Coronavirus lockdown reignites colouring book craze, publishers say

The coronavirus lockdown has reignited a craze for adult colouring books, publishers say.

With many anxious adults stuck at home, there has been a surge of interest in the publications for those seeking relaxation.

At Pavilion, m.d. David Graham said UK colouring book sales were up four-fold in April, with the core range of Millie Marotta books up by over 350% on April 2019. “In a severely reduced market that is a truly remarkable upswing,” he said.

A new range of Marotta pocket editions has seen 50,000 units shipped since they launched in mid-March while a new book, Millie Marotta’s Woodland Wild, is publishing in September and Pavilion has now expanded its print run to 175,000, with simultaneous coeditions in the US, France, Germany and Sweden.

Graham said: "Colouring never really went away, revenue for us last year was a very healthy six-figure value. The calming and creative aspect of these books is certainly playing well in these troubling times and I’m sure is—at least in part—responsible for this sharp increase in demand. As we’re seeing elsewhere in books, people are returning to the comfort of past favourites and as one of the UK’s bestselling and most-loved authors of recent times, people are certainly returning to Millie Marotta. What’s also exciting is that we’re discovering brand new channels and reaching new audiences for Millie’s work too.”

He added: “We’re seeing demand increase across many markets—and have printings running in multiple locations to meet the needs of all our customers. Our publishing partners have high-profile promotions already up and running in North America and ANZ and are reporting similar levels of demand as we’ve seen at home, and there’s a lot of sales activity in northern Europe for both our trade editions and from our coedition partners.”

Paul Byers, sales director at Arcturus Publishing, said there had been a spike for both colouring and dot-to-dot books, although his company had actually seen healthy sales in the sector for years.

He said: “The colouring book wave never truly dwindled for Arcturus since the peak in 2016 and the subject remains a significant part of our publishing program. But in recent months it has certainly picked up. We have a wide range of colouring books including subjects like flowers where we have partnered with Royal Botanic Kew Gardens to use their amazing archive images and mindfulness and meditation subjects have probably been among the strongest sellers. Our colour by numbers range is also extremely popular at the moment.

“We have been making our content available to various NHS workers many of whom have been in touch regarding the impact that Covid-19 is having on mental health of staff and patients and so we are glad to find these books getting into the hands of people who need them right now.”

He said: “I think the reason for the renewed interest is clear. We are all under some strain at the moment and looking for ways to stay engaged, active and creative. In 2016 the world discovered the therapeutic benefits of colouring in a big way, it is pleasing to see that these books are proving that point again. I think we all need to embrace a little more calming mindfulness at the moment.”

Flame Tree publisher Nick Wells said he had seen a smaller increase in sales for colouring books but said it appeared to be part of a trend for less traditional book-buying. He said: “Generally speaking it's our non-book items that work currently—jigsaws, journals, and subject-specific learning items such as our learn guitar and piano books, all of which are good for the stay-at-home experience. Colouring books have certainly increased a little but there's so much of that free online now we've not leaned into too hard.”

Sweet Cherry meanwhile has reported a spike in sales for its Rangoli: Stress-Relieving, Art Therapy Adult Colouring Book by Andrew Davis and JBD Press.

Publishers have been acquiring in the children's space too. Recent announcements have included the first Heartstopper Colouring Book from author-illustrator Alice Oseman (Hachette Children's Books), out on 11th June, and the first Little People Big Dreams colouring book from Quarto, out on 12th May.