John Dean – Crime Writer

A major report into the global book trade has revealed that fiction revenues continued to increase in 2024.

The results of research conducted for the report released each year by GfK Entertainment and NielsenIQ BookData suggest that the rising cost of books means that, although some territories have seen sales fall, the financial effect on the industry has not proved to be as serious as it might have been.

Non-fiction titles saw a decline in sales in a number of areas but this was offset by fiction revenues with the researchers citing strong performances by novels in the romance, fantasy titles, crime fiction and thriller genres, continuing the general trend in the book trade over recent years.

Children’s and young adult books had a mixed year, though they managed to achieve revenue gains in nine territories, half of those analysed

The overall results for fiction alone showed that 16 out of the 18 territories analysed reported significant revenue growth on the previous year. They included India (+30.7%), Mexico (+20.7%), Brazil (+16.4%), Spain (+12.0%), and Portugal (+11.4%).

By contrast, non-fiction books experienced growth in only six regions and, even there, mostly at a comparatively lower level.

Overall, when all genres were taken into account, almost half of the territories analysed enjoyed increased revenues. The strongest growth was seen in India (+27.0%), Mexico (+12.6%), and Brazil (+10.4%).

Revenues fell slightly in France (-0.3%) and in the UK (-0.6%), the two largest markets in the analysis. A major factor was declining sales: 315 million books were sold in France (-2.8%), while the UK recorded 195 million copies sold (-1.6%).

More significant sales declines were recorded in New Zealand (-6.6%), Ireland (-5.3%), and Australia (-3.1%).

The research was published to coincide with the recently-held London Book Fair.