The study commissioned by the BTLF and carried out by a researcher from HEC Montréal, Chloé Vanasse, examines the impact of literary prizes on sales in Quebec and Canada, using data from Gaspard over a period from October 2013 to January 2022.
The main objective was to statistically measure the effect of literary prizes on book sales, both at retail and to communities. For this, a sample of 534 titles, including winners and finalists of 30 literary prizes, was analyzed.
The approach not only made it possible to consolidate existing observations, but it also developed a unique statistical model. This highlights the effects of literary prizes not only on the winners, but also on the finalists.
By cross-referencing sales data with awards received, this research offers a new perspective on the commercial repercussions of awards in the book industry.
The results demonstrate that literary prizes positively influence sales, particularly for the winners. Sales of the latter increased by 229% at retail and by 104% to communities. On the other hand, the finalists only benefit from a slight increase in retail sales (+20%) and suffer a drop in sales to communities (-19%).
Popularity and price prestige also influence sales. The most prestigious awards generate a more marked increase in retail sales (+180%), while less prestigious awards seem to have a stronger impact on sales to communities. Additionally, books published by local publishers see significant sales growth after winning an award, with increases of 269% at retail and 247% to communities.
The study also highlights that winning a literary prize tends to reduce the importance of the publisher’s brand power, especially for the winners. It is often publishers with a smaller catalog who benefit the most from a literary award.
Finally, literary awards have a similar effect on recent and older titles, with an increase in sales of more than 160% for both categories, although sales to communities recorded a more modest increase (+92%). Thus, if literary prizes are often perceived as a guarantee of recognition in the literary world, the results clearly confirm their importance as sales levers, particularly for the winners and local publishers.
However, the effect is less marked for finalists and varies depending on the prestige of the prize as well as the notoriety of the publisher. The study is available in full below:
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