Record year in 2022 for UK publishing: PA report

The UK publishing industry had a ‘record breaking’ year in 2022, according to a new report by the Publishers Association, reports the Guardian.

The ‘Year in Publishing’ report found publishing sales grew 4% last year to £6.9 billion (A$12.8b), with a total of 669 million physical books sold—the most on record. The export market grew 8% to £4.1 billion (A$7.6b), however domestic sales shrunk 1% to £2.7 billion (A$5b).

Print sales of consumer titles grew 2% to £1.8 billion (A$3.3b), digital consumer sales also grew 2%, to £423 million (A$784m), and audio downloads grew 8% to £164 million (A$304m). By category, fiction was up 9%, children’s books were up 1%, and nonfiction sales decreased 2%.

Educational publishing had a total income of £634 million (A$1.2b), an increase of 16%, while academic publisher income rose by 3% on the year before to £3.5 billion (A$6.5b).

Publishers Association CEO Dan Conway said 2022’s sales were ‘a testament to the timeless appeal of books; they offer comfort and escapism for readers, can be a good source of education and learning, and can last a lifetime’. ‘With the cost of living crisis continuing, reading as a comfort for adults and to encourage creativity and learning in children must be cherished,’ Conway said.

Category: International news