Trade reacts to snap general election

The book trade has expressed surprise over the snap general election called by prime minister Theresa May yesterday (Tuesday 18th April) and is divided over whether it will harm or boost the book market.

May has announced her intentions to call a general election on 8th June, bringing it forward from the scheduled date of 2020. Those The Bookseller have spoken to are split on whether the move is positive or negative for the country. While some believe the ongoing political uncertainty will boost the book market, others such as Curtis Brown c.e.o. Jonny Geller believe elections are "notoriously bad for bookselling".

Iain Dale, publisher of Biteback Publishing, which specialises in political titles, said: “I am surprised that Theresa May has called an election, but given the parliamentary opposition to whatever she tried to do on Brexit, I understand why she wants her own mandate.”

Author Susan Hill said she was “delighted” by the announcement and praised it as a “very good strong move” by the prime minister, arguing it will improve economic stability in the short term. However, she added: “These things never have a long lasting effect - events overtake them.”

However, others have expressed concern at the move.

Ben Yarde-Buller, publisher at Old Street Publishing, said: "I feel irritated — it seems opportunistic and premature – a way of dodging an election in a year or 18 months when some of the Brexit fog has lifted. I am, however, hopeful that it might backfire."

Jane Anger of radical bookshop Five Leaves in Nottingham, said she was shocked and concerned by the snap election. "I'm surprised at the timing and concerned that this is an exercise in populist strategy to avoid previous commitments to NHS. [It shows that] the Tories are happy to break a five year rule they imposed whenever it suits them. I suspect another major gamble of stability based on internal party politics", she said.

The succession of major political events recently - the 2014 Scottish referendum, the 2015 general election, the 2016 European Union referendum and now the 2017 general election - has contributed to a political atmosphere that is stimulating the non-fiction trade, according to some publishers.

Dale said: “From Biteback’s point of view it’s been fantastic and the trend looks set to continue. I think Trump, Brexit, worldwide security uncertainty can only be good for non-fiction sales. Political uncertainty is always good for the book trade. In the six hours since the election announcement I’ve already had several book proposals. I suspect they will keep coming."

Yarde-Buller said the election would "no doubt" benefit some titles and categories such as current affairs and politics, but suggested that other categories such as literary fiction would suffer. "At a guess, a higher than average percentage of total words read by the nation over the next couple of months will be in newspapers, magazines and websites rather than books [although], my hunch is that there’s a growing appreciation of the depth of understanding that books – as opposed to magazines,  websites, etc — can offer. There seems to be an appetite for ‘hard’ history (i.e. of the more traditional, geopolitical sort).”

Mike Harpley, editorial director for non-fiction at Atlantic Books, said he expected the election would have a good effect on book sales. "We live in confusing times and readers are hungry for analysis which explains what is going on. Serious newspapers have fared well from political uncertainty, as readers want serious, trustworthy analysis. The same is true of books. Indeed, we’ve already seen this ourselves with the success of P.J O’Rouke’s How the Hell Did this Happen? which has sold very nicely for Grove Atlantic,” he said.

The succession of big political events is having a "two-fold effect" on the trade, Harpley argued. "On the one hand, some people are looking for reading to escape a tumultuous (and depressing) political climate, but on the other hand, many want to understand what is going on," he said. "I think [the current poltical climate] is stimulating the market for serious non-fiction. People are waking up to the value of informed, intelligent analysis in an age of hasty rhetoric and political opportunism. It also means that people want books that put current events into a wider context."

Anger agreed the wider political climate had also been "excellent" for her bookshop. "[We have seen] much more political engagement as well as a real interest in discussing ideas - cultural, philosophical, political - in general, and more and more people are attending such events,” she said.

Leo Hollis, senior editor at radical publisher Verso Books, agreed that the role of the publisher has "got even more urgent".

“The past few years of political uncertainty have, in fact, been a very exciting time for debating the problems we face and the routes we might take towards a better future", he said. "For a critical political publisher like Verso, we will continue to offer a space for our authors to put forward new, challenging ideas. Perhaps our job has just got even more urgent.”

However Curtis Brown c.e.o. Jonny Geller was more pessimistic about the effect the election would have on book sales. "Election times are notoriously bad for bookselling as we are all obsessed with the news, but I predict a big swing back post June 8th as we escape to books for the summer. I anticipate some very serious and top selling titles in the autumn to help us explain the state we are in", he said.

Similarly, Alessandro Gallenzi, publisher at Alma Books, said: "I don't think the general election will have a profound impact on book sales. My hope is that the current uncertainties will be resolved after 8th June and the book trade and the rest of the economy will receive a boost."

Discussing publishing schedules, Suzanne Baboneau, managing director of the adult publishing division at Simon & Schuster, said the snap election gave publishers "little or no time at all to make any adjustments to publishing schedules – so on that front I think it will be business as usual".

Dale agreed, saying: "I don’t think it will have any effect on any books we have, although should Labour win we might have to change the title of one our July books – Ten Years in the Death of the Labour Party by former Labour MP Tom Harris."

Harpley added that the election would "probably not" affect his publishing schedule at Atlantic. "We do have two political books on the near horizon, but they are likely to stay where they are in June and September," he said.

Baboneau also expressed concern that media coverage would be skewed to the election, meaning there will be less space for reviews and books coverage. "We’ll no doubt have to cede precious space in the media to political talk and speculation over the coming weeks", she said.

Trade bodies the Publishers Association and the Bookseller's Association have promised to continue to represent the interests of their members to all political parties.

Stephen Lotinga, chief executive of the Publishers Association, said: “The Publishers Association will be seizing this opportunity to set out to all political parties what the future government needs to do to ensure the continuing success of the UK publishing industry through maintaining a strong IP regime, not taxing knowledge, investing in research and education and ensuring fair and competitive markets.” 

Giles Clifton, head of corporate affairs at the Bookseller’s Association, added: “The BA will continue to ensure the voice of booksellers is heard, both during the campaign and when a new Government is formed, of whatever complexion.”

Which way will you vote in the general election on 8th June? Tell us via The Bookseller's online survey here.