Circana’s press release notes that 2024 “marked a return to growth for the book market following two years of consecutive declines.” Print unit sales were up by about 1 percent. Adult fiction was the strongest segment of the book market in 2024, with BookTok continuing to be a key factor in the discovery and amplification of fiction sales. BookTok author sales grew nearly 20 percent versus 2023, marking the fifth year of growth for the segment. Bright spots of growth in nonfiction include religion and Bibles, along with gift journals. In the children’s market, the middle-grade category posted the steepest losses; YA also underperformed, but fantasy and romance both grew, mirroring the adult fiction market.
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.
