Publishing saw upheaval in 2020, but ‘books are resilient’

NEW YORK (AP) — Book publishing had a year like no other in 2020, and yet proved remarkably stable. The pandemic halted and threatened to wipe out a decade of growth for independent bookstores. It forced the postponement of countless new book releases and led to countless others being forgotten. The annual national convention, BookExpo, was called off and may be gone permanently. Debates over diversity and #MeToo highlighted blind spots about race and gender and challenged the reputations of everyone from poetry editors to Oprah Winfrey. Through it all though book sales managed a steady pace.