Westchester Publishing Services

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The Hard Questions Are the Point

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by JodieAnne Sclafani

Last week (April 9, 2026), I attended the 2nd annual AI Summit at Marist University in Poughkeepsie, NY. The day opened with two questions that have stayed with me: What is possible with AI? And, just as importantly, When is it right to use AI?

In an industry moving as fast as ours, the first question gets most of the attention. The second one is where the real work is.

Attending the summit was not an exercise to discover new tools to deploy, but to listen, think critically, and ask hard questions on behalf of our clients and our craft. What I heard confirmed something Westchester already believes: the organizations that will serve publishers best right now are not the ones racing to implement every new capability. They’re the ones willing to slow down long enough to ask whether they should.

That’s a more difficult posture to hold than it sounds. The pressure to adopt, automate, and accelerate is real and, in many cases, the technology genuinely delivers. AI can handle the routine with speed and consistency, freeing skilled people to focus on work that requires judgment, nuance, and expertise. The most meaningful work—the kind that builds trust and craft—lives in the process, not just the deliverable. We see real value in that, and we’re pursuing it thoughtfully.

But the summit was a useful reminder that speed without intention carries risk. Speakers were candid: AI is advancing faster than the ethical and policy frameworks designed to govern it. Accountability doesn’t transfer to the machine. When something inevitably goes wrong, responsibility lands squarely on the humans and organizations that deployed the tool. That’s not an argument against progress. It’s an argument for moving with clarity about your values and your obligations.

For Westchester, clarity comes from decades of working side by side with publishers. We are editorial and production experts by training and by practice, and technology is one of the ways we extend that expertise. We build, adopt, and invest in tools—including AI—where they strengthen the publishing process. The methods evolve but the core mission does not.

What we’re focused on is purposeful integration: tools that enhance the quality and consistency our clients depend on, with human review and accountability built in from the start. Client data stays protected. Craft stays central. And the judgment that comes from more than 50 years in this industry stays in the room.

AI is changing publishing. We’re paying close attention and asking the hard questions. We’d love to hear what questions your team is sitting with. Reach out now to start the conversation.

We’re hosting a webinar about “AI and Its Opportunities in Publishing Operations” on May 19. Panelists include George Walkley of Outside Context, Ltd., David Stafford from Dropbox, and Jarin Pintana at Green Book Alliance.

A group of colleagues standing inside a trade show booth for Westchester Publishing Services and Westchester EducationThe Westchester team – with representation from our offices in the US, UK, and India – had a very busy London Book Fair. The Olympia, for all of its pros and cons, has been a hub for our industry for over a decade, and it will be a culture shock to shift to the Excel next year. (For a look back on that, please check out this LinkedIn post.)

Publishers Weekly and The Bookseller did fantastic jobs with their coverage of the Fair. Key topics that the attendees were discussing were AI (for and against), accessibility (with a phenomenal session moderated by Simon Mellins including publishing experts like Princeton University Press’ Cathy Felgar), print on demand, and global disruptions to our industry. The above linked articles do a good job showing what was being discussed in panels and on the floor, and I encourage you to check out their coverage.

For this final year at Olympia, what was on publishers’ minds? We met with over 60 publishers and these were the top topics:

  • Accessibility – While many publishers may feel they’ve heard it all about accessibility at this point, the adoption of ADA Title II, and its expected impact on library acquisitions in the US provided an opportunity to reaffirm workflow decisions, talk about their backlists and what they may wish to do to ensure futureproofing their files, including the potential AI offers to address alt text and language shift tagging needs.
  • AI – As a recent PwC commercial represented, it sure does feel like everybody’s trying to wedge ‘AI’ into their product descriptions and solutions the way everyone said ‘blockchain’ about 8 years ago or ‘AR/VR’ about 10 years ago. That being said, one publisher caught some flak for saying that AI is a worker skill that we can’t ignore (see PW article above), and they’re not wrong. As an industry we have every right to be concerned about AI due to the lawsuits against Gen AI platforms that enthusiastically abused publishers’ intellectual property. But, learning and – where appropriate – putting into practice AI skills in the workplace will be our industry’s competitive gap as compared to other media verticals like recording, film, and journalism that have in some cases advanced the use of non-content-led AI within their workplace. Comparing documents from business partners, answering questions (with attribution) regarding complex topics, doing market analysis, and more are business needs that any business has. Our discussions around AI have emphasized that Westchester is not using AI on client content with the exception of cases where clients want us to use it – and have signed contracts to do so – to support tasks like crafting alt text. This PW interview with our CEO, Deb Taylor, talks about how AI can be powerful when used with appropriate consent and human review, but not as a catch all to all problems or needs. Our discussions with clients and prospects seemed to echo this – a cautious enthusiasm but the need to have trust, transparency, and a human in the loop. I’m very curious to see how the industry has progressed on this topic by the time of next year’s London Book Fair.
  • Speed to Market – Driven by our ability to help publishers like Zando and Sourcebooks edit and typeset their pick ups and key titles quickly, we saw a number of publishers identifying use cases where upcoming books may only have weeks instead of months to move from the copyediting stage to printer files. Several of our discussions focused on the specialized workflows Westchester has developed to help move important titles on your list into the market quickly.
  • Sustainability – Likely driven by our launch of Sustainable Typesetting® – in partnership with 2K/Denmark – we had many discussions about how we can help publishers take extra-long titles and reduce the page count by 20%, meaning less paper required for printing, less weight for freight, and other practical savings across a book’s life cycle, while also supporting the sustainability initiatives many of our clients are pursuing.
  • Journal Programs – Increasingly, our society and university press clients are acquiring journals that need varying levels of support, from as far upstream as peer review through to our copyediting and production offerings and then to digital distribution, sales, and more. We’ll be announcing a new set of services at the Council of Science Editors (CSE) conference in a few weeks, but if you are publishing journals and need to evaluate different service levels or needs, please reach out.
  • Repurposing Backlist Content – This was especially interesting to our education clients. Many educational content providers – especially those serving the library market – see topical opportunities arise for state adoption, general interest library sales, and more, but acquiring or packaging new titles to support those needs can be cost prohibitive depending on the market opportunity. Never fear, Westchester has a great, cost-effective solution. We are increasingly helping our educational partners take backlist titles – in some cases deep backlist titles – and updating them as new editions with new covers, updated interior text, new art, and more, all resulting in quick-to-market printer files and accessible EPUBs. This approach generated a great deal of interest from our partners, as a way to support expanding their lists without the large expenditure.
  • How to Get it All Done – Lastly, for many of the publishers we met, they are trying to get more books done without raising headcount. Seasonal spikes don’t always translate to continued productivity throughout the year, so many of our discussions revolved around how we can help publishers manage those peaks by providing project management, copyediting, design, production, and accessible digital services for titles where adding staff is difficult to justify. We work with many publishers where we augment their capacity during busy seasons, and are open to exploring these kinds of solutions with you, using staff from our US, UK, and India offices, based on a book’s needs and budget.

Which of the above topics are affecting you the most? Contact Us to discuss how we can help. And we’ll see you on the conference circuit this year at PCPA, CSE, AUP, and more!

Westchester Publishing Services was grateful for the opportunity to sponsor the annual New York Book Forum’s Presidents Night event. Hosted by Macmillan at their downtown Manhattan offices, Presidents Night attracted a crowd of attendees from across the literary world including authors, avid readers, vendors, manufacturers, and staff from publishing houses, ranging from people new in the field to the C-Suite. Part of what makes the New York Book Forum’s events so vibrant is the ability to reach across our own personal disciplines and get to know people in other aspects of our industry.

Authors Equity CEO Madeline McIntosh was the keynote speaker for the evening, and talked about her journey within Penguin Random House (PRH), over to Amazon, back to PRH and rising to the role of CEO there, and ultimately leaving to found Authors Equity with former Macmillan CEO Don Weisberg and Nina von Moltke (also formerly of PRH – and a panelist on our last Publishing Now webinar with Publishers Weekly). McIntosh’s keynote unpacked her career path, with roles including overseeing nascent digital formats at PRH as EPUBs were just about to take off, and how her different roles helped her be an effective CEO.

With an emphasis on curiosity about our industry, McIntosh talked about how her decision to co-launch Authors Equity was based on an openness to bringing authors into the decision-making process at every stage of the life cycle for their book; including reviewing P&L’s, and understanding the potential risks and ROI of decisions regarding the book itself and its distribution and marketing plans. McIntosh shared how authors with an established brand or readership have a genuine understanding of their readers and what makes their books work. This has attracted key authors and projects, including top titles by Joseph Nguyen (The Overthinker’s Guide to Making Decisions), JL Collins’ The Simple Path to Wealth, top puzzle title Puzzlemania by The New York Times Games, and a forthcoming title from Seth Godin.

Has it worked? Numbers don’t lie:slide showing Authors Equity has sold over 2 million books through 2025, generated over $20 million in revenue, and had 50% of their titles released as bestsellers

By focusing on core staff and a network of trusted partners and freelancers, Authors Equity is able to provide a lot of support and options for their authors and their publications. With a list currently numbering in the dozens, it’s a very different model than the Big Five’s approach to publishing, which McIntosh used as an opportunity to answer questions from the room regarding different approaches to acquisitions, manufacturing, and marketing. With bespoke solutions for each book that allow authors to propose unique marketing strategies they know will be effective in reaching the audience they’ve worked hard to develop, Authors Equity gives its authors greater transparency and control of the process, and as shown above, at this scale it’s very successful.

How are you looking at your business differently? Are you considering different manufacturing options or custom editions for your titles? Are you thinking about how to get books to market more quickly? While Westchester’s focus is on the editorial, design, production, and digital phases, we’re always open to talking about ways we can help solve individual pieces of the puzzle, and we certainly know many players in the market who can help with pieces outside our realm of expertise. Contact Us to discuss your publications program and explore any ways we can help you better control schedules, costs, and options for your most important publications.

There are labour code changes taking place in 2026 for India-based firms, and we wanted to make sure you were kept apprised of these impacts. These changes could impact firms or freelancers you work with that are based in India, or, like Westchester, with operations that your suppliers own in India.

The Government of India has announced the implementation of four consolidated Labour Codes. Detailed central and state rules are still being finalized, and our current understanding is that further rule‑drafting and public feedback will continue into early 2026, with the expectation of becoming fully operational by April 1, 2026.

Key points:

  • What’s changing: India has consolidated 29 labour laws into four Labour Codes (Wages; Social Security; Industrial Relations; Occupational Safety/Health/Working Conditions).
  • Why this matters to you: Depending on how the forthcoming rules land, India-based vendors and freelancers may experience cost changes that could affect their service fees.
  • Potential cost drivers to watch:

– A unified ‘wages’ definition that can affect statutory contributions and benefits.

– Overtime pay set at 2× normal wages and clarified working-hour caps (e.g., 8 hours/day, 48 hours/week).

– Gratuity eligibility for fixed-term employees after 1 year (instead of 5).

– Expanded social-security coverage (e.g., pan-India ESIC eligibility) and mandatory appointment letters.

– Provide all workers above the age of 40 years with a free annual health check-up.

  • What we know—and don’t yet: Until the detailed rules are published and analyzed, the full cost impacts are uncertain.

If you rely on multiple India-based vendors or freelancers, we recommend asking them about their plans to comply with the new regime and any expected pricing impacts.

Our commitment: At Westchester, we have always been committed to following fair labour practices, as well as providing competitive compensation and benefits to our India-based team members. We will, of course, comply with any labour code changes and keep you appraised of any impact to Westchester‑based fees.

UPDATE – February 19, 2026: In response to information we understand is present in the market, we want to add a clarification to this article. Some publishers are evaluating ADA Title II from the lens of whether they are a public institution themselves or not, which you should discuss this with your legal counsel. Depending on your organization’s structure, different rules may apply in principle (e.g. a private university-associated publisher may be more directly tied to Title III, but if they accept any federal money for research or other factors, the HHS 504 code that is similar to ADA Title II applies).  Regardless of a publisher’s own structure, though (non-profit, private company, public company, etc.), part of what is driving ADA Title II compliance needs – as covered in our recent podcast – is that library markets are in many cases required or opting to comply with ADA Title II, making this more about complying with the needs of library buyers for publishers of any type. Again, this should be discussed with your legal counsel, but we hope this clarification provides some further consideration about how best to approach ADA Title II within your workflow.

The following information is not a substitute for legal advice. We are providing this analysis for publishing professionals about what has been shared in the public sphere. You should consult with your own legal counsel to make decisions appropriate for your situation.

In April, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a new rule titled “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities.” This rule clarifies and strengthens the requirements for accessibility of digital content under ADA Title II, specifically targeting state and local government websites, mobile applications, and conventional electronic documents. It becomes effective April 24, 2026, with agencies serving less than 50,000 people receiving an additional year to comply.

What does this mean for you, as a publisher? If you serve library markets, or other markets that comply with ADA guidelines, you should ensure that your content (specifically digital files for your publications – but also other media like parental support materials and HTML files used directly in those channels) comply with these guidelines.

Key Requirements

Similar to the requirements for the EU’s European Accessibility Act (EAA), the rule mandates compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard for all covered digital content, including:

– Websites
– Mobile apps
– Conventional electronic documents such as PDFs, word processor files, presentations, and spreadsheets.

Certain content is exempt from these requirements, including:

– Archived documents
– Preexisting conventional electronic documents, including common file formats like PDFs, Word documents, presentations, and spreadsheets.
– Content posted by third parties not acting on behalf of the government

While EPUB files are not explicitly mentioned in the list of covered formats, the Department of Justice notes that files in formats not listed may qualify for exceptions such as archiving or preexisting files. However, this implies that EPUB files should ideally meet ADA accessibility standards if actively provided.

Challenges in Compliance

Common obstacles to achieving full compliance include:

– Resistance to moving away from traditional formats like PDFs in particular platforms
– Limited financial resources to remediate existing documents
– Lack of empowerment or authority among web staff to enforce accessibility standards
– Difficulty securing senior management buy-in

How can you be prepared?

The new ADA Title II rule underscores the importance of digital accessibility and aims to hold state and local governments accountable for compliance. To meet these requirements by the enforcement deadline, publishers and content providers – again with input from their legal counsel – should:

– Conduct thorough audits of websites, mobile apps, and electronic documents
– Develop remediation plans aligned with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards
– Engage leadership to secure necessary resources and support
– Empower web and content teams with training and authority to implement changes

For additional guidance and best practices, the U.S. Access Board’s 508 Best Practices Webinar (September 16, 2025) offers valuable insights into effective compliance strategies. This recent webinar hosted by Ingram Content Group, and featuring speakers from Benetech, VitalSource, consultant Laura Brady, and Westchester Publishing Services provides practical guidance for publishers and is worth viewing.

Let Westchester know what we can do to help. Contact Us to discuss your publications program, with options for accessible-first content on new titles from editorial through to production, to standalone digital conversion and remediation services. We are here to help!