The book market was roughly stable in France in 2023, a year that saw romance take off, while manga ebbed, according to figures published Friday by the GfK institute. According to this institute, which is the reference for book sales, 351 million new books were purchased in the year, 4% less than in 2022. However, revenue rose slightly, by 1% to €4.3 billion. The book tracked headline inflation, with prices rising around 5% in both cases.
According to GfK, 25.9 million people in France (aged 10 and over) bought books in 2023. This is 7% less than in 2022. Literature remains the leading segment of the market, with 28% of books purchased, ahead of comics (23%), children's books (21%), and practical books (8%). "The results of the 2023 literary season are very positive: +4% in copies purchased and +21% in average sales per title," comments a GfK analyst quoted in the press release, Sandrine Vigroux.
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Doubling of sales on the romance side
In literature, the genre that is on the rise is romance, with a doubling of the number of copies sold, and the number of titles exceeding 10,000 copies. It represents 7% of the book market in 2023, and one in nine books in literature. The genre brings back what used to be pejoratively called "rosewater novels," with more daring plots and darker themes. It attracts the vast majority of female readers, and the major hits are signed by female authors. Its stars are the American Colleen Hoover (whose "Jamais plus" was the fifth best-selling book in France in 2023) and the Algerian Sarah Rivens (with "Captive", whose volume 1 is 22nd, and volume 2 is 26th).
The market was dragged down by the decline in comics, which had had exceptional years in 2021 and 2022. Manga, in particular, declined 11 percent to 39.6 million copies. GfK points out that France remains a "dynamic" market for books, compared to its European neighbours. "The French buy as much as Italian and British consumers combined," says the German market research institute.