Fiction sales drop by a quarter in the last five years, as lack of leisure time takes its toll

Joe Wicks, the non-fiction bestseller

From the very dawn of radio, every age of new media has come with the stark warning that it is bound to kill off the good old-fashioned novel. 

Never yet have those fears actually been realised. 

But a new report into the publishing industry suggests that the era of a boxset generation may finally have heralded the demise of fiction. 

Spend on fiction books has dropped by nearly a quarter in the UK over the last five years, the Publishers Association has reported, as novels fight for people’s limited leisure time in a world of television, the internet and social media.

The script to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the play, was the number one bestseller in 2016

Just the last year has seen a seven per cent drop in spending, as the nation appears to fall out of love with the novel in favour of non-fiction.

A bumper year for non-fiction saw a nine per cent rise in sales to £884m, helping the UK publishing industry as a whole to its strongest year in history.

Last year, 2016, saw a total of £4.8 billion in book sales, with seven per cent growth creating the largest year-on-year increase since 2007 when digital sales were first taken into account.

Continuing a trend from 2015, digital sales once again fell as physical books increased, helped by diet books, cookery books, biographies and the remains of the adult colouring book craze.

Adult colouring has helped push book sales in the last two years

Stephen Lotinga, chief executive of the Publishers Association, said the fall in fiction was in part down to a lack of one stand-out bestseller last year, as well as the drop in digital sales affecting novels more than non-fiction titles.

In particular, he said, fiction had suffered as a result of competition from other leisure activities including television, films and the constant use of screens even outside the home.

“There has been a trend, and it’s one that the industry is aware of,” he said. “Fiction books in particular are one of those areas where we’re basically competing for people’s time.

“We’re up against a whole load of other media and formats.

Joe Wicks and his diet book bestseller

“It’s one of those things people particularly use in their leisure time, and we’re competing for that.

“We know not just from our own data but other data out there that people feel they have less free time than they’ve ever had before.

“So that’s something fiction is suffering from.”

He added television had become “incredibly accessible”, adding: “People are carrying screens around with them all the time.

“There is a lot of competition for people’s time from a lot of leisure activities, and particularly those which lend themselves to people sitting in their homes.”

David Walliams' children's books have proved especially popular

Speaking of the Publishers Association annual report overall, he added: “People’s habits are changing. Non-fiction has had an incredibly good year.

“We’re very positive. It’s been a great year both domestically and abroad. Pretty much the entire publishing industry is growing, so we’re in high spirits.”

Fiction now makes £525m in total for digital and physical sales, down seven per cent in the last year and 23 per cent in the last five years. 

Elsewhere, eBook sales dropped by three per cent to £538m, continuing the trend seen for the first time last year. Audiobooks rose 28 per cent to £16m.

The spoof Enid Blyton book for adults also became a bestseller

Physical books of all genres were up by eight per cent to £3bn; the highest level since 2012. Children’s books, which largely eschewed the digital craze, rose by 16 per cent to £365m, helped by the popularity of David Walliams titles.

In non-fiction, Joe Wicks’ Lean in 15 books led the way, becoming the best-selling diet books since records began.

Export sales, the report found, are now responsible for 54 per cent of total revenue, with Europe accounting for 35 per cent of that.

Top 10 bestsellers 2016

  1. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child script - J K Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany
  2. Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins
  3. Lean in 15 - Joe Wicks
  4. Midnight Gang - David Walliams
  5. The World's Worst Children - David Walliams
  6. Lean in 15 Shape Plan - Joe Wicks
  7. After You - Jojo Moyes
  8. Guinness World Records
  9. Five on Brexit Island - Bruno Vincent
  10. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down - Jeff Kinney
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