Interview: Michelle Halket, Publisher, Central Avenue Publishing

Michelle Halket, Publisher of Central Avenue, occupies a unique position in an unpredictable book market. Michelle is a Canadian publisher, but the vast majority of sales come from the U.S. owing in large part to their authors’ expansive reach on social media and with the help of her distributor, Simon & Schuster.

We’re excited to share Michelle’s expertise about what works best for Central Avenue titles on NetGalley.

Michelle, you strike us as a publisher who is small and nimble enough to be creative, but data-savvy enough to never be reckless. What brings you to NetGalley with your books, even after trying different marketing strategies?

As any company will tell you, marketing is one of those difficult places to spend money because it’s nearly impossible to determine the actual ROI. I’ve been around long enough to have tried everything: print and digital advertising in trade journals, paid social posts, author tours (both in person and online), trade show booths, festivals. But the reason I have kept my NetGalley account active every year after I’ve pulled the plug on so many other avenues is because I can see the actual results. There’s three main areas:

📊 Metrics: NetGalley shares with me so much data on who accessed the book, ratings of content and covers, impressions, review incidence, etc. These are the hard data that give me an idea of how widely the book was seen, read, and shared.

✍🏼 Reviews: Not only do I get those data points mentioned above, I get actual readers telling me their thoughts that get posted online in so many places. They all start with “Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher…” so I am not guessing where they got the book. I know that the money I spend every month is reaching readers who then share their reviews on socials and on bookstores. And the algorithms that favor customer interaction now favor our books because of how robust those reviews make our book pages. (For NetGalley’s take on the power of reviews, read here!)

📨 Direct Consumer Relationships: I get to be able to contact each and every reviewer in a very targeted way – I can identify the ones who loved a book and let them know an author has a new one coming. Or I can ask people to join our newsletter where they can get even more freebies. All this goes so far in building reader relationships.

At NetGalley, we like to say our website is pretty easy to navigate and use. Can you speak about efficiency and ease of use while also addressing what it is that keeps you coming back?

The UX is simple, intuitive and attractive – from the colors, typeface and generous use of white space to how every aspect you might need links to each other. I can be on a book’s page setting up metadata and with one click access reviews, and then from there, set a custom outgoing message, or determine who I want to have auto-approval. Kudos to your designers for taking a complex and integrated ecosystem and making it easy to use.

You champion fiction—often literary—and poetry. This is not necessarily the “consumer literature” that follows trends, but rather a conscious decision to, in your words, “move readers, challenge perspectives, and leave a meaningful impression.” What do you look for when considering requests from the NetGalley community?

With nearly every request, we click through and take a look at the person requesting. I like knowing if they actually leave reviews, and when they do, are they honest and fair, or are they just there for the free books? I very much appreciate current and fleshed out bios with specific details, such as knowing they like to champion queer books. I always check out their approval rating as this tells me how my peers see that reviewer. And it was a great addition to be able to make notations on users as we often see the same users request our books. By making those notes, it feels like we have gotten to know them and then other people at our press can read our thoughts when they are answering requests.

You’ve shared that NetGalley data and reporting is vital to you and the success of your books. What are the marketing KPIs you’re looking at, and what ROI are you aiming for?

We are realistic and have different metrics for each book, for example, a romance novel will garner more requests than poetry titles. Generally, with a poetry book, I’m looking for dozens of requests. With romance or upmarket fiction, I’m expecting hundreds of requests. While the review rates vary quite a bit, it’s the ability to reach out to reviewers to remind them for a review or to post it on socials or bookstores. I also pay attention to the thumbs up/down of the cover. Given how trends change in cover styles, it gives me an idea if we hit the mark, or missed it?

We are realistic and have different metrics for each book… Given how trends change… it gives me an idea if we hit the mark or missed it.

In addition to the number of requests, I’m looking at the people requesting. I don’t often auto-approve because we approve on a regular basis, and I like seeing the names and organizations. Knowing that booksellers from Germany are requesting a particular book helps us with selling foreign rights as I can bring this information to my agent. A request from a popular creator, or journalist means a possible huge reach and now I have that person’s email address to reach out with a more personal message.

My ROI is solidly founded on the contacts I’ve made and the relationships that have come from them. When I compare the cost of our NetGalley account to any other advertising or marketing initiative, I quickly see how much value I’m getting. This isn’t just a list of emails – these are people that I know asked for and liked what we do here.

When I compare the cost of our NetGalley account to any other advertising or marketing initiative, I quickly see how much value I’m getting.

Can you share specific examples of how your books have performed on our site? And how those results might compare to other tools you’ve used in the market?

I took a look at a group of titles across genres – each of which were posted to different galley sites at the same time. In every case, the number of requests on NetGalley exceeded the others – varying by a factor of 1.5x to 10x. In addition, the average review/request ratio on others was around 6%. On NetGalley it was 18%. My marketing dollars seem to work harder and are more efficient on NetGalley.

The number of requests on NetGalley exceeded the others — varying by a factor of 1.5x to 10x. In addition, the average review/request ratio on others was around 6%. On NetGalley it was 18%.

What books do you decide to list on NetGalley? How do you approach backlist?

Every frontlist book gets a stint on NetGalley, usually starting about 4 months pre-pub. We only have an account that allows for 5 titles at a time, so we don’t get much opportunity to list our older books. That said, I might have to look at this strategy a little more closely!

When you think about a B2B community, who do you include? We know publishers need booksellers and librarians who will purchase and champion your books. Is your definition of B2B larger than this?

Oh for sure! As I mentioned before, we often get requests from journalists, creators, media, rights acquisition editors at other publishers, and film/tv professionals. These groups are important as well and I love that I get access to all types of businesses here.

And, finally, please tell us a bit more about your motivation to create The Poetry Shelf on your website. It’s been a wonderful service to the industry and to readers. We congratulate you on its success!

Wow, thank you for asking about it! It came about after Winter Institute in 2025 when so many booksellers said they just didn’t know what to do with their poetry sections. Before my career in publishing I spent an equal amount of time in market research – much of that advising grocery and drug retailers how to optimize their sections. I decided to use these same principles of good assortment and shelf planning that large booksellers and other retailers use and adapt it for independent booksellers who don’t have a poetry expert on staff. It’s based on how consumers buy poetry (the same buyer doesn’t usually purchase a TikTok star’s book and Chaucer). It’s then coupled with data from the Bookscan bestseller list, and then I add in a bit of research on a feature section for the month. For example, March was Women and Spring, featuring books by great women poets about renewal and feminine energy. It’s been a huge hit and I’m honored to share it for free every month with booksellers via our website and an ongoing feature in Shelf Awareness.

About Central Avenue Publishing

Central Avenue Publishing is a home for fiction and poetry about us at our worst – and best.

We are proud to publish books that have resonated widely—appearing on bestseller lists, earning awards, drawing support from literary heroes and celebrities, and finding readers around the world.

At Central Avenue Publishing, our mission is to publish fiction and poetry that reflect the best and worst of the human condition—stories that move readers, challenge perspectives, and leave a meaningful impression.

NetGalley Community Spotlight: Audiobooks

In our 2026 Community Update, we shared that over 304,000 NetGalley members are interested in audiobooks. Plus, those members are submitting over 20,000 reviews on average each month! We love a deep-dive, so here’s even more information about these audiobook lovers.

📈 Audiobook Engagement at a Glance (Updated for 2026)

Recent site data and survey results highlight the continued surge in audiobook interest. Over the past year (Feb 1, 2025 – Jan 31, 2026), we’ve seen:

Member Interest: Over 304,000 NetGalley members (a 25% increase over last year) have expressed interest in the audio format as of January 2026.
Monthly Feedback: Approved members submitted approximately 20,430 reviews and feedback for audiobooks on average each month, growth of about 45%.
Feedback Rate: There is a whopping 57% average monthly feedback rate for audiobooks.
UK Growth: In the UK specifically, there are over 32,000 members interested in audio, with a 68% feedback rate for the format.

*Average monthly numbers from February 2025 – January 2026 on NetGalley.com*

💡 New Insights from the 2026 Community Update

The 2026 survey revealed deeper trends among our “Avid Listeners”. Nearly 12,000 respondents told us:

Daily Habits: Among members who listen to audiobooks, 45% listen daily, and 75% listen at least weekly.
Discovery Platforms: NetGalley (56%) is the top source for members to hear about new audiobooks, followed by Libby (55%), Goodreads (51%), and Instagram (50%).
Narrator Influence: Narrators remain a powerful draw—62% of listeners have selected an audiobook solely because of the narrator.
Multitasking Appeal: Among NetGalley members, the primary reason for choosing audio is the ability to multitask (80%), followed by the ability to listen while traveling (73%).
Opportunity for Discoverability: Members told us that they wish there were more audiobooks to choose from. They’re hoping audiobook publishers will add even more titles, particularly in niche genres!
AI Transparency: This year, NetGalley’s audiobook listeners have expressed a fierce demand for transparency regarding AI. 77% of members say it is “Extremely Important” to know if content (covers, voices, or text) is AI-generated.

Members told us that they wish there were more audiobooks to choose from. They’re hoping audiobook publishers will add even more titles, particularly in niche genres!

📣 Expanded Promotional Opportunities

Audiobook reach has expanded in 2026 to help your titles stand out:

Audiobook Newsletter: Our audio-dedicated newsletters now reach over 176,000 listeners (as of March 2026). Space is limited in the upcoming Audiobook Month newsletter (June 8), so secure your spot now to tap into this powerful community!
Participate in any Promotion: Audiobooks aren’t limited to format-specific promotions! You can submit your audiobooks to any NetGalley promotion, including category- or member type-based newsletters, on-site features, banner ads, and more!
Booktrovert: Since its successful launch, Booktrovert.com now has nearly 57,000 registered users. Audiobook publishers can run pre-order or buy now retail ad campaigns. It’s a great place to offer special pricing deals, or bundles.

🎧 APAC – June 30, 2026

Don’t miss the Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC) on June 30, 2026! We’re thrilled to help present the session: Models and Methods—Adapting to Trends and Change in Audiobook Marketing

Every audiobook is created differently, and so is every marketing campaign. This session will include a deep dive into 3 case studies in audiobook marketing including a big 5 publisher, an audiobook-specific publisher, and a hybrid publisher focusing on micro marketing campaigns.

London Book Fair Wrap-Up 2026

It was with a mixture of nostalgia and anticipation that the publishing world met at Olympia for the last London Book Fair before its move to ExCel in 2027. Described by some in the media as “high energy” and “really busy”, despite the absence of a number of Middle East based companies, it certainly felt that way for NetGalley. Here are our takeaways:

The book world is cautiously upbeat…

Despite economic pressures, the fair felt energised. Publishers, agents, and booksellers reported steady deal‑making, but to me, it was more the sense of people being relaxed with one another, smiling in the sunshine. Kathleen Farrar, managing director of sales and marketing at Bloomsbury said that “books are a place where people have refuge”, against a “scary” global landscape and that sentiment I think you could see all over the fair.

But the reading ‘crisis’ needs addressing

The UK’s National Year of Reading was woven through the entire fair, with literacy charities and publishers stressing that declining reading rates pose a bigger long‑term threat than AI. Pan Macmillan CEO Joanna Prior warned that the industry must treat reading engagement as a structural priority, not a marketing campaign. It will be interesting to see whether this is something that is still at the forefront next year.

AI can still draw a crowd

Outside of our meetings, the highlight of the fair for me was the brilliant Firebrand Group panel: How Metadata, SEO and GEO Can Help Sell More Books Worldwide. Joshua Tallent (Firebrand Technologies), Kristina Radke (NetGalley), Sarah Arbuthnot (Supadu), and moderated by Mary McAveney, CEO of Abrams, talked to a standing-room only International Stage and gave an absolutely fascinating and informative discussion. You can watch it here. Plus, take a look at the one-sheet attendees received during this talk, with articles from Firebrand Technologies, NetGalley, and Supadu on this topic!

Click to watch the panel:

Mary McAveney, CEO of Abrams, with the Firebrand Group: Joshua Tallent (Director of Sales & Education, Firebrand Technologies), Sarah Arbuthnot (President, Supadu), and Kristina Radke (SVP, Business Growth & Engagement)

As at the IPG Conference (our wrap-up here), the conversation around AI has subtly shifted from existential fear to practical integration: rights management, workflow automation, and ethical boundaries. It underscores the fact that we are still learning as an industry where we are headed.

The conversation around AI has subtly shifted from existential fear to practical integration: rights management, workflow automation, and ethical boundaries.

And rights are increasingly a battleground

The big Rights news of the fair was Bonnie “Lessons in Chemistry” Garmus moving from PRH to Bonnier. Any massive move like this is likely to cause gossip, but it was the reason for the switch that had people talking. Tom Weldon, CEO of PRH UK, refused to purchase the new book as the author’s agents had already sold exclusive English-Language rights to the German publisher. This he considered to be a red line. Increasingly, UK and US publishers are hugely improving their revenues with their English-Language edition being sold into countries with a high density of (usually young) readers who want to read in English. This is one to watch!

Nonfiction is far from a spent force

Despite talk of fiction’s dominance, nonfiction is proving to be resilient, and there were strong showings in this genre in the rights centre. Narrative nonfiction, wellness, and politics/current affairs were the subjects gaining the most amount of traction.

Leaving Olympia is bittersweet

It’s cold when it’s cold and steaming when it’s hot; you can do a deal in the time it takes to get to the front of the queue for coffee (this actually happened). The WiFi is appalling; the bag search can take an eternity, but I couldn’t help but feel a touch of sadness leaving the Fair for the last time. We’ve had a lot of good times there, and it will be missed. As will our annual dinner at Ffiona’s Restaurant. But onwards and upwards. We can’t wait for 2027 at ExCel.

*Members of the Firebrand Technologies and NetGalley teams: Rob Stevens, Kristina Radke, Angela Bole, Sidney Thompson, Joshua Tallent, & Stuart Evers.*

ABA Winter Institute Wrap-Up 2026

The 21st annual ABA Winter Institute (Wi2026), held in Pittsburgh from February 23–26, 2026, served as an essential gathering for a literary community navigating both creative celebrations and sociopolitical turbulence. Against the backdrop of the “City of Bridges,” nearly 1,000 attendees addressed the industry’s most pressing questions, from the rise of AI to the defense of free expression.

The Bookseller Perspective: Resilience and Resistance

For booksellers, the atmosphere was a blend of professional development and concern for health and safety in bookselling. While keynotes from icons like LeVar Burton provided inspiration and relevance, the educational tracks shifted toward necessary cultural tools for survival. Sessions like “Bookstores in the Time of Fascism” reflected a new reality where shops face book bans and threats of violence.

The Publisher Perspective: Strategy and Representation

Publishers came to Wi26 to launch their most important books of the year. The “Past Is Alive” panel featured heavyweights like Colson Whitehead and Min Jin Lee, signaling a major industry bet on deeply researched historical fiction. For publishing professionals, the goal was to reinforce the supply chain and marketing support for independent stores, which remain the industry’s most vital “handsellers” in an increasingly automated world.

The Vendor Perspective: Systems and Sustainability

For the technology and bookstore merchandise vendors on the floor, Wi2026 was about providing the solutions to the challenges discussed in the main halls.

NetGalley occupied its now-essential role as the digital bridge between publishers’ marketing goals and booksellers’ curation needs.

One of NetGalley’s most critical functions for the ABA community remains the Indie Next List nomination process. NetGalley emphasized that booksellers who link their ABA store number to their profile receive higher “priority” in the publisher’s request queue.

NetGalley continues to power the ABA’s Digital Box Newsletter, a curated, monthly “white-glove” service where select publishers offer pre-approved digital access to high-priority titles, ensuring indie booksellers have early access to priority books and time to both nominate these titles and make buying decisions.

In a time where carbon footprint is of paramount importance, NetGalley continued to position itself as the sustainable alternative to the “Galley Room” excess. Our platform is an easy way to expand access to review copies using QR Code displays, and reduce the monetary and environmental costs of physical books. Our all-digital option allows attendees to instantly add titles to their digital shelves, saving on shipping costs and paper waste—a major talking point for the environmentally-conscious Pittsburgh cohort.

Reflecting a 25% year-over-year increase in member interest in audio, NetGalley’s 2026 role is also to promote audiobooks. The NetGalley Shelf app meets booksellers where they are, allowing them to move expediently through their TBR list.

Winter Institute remains the best opportunity for ABA booksellers, publishers and the partners who serve the industry to come together in a shared space. With challenges to free speech, book bans, and bookstores on the front lines of culture and community, Wi created a supportive and deeply informative environment.

Darcy Piedmonte (Director, Customer Acquisition & Success) and Tarah Theoret (Vice President, Community Growth & Engagement) at the NetGalley table during ABA Midwinter 2026

How Book Reviews Power Discovery in the Age of AI Search

From SEO to generative engines, real reader reviews help books surface where modern audiences look for recommendations.

In a world of marketing acronyms, SEO has reigned supreme for many, many years. Search Engine Optimization remains important to help improve appearance in results from traditional search engines like Google and Bing. But now in the age of artificial intelligence, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) are taking the reins. GEO helps with AI-generated responses like ChatGPT or Google’s AI Overviews, and AEO helps your content appear in direct-answer formats like featured snippets, AI summaries, and voice search.

Having trouble keeping all the acronyms straight? Us too, but here’s an easy overview.

The main thing to know is that the goals we’ve always had for increasing book discoverability have not changed. The work you do as a marketer continues to be in service of connecting the people who will most love your books with your books… no matter where or how they’re searching for them on the web. Now, however, we have to think beyond keywords because the discoverability infrastructure has changed. Your marketing copy and metadata needs to be easy for AI search assistants to understand, summarize, and recommend, ensuring that your content shows up in AI answer engines. While traditional SEO helps your book or website appear (ideally) at the top of a search index, GEO & AEO help ensure that there’s enough information about your book out in the world to be able to answer a more complexly-worded question.

The work you do as a marketer continues to be in service of connecting the people who will most love your books with your books… no matter where or how they’re searching for them.

Natural Language

AI feels scary to a lot of us. But a reassuring truth remains: Humans are still at the center of this conversation. We humans have been typing complex questions into search bars since the beginning of search bars. In marketing, we love to say “meet your readers where they are” and the reality is that people have already been using natural language to search for a long time. Now, AI is helping to return more nuanced results.

The training ground for AI is created by humans: the marketer who’s writing the book description, keywords, and other metadata; real readers describing that book on social platforms; and book reviews in media and on retail sites. If hundreds of readers describe a book as a “slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance with sharp banter” this language will become part of how search results are returned.

We know that book reviews have always been highly valued in search algorithms. The number of reviews, how recently the reviews were posted, the star ratings, and more have all gone into helping platforms surface books that they believe are relevant to a particular reader’s search. Book reviews containing natural language and sincere reactions from real readers continue to play a foundational role in strengthening a book’s discoverability.

Book reviews containing natural language and sincere reactions from real readers continue to play a foundational role in strengthening a book’s discoverability.

The Growing Importance of Reviews

Now, the very quality of reviews’ natural-language content helps AI understand a book at an even deeper level. Every review adds descriptive keywords, genre signals, comparable titles, and thematic language around a book—often phrased the same way readers search or ask for recommendations. This creates a dense layer of searchable context across the web, helping titles appear more frequently in traditional search results and recommendation queries.

Reviews also expand a book’s digital footprint across multiple platforms. When reviews from sources like NetGalley are shared to retailer pages, reader communities, independent blogs, or even transcripts of podcasts, they create a network of references that search engines like Google interpret as signals of relevance and authority. This widely distributed presence increases the likelihood that readers encounter the book across different discovery pathways—from retail searches to recommendation lists and genre-based browsing.

Plus, reviews help establish early consensus and descriptive clarity around a book. When hundreds of readers consistently identify themes, tone, and audience (“slow-burn romance,” “twisty thriller,” “perfect for fans of…”), those repeated signals help both search algorithms and AI-driven recommendation systems categorize the book more accurately. The result is stronger placement in search results, recommendation engines, and AI-generated reading suggestions—making reviews one of the most effective ways to ensure a book can be found by the right readers, even (and especially) in this age of GEO and AEO.

The Good News for Book Marketers

If GEO and AEO sound intimidating, the good news is that authors, publishers and marketers are already doing much of the work required to support them. Writing clear book descriptions, developing thoughtful metadata, and encouraging reader reviews have long been core parts of book marketing. In many ways, AI-driven discovery simply rewards the same best practices the industry has always valued: rich descriptions, authentic reader responses, and widespread conversation about books online.

AI-driven discovery simply rewards the same best practices the industry has always valued: rich descriptions, authentic reader responses, and widespread conversation about books online.

What’s changing isn’t the goal—it’s the ecosystem in which discovery happens. Search engines and AI tools are becoming better at understanding natural language and identifying patterns in how people talk about books. When marketers provide clear metadata and readers contribute thoughtful reviews, they collectively create the descriptive landscape that helps these systems understand what a book is about and who will love it. GEO and AEO aren’t entirely new challenges to solve. They’re the next evolution of discoverability—and one that builds directly on the power of reader voices.

Additional Resources from the Firebrand Group

Learn more about marketing in the age of AI with
the Firebrand Group at London Book Fair 2026!

2026 NetGalley.com Community Update

Unless otherwise noted, all information is based on the Annual NetGalley.com Member Survey, conducted January 2026.

Every year, we ask NetGalley members to share insights about how they read, discover, and engage with books — and the response from our community keeps growing. In the most recent annual survey, more than 11,000 dedicated reviewers, booksellers, librarians, educators, media/journalists, and book trade professionals told us about their reading habits and preferences. We’re excited to bring you this latest snapshot of activity and trends across the community, and encourage you to explore the full report for deeper breakdowns and practical tips on connecting with different segments of the NetGalley community.

VIEW THE FULL REPORT | UK Report here

When we say NetGalley’s 700,000+ active members are highly engaged, we really mean it. In January 2026 alone, NetGalley.com logged a record-breaking 13.3 million pageviews — a 19% increase over January 2025 — and key engagement metrics from Requests to Feedback submitted continue to grow by the thousands (or even hundreds of thousands!).

Activity on NetGalley functions as a funnel — and understanding that funnel can help publishers make smarter promotional decisions. At the top are Impressions: the more visibility a title receives across the site and in promotions, the more likely members are to click through and submit a Request. Increased exposure directly fuels downstream activity.

Once Requests begin coming in, the next step is in the publisher’s hands. Strategic Approvals determine how many members move from indicating interest to active reading. A higher approval volume typically results in more overall Feedback — but thoughtful targeting (approving the right readers for your goals) can improve both the quantity and the quality of responses.

Finally, a percentage of approved readers will submit Feedback. While conversion rates vary by genre, format, and promotional timeline, on average we see a 38% Average Monthly Feedback Rate for DRCs, and a whopping 57% Average Monthly Feedback Rate for Audiobooks.

On average we see a 38% Avg Monthly Feedback Rate for DRCs, and a whopping 57% Avg Monthly Feedback Rate for Audiobooks

Speaking of Audiobooks, over 304,000 NetGalley members are interested in audiobooks, a 25% increase over last year!

Behind the scenes, NetGalley’s Community Growth & Engagement team is continually developing tools and programming designed to help books succeed — at every level. Whether it’s a debut from a small independent press or a lead title from a Big Five publisher, our goal is the same: empower members to become informed, enthusiastic book advocates.

Free resources like the NetGalley Reading Journal and the Book Advocate Toolkit are intentionally designed to drive meaningful engagement. They help members track their reading, craft stronger, more thoughtful Feedback, and confidently share titles with their audiences. Additional tools, including Book Club Kits, give members ready-made ways to amplify the books they love.

VIEW THE FULL REPORT | UK Report here