Pulling the Plug

Radish Fiction, the mobile-first serialized publishing platform acquired for a hefty sum in 2021 by Korea’s Kakao Entertainment, will be shut down at the end of this year. Hoping to redirect some online shoppers, a contingent of indie booksellers and allied organizations are countering Amazon’s Prime Day discounts with their own incentives. Random House comics imprints Inklore and Ink Pop have partnered with Webtoon to bring a new batch of its most popular webcomics in romance, fantasy, and other genres to print over the next five years. The Trump administration has announced new tariffs of up to 40% on a growing number of countries, reports CNN. As AI comes for the workplace, the New York Times considers whose jobs—entry-level employees or middle managers—are in the most danger. Meanwhile, New York magazine looks at the toll AI has taken on digital media outlets, whose potential readers are being filtered out by search engines’ AI summaries. A South Georgia librarian was recently fired for displaying a book featuring a transgender character, reports the Georgia Recorder. Bloomberg unpacks the DOJ’s case against PageTurner, the author services company that scammed more than 800 writers out of millions. A new study in InformationToday compares ebook availability, licensing, and pricing in the U.S. and Canada. And the Guardian argues that we should be doing more to preserve the homes of Black literary giants.