Book sales have rocketed in lockdown – why have we returned to reading this year?

TW: racism, death of George Floyd, police brutality

Like many businesses in the creative sector, the publishing industry prepared itself for a tsunami wave of financial repercussions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Recent trade reports from Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury, however, provide a starkly different reality, with print sales rising by 9%. So, just why have we returned to indulging in the simple pleasures of reading throughout lockdown?

Bloomsbury is not the only publishing success story. In late March, the BBC reported that sales of fiction in general increased by a third. And just recently, The Bookseller reports that publisher Faber is set to be in a ‘“strong place”’ for the end of the financial year in March 2021. Faber’s financial stability is owed, in part, to the success of Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People. The BBC adaption of Normal People that captured the hearts of the nation at the beginning of lockdown exponentially boosted sales of this romantic novel.

Now, let’s take a look at the genres of books that have bolstered book sales throughout the pandemic…

Fantasy

Bloomsbury have reported that JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series was a predominant driver in profits throughout lockdown, increasing revenues at Bloomsbury’s children’s sector by “more than a quarter”. The upsurge in sales occurred despite author Rowling’s problematic and highly contentious public remark on transgender rights. The popularity of these magical books, therefore, may be linked to the fact that children have been spending more time at home, with parents desiring a story which would simultaneously entertain themselves and their offspring. Alternatively, audiences may have wished to escape the bleak and fraught reality brought about by the pandemic. The magical realism of the bestselling Harry Potter series offers an attractive and welcome distraction for many readers.

Harry Potter hasn’t been the only flourishing fantasy book, however: Sarah J. Maas’ Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood – also published by Bloomsbury – was a successful bestseller throughout the lockdown. Historian Simon Schama remarked on this return to reading during the pandemic:

“Reading is a state of freedom – the freedom of the mind, the freedom of the imagination, and there is no better cure to feeling nailed to the spot than reading”.

Fantasy novels that offer hope, comfort, and a radical change from reality may activate this “freedom of the mind” principle in many readers.

Non-fiction

In 2019, sales of non-fiction drove UK book sales to unprecedented levels. David Shelley, Hachette chief executive, explained that an increasing interest in non-fiction may be indicative of the current climate as ‘“an age of unreliable sources”’, where people are more regularly trawling non-fiction books for ‘“trusted information”’. These remarks shed light on the success of non-fiction race-oriented texts surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement.

Books on race

Ever since the revolutionary Black Lives Matter movement swept the globe, following the unjust killing of African-American man George Floyd in May, caused when American police officer Derek Chauvin applied knee pressure onto Floyd’s neck, readers have flocked to books written by black authors. The books in question educate readers on rampant systemic racism, racial prejudice, and white privilege. The main race-centred books which strengthened Bloomsbury sales were Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race and Carol Anderson’s White Rage. These highly important books identify existing racial tensions and injustices whilst emphasizing the marginalization of the black community in society. This surge in sales of race texts exemplifies the powerful, resonant, and far-reaching power of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Cooking

The lockdown prompted a return to cooking as restaurants and eateries closed for most of the lockdown period. As people attempted to master the perfect banana bread during the lockdown, a rise in baking books, such as Paul Hollywood’s A Baker’s Life, comes as little surprise. Indian Restaurant Dishoom’s Dishoom: From Bombay with Love recipe book continued to top cookbook sales throughout this period, proving just how much people desired to hone in and test out their cookery skills over the preceding months.

Independent bookshops

Independent bookshops, however, have experienced greater financial implications than major publishers, as a result of the pandemic. Consequently, a new, ethical competitor to Amazon, Bookshop.org, may improve the luck of independent bookshops. The online bookstore was set up “to boost sales at local, independent retailers, rather than entice customers away”. With 150 sellers in the UK now signed up to the website, Bookshop.org allows its customers to browse books at their preferred bookstore. If a customer chooses to buy a book without selecting a certain store, 10% of the profit is shared amongst affiliates. Bookshop.org sold “£415,000 worth of books in the opening week”, signalling public recognition as to the importance of supporting local businesses throughout the pandemic.

The monotony and constraints of lockdown have certainly ignited a shared feeling amongst the public surrounding the value of books. This public consensus is signified by the rise in book sales and the public’s rallying of support for independent bookstores. Meanwhile, conversations between UK publishers, booksellers, and the government over whether bookshops should be classed as essential shops continue.

 

To find out more ways that you can support the UK Black Lives Matter movement, please follow this link.

To find out more about how Bookshop.org supports local, independent, bookshops, and to purchase books from there, please follow this link.

 

Written by Shannon Cook

Featured image courtesy of Janko Ferlič on Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to this image.