This weeks Literary Ledger 24 to 01 May 2026
Welcome to your weekly roundup of all things books! We’re keeping it short and sweet, just five stories to keep you in the loop without overwhelming you. Think of this as your quick fix for staying connected to the book world.
I) Charlie Redmayne’s Next Move
Surprising news has emerged that Charlie Redmayne, former CEO of HarperCollins for 12 years, is now the new CEO of Vinci Books, where he has also taken a stake in the company. This is particularly interesting given that his departure from HarperCollins was surrounded by speculation and gossip, as it was never fully clear why he left so abruptly.
For context, Vinci Books is a relatively new publishing company founded by Mark Smith, who is also the founder and CEO of both Zaffre and Quercus. Vinci Books combines traditional publishing with technology tools for authors, aiming to support independent writers and scale book production and marketing.
Clearly, bringing in Redmayne was a strategic move. It seems they are trying to grow quickly and compete with established publishers by leveraging his many years of experience. It will be interesting to see what comes of this.
II) The Power of BookTok in Modern Publishing
It probably wasn’t long before TikTok ended up generating its own official book chart, considering the level of influence it already has over the publishing industry and wider trends. We’re now seeing a monthly bestseller list for books influenced by BookTok, which takes into account both sales and audience engagement on the platform (likes, views, and so on).
The list highlights 20 top books that, unless you’ve been living under a rock (or just don’t have TikTok, sorry), you’ve likely come across multiple times. Many authors now have their fanbase on TikTok to thank for renewed or continued success, sometimes decades after publication. For example, Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, originally released in 1992, appears at number 16 on the list.
According to NielsenIQ BookData, around 11 million UK book sales in 2025 were attributed to BookTok, roughly 6% of all book sales.
III) Inside Transworld’s New Horror Imprint
If you love scary things and getting your heart racing with anxiety-induced fear (weirdos), this news is exciting for you.
Transworld, a publishing division of Penguin Random House UK, is launching a new imprint called 3AM Books, an imprint dedicated entirely to horror.
The list will be run by publishing director Rachel Winterbottom, alongside editorial director Simon Taylor. The first title to be published will be C.N. Vair’s Fawn, which is set for release in August. The inaugural list will also include Billie Host’s Splasher, as well as a reissue of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, which was originally published by Transworld.
IV) Shy Girl: The Book Everyone Suddenly Wants
We have already spoken about the scandal which is Shy Girl by Mia Ballard. It was scandalous (if you haven’t already heard) because it is a book that has generated a lot of attention because it has allegedly been written using AI, with Hachette pulling it from the shelves as a result.
To begin with, Shy Girl was sold at a standard-priced book (I expect £9–£10 and more as a hardback). However, since being pulled from the shelves, copies have started appearing on resale sites, with some listings going for over £100!
THIS is hardly shocking. Even when someone tells you how bad a movie is, how grating a song is, or how terribly a book is written, there is something deep inside you niggling away, pushing you to watch, read, or listen, to be in the loop, to also be able to agree, not because of someone else but because experiencing it yourself makes it real? I don’t know, but there is no denying there is an element of FOMO, of being left out of something even if it is for a bad reason (to an extent of course). I’m sure it has a psychological name but I shan’t claim to know (that’s not where my expertise lies, so I will stay clear of diagnosing here).
Anyway, like every human in the world I’m sure, I have been guilty of reading a book just because of how badly it is perceived, but this is different for me. I would never read a book retailed for £100 (that’s just ridiculous) and something about it being in the AI genre of bad does not appeal to me. I’ll just take everyone else’s word for that.
I will happily read a writer’s bad work, not a robot’s though. Got to draw the line somewhere and I think that’s an okay place to draw it.
V) National Year of Reading: A Deep Dive into Reading Habits
Is it really a Literary Ledger article without NYR making the list? Of course, we’ve all heard about the awareness campaigns it has set out to deliver, as well as its work with literacy charities, government bodies, and major publishing houses to make reading more accessible, fun, and appealing to younger audiences (who are being hit the hardest by it).
Now they are collecting data on how people in the UK read, a “reading census”, if you will, said to give a panoramic, data-rich view of reading habits across both adults and children.
This is the data it will collect:
how often people read
what types of reading they do
attitudes towards reading
barriers stopping people from reading
This will help identify why reading rates are falling and what could be done to reverse that trend. I, for one, am very interested to see what they find. I hope we get some solid answers so we can create some solid solutions. It’s all well and good putting money and attention into a lot of these issues, but we need to target the cause (not the symptom) head on.
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