Publishers report early lockdown boost for e-books and audio

Publishers have reported an increase in sales of e-books and audio during the first weeks of the UK's coronavirus emergency measures, but some say it is too early for data to be conclusive.

With most people stuck at home, physical stores shut and distributors like Gardners closing temporarily, some firms reported bumps in sales for their digital offerings.

Penguin Random House told The Bookseller it had seen a “significant uplift” on e-books and digital audio in the first week of nationwide lockdown. Hachette UK also reported a spike but the publisher warned it was too early to draw meaningful conclusions from the data.

At Joffe Books, sales are up 20% year on year, although the firm's publisher Jasper Joffe—who is giving away 46 of his books for free on 1st April ‚Äì said the amount of books published this month meant there was no clear correlation yet.

Bookwire, which distributes around 500,000 digital titles internationally and represents a host of publishers, said it had also seen a big boost in numbers. Global head of audio Videl Bar-Kar said: “From our last analysis comparing Friday 20th with Friday 27th daily sales units, we could see an increase of 17% of audio on streaming services such as Spotify and almost 60% increase in e-book units. It’s still a little early to have a complete picture, but all the signs are showing us that digital is definitely growing even more than usual.”

W F Howes general manager Miles Stevens-Hoare said its audio and consumer division had seen sales double, although with the caveat that Hilary Mantel was already driving huge sales. However, he added: “Even if we strip that out the sales are up considerably for us.”

The company, which has been forced to find alternative ways of producing audio after studios were shut down and even had to rearrange recording of Erica James' after narrator Jemma Redgrave got stuck on a ship, said production of physical audiobooks had now been closed down. The firm's library offer is increasingly digitally focused and libraries were now picking up “two or three times” as much audio and double the amount of e-books.

“Libraries are making a beeline to digital content,” he said. “We've certainly seen an uptake in desire for more digital services. On our consumer side we're seeing good sales come through the likes of Audible.”

The firm also has a number of virus-themed books coming to the market soon including Outbreaks and Epidemics by Meera Senthilingam and Coping with Coronavirus by Brendan Kelly.

Bookstat charts have also shown e-books focusing on pandemics to be seeing an increase in sales over recent weeks. The charge has been led by The Eyes of Darkness by Dean Koontz (Headline), partly due to a succession of articles on whether or not it predicted the coronavirus.

But away from dystopias, there has been a bump for romances and more comforting books like The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May. Head of Zeus e-book imprint Aria's editorial director Hannah Smith said readers were after a variety of novels, but especially “heartwarming and jovial” books that allow readers to escape.

She said: “In particular it's our romance and women's fiction that has seen a boost, with people wanting to escape the current world and have something a little bit heartwarming and jovial to take their minds off everything. Here at Aria we're being incredibly reactive to the situation, working and supporting digital retailers across their initiatives to ensure we can get books into the hands of readers everywhere.”

Smith said two titles that had performed particularly well were Risking it All by Stephanie Harte and Starting Over at Acorn Cottage by Kate Forster. She said: “Both are of very different genres but have really maintained their chart position and continued to sell strongly post-publication which shows the appetite of readers looking to discover a new read or potentially discover a new genre."