July 2025 Publishing Industry Snapshot
Executive Summary: July 2025 Publishing Landscape at a Glance
July 2025 marked a pivotal month for the publishing industry, characterized by a complex interplay of evolving market dynamics, significant technological advancements, and strategic adaptations. While traditional print segments continued to face headwinds, evidenced by a slight decline in US print book sales, the digital publishing market demonstrated robust growth, solidifying its position as a primary engine for industry expansion. This period also highlighted the increasing influence of artificial intelligence across various facets of content creation and distribution, alongside notable shifts in author economics and the strategic consolidation within digital platforms. The industry is clearly navigating a rebalancing act, where investment in digital capabilities and an understanding of evolving consumer behaviors are paramount for sustained viability and growth.
Publishing Industry News: July 2025 Key Developments
Major Business Deals & Financial News
HarperCollins Expands Manga Portfolio with Crunchyroll Acquisition
HarperCollins Publishers announced it will acquire the manga publishing operations of global anime brand Crunchyroll in France and Germany (Publishing Industry News About Print and E-books, Book Publishers, Bookselling, Events and Trade Shows | Publishers Weekly +2.) The companies are scheduled to close the transaction in the second half of 2025, subject to regulatory approval (Publisher HarperCollins to Acquire Crunchyroll's Manga Publishing Operations in France, Germany - News - Anime News Network). This represents HarperCollins' strategic expansion into the rapidly growing manga market, building on its existing Japanese operations.
Barnes & Noble Education Financial Crisis
In a disclosure made to the Security and Exchange Commission July 18, Barnes & Noble Education reported that due to issues surrounding the way it accounts for the cost of digital sales, it is delaying the release of several financial reports tied to the fiscal year that ended May 3, 2025 (B&NE Delays Year-End Reports for Fiscal 2025). Initial findings suggest that B&NE may have a potential overstatement of up to $23 million to its accounts receivable balance as of May 3, 2025 due to erroneous reporting during fiscal 2024 and 2025. Barnes & Noble Education stock fell 18.3% after the company disclosed an ongoing internal investigation into potential accounting irregularities (Barnes & Noble Education stock tumbles after internal investigation disclosure By Investing.com).
MIT Press Strategic Acquisition
The MIT Press announces the acquisition of textbook publisher University Science Books from AIP Publishing, a subsidiary of the American Institute of Physics (AIP) (The MIT Press acquires University Science Books from AIP Publishing | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology). The MIT Press will take over the USB list as of July 1, with inventory transferring to Penguin Random House Publishing Services, the MIT Press' sales and distribution partner.
AI & Technology Developments
Major Author Pushback Against AI
A group of more than 70 authors including Dennis Lehane, Gregory Maguire and Lauren Groff released an open letter on Friday about the use of AI on the literary website Lit Hub (Authors petition publishers to curtail their use of AI : NPR). It asked publishing houses to promise "they will never release books that were created by machines" and elicited more than 1,100 signatures on its accompanying petition in less than 24 hours.
AI Industry Impact on Publishing
The publishing industry is embracing AI to streamline editing, translation, and content generation. Vietnamese publishers report increased productivity and reduced costs, particularly in textbook and educational material production (Crescendo AITS2). However, generative AI tools like Google's AI Overviews and chatbots are diverting readers from news publishers, causing major drops in web traffic and threatening journalists' livelihoods (The State of Artificial Intelligence: July 2025 / Updated: 2025, July 2nd, 00:01 CET).
Google-Pearson AI Education Partnership
Google Cloud and Pearson announced a multi-year strategic collaboration to accelerate new AI-powered products and services that personalize learning for students, empower educators with insights, and help improve educational outcomes (Pearson and Google Announce Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Development of Next-Generation AI Tools for Students and Educators | Pearson plc). The partnership will deliver richer content and more engaging learning experiences for students using Pearson AI products and services, especially in the K-12 space.
Platform & Distribution Changes
Spotify Audiobook Expansion
Following successful trials in Ireland and Canada, Spotify Premium users in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein will now also have access to two new add-on subscriptions offering greater flexibility (Audiobooks+ Brings More Choice and Flexibility to Spotify Premium Subscribers — Spotify). The new Audiobooks+ unlocks an additional 15 hours of listening each month for the existing base plan, while Audiobooks+ for Plan Members allows additional members on Premium Family and Duo to access 15 hours of monthly audiobook listening.
Financial Market Trends
Print Book Sales Performance
Circana Bookscan reports that print book sales "remain[ed] steady in the first half of 2025 but has shown signs of slowness in May and June" (Publishers Lunch - The Publishing Industry's Daily Essential Read). This indicates some softening in the traditionally resilient print market.
Publishing Company Challenges
Following several years of marketplace challenges, Quirk Books founder David Borgenicht has instituted a six-month pause in developing and acquiring new books. The company has also made a number of layoffs, including seven members of a recently formed union (Publisher News | Publishers Weekly).
Industry Structure & Policy
Giller Prize Funding Crisis
The prize parted ways with longtime sponsor Scotiabank in February after protests over the financial institution's ties to an Israeli arms manufacturer. At $100,000, it is among the largest literary awards in the country. The Giller Foundation drafted a letter to the Canadian government stating that "without stable funding, the Giller will be forced to cease operations at the end of 2025" (Publishers Lunch - The Publishing Industry's Daily Essential Read).
Legal Developments
Trump Lawsuit Dismissed
A New York District Court judge finally ruled on Donald Trump's 2023 lawsuit against Simon & Schuster and Bob Woodward over the THE TRUMP TAPES audiobook. Judge Paul Gardephe granted the defendant's motion to dismiss on summary judgement, finding that Trump has no "plausible" claim of co-authorship (Publishers Lunch - The Publishing Industry's Daily Essential Read).
Looking Ahead
The July 2025 developments paint a picture of an industry grappling with technological disruption while pursuing strategic consolidation. The tension between AI adoption and author resistance, combined with ongoing financial pressures on traditional players like Barnes & Noble Education, suggests 2025 will be a pivotal year for publishing's future direction.
For finance professionals, the Barnes & Noble Education situation highlights ongoing challenges in educational publishing, while the HarperCollins-Crunchyroll deal represents strategic diversification into high-growth segments like manga. The Spotify audiobook expansion signals continued platform competition that could reshape audiobook distribution economics.