For the most recent fiscal year ending June 30, HarperCollins (the second largest publisher in the US) reported record high sales and profits, primarily due to strong backlist sales. Overall revenue was up by 19 percent; profits were up by 42 percent against the prior fiscal year. Ebook sales were up 14 percent for the year, while digital audio was up 22 percent. CEO Brian Murray said HarperCollins has seen gains in every segment and format around the world. “Our consumer research points to people spending more time buying books and reading books,” he said. “It’s not going to go back to the way it was; we won’t have a big contraction.” Harper continues to grow its title count and acquire; it recently purchased the consumer division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Murray said, “Outgoing funds to authors and advances and royalties is continuing to grow, growing faster than revenues.”
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.
