What’s causing the non-fiction slump?

Sales of non-fiction books have tumbled by 8.4% by volume – nearly double the dip seen in fiction paperback sales – between last summer and this.

Overall, the total value of sales in the sector declined by 4.7%, and of the 18 non-fiction subcategories, 14 have contracted, according to a recent report by NielsenIQ. While there have been some “notable exceptions”, authors of factual books are “feeling the pinch”, said The Guardian.

‘Not-so-pretty’ sales

It was a “not-so-pretty summer for non-fiction titles”, said The Bookseller. The “biggest drop” came in the food and drink category, which saw sales plummet by a quarter. And while biographies and autobiographies enjoyed a 2% boost to sales year-on-year, there was a “large disparity” between the highest-selling titles in the category. In 2024 Rory Stewart’s “Politics on the Edge” topped the chart with 108,227 copies sold, while this year’s bestseller, Chloe Dalton’s “Raising Hare” sold just 56,349.

Bright spots came in religion and humour, and in the trivia and puzzles category. They saw volume sales climb by 15.6% and 12.6% respectively, “though both come from a small base, with the latter’s sales just edging above 500,000 units”.

G.T. Karber’s “Murdle” was the only non-fiction book to sell more than half a million copies in the last two years, and “remained the biggest selling puzzle title across June, July and August this year”, despite sales plunging by 38.5% year-on-year.

‘Refuge rather than clarity’

Prior to the pandemic, non-fiction seemed “unstoppable”, said The Guardian. Readers devoured books to help make sense of political and social issues, from Brexit to the #MeToo movement. Titles like “Invisible Women” and “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race” soared up the bestseller lists.

So what’s gone wrong? “Escapism” is the word that crops up repeatedly. “The world is exhausting, so readers are seeking refuge rather than clarity. Some are disillusioned; the voracious reading of the past decade didn’t transform the world as many hoped.” Instead, the NielsenIQ report reveals readers are turning to crime novels, science fiction and romantasy, spurred on by the thriving BookTok community on TikTok.

Some authors believe the issue is one of supply rather than demand. “Are we simply publishing less high-quality non-fiction?” One author told The Guardian that risk-averse publishers are commissioning books because of the number of followers a writer has “rather than ideas”.

At the same time, non-fiction is competing with a “glut of free – and often excellent – information elsewhere” from online video essays to podcasts. “Why spend £15 on a book about one issue when a few podcasts can explain it on your commute?” Indeed, audiobook sales are booming, with non-fiction purchases almost doubling in the last five years.

And while overall non-fiction print sales are down, there has been a “surge” in pop psychology self-help books, like this year’s runaway bestseller “The Let Them Theory”, by Mel Robbins. As the political and social climate gets more turbulent, it seems readers are turning to “personal betterment”.

It’s important not to view non-fiction as a single entity. “Nobody talked about the decline of non-fiction the year Prince Harry’s ‘Spare’ was published,” Caroline Sanderson, associate editor at The Bookseller, told The Guardian. “The success of one book can change the whole picture.”