further boons for book-buying. What looked like it was going to be a terrible, horrible,
no good, very bad year for books turned into a fine one.
What next? In 2020 escapist books got a boost: romance and crime will sell well in 2021,
too. So will biographies, children’s books and graphic novels. Another trend to watch is
the strength of the backlist, as readers opt for time-tested books over new releases. The
backlist’s share of sales rose from 64% in 2019 to 68% in 2020, according to Kristen
McLean of npd, a research firm.
In 2020 more people bought books online, and this will hold true in 2021. Amazon
benefited, but so did a newer outfit, Bookshop.org, which routes sales to independent
bookstores. Audiobooks will spread, and an emerging genre, between audiobook and
podcast, will expand further. And the appeal of print will grow in a time of screen
fatigue. E-books account for 27% of the consumer book market and have not dislodged
print books to the extent digital doyens predicted.
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