Chinese Dispatch

At the Beijing International Book Fair, which wrapped up yesterday, digital publishing, IP development, and the differences between international markets were top of mind for the 1,700 exhibitors in attendance. We talked with the authors and publisher of The Weighty Word Book, a children’s vocab primer released in 1985, who are celebrating after a viral TikTok gave the title a surprise sales boost. And HarperAlley is releasing a graphic novel adaptation of Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries in honor of the beloved YA novel’s 25th anniversary. In other news, literary magazine Granta has announced it will stop publishing the winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize amid concerns that one or more of this year’s selections were AI-generated, the Guardian reports. Meanwhile, e-book publishing platform Rakuten Kobo reported that a flood of AI-generated titles forced it to reject nearly half of all submissions last year, per the Bookseller. 404 Media investigates how book bans, in addition to their impacts on children, are making it harder for adults to navigate public libraries. In an interview with Variety, Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke speculates that BookTok is reenergizing the YA film space. The New York Times traces how the photographs of Wolfgang Tillmans became beloved by book jacket designers. And poet and novelist Stephen Dobyns has died at 85.