Zeitgeist
Sub Categories:
Turnings
Book & Movie Reviews
News
Culture & Politics
Genre Analysis
Zeitgeist 101
Zeitgeist: How to Sell to Adults Who Will Never Grow Up
Toys R Us is opening 120 stores as adults drive toy sales. Learn how authors can sell collectible editions readers display like trophies.
Zeitgeist Report: A Year After Charlie Kirk and What Has Changed
A one-year retrospective on the assassination of Charlie Kirk, examining how his death and the public reactions to it reshaped political and cultural discourse.
Zeitgeist Report: Anti-AI Panic Now Has a Payroll
An investigation into the viral resignation of an Anthropic AI researcher who quit after roughly six weeks and previously worked as an activist on Democratic political campaigns.
Zeitgeist: How SSRIs Change What Women Want to Read
A quarter of American women are on medication that changes their brain chemistry, and it is changing what they want to read.
Zeitgeist: How Science Skepticism Is Reshaping Popular Fiction
Declining institutional trust in science is fueling a cultural shift toward supernatural fiction—magic, witches, and vampires across every genre.
Zeitgeist: How to Navigate Leftist Violence as an Influencer
How to navigate leftist violence and protect your family as an influencer.
Zeitgeist: Saving People Through Stories
Discover how you can incorporate disasters into your story to save lives.
Zeitgeist: Trad Publishers Sell Fewer Books Than Indie Authors
Uncover the real conversation as writers compare indie and traditional publishing. What defines success in writing?
Turnings
Turnings
Zeitgeist: Mary Poppins: From Grimbright to Nobledark
his conversation unpacks how stories reflect cultural “turnings” in the zeitgeist, using Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh, Marines in wartime, and superhero tales as case studies.
Zeitgeist, Dystopian Fatigue, and the Rise of Ruthless & Noble Heroes
Explore the cultural vibe shift reshaping reader preferences and learn what sells now and where fiction is headed next.
How to Write Stories Readers Will Love by Knowing the Zeitgeist
If it takes you two years to write a book, you owe it to yourself to ask the question, "What kinds of books will be popular in two years?" Reader preferences change over time, but sometimes they change rapidly. If you don't keep up, you can get stuck writing a book...
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News
News
Amazon Cracks Down on AI Authors
KDP caps new titles, OpenAI’s piracy memo is evidence, urban fantasy royalties fall, and Anthropic talks slowdown while shipping new models.
KU Payouts Fall While Economy Surges
Amazon extends Kindle pre-orders to 18 months, KU payouts shift, indie books outnumber trad books 5:1, and macOS 27 arrives.
The US Copyright Office Is Flagging Human-Written Books as AI
The U.S. Copyright Office is flagging human-written books as AI, plus Spotify’s free indie audiobooks, publishers’ new AI promotion agents, the open Anthropic settlement window, and Apple’s foldable iPhone.
Amazon Caught Stealing Authors’ Ad Dollars
Amazon sued for overcharging advertisers, AI’s custom romance novels, Mr. Beast and James Patterson’s book bomb, and the anti-AI movement may have its leader.
Barnes & Noble Just Banned the Front-Table Author Signing Nationwide
For Week Ending August 14, 2026 This week, Barnes & Noble dropped a...
AI Fiction Seizes 27.5% of KDP’s Genre Catalog
Libro.fm expands ebooks to 5,000 indie stores, while AI disrupts a $2 million book auction. HarperCollins grows 15%, Fable reaches 5 million users, and AI fiction nears 30% of Amazon’s genre catalog.
Fauci’s Diary, Joe Rogan, and the Magic Boom in Fiction
AALA’s new pay-to-play agent rules, Substack’s faulty AI detector, publishing’s low AI adoption, and the supernatural fiction surge.
Zeitgeist: Saving People Through Stories
Discover how you can incorporate disasters into your story to save lives.
Genre Analysis
Genre Analysis
Zeitgeist: Capturing a Shifting Zeitgeist of Paranoia, Betrayal, and Disrupted Domestic Normalcy
The March 2026 K-lytics report on psychological and domestic thrillers paints a picture of a genre in explosive transition. What was once a niche reflects profound changes in consumer demand and the broader zeitgeist.
Zeitgeist: Mystery Thriller Suspense K-Lytics Report
Kindle trends show that techno thrillers are up 49%. Find out what this says about current readers and publishers.
Zeitgeist: Hormonal Birth Control May Quietly Change What Romance Readers Crave in Male Heroes
Prescription medications are changing women’s preferences, from who they find attractive to what kind of heroes they want to read in their fiction.
Zeitgeist: Romance Dominates Kindle But Shows Signs of Maturing
Highlights of the romance genre based on the new k-lytics report.
Zeitgeist: Christmas Romance vs. Paranormal Romance
Thomas Umstattd, Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger cover highlights from the K-lytics report showing trends in the Christmas and Paranormal romance genres.
Zeitgeist: Female Readers & The Hero’s Journey
Is the hero’s journey story arc different for male and female readers?
Zeitgeist, Dystopian Fatigue, and the Rise of Ruthless & Noble Heroes
Explore the cultural vibe shift reshaping reader preferences and learn what sells now and where fiction is headed next.
The Sci-Fi Zeitgeist Has Shifted: What Authors Need to Know
Dive into the essentials of writing a sci-fi novel amidst evolving themes like population collapse and AI advancements.
Book & Movie Reviews
Reviews
Zeitgeist: Project Hail Mary Rockets Past $226 Million at Domestic Box Office
Project Hail Mary has crossed $430 million worldwide at the box office. Find out what its success reveals about what readers and want and how authors can connect.
Zeitgeist: One Piece Passes Superman as Best-Selling Comic with 600 Million Copies
One Piece has officially hit 600 million copies in circulation worldwide, matching and effectively surpassing Superman’s nearly 90-year sales record in under 30 years.
Zeitgeist: AI as Metaphor: Corporations, Pagan Gods & the Managerial State
For the past 40 years, AI villains in fiction have been metaphors for the soulless managerial state that stripped human agency throughout the 20th century.
Zeitgeist: Davy Crockett King of the First Turning
America has had two kings and neither of them were Arthur. Our kings were Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier and Elvis Presley the king of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
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Culture & Politics
Culture
Zeitgeist: Clinical Pluralism: The Writing Technique That Trains Women to Excuse Evil
Jonathan: I'm going to provide some context for what happened this week, which is the genesis of this zeitgeist idea. Lindsay Clancy was in the news, and there was a lot of arguing about it on social media. Allie Beth Stuckey jumped on the story, and it created a...
Zeitgeist: How to Navigate Leftist Violence as an Influencer
How to navigate leftist violence and protect your family as an influencer.
Zeitgeist: How Shifting Public Attitudes on the U.S. Military Are Reshaping Storytelling
Two U.S. military veterans discuss how attitudes toward service members have changed since the Gulf War, the rise of military “zero-defect culture,” the impact of the Afghanistan withdrawal and COVID-era policies on morale and recruitment, and how these shifts are influencing a new generation of military fiction.
Zeitgeist: Happy Birthday, America. History Says You Should Be Dead
According to The Fate of Empires, a 1976 essay by British General Sir John Glubb, empires come with an expiration date. That date is 250 years. America hits that number this weekend, and half the internet has noticed. For some, the intense celebration this weekend is...
Zeitgeist: Light, Fire, and Clarity: What the Latest Baby Name Data Tells Us About the Shifting Culture
Explore the trends in baby names in 2025. Discover how names reflect clarity, light, and strength and the changing zeitgeist.
Zeitgeist: Globalists vs. Nationalists: What the UK and Japanese Elections Tell Us About the Changing Culture
Reform UK, Japan’s landslide, and the AfD surge reveal a global culture war. Here’s what the nationalist realignment means for your books and marketing.
Zeitgeist: Southern Poverty Law Center Indictment Exposes Alleged Fraud, Accelerates Vibe Shift on Racism Accusations
a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on April 21, 2026. The 11-count indictment charges the SPLC with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of false statements to a federally insured bank, and one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering.
Zeitgeist: What Do Americans Consider Immoral?
Pew Research Center Survey Exposes Deep Divides in American Views on Morality...
Zeitgeist 101
Zeitgeist 101
Zeitgeist, Dystopian Fatigue, and the Rise of Ruthless & Noble Heroes
Explore the cultural vibe shift reshaping reader preferences and learn what sells now and where fiction is headed next.
The Sci-Fi Zeitgeist Has Shifted: What Authors Need to Know
Dive into the essentials of writing a sci-fi novel amidst evolving themes like population collapse and AI advancements.
How to Write Stories Readers Will Love by Knowing the Zeitgeist
If it takes you two years to write a book, you owe it to yourself to ask the question, "What kinds of books will be popular in two years?" Reader preferences change over time, but sometimes they change rapidly. If you don't keep up, you can get stuck writing a book...
How to Write Enduring Bestsellers with the Two-Act Chiastic Structure
Struggling to write your three-act story? Discover another story structure from ancient history that will satisfy your readers and help you finish your book.
The Psychological Reasons Readers Read Books
You have a major advantage over AI writing tools like GPT-4 and ChatGPT. Learn how to discover and leveraging your edge in your genre.