According to Michael Cader at Publishers Lunch—a subscription-only site that tracks publishing deals all year long and especially during Frankfurt Book Fair—dealmaking has remained stable during COVID-19 and the virtual version of the world’s largest book industry event. While dealmaking has remained flat in the industry for five years, deals grew by 11.5 percent this year versus last year—the second highest total in the past decade. Deal growth was driven by nonfiction and children’s books. Fiction deals were in line with the four-year average, while debut fiction deals were double their usual level. Also, women’s fiction/romance deals are up by 30 percent over 2019.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
