After experiencing spectacular growth during the pandemic, local literature has seen its popularity fade since the beginning of the year in bookstores. On August 12, Quebec Book Day, the publishing industry is not in trouble, however, with sales that remain well above pre-pandemic levels.
“It’s a drop that we expected, with the resumption of other cultural activities,” said Arnaud Foulon, president of the National Association of Book Publishers (ANEL). “During the pandemic, the book had become a refuge for many people in the absence of theatre, cinema, museums… It is normal that literature is now giving back some market share to other cultural offerings. »
During the pandemic, the book had become a refuge for many people in the absence of theatre, cinema, museums… It is normal that literature is now giving back some market share to other cultural offerings.
From January to July 2022, sales for Quebec literature fell by 6.6% compared to the same period last year, notes the Bank of French-language titles (BTLF). However, these figures should be put into perspective in view of the two record years that the industry has just experienced.
Purchases of novels, essays and collections from Quebec had indeed jumped by nearly 27% in 2020 compared to 2019 at independent retailers. Then, sales had once again increased by 21% during 2021.
Buy local
Consequence of this dizzying increase: last year almost as many Quebec books were sold as foreign works in independent bookstores, where foreign publishers represented 60% of sales barely four years ago. .
“What has changed during the pandemic is that we really feel that people come to bookstores with the idea of buying Quebec. A bit like at the grocery store, where people want to buy Quebec products, ”says Arnaud Foulon, who says he is not very concerned about the drop in sales.
On the contrary, he notes that the interest in local literature remains, despite the return to normal which nevertheless gives less time to read than during the confinements. As proof: the figures for new Quebec titles are rather stable compared to those of 2021, with sales of books published during the year having fallen by barely 1%.
It is therefore especially the older works that remain more on the shelves since the end of the sanitary measures.
Reduced purchasing power
These data from the BTLF only take into account independent bookstores, but the main retailer in Quebec, Renaud-Bray, says it is observing a similar trend.
“We thought that with the end of the pandemic, Quebec book sales would return to their 2019 level, but no, it hasn’t dropped much. We now have to see if this interest will continue this fall and until Christmas, which is the period when there are the most book releases, “says Floriane Claveau, director of communications for the channel, who today also includes the Archambault brand.
Inflation could also overshadow these encouraging data, fears ANEL. The increase in the price of books would not be in question, but rather the purchasing power which has been dwindling for several months.
The cost of books has only increased by an average of 5% in one year, in particular due to the shortage of paper which affected the supply chain during the pandemic. However, this price increase seems fairly slight in a context where consumer prices rose by more than 8% in the country in June.
“We don’t talk about the price of books. It must be said that 5% is not much, when you know that the price of books had hardly changed in 20 years. Where inflation is likely to hurt us, though, is because people have less money to buy books after they’ve paid for groceries. That, we are starting to talk about it, ”says Arnaud Foulon, who also directs Éditions Hurtubise.
Despite everything, booksellers are preparing for another lucrative day on Friday, thanks to the “I buy a Quebec book” initiative.
Since 2014, Quebec readers have been encouraged to purchase a book by every August 12. The campaign is bearing fruit: in the year following the first edition, the BTLF noted an 11% increase in sales. A year earlier, Quebec literature was struggling, posting a decline in stores of more than 8% between 2013 and 2014.