Brought to book

In its welcome leader on—and eulogy for—the publishing group Bloomsbury, published earlier this week, newspaper the Guardian suggested that books could continue to outperform other entertainment goods as the wider economy goes through its “yeah but no but yeah” flirtation with recession. Quoting the venerable Bloomsbury c.e.o. Nigel Newton, it asserted that readers would return to books as other more expensive modes of diversion are cast off.

Maybe. The book trade has had such a good recent run through the travails of the world that it is difficult to remember that not every recession is the same, and not every book purchaser is ready to lean into the next book just because we need them to. The last big recession damaged the memoir market for a decade, and if the period that preceded that fall felt like a bit of a peak time for those kinds of books, we are not too far off a similar peak for the overall book market now. Certainly, the BookTok phenomenon, referenced by the Guardian, that has driven so much good business recently, has yet to prove its staying power.

If last year felt like a struggle, this time around the excitement has returned along with the bums on actual seats

Earlier this week, we reported on how booksellers were beginning to feel the pinch, with Nielsen BookScan data showing a volume decline of 3.5% for the first 21 weeks of the year on 2022, with booksellers bemoaning the unusual occurrence of the coronation and the past three recent bank holidays. Aude Bolechala, manager at Nomad Books in Fulham, London, called it “very quiet and worrying so far”, though Kate Skipper at Waterstones was more optimistic: “While the news headlines may highlight consumer caution, we continue to see customers engaged with reading and supporting their local bookshops.”

Two things bring a little cheer with them. I recently attended the Hay Festival and, closer to home, my local Stoke Newington Literary Festival, with the numbers showing up to attend talks, signings and panels pleasing. If last year it felt a struggle, this time around the excitement has returned along with the bums on actual seats. It is to be hoped that with a good summer and benign autumn ahead, those who wish to be out and about among fellow readers, booksellers and creatives, will find opportunities to do so.

Allied to this is how the industry has become surer-footed at pushing its core messages and values. Since it is our Back to School issue, I’ll mention just one example specific to this week’s content. The campaign World of Stories, launched in 2018 by the National Literacy Trust, the Arts Council and Puffin, was tasked with improving book provision in financially disadvantaged schools but has now, via wider industry support, become an advocate for the importance of books in learning environments. As one assistant head-teacher told my colleague, managing editor Tom Tivnan, all of the research says the same thing: reading books improves outcomes.

In that respect we are fortunate to live in a circular economy: books make better. They are good for us, and good for you.