Book sales | Less growth, but crystallized gains

After an impressive leap in 2021, how is the book market in Quebec doing? One might have feared that the dust would settle on the shelves, but although it shows subtle growth for 2022, the sector has above all managed to maintain its achievements, tells us the Gaspard annual report of the management company BTLF.

After the euphoria of 2021, when the needles panicked indicating an increase of 16.3%, the increase in book sales in Quebec calmed down in 2022 (+ 0.3%). For Patrick Joly, managing director of BTLF, a company that has been probing this market for 11 years, this is not a counter-performance, but a consolidation of the marked jump of the previous year. “After such a record year, some thought it might have gone down after the pandemic, but even though it slowed down, the market held up. Keeping these achievements is already a big step, ”he insists.

The two spearheads of the book industry, namely adult literature and children’s books, which account for more than half of the market, have fallen back a bit, but the more detailed analysis shows sub-categories revitalized, such as the horror novel (+17.2%), propelled mainly by Patrick Sénécal’s latest opus, 5^e in terms of sales in 2022.

On the children’s book side, it was Élise Gravel who led the way, two of her books having risen to the top of sales, including It’s my body!

Also, after two years spent on the dock and logically gripped by the effects of COVID, securities related to tourism and travel are emerging with their heads above water, with an increase of 44.8%. Finally: esoteric books continue to captivate the Quebec public, signing for the third consecutive year an increase of 22.6% in 2022, after increases of 21.7% and 49.8% the two previous years.

Comics on the rise

“One of the most striking points was the growth of comics, with a gain of 2.5%, indicates Mr. Joly, specifying that the manga sub-category has itself experienced a 35% increase – a trend that The Press updated last week^⁠1. “That said, we must not forget that it is still low for all bookstore sales. But it’s still interesting growth. » The best-selling comic book in 2022 was indeed volume 4 of the Mini Jean Experiments, by Alex A; the first manga (Spy x Family) only arriving in 7^e position in this category.

Looking at the results obtained by the Quebec edition, we find an inflection similar to the general trend, with a drop in speed of 1%, marking the consolidation of the advances obtained the previous year (+ 18.3%). . The foreign edition, it, experienced a slight gain of nearly 2%.

How is 2023 shaping up? Patrick Joly foresees a possible weak growth, but prefers not to move forward, only one quarter having passed, and this, after several successive atypical years.