Stephen Herbert obituary
Other lives: Expert in the technical aspects of the film industry who worked for the National Film Theatre
Four large US publishers sue ‘shadow library’ for alleged copyright infringement
The publishers are claiming unspecified damages from the file-sharing Library Genesis, which they say has distributed files illegally
UK publishers urge Sunak to protect works ingested by AI models
Publishers Association’s call comes as ChatGPT firm argues US lawsuit ‘misconceives scope’ of copyright law
‘We’re gripped by graphomania’: why writing became an online contagion and how we can contain it
Conspiracy theories, provocations, baseless accusations… long before our clickbait era, women in pre-revolutionary France were the subject of salacious attacks. Their response offers hope for us all
The Guardian view on Heartstopper: a phenomenon that defines a generation
Editorial: Alice Oseman’s tale of queer romance is a global success story built on fans who want to feel good about themselves in tough times
The Gutenberg Parenthesis by Jeff Jarvis review – how print shaped culture
From the Gutenberg press to the digital age, an illuminating account of the way technology influences the stories we tell
My big Birmingham bookshop crawl: why booksellers are suddenly thriving
In 2009, two bookshops a week were closing in the UK and the days of physical books seemed numbered. Now, indie stores are booming. What explains the turnaround – and can it be sustained?
Goodreads is right to divide opinions, wrong to boil them down
I don’t choose books based on the aggregate rating as if they are skincare products, nor do I think any critical verdict is the final one
Authors file a lawsuit against OpenAI for unlawfully ‘ingesting’ their books
Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay allege that their books, which are copyrighted, were ‘used to train’ ChatGPT because the chatbot generated ‘very accurate summaries’ of the works
Disney+ documentary reignites anger over Marvel Comics’ cult of Stan Lee
Families of artists Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, and broadcaster Jonathan Ross, say pair were at forefront of creating Marvel characters
Bloomsbury admits using AI-generated artwork for Sarah J Maas novel
Publisher says cover of House of Earth and Blood was prepared by in-house designers unaware the stock image chosen was not human-made
‘Beowulf is lit AF’ – could ChatGPT really write good book blurbs?
Some in the book industry have already begun exploring automation of its pitches to readers. We took this functionality for a test drive
Kopalapillai Mahadeva obituary
Other lives: Professor of production engineering and management admired for his contributions to Tamil literature and culture in the UK
Blue Mountains review – brilliant Georgian shaggy-dog satire on the Soviet mindset
A welcome revival of a 1980s comedy prophesying the collapse of the Soviet Union
TikTok to sell books directly to users via marketplace
To further capitalise on the popularity of BookTok the social media giant will let users purchase titles through partnerships with publishers and retailers