Why the offer of literary books for the return to school is the lowest since the beginning of the century

We are already beginning the literary season, which promises to be sober, with a reduced number of publications and serious novels. Never in the 21st century have there been so few arrivals: only 466 novels planned between mid-August and the end of October, according to the specialized magazine weekly books. This is 5% less than the previous year, and above all a third less than the record of around 700 novels set in 2010.

This decrease can be explained by two factors. “Since 2010, we have observed an erosion that is quite natural, we had reached peaks, the book market in France is very mature,” said Eric Dupuy, economic journalist for Good Evening Business on the set of Good Evening Business this Friday. Weekly books.

+30 to 80% for paper and cardboard

But it is above all the dizzying price of paper and cardboard that has led publishers to cut back.

The specialist also highlights a “tightening of the locomotives, that is to say of the bestsellers, of the authors who pull the rest”.

Editing isn’t doing too bad though. In literature, the paperback drives the market. Last year, 81 million were sold in France, compared to 78 million “large format” copies, those of novelties, according to the GfK institute, a reference in book sales. However, the paperback generates much lower margins for publishers.

The pocket seduces more but generates fewer margins

Taking stock of back to school in September 2022, GfK explained that in the “quantity/success equation” (publish a lot to ensure volume, or focus on a few carefully chosen titles), “readers have decided.” That is to say, they are selective, demanding when they spend more than 20 euros on a novel.

“For our customers, even the rich, it’s an investment,” confirms Céline Maillard, bookseller at Richer, Rougier and Plé, in Angers. “We are in times of crisis, a large format is expensive and potentially a book that will stay in a library, so it is not an impulse purchase like a paperback.”

On the shelves of this general bookstore in the city center, space is only guaranteed for a few renowned writers. The others are forced to prove themselves quickly, or they will fall into the literature dump.