The Future of Books … Imagine a new creative canvas, more than just a book … brought to life by a dynamic ecosystem of partners, enabled by AI-powered digital platforms, and with authors as the orchestrators

June 30, 2025

Books have always been more than words on a page. They are vessels of knowledge, stories, and imagination — cultural markers that have shaped societies for centuries. Yet in an age of artificial intelligence, streaming platforms, and digital ecosystems, the book is being reimagined in profound ways.

The future of books is not just about format — over recent years, about print to e-book to audiobook, but potentially much more — and about how creation, delivery, and engagement are being reinvented. The book is evolving from a static object into a living, adaptive, and interconnected experience.

A new creative canvas

The first wave of digital transformation in publishing was about format. The e-book made texts portable, searchable, and convenient. Audiobooks brought literature into our commutes and workouts. But these were incremental steps — they digitised the book, but did not fundamentally change its essence.

The next wave, enabled by AI and new media, is reshaping what a book can be. Text will no longer be static. Books may update in real time, incorporating new research, live data, or contemporary examples. They may adapt to the reader, offering simplified explanations for a novice, deeper analysis for an expert, or even tailoring cultural references for different markets. Instead of one-size-fits-all, we will see personalised editions, dynamically generated while preserving the author’s voice.

Books are also becoming multimodal. Words will increasingly be woven with interactive graphics, video, simulations, or immersive audio layers. Fiction can become explorable worlds in augmented or virtual reality, while nonfiction may offer dynamic visualisations or AI-generated case studies. The book becomes less of a finished artifact and more of a creative canvas — one that can expand, evolve, and respond.

My experience as an author

I started writing books 20 years ago. My first book, Marketing Genius, was a bestseller in 35 languages. I remember piles of books everywhere I went, signing copies in bookstores and more. My publisher, John Wiley, loved it, because it sold many thousands of copies, with profitable margins.

20 years later, my latest book Business Recoded, is hardly ever seen as a physical item. Instead it’s a video, a workshop, a conference, a toolkit, and much more. For Wiley, this looked less successful, it did fairly well, but nothing like the old days. For me, it was far more effective, and the core of my working life.

As an author, I have now become the orchestrator of an ecosystem. Creating, or often co-creating, a canvas for many more people to engage across multiple formats. I’d love the publisher to play a key part in this, but they seem wedded to their old mindsets and business models, and are reluctant to engage.

So how did we get here?

Books are now dynamic ecosystems

A single book today rarely stands alone. The most successful publishing projects are parts of wider ecosystems: a business book connected to a podcast series, a novel that spawns a Netflix show, a self-help title extended into workshops and online communities.

Digital technologies amplify this. Publishing platforms are becoming gateways into broader experiences. A reader might finish a chapter and be invited into a discussion forum, a virtual event, or an interactive workshop. Authors and publishers are no longer only distributors of texts — they are orchestrators of communities.

Consider how Brandon Sanderson’s fantasy novels have grown into role-playing games, fan-funded spin-offs, and multimillion-dollar crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter. Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming was not just a book but a multi-channel project: a stadium tour, a Netflix documentary, and an online movement.

In Asia, Japanese publishers like Kadokawa have pioneered “media mix” strategies, where a single story becomes a manga, an anime, a light novel, a game, and merchandise. The book is not the end point — it is the seed of a transmedia ecosystem.

New business models

This shift is also reshaping the economics of publishing.

Subscriptions and platforms: Services like Scribd, Audible, and Kindle Unlimited are the “Spotify for books.” In China, apps like China Literature or iQiyi allow serialized fiction to be read chapter by chapter, monetized by micro-payments. AI-powered recommendation engines keep readers hooked, turning books into endless, evolving entertainment.
On-demand and real-time publishing: Print-on-demand (used by Amazon’s KDP, IngramSpark, or Lulu) already reduces waste and inventory costs. The next frontier is real-time updating — textbooks that reflect the latest research, business books that refresh examples automatically. Pearson and Elsevier are already experimenting with digital textbooks as subscription services rather than static editions.
Atomic content: Books may be decomposed into modules — chapters, frameworks, or stories — that can be licensed, remixed, or sold individually. This is already common in education publishing, where platforms like VitalSource or Kortext allow universities to assemble customised textbooks.
Ecosystem revenues: Increasingly, the book itself is the entry ticket, not the profit engine. Authors build revenue around extensions: live events, consulting, courses, merchandise, and brand partnerships. Think of the way Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks feed into TV shows, restaurants, and product lines. The book is a node in a larger commercial web.

The disruption of AI

Artificial intelligence is perhaps the most radical force reshaping books.

For authors, AI is both assistant and co-author. Tools like Sudowrite, Jasper, and Claude help brainstorm plot lines, suggest alternative phrasings, or generate first drafts. Translation is being revolutionised: DeepL and Google Translate allow instant multi-language editions, opening global markets overnight. AI also enables “style transfer,” allowing texts to be adapted into new tones or registers for different audiences.

For readers, AI opens entirely new possibilities. Imagine reading a history book with an embedded AI companion: ask it questions, get contextual explanations, or explore counter-arguments. AI could quiz students, highlight patterns, or generate personalised case studies. Each reader’s book becomes an interactive dialogue rather than a one-way transmission.

In education, companies like Kortext in the UK and Byju’s in India are embedding AI tutors directly into digital textbooks. In nonfiction, startups like Inkitt or Wattpad use AI analytics to predict which stories will resonate with readers, reshaping acquisition decisions.

The most innovative publishers

Around the world, publishers are experimenting with innovative business and publishing models:

Penguin Random House (global): Still the largest trade publisher, PRH has invested in audio, multimedia adaptations, and global rights partnerships. Its Storyglass studio develops podcasts based on book IP, while its children’s division builds interactive apps.
Hachette Livre (France): Pioneering in hybrid models, Hachette has invested in immersive nonfiction experiences and partnered with start-ups to embed multimedia in textbooks.
HarperCollins (US/UK): Experimenting with AI-enabled translations, HarperCollins India has focused on rapid digital editions and regional language growth.
China Literature (Tencent): A digital-first publisher with over 200 million monthly users, monetising serialized fiction through micro-payments, licensing stories into TV dramas and games. It shows how books can be the seed of entertainment universes.
Wattpad (Canada): Now owned by Naver (Korea), Wattpad built a platform for social reading where communities help shape stories. Its “Wattpad Studios” arm turns the most popular stories into published books, films, or TV series — a bottom-up model of publishing.
Elsevier & Pearson (Netherlands/UK): Reinventing education publishing through digital subscriptions, real-time updates, and learning analytics. Pearson Plus offers all its textbooks as a Netflix-style bundle, changing the revenue model from ownership to access.
Shueisha (Japan): Publisher of Shonen Jump, Shueisha pioneered transmedia storytelling, where manga series expand into anime, movies, games, and global franchises like Naruto or One Piece.

These cases show that the most innovative publishers are no longer thinking in terms of a book as a single product. They are thinking in terms of IP ecosystems, community platforms, and services.

Changing roles in publishing

As books evolve, so too do the roles of the players who create, produce, and distribute them.

The author: From solitary writer to ecosystem orchestrator. They are expected to maintain social presence, host events, interact with communities, and sometimes co-create with fans. Their authority rests not only in writing but in sustaining engagement.
The publisher: From printer/distributor to multi-channel brand manager. Publishers act like venture studios for intellectual property — testing, scaling, and monetising stories across books, films, podcasts, and courses.
The printer: Physical books remain, but focus shifts toward quality, collectability, and personalisation. Short-run print, special editions, and print-on-demand replace mass overproduction. Printers become agile service providers.
The bookseller: Surviving bookstores reinvent as cultural hubs. Many independents now host author talks, workshops, reading groups, even cafés and coworking spaces. Chains like Waterstones in the UK emphasise community events and curated experiences. In Japan, Tsutaya Books reinvented itself as a lifestyle destination where books, coffee, art, and design merge.
The reader: From passive consumer to active participant. Readers shape storylines (as on Wattpad), join fan communities, support authors directly through Patreon or Substack, and expect interactive and immersive experiences.

What’s the future of books?

This table summarises how roles, processes, business models and technology shift as publishing moves from a product-centred model to an ecosystem and AI-driven model.

	Traditional Publishing Ecosystem	Future Publishing Ecosystem
Author	Sole creator; writes manuscript, limited direct audience interaction; reliant on advance and royalty model.	Ecosystem orchestrator; co-creates with AI and communities; builds IP across formats and revenue streams; continuous engagement.
Publisher	Gatekeeper and financier; handles editing, production, distribution, rights. Focus on single products (books).	IP studio & platform operator; manages multi-format rights, data, communities, and partnerships (audio, video, courses, events). Acts like a VC/accelerator for projects.
Editor	Manuscript editor focused on craft and line-editing.	Strategic editor and product manager: shapes transmedia arcs, audience segmentation, and monetisation design.
Printer	Mass production; economy of scale; inventory-heavy.	On-demand and short-run production; high-quality special editions and bespoke personalization. Printers as agile service partners.
Retailer	Bookstores and chains focused on point-of-sale transactions; discoverability via displays and reviews.	Community hubs & experience venues; hybrid retail (events, cafÃ©s, subscriptions); integrated online/offline discovery.
Reader	Passive consumer buying a finished product.	Active participant: co-creator, community member, subscriber, and data contributor; expects interactive, personalised experiences.
Format	Print, e-book, audiobook as discrete products.	Multimodal, dynamic formatsâ€”living text, audio companions, AR/VR experiences, interactive data, modular chapters.
Distribution	Channel-based (retail, wholesalers, libraries); rights negotiated per territory/format.	Platform-first distribution; direct-to-reader channels, API-driven syndication, global instant localization and micro-payments.
Business Model	Unit sales, advances + royalties, library copies.	Subscriptions, micro-payments, licensing of modular content, ecosystem revenue (events, courses, consulting), revenue-sharing partnerships.
Product Lifecycle	Static editions with periodic new printings/editions.	Continuous update model eg real-time corrections, living editions, iterative content releases and serialisation.
Creation Tools	Word processors, manual research, human-only workflows.	AI-assisted research, drafting, localisation, and style adaptation; analytics-driven editorial decisions.
Marketing	Frontlist marketing, media reviews, author tours, bookstore placement.	Data-driven personalised discovery, platform algorithms, community seeding, creator partnerships, serialised funnels.
Licensing	Rights managed by publishers and agents; often complex territory-by-territory deals.	Rights treated as modular IP: cross-platform licensing, tokenised ownership possibilities, dynamic rights marketplaces.
Quality	Editorial gatekeeping ensures quality; curated lists and awards guide discovery.	Hybrid curation: editorial selection + algorithmic recommendation; community validation and micro-influencers.
Education	Textbooks and academic works republished in new editions; long publishing cycles.	Adaptive learning platforms, cloud-textbooks with analytics, personalised curricula, pay-as-you-go chapter access.
Analytics	Limited sales data; publisher-centric reporting.	Rich, real-time reader analytics: engagement, learning outcomes, A/B tests, and monetisation signals used to iterate products.
Community	Author signings, mailing lists, occasional reader clubs.	Ongoing communities: forums, Patreon/Substack models, live events, co-creation spaces, fan-driven content.
Regulation	Traditional copyright enforcement and publisher liability.	New challenges: AI provenance, synthetic text provenance, licensing of AI-trained models, ethical curation.
Ecosystem	Printers, distributors, retailers, literary agents.	Also includes tech platforms (AI, AR/VR), learning platforms, studios (TV/film), game companies, brands, and infrastructure partners.

Books are not dying. They are multiplying into new forms. The physical book will remain as a cultural artifact — treasured, collected, and gifted. At the same time, digital and AI-driven formats will explode the possibilities of what a book can be: a living document, a personalised tutor, a community platform, a gateway into immersive experiences.

The future of books is hybrid. Part artifact, part ecosystem. Part static text, part dynamic conversation. The challenge for authors, publishers, and readers alike is to embrace this expanded horizon.

The book has always been about the transmission of ideas across time and space. That mission remains. But the means of doing so — the ways we write, publish, share, and experience books — is undergoing a profound reinvention. And like all great stories, the future of the book will be written collaboratively.

Peter Fisk will again be hosting and speaking at the Future Book Forum on 12-13 November 2025 at the Canon Experience Center, in Munich, Germany. Bringing together publishers and partners from across the world, this year’s forum will focus on ecosystems.

More from the blog