News: Academic Publishing Weekly

Predatory Reports reaches 20,000 journals, Bookshop.org expands its reach, and W.W. Norton acquires Thames & Hudson’s college list

Posted on February 6, 2026 in News

Deals and Team-Ups

W.W. Norton has acquired Thames & Hudson’s college list. Norton already distributes T&H trade and college titles to North America, but will take over global distribution of the college division as of spring 2026. The deal appears to allow Thames & Hudson to focus on its growing trade business in North America. “This evolution in our relationship with W.W. Norton is occurring at an exciting moment for our North American trade programme,” says Thames & Hudson CEO Sophy Thompson in a statement. “Our trade business in the U.S. and Canada, with the distribution support of W.W. Norton, has doubled over the past decade, and we have a talented team in New York, led by Will Balliett, ready to take that growth to the next level.” In partnership news, Taylor & Francis and ResearchGate have expanded their Journal Home offering, which makes T&F journals available on the platform. The agreement now offers 800 journals and includes two new features: a Community Engagement Upgrade, which allows journal editors to boost their audience engagement activities on the platform; and an Open Access Agreement Upgrade, which pushes notifications to authors regarding their eligibility to publish OA in T&F journals.

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Evaluating Research Impact Report and the Predatory Journals List Grows

Information services company Cabells has reached 20,000 “deceptive journals” in its Predatory Reports database. Launched in 2017, the database of predatory journals has increased by more than 300 percent, adding over 5,000 journals in the past five years. Next, Clarivate’s Research Professional News shared its report on how research offices evaluate societal impact. Surveying more than 2,500 global research office staff and researchers, the report found slight regional differences in the motivation behind evaluating research impact, though public accountability was overall the primary driver. Respondents also shared their most valued outputs for evaluating research impact, with academic publications reigning supreme; policy documents and patents/patent applications followed in the second and third spots, respectively. Research Professional News also offered strategic guidance for research offices moving forward.

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The Crocodile Effect: Academic Publishing’s Latest Biggest Threat

The “Threats” quadrant in academic publishing’s SWOT analysis is already pretty crowded, but we need to squeeze in one more: The Crocodile Effect. In a previous APW, we pointed you to a study underway by Kudos and several publishers to examine the effects of “zero-click search”, those answer summaries generated by AI at the top of search results pages whose impact the Crocodile Effect illustrates. In a Scholarly Kitchen post, Kudos co-founder Charlie Rapple describes the phenomenon, which threatens not just search traffic, but research integrity and transparency.

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Bookshop.org Partners with Draft2Digital and Spotify

Bookshop.org, the online bookselling platform in support of independent bookstores, made some big announcements this week. First, it will collaborate with Draft2Digital, a publishing and distribution platform for independent authors, to sell self-published ebooks on its website. This follows Bookshop.org adding an ebook platform last January, which has led to more than $9 million in sales. Andy Hunter, CEO and founder of Bookshop.org, noted, “Partnering with Draft2Digital means self-published authors, an essential and rapidly growing part of the publishing landscape, can now work with indie bookstores, and they can support each other.” Second, Bookshop.org will partner with Spotify, creating an option for audiobook listeners on the streaming app to buy books directly from Bookshop.org. This coincides with Spotify adding a “Page Match” feature, allowing readers to move between audio and physical (or ebooks) more seamlessly.

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Jisc Supports Open Infrastructure and UKRI Aims for Open Longform Publishing

Jisc announced an initiative to support open infrastructure, connecting institutions to “open solutions” in the publishing lifecycle. The result of a “robust evaluation process,” this new licensing approach directs institutions to open publishing and dissemination services, with the intention to curb reliance on traditional read and publish agreements. Director of licensing at Jisc Caren Milloy stated, “By offering credible alternatives to commercial systems, we’re helping institutions protect budgets, meet strategic goals, and invest in solutions that serve the whole sector.” In additional open news, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) aims to strengthen open longform publishing in a new project. Following the release of an OA policy for longform publications, UKRI will bring together various research sectors to determine current roadblocks in longform open publishing and “develop practical guidance for library and research office staff” for adoption.

Independent Press Top 5 Bestsellers: Nonfiction
The American Booksellers Association and the Independent Publishers Caucus recently collaborated on an independent bestsellers list, which includes books from independent presses and sold in indie bookshops. Below are the top five nonfiction titles this week. Find this week’s full list of fiction and nonfiction independent bestsellers.

1. The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald by John U. Bacon (Liveright)
2. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed Editions)
3. Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) by Dean Spade (Verso)
4. We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution by Jill Lepore (Liveright)
5. Guinness World Records 2026 by Guinness World Records (Guinness World Records)

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