Perhaps the latest figures from the London Book Fair shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it turns out that Crime fiction has become the most popular fiction genre in the UK. I’m assuming, we in Ireland, may be reasonably similar. Apparently, this is the first time it has happened in the UK, according to figures revealed at The London Book Fair.
Crime and Thriller novels have substantially increased since 2015, with a whopping 19% more being sold, and the genre has overtaken sales of general and literary fiction for the first time too.
In 2017, nearly 19 million units of crime fiction were sold, according to data from Nielsen BookScan, which doesn’t account for books sold online, or through smaller book stores.
The value is also staggering, going from £106.3 million to £117.6 million.
Why is this happening?
Possibly the rise of the psychological thriller, which seems to have spread literally like wildfire. Then there is the extremely robust marketing campaigns by many publishers. We all know the various book titles which became familiar to us long before the actual books hit the shelves.
Another aspect, could be the increased number of female crime writers who arguably are broadening the genre, with a mix of stories exploring female relationships and issues alongside the use of traditional detective type formats.
Either way, crime fiction has well earned its place, not only as a respected means of storytelling, but as an extremely popular one too.
I guess I better get my latest novel finished fast!
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