Photo credit: Luis Alvarez
According to data published by NielsenIQ and GfK Market Intelligence, book sales contracted by 1% in value in 2024, to €4.4 billion. The French purchased 356 million new printed books over the period, or around five books per inhabitant on average, a figure down 3% over one year. Despite the slowdown in inflation, the market decline is partly explained by household spending shifts in favor of basic necessities (food, transport, etc.) in an economic context that will still be complicated in 2024.
With one book in four purchased, general literature (novels and essays) is the leading segment of the market. Going against the trend of the overall development of the book market, its sales volumes are up 3% year-on-year, driven by the success of the world of romance. The comics and manga segment, the other pillar of the French book market, continues its decline that began in 2023 after years of strong growth. At 68 million copies in 2024, sales volumes are down almost 9% year-on-year. Manga is particularly struggling, due to the decline in sales of flagship series of the genre and the lack of new releases. Children’s publishing is also in difficulty with volumes contracting by 4.5% over the period.
“The Maid” tops sales
As for the best-selling books of the year, “The Maid”, the first volume of the series of psychological thrillers by American author Freida McFadden, occupies first place in the ranking with more than 600,000 copies sold in 2024. Follow “The Midwife of Auschwitz” by Anna Stuart, “A Wild Animal” by Joël Dicker and “Angélique” by Guillaume Musso. “Houris” by Kamel Daoud, the 2024 Goncourt Prize, takes 5th place in the ranking. The 2024 Renaudot Prize, “Jacaranda” by Gaël Faye rises to 8th place.
-The 10 best book sales in 2024
RankTitleAuthorPublisherThousands of copies sold in 2024
| 1 | The Housekeeper | Freida McFadden | I read | 603 |
| 2 | The Midwife of Auschwitz | Anna Stuart | I read | 500 |
| 3 | A wild animal | Joel Dicker | Rosie & Wolfe | 425 |
| 4 | Angelic | Guillaume Musso | The Pocket Book | 416 |
| 5 | Houris | Camel Daoud | Gallimard | 391 |
| 6 | someone else | Guillaume Musso | Calmann-Levy | 391 |
| 7 | Instinct | Inoxtag | Michel Lafon | 356 |
| 8 | Jacaranda | Gail Faye | Grasset | 344 |
| 9 | Women at the End of the World | Melissa Da Costa | The Pocket Book | 326 |
| 10 | Mona’s Eyes | Thomas Schlesser | Albin Michel | 318 |
Source: NielsenIQ x GfK, physical books
Copyright : Les Echos Publishing
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