2023 in books: Protests, bannings and the rise of AI helped shape the story of publishing

The publishing world made plenty of news in 2023, but not only because of the books themselves. Bannings continued to soar in the U.S., the Middle East war impacted everything from authors events to the National Book Awards and numerous authors took legal action in the hopes of containing AI. The year was also defined by two of the most talked about celebrity memoirs in recent years, Prince Harry’s “Spare” and Britney Spears' “The Woman in Me.” Those seeking escape entirely from the headlines indulged in the newly branded genre “romantasy,” a blend of romance and fantasy.