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Surprise increase in sales of children’s books

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For the first time in seven years, sales of printed books in the UK increased during the first half of 2015 – mostly on the back of a 10% rise in sales of printed books for children and young adults. This trend, which has been echoed in countries such as the Netherlands, has taken publishers by surprise because young people are widely seen as the digital generation. 

Similar growth can be seen in locally published non-massmarket books, says  Michelle Cooper, Children and Young Adult (YA) Publisher for Tafelberg, an imprint of NB Publishers, South Africa’s largest general trade publisher.

Cooper ascribes this to the genre’s wide reach and the excellent quality and growing variety of locally published books. “South African children’s books are as desirable as their international counterparts. To produce books children want to read, we work with the best local authors, illustrators and book designers. Our local books hold their own against imports on all levels.”  This is evident from Afrikaans titles such as Storiemuis, the Liewe Heksie Leesboek series, Ons eie Kleuterbybel and Rympies vir Pikkies en Peuters dominating Nielsen’s bestseller lists recently.

The genre’s wide reach is seen in a trend that publishers have been observing for a few years now. Children’s books have found an audience beyond children, according to Cooper. “Adults are buying children’s literature to read themselves. We are seeing crossover titles (mostly YA) selling to adults for leisure reading, beautifully designed illustrated picture books selling to collectors of books and art, and repackaged old favourites selling to adult readers who remember them from their childhood.”  

These nostalgia titles, which have always sold well, are gaining even more traction with new editions of the Afrikaans Storieman, Storiemuis, Liewe Heksie and Wielie Walie character-driven series which have been launched recently. These are available as anthologies, easy readers, picture books and board books – making them accessible to a range of different consumers.

International publishing trends supported by vloggers indicate that digital has helped grow the children’s print market, and this interplay of formats is very encouraging for publishers who had almost buried the printed book a few years ago, says Cooper. “It seems digital and print can live in harmony and it can be a mutually beneficial harmony at that.”

The on-trend children’s nonfiction title Braids: Step by Step (translated from the Danish) originated after Danish teens Marie Wivel and Laura Arnesen instantly gained over 50 000 followers of their braiding vlogs and photos on Instagram. Rights deals in several countries have followed and the books are reprinting before they reach the shelves. The international trend seems set to continue in South Africa following the recent launch of both Braids: Step by Step and its Afrikaans counterpart, Vlegsels: stap vir stap, by NB Publishers.

Another international trend is self-published books making big sales: The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep by Swedish psychologist Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin has to be the most surprising children’s hit of the year. This picture book, which claims it will make children fall asleep instantly, has topped Amazon bestseller lists in both the UK and the US in English and has been translated into 41 languages. NB Publishers has secured world rights for Afrikaans and will be publishing this title for Christmas.

like_litnet_op_facebookNicky Stubbs, Sales and Marketing Manager for NB Publishers, emphasizes the role of the book trade as a valuable link in support of this trend. “It is encouraging that the digital generation is able to straddle ebooks and printed books and that our largest retailers have identified children’s and YA titles as growth areas. NB Publishers is well-positioned to supply both our etailers and retailers with relevant South African books of high quality.”    

The post Surprise increase in sales of children’s books appeared first on LitNet.


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