest in reading will carry forward through 2021…and beyond. Anthem Press has tailored 8 remarkable and latest articles that contribute to a round-up of the top news stories in the publishing industry.
1. Using AI to unlock the secrets of ancient texts
Researchers at the University of Notre Dame are developing an artificial neural network to read complex ancient handwriting based on human perception to improve the capabilities of deep learning transcription. There is a great need to advance the digital humanities. Charleston Hub
Research. Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame.
2. Digiday and Connatix Published-The State of Contextual Future
A deep dive into the contextual ecosystem highlighted expanding roles for contextual videos in particular. This one-sheet features findings that include how publishers are moving to contextual video campaigns with their in-house teams and partnerships.DigiDay
3. Surprisingly Big Business of Library E-Books
Alan Inouye, senior public-policy director at the American Library Association, said. “There needs to be some change in the law to reinstate public rights that we have for analog materials.” Infodocket
4. A Platform of New Voices
This article talks about Desiblitz Literature Festival in Birmingham that will feature both published authors and workshop programming for aspirational writers. Desiblitz.com is a popular nonprofit digital magazine in the United Kingdom launched in 2020. Publishing Perspectives
5. Academic Best Sellers
Mathematics of the Gods and the Algorithms of Men: A Cultural History, Super Math: The Power of Numbers for Good and Evil, Performing Math: A History of Communication and Anxiety in the American Mathematics Classroom and more such bestsellers can be found in the library Journal. Library Journal
6. Assessing the Pros and Cons of being an Independent Publisher
Columnist Richard Charkin, a small publisher in London, evaluates Mensch Publishing. The team has published 14 titles, the bulk of them having been supported admirably by Bloomsbury’s sales, rights, and production teams and MDL’s distribution. The article talks about what the biggest frustrations of being a tiny publisher with no permanent workforce, are. Publishing Perspectives
7. The Largest Investment in California’s Libraries in State History
The historic funding package—the largest investment in California’s libraries in state history, includes a one-time increase to the California State Library. At the time when many libraries were feeling the financial crunch of pandemic impacts, the above decision was taken on June 2nd this year. As the rest of the state funding package rolls out, California libraries can begin to tend to their capital and other needs—offering some financial breathing room in a challenging time Library Journal
8. TikTok Makes Backlist Books into Bestsellers
The increased interest in ‘It Ends with Us’ is one of the best examples of the impact of TikTok on book sales. A large community of TikTok users have carved out a corner of the app—called “BookTok” and codified through hashtags—for sharing their favorite books and authors.Publishers Weekly