This weeks Literary Ledger 30 to 6 February 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) The Gruffalo Returns: Meet Gruffalo Granny

It has been over twenty years since the release of The Gruffalo and its sequel The Gruffalo’s Child. Now, it has been announced that a brand-new Gruffalo book is on the way. Titled Gruffalo Granny, the news was revealed on BBC Radio 4.

Interestingly, the series’ illustrator Axel Scheffler previously said he would never do another sequel, explaining that “it’s always a challenge to write a sequel”. However, this project has taught him to “never say never”. Julia Donaldson, meanwhile, said she has had the idea for almost two decades, but never quite found the time to write it.

A first image of the new character will be released later on Friday by the publisher, Pan Macmillan. The timing feels especially fitting, as the book will be released during the National Year of Reading. Donaldson also said she was pleased that the Gruffalos would be involved in charitable activities to help reach more young readers, with support from the National Literacy Trust, who used the first two books as part of their Early Words Matter programme.

II) Stormzy Brings Reading Within Reach

Stormzy is backing a powerful new initiative designed to encourage people who don’t usually read to give it a try. His publishing imprint, #MerkyBooks (the award-winning imprint launched in 2018 and part of Penguin) is publishing one of this year’s six Quick Reads: short, accessible books created especially for non-readers, people with short attention spans, neurodivergent readers, or those who may have fallen out of the habit of reading.

The title is Hunger Pains by Derek Owusu, and it will be sold for just £1 in April alongside five other Quick Reads. At only 128 pages, it’s a quick and unintimidating starting point for anyone who struggles with reading.

This is such a meaningful initiative. It doesn’t just say it cares about people who find reading difficult, it actively removes one of the biggest barriers: cost. If someone already feels unsure about reading, they’re unlikely to spend money on something they see as a risk. By keeping the price so low, it removes that guilt and pressure. With the cost of living crisis, this feels especially thoughtful and aware from Stormzy and his imprint.

They’re also going even further by launching audiobooks for the first time and donating half a million Quick Reads books to prisons across the UK, making reading more accessible than ever.

III) AI Training at a Cost: Anthropic’s Proposal to Scan Physical Books

Unredacted court documents revealed that Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, had an internal plan to “destructively scan all the books in the world”, physically cutting up books to digitise their content for AI training. Books provide high-quality, long-form text that helps AI learn language, storytelling, and style. Anthropic bought and scanned large numbers of physical books, particularly those not easily available digitally.

There are several concerns with this approach, as with much AI development:

• Copyright issues: Scanning and ingesting authors’ books without permission can violate their rights.

• Loss of compensation: Authors don’t earn royalties when their books are used in AI training datasets, even if the AI could generate text that competes with their work.

• Ethical concerns: There are questions of consent and respect for creative labour.

• Destruction of physical books: The “destructive scanning” process physically cuts up books, which can be upsetting if rare or valuable copies are involved.

• Cultural impact: If AI models are trained heavily on certain sources without oversight, outputs can become biased toward those texts, and the public may lose access to the original works.

IV) Hachette Relaunches with Three New Children’s Imprints

Hachette Children’s Group, the children’s publishing arm of Hachette UK, has reorganised part of its operations by introducing three new imprints, marking a fresh start for the division. This change is being led by Ruth Alltimes, the new Managing Director of HCG.

The move could help the group reach new audiences, establish distinct identities for different books or genres, and evolve their lists to support specific markets and editorial focus areas.

The three new imprints are:

• Starboard – middle grade

• TEMPEST – YA/crossover

• Blyton Books - relaunched as a dedicated imprint within the group

V) 2026 YA Book Prize: Call for Entries Now Open

The Booksellers, in partnership with the Edinburgh International Book Festival, have opened submissions for the 2026 YA Book Prize, inviting entries of young adult fiction published in the UK and Ireland in the previous year.

Eligibility:

• First published in print in the UK or Ireland between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025.

Who can enter:

• Titles must be submitted by publishers. Self-published books and graphic novels are not eligible under the main prize rules.

Shortlist & Award:

• A shortlist of around 10 books will be announced in June 2026.

• The winner will receive a £2,000 prize at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August.

The prize is designed to spotlight quality teen fiction, increase visibility for authors and titles, and encourage readership among young adults.