The president of the Federation of European Publishers, Ricardo Franco Levi, opening his Frankfurt Book Fair presentation of European book market data. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Brianna Robles
By Brianna Robles | @breesharraine
During the opening day (October 16) of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) presented key data about the state of the European publishing industry in 2023.
Led by Enrico Turrin, the Deputy Director of the FEP, the presentation involved discussions of book trends, including popular formats and consumer interest.
The Federation of European Publishers is an independent organization responsible for representing 29 national associations of publishers of books, journals, and education material throughout Europe since 1967.
Alongside the president of the Federation of European Publishers, Ricardo Franco Levi, Turrin explained that while the numbers represented in data are factual and represent over 600 individual publishers in Europe, professionals should look at the story being told through the data and how this can be applied to future decisions in the industry.
“The thing we do is to try—with the help of our members, the national associations, plus looking at other sources—to present a picture of the book market in Europe year after year,” explained Turrin.
“What I’ll tell you is a story that is supported by the data we have,” he continued.
Overall, for the year 2023, net publisher’s revenue increased by 1.6 percent from the previous year, which brings it to 24.4 billion euros, just above its peak in 2007. This can be partially attributed to the value of sales driven by higher book prices, said Turrin.
Parallel to this revenue increase is a steady increase in the number of trade books sold which make up a large portion of the overall share. Children’s books, additionally, made up only about 14.5 percent of book turnovers in the past year, this being down from 14.7 percent in 2022. Despite this, the genre is still a strong contender for publishers.
With the recent rise of digital formats and ebooks, Turrin notes that Europe continues to see a small rise in the use of audiobook formats. Despite the popularity of audio in recent years, data for tracking audiobook users is limited due to multiple sales channels like subscription methods.
He predicts that book trends will remain consistent in terms of movement following post-pandemic industry growth. Moving forward, Turrin predicts a steady trend in book turnovers.
The crowd takes notes on European book trends at the FEP’s Frankfurt Book Fair presentation on book industry data. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Brianna Robles
