Image: Nielsen BookData
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Nonfiction in Decline?
Because the word global does still mean “relating to the whole world” or “worldwide,” per Oxford Languages.
So it is that the welcome reporting released today (October 15) by Nielsen BookData and GfK Entertainment on the eve of Frankfurter Buchmesse isn’t quite what its branding would suggest. Data from some 16 markets does not make a “global” report, and it’s particularly notable that some of the many markets not factored into this presentation include the United States, the world’s largest book market.
That important disclaimer aside—this appears to be another time in which branding is overreaching—it’s interesting to see something of the information presented this morning. What’s more, media messaging is carefully parsed to refer to “five of the 16 territories surveyed,” and so on. Why such accurate phrasing of the information isn’t matched by the title of the report is unclear.
According to indications of this research, some of 16 of the world’s more visible book markets face challenges.
In the eight-month research done by Nielsen and GfK, January to August of this year, we read, “The fiction segment saw increased revenues in 14 of the 16 territories surveyed … and children’s and young-adult books also showed growth in nine regions [as] nonfiction struggled.”
In nonfiction, per the report, “Only five countries of the 16 reported growth in this segment, which also impacted the overall market. Revenue grew overall in only six of the 16 territories, while this was also true in terms of unit sales.”
- Spanish and Portuguese-speaking book markets have had an especially good year so far, according to the analysis here.
- Countries including Mexico (+16.1 percent), Spain (+12.3 percent), Brazil (+9.5 percent), and Portugal (+9.0 percent) all saw reportedly increased overall revenues.
- India’s revenue, per this report, achieved +18.3-percent growth, “although its total volume was relatively modest compared with some of the larger markets tracked with 27 million books sold.”
- By contrast, “France (-0.6 percent) and the United Kingdom (-0.8 percent), by far the largest book markets in the survey with 191 million and 116 million books sold respectively, recorded slight declines in revenue terms.”
Related article: ‘Frankfurt: Guest of Honor Italy Reports Book Industry Slowdown.’ Image – Getty: Alena Kravchenko
Frankfurt’s Guest of Honor Italy market, per this round of reportage, “managed to maintain a relatively flat change year on year at -0.1 percent,” which sounds very much in line with such points produced by the Italian publishers, themselves, as reported by Publishing Perspectives.
New Zealand saw the largest drop with a decline of -9.3 percent year-on-year.
In prices, the study found that increases were not as steep as in the past. “Although average prices continue to rise in 12 of the surveyed territories, such as in the UK by 1.9 percent to £9.02 [US$11.77], 12 regions are seeing lower price increases or even falling prices compared to the previous year.
“This includes Ireland (-1.0 percent to €12.57 or US$14.18) and the Netherlands (-1.0 percent to €16.30 or US$17.45).”
Image: Nielsen BookData
Crime and Thriller Novels Buoyant
Among fiction genres seeing the most growth, Nielsen cites crime and thriller novels, whose sales are up in three-quarters of the surveyed countries.
And regarding the decline in nonfiction, the report suggests this “can partly be attributed to the absence of top titles like Prince Harry’s biography Spare, which sold in huge volumes in many territories last year.
Nonetheless, 2024 still boasts some global bestsellers in this category. One notable example is James Clear’s step-by-step manual Atomic Habits, which was among the top five bestselling non-fiction books in 13 territories.
However, many segments, including the travel sector, which was enjoying a rebound post-pandemic, are in decline, the survey reports. History books and lifestyle guides are continuing to perform relatively well.
More from Publishing Perspectives on Frankfurter Buchmesse is here, more from us on trade shows and book fairs in world publishing is here, more on Germany’s book market is here, more on the work of Nielsen is here, and more on industry statistics is here.
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