Home 5 News 5 Lockdown in UK reveals love of hardback fiction

Lockdown in UK reveals love of hardback fiction

by | Nov 17, 2020 | News

There was an unexpected beacon of light in otherwise gloomy sales stats for the UK book industry for the first six months of the year: sales of hardback fiction, traditionally the hardest of categories to sell, increased 25% by volume to 6.7m units and 37% by value to £34.2m for the period, according to figures released by the UK Publishers Association (PA).

Stephen Lotinga, the PA’s CEO, was quick to focus on this success.  “These figures show us that UK readers have returned to fiction during lockdown, turning to novels for entertainment, escapism and comfort during the first six months of this year. Incredible books such as Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror & the Light and Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other have offered people support in these difficult times.”

The overall figures released by the PA show that total book sales across the industry fell by 11% in the first six months of the year, which included a long lockdown period when bookshops were shut.  Big increases in fiction and sales of digital formats were not able to stop this decline.

Sales of ebooks and audio increased by 13% but this wasn’t enough to combat a 17% decline in print saes.  Educational publishing fared the worst, declining by around 16%, while consumer sales slipped by 6%.  Like its hardback counterpart, sales of paperback fiction performed well, remaining constant during the period.

Lotinga added: “In a challenging year for the UK publishing industry, growth in digital has helped counterbalance print decreases and this has largely been driven by a combination of wonderful new writers and a resurgence of interest in the classics. These figures really emphasise the enduring nature of books and reading – and that readers continue to embrace books in all their forms.

“While it is encouraging that books continued to reach readers during lockdown it has clearly been a difficult time for bookshops, which are vital to the health of our industry.”

 

Related Posts

Lords Defend Artists in AI Clash

Lords Defend Artists in AI Clash

In the UK, the House of Lords has dealt a fourth defeat to the government over its plans to allow tech companies to use copyrighted material to train their models. The Lords, who are looking for more protections for artists from AI, rejected the latest amendment to...

THE LOOK by Michelle Obama Coming in November

THE LOOK by Michelle Obama Coming in November

Crown Publishing Group has announced the upcoming release of THE LOOK, a new book by former First Lady Michelle Obama, set to hit shelves on November 4, 2025.   The book will be available in hardcover and eBook editions from Crown, with an audiobook version, narrated...

HarperCollins Bets on Fauzia Musa

HarperCollins Bets on Fauzia Musa

Juniper, the new literary fiction imprint of Harper Collins UK, has acquired the debut novel by award-winning journalist and design consultant Fauzia Musa that explores the lasting impact of Partition through the lens of one Muslim family.   Entitled The Strangling...

Previous Next
Close
Test Caption
Test Description goes like this