Publishers. Libraries. Readers. Writers.

Greetings from the London Book Fair, and welcome to the soft launch of Words & Money. This week, we'll kick off our publication with some international perspectives, which is certainly timely given the tumultuous opening weeks of the Trump administration.

First, though, a few words about Words & Money.

As a journalist, I've had the privilege of covering the publishing and library worlds since 1999, which includes the better part of a decade at Library Journal and the last 16 years at Publishers Weekly, where I was fortunate to work alongside talented teams of friends and colleagues. But over the last year, an idea that had been kicking around the back of my mind for years began to feel inevitable: a new publishing media venture that centers the role of libraries in the 21^st Century reading and writing enterprise.

So last fall, after months of deliberation, I made the decision to shoot my shot. I confess, it wasn't an easy call to start a new media venture in 2025. But I believe in my vision. And, as fate would have it, I wasn't alone.

At the end of 2024, I had a serendipitous lunch with Erin Cox, a friend and publishing industry veteran who I've worked closely with for more than two decades. To my delight, Erin greeted the idea enthusiastically. And before the coffee arrived, she had joined on as publisher.

And here we are today, celebrating the debut of Words & Money at the 2025 London Book Fair. We're still getting going, but the site you see today is the first step in our quest to become a trusted, must read source for news and analysis in the publishing and library worlds. In the coming weeks, we will send our first newsletter. And soon after that, our podcast will launch.

We couldn't be more excited. The feedback we've received thus far has been incredibly encouraging and helpful. And we hope to hear from all of our readers. If you want to offer your thoughts and perspectives, or just say hello and good luck, feel free to email us at andrew@wordsandmoney.com, and/or erin@wordsandmoney.com.

The Vision

Certainly, no one would dispute that publishers and libraries share a common mission. But it has always struck me how some publishing executives tend to fundamentally view libraries as, well, a problem in their market, because libraries lend books rather than sell them. This despite the fact that libraries spend billions on book purchases every year—with no returns, I might add—and millions more in direct support of authors and readers.

So we've founded Words & Money as a space that will cover publishers and libraries in a way we believe is proper: as parts of a common enterprise. We believe shifting the publishing world's viewpoint even a few degrees in this direction can help reorient the perceptions some publishing executives may still hold toward libraries, and ultimately help more writers understand how they can reach more readers, and more readers understand the true value of their library card.

Furthermore, we launch Words & Money at a critical moment. As I write this, the freedom to read is under an unprecedented, well-organized right-wing political assault. A chaotic Trump administration is once again attacking the free press as the enemy of the people. Social media is commanding an ever-growing share of people's attention. And the uneasy rise of AI brings with it a host of thorny challenges, as well as opportunities.

At Words & Money, we believe libraries and publishers can together form a bulwark against the forces that threaten them—whether it’s political actors, forces in the tech sector, or increasingly rapacious market players like Amazon. The way we read and write today is evolving. The reading marketplace is changing. But the common values and the common mission of publishers and libraries remains solid as ever.

We also believe the relationship between libraries and publishers in the digital age has become needlessly contentious. With Words & Money, we are betting that a publication that properly approaches the shared mission of libraries and publishers can help foster a more constructive conversation—and not just in the library market, but across all facets of the book business.

It won't happen overnight, of course. There will always be disagreements. And that's healthy. But to best serve readers and writers, we must ensure that the lines of communication remain open, and grounded in reality.

That's vital from a cultural perspective, of course. Publishers and libraries are cornerstones of our society and our democracy. But in a digital age where almost all content is now readily accessible via subscription—music, movies, TV, games, podcasts—recognizing the key role libraries play in the 21st Century publishing ecosystem is good business, too.

Some 14 years ago, in a talk at the 2011 London Book Fair, author Cory Doctorow noted a shift underway in the digital age: the product that publishers sell today isn't just books, he noted, it's reading. That observation has always resonated with me. And for libraries, supporting readers and writers—wherever they are and in whatever format they choose to read or publish—is the name of the game.

A Fresh Take

So what's the plan? To start, Words & Money will have three components:

• A website, which will be updated daily with publishing and library news and perspectives, and shared through our social media channels.
• A weekly newsletter that will delivera range of stories, from news to long form features, picks and reviews of new and forthcoming books of interest to the profession, and exclusive interviews.
• And, coming soon, a bi-weekly podcast with reports and first-person interviews.

As for our business model, we will have room for ads and some clearly labeled sponsored content. But we will not be ad-driven. Instead, we are are launching as a paid, tiered subscription. And we are asking for your support. We know it's early, but if you agree with our mission, please subscribe today.

Note that it will always be free to subscribe to basic access to Words & Money, and there will always be some free content on the website and in every issue of our newsletter. But premium subscribers will have full access to everything we offer, including the podcast. And we believe we can offer an excellent product for a modest sum: $5 a month, or a discounted annual subscription for $45 (that's three months free!). And as we grow, we plan to roll out new features and tools that are now in development.

As for our platform, we explored many options but ultimately decided on the open source platform Ghost. We are still learning as we go, but we have found Ghost to be extremely powerful. Still, we're very much building the road we're traveling on at the moment, so we ask for your patience as we get up and running.

Thanks for Your Support

Through our exclusive reporting and analyses, we believe Words & Money will prove to be an invaluable resource not only for librarians, publishers, and vendors in the marketplace, but also for educators, technologists, administrators, politicians and local officials, school and library board members, booksellers, and, of course, readers and writers. 

Yes, it's a big vision. But we chose the name Words & Money because we wanted a name that reflects the evolving business of reading and writing in the 21^st Century. Words & Money is fundamentally about books, whether print, digital, or audio. But it's also about technology, innovation, and disruption. It's about social media and platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok and what they mean not only for marketing but as creative channels in and of themselves. It's about authors of all kinds, whether brand name bestsellers, indie, or self-published. It’s about entertainment and information, and it’s about education.

And crucially, Words & Money will also explore the policies and politics that impact the marketplace of ideas today. Fundamentally, Words & Money will chronicle how we pay for and how we get paid for creative work in our rapidly evolving digital world. 

But we can't do it without your support. Please subscribe today. Help us get Words & Money off to a strong start.

For just $45 annually, you can get full access to all our content. And you'll be supporting a new venture that will be dedicated to bringing you fresh perspectives and mission critical information at a crucial moment for publisher and libraries, for readers and writers, and for our culture and our democracy.

Thank you. Your support is deeply appreciated.