Coral Wire — Tue, Oct 6 2026

The Coral Index closed at 23/100 — Storm warning. 11 graded stories fed that reading.

• Authors accuse Starfish Bay Publishing of failing to deliver booksLegal — The allegations center on illustrations and manuscripts authors say were never delivered.
• Judge dismisses publisher antitrust claims against Google over AI OverviewsLegal — Mehta rejected the reciprocal-dealing and tying claims but left copyright, licensing and payment questions untouched
• Amazon price-matching wobbles, 26 of 37 free titles flip paidPlatform — Amazon hasn't changed its rule, but one author's weekend reversion is enough to put every permafree funnel on notice
• Judge recommends class status in Amazon ebook antitrust caseLegal — Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein's October 1 recommendation covers ebook purchasers from January 2017 onward
• Fiction deals hit near-parity with nonfiction as children's books slide 17%Market — Total US book deals fell 12% from a record third quarter last year, even as adult fiction climbed 13.6%
• Audible lets listeners chat with AI versions of book charactersPlatform — The feature launches with Renfield from Dracula, and Audible hasn't said how it handles consent from authors, narrators or publishers.
• Third Circuit affirms Ross infringed, dodges the AI question everyone wantedLegal — Ross lost 2,243 headnotes and its business four years before ChatGPT even launched, yet both sides of the AI copyright fight are calling the ruling a win
• Texas AI chatbots drive school book bans to 12,000Legal — Texas alone logged more than 8,100 removals, overtaking Florida as schools lean on AI to flag "indecent" titles under laws like SB13
• FTC settlement recovers $1.85 million from martial arts franchisorMarket — Some franchisees now get the option to cancel their agreements without penalty
• Australia and New Zealand book markets grow in first halfMarket — Both markets moved in the same direction, a rare bit of synced good news for authors on either side of the Tasman

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