Publishers lay out new chapter in readers’ choices

Readers are increasingly keeping up to speed with emerging titles, while their genre preferences are also changing, placing the focus on education, personal development and lifestyle. However, the figures do not look very encouraging for publishing houses, neither when comparing purchasing power in Romania to other European states, nor when it comes to the local appetite for reading.

As time and economics change over the years, so does the behavior of the bookworm. “The sharp decline in purchasing power has sparked interest in very cheap books, under RON 20,” Marin Vidrascu, executive manager at Litera, a publishing house which posted a turnover of EUR 10 million last year, tells BR.

Meanwhile, local readers have also changed their selection patterns, he says. “Romanians have started looking for new authors, titles that have topped the charts in other countries. Self-help and practical books have posted a significant hike over the past few years. People are becoming attentive to their lifestyle; they are seeking more and more information in domains such as food, personal development and family planning.” Among belletristic (ed. note: works that value aesthetic effect over content) titles, women’s literature is a clear market leader, “which is a very common trend in many countries,” says Vidrascu.

Children’s book sales have a slightly seasonal pattern. “In summer, a great deal of books for activities and entertainment are purchased, while in fall and winter, parents invest in dictionaries and educational titles,” he says. Litera aims to continue its Bestseller series with The Terracotta Army by John Man, a title “for history aficionados,” says the director. The new IQ230 collection will also be expanded with the books Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality by Christopher Ryan, and The Masters of Thought. The Most Important Philosophers of the 20th Century, by Roger-Pol Droit. “For children, we are preparing a great deal of new books: educational content activities, entertainment and many stories,” says Vidrascu.

Among the most in vogue titles published by Litera are works of fiction such as Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, which has sold about 10,000 copies, and the novel One Day by David Nicholls, whose film adaptation enjoyed success in Romania.

The non-fiction category has included Hitler’s Warriors by Guido Knopp, and The Next 100 years by George Friedman.

Of the new IQ230 collection, Intelligent Memory by Joshua Foer and Who Am I by Richard David Precht have sold very well.

“Lately, there has been a hike in the number of readers who prefer premium, hardcover, polychrome books and albums. In Romania, non-fiction is more popular; readers are interested in their education and choosing more and more often to invest in this direction,” Maria Desmirean, executive manager at Curtea Veche Publishing, which has an annual turnover of almost RON 13 million (approximately EUR 3 million) and expects 15 percent growth in 2012, tells BR. In the non-fiction category, readers buy business, personal and professional development books, healthcare titles, books about child education and the family, cookery books and children’s literature. “Romanians’ consumption of culture is starting to resemble more and more the patterns in Western countries,” says Desmirean.

This year Curtea Veche will publish Masinile Regelui (The King’s Cars) by Prince Radu, Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver, Retete vegane fara foc (Raw Vegan Recipes) by Ligia Pop, Midas Touch by Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump, Aimer et se le dire by Jacques Salome. The publishing house is already seeing titles such as Sanatatea are gust (Health Has a Taste) by Mihaela Bilic, Jamie’s Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver, Eu si timpul (Time and Me) by Margareta Paslaru, Anul Regelui (The Year of the King) by His Royal Highness Prince Radu and The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle selling like hot cakes.

At the moment, the book market in Romania is rather small in relation with the country’s population. “The latest statistical data show that the average Romanian buys one single book per year while a typical German buys 13 on average,” says Vidrascu, who attributes this mainly to the low purchasing power, which has been shrinking steadily in recent years.

In 2010, the book market was estimated at somewhere around EUR 60 million, not including editions sold at kiosks and the textbooks. “Since the financial crunch hit, the decline in the book market has amounted to around 40 percent,” says Vidrascu.

One field bucking the trend is electronic books, a sector with very positive prospects. “To be able to speak about a digital book market, the offer should comprise at least 4,000-5,000 titles in electronic format, namely those titles that attract most sales in print too. Unfortunately, few publishing houses in Romania have started to sell e-books,” says Vidrascu.

Litera publishing house has in its portfolio around 500 e-book titles. By the end of the year, another 200 will be added to the electronic roster. “All royalty contracts for fiction and non-fiction for adults are signed for both formats, so consequently, from now on, all our books will be launched almost simultaneously in traditional and e-book formats,” he adds.

Curtea Veche publishing house will also launch the first e-books on the market edited in-house at the end of the year.

“In Europe, sales of e-books have seen significant growth over the last three years, and we believe Romanians will also acquire the taste for this format, if they see a consistent range,” says Vidrascu.

In order to whet the cultural appetite of the cash-strapped Romanian reader, publishing houses also rely on book fairs and other related events.

“Revenues from book fairs, events with authors etc. represent approximately 10 percent of the total revenues. Given the precarious distribution system in bookstores, we have found alternative ways to meet our readers: in parks, at the workplace and at book fairs,” says Desmirean.

For Curtea Veche Publishing, sales at this year’s BookFest were 15 percent higher than last year.

“Book fare sales are low in terms of percentages, but they are a good opportunity to meet our readers and get fast feedback on our new titles,” says Vidrascu.

Bookworms who visited BookFest spent on average EUR 10 per person on their favorite title. By the time it closed its gates on June 3, BookFest had had approximately 90,000 visitors, 12 percent more than the previous year, and 150 book exhibitors on a surface of 10,000 sqm.

“Humanitas publishing house proposed 100 new titles for the BookFest public. We had 20 launches in total and 40 invited guests at the editorial stand. The revenues clearly exceeded the level achieved in 2011,” says Lidia Bodea, general manager of the Humanitas publishing house.

“Our estimations are 20 percent higher sales on last year and over 12,000 sold books. Belletristic, followed by personal development books, led the sales,” says Mario Demezzo, CEO of the ALL Editorial Group.

Otilia Haraga

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