In this week’s edition: 2021 was a great year for the U.S. publishing industry; romance novels are a huge business and one in which readers heavily influence what authors write; a French court shuts down a vast ebook piracy site; the publisher of Politico is sued for not responding to sexual harassment allegations against a top editor; 72 percent of voters say that book bans will impact who they vote for in November; and more.

Derided for Centuries, Romance Novels Are a Huge Business
The Observer
This feature article explores the evolution of the romance novel and how romance readers influence authors.

Annual StatShot Report 2021: US Revenues Up 12.3 Percent
Publishing Perspectives
According to the AAP, the U.S. publishing industry earned $29.33 billion in revenue in 2021, the highest total ever reported and a $3.23 billion increase over 2020, as many Americans found themselves with more time and more money to spend on books during the second year of the pandemic.

French Publishers Cheer a Court’s Order to Block a Book Piracy Site
Publishing Perspectives
The French Publishers Association (SNE) and twelve publishing houses have won a court order to shut down Z-Library, a major piracy site that illegally offered access to more than 8 million pirated books. SNE is now working to persuade France’s digital communications regulatory agency to block any link that redirects users to a replica of a site previously shut down for piracy.

PRH and TikTok Partner on New In-App Feature
Publishers Weekly
TikTok has partnered with Penguin Random House to create a new in-app feature that allows users to link directly to PRH titles in their video captions. This new feature is available to TikTok users in the U.S. and the U.K.

Hilary Mantel, Celebrated Author of Wolf Hall, Dies Aged 70
The Guardian
Hilary Mantel, two-time winner of the Booker Prize for her novel Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies, died last week at the age of 70. Her third Wolf Hall novel, The Mirror & the Light, was an instant bestseller and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Together, the trilogy has sold more than five million copies worldwide and been translated into 41 languages.

EveryLibrary Poll Finds Book Bans Are Broadly Unpopular with Voters
Publishers Weekly
A new poll from EveryLibrary shows that Americans are paying attention to book banning and the politics behind it. Of the 1,123 registered voters surveyed, 92 percent said they were aware of book bans across the United States and 72 percent said they would take book banning into consideration when deciding whom to vote for in this November’s midterm elections.

Axel Springer Accused of Failing to Stop Sexual Harassment
The New York Times
Axel Springer, the German media conglomerate that owns Politico, Insider, and Morning Brew, has been sued in a California court for failing to address a former employee’s complaint against a top editor. The plaintiff said she was shunned and derided by her co-workers over the suspected affair.