Autumn Paperback
Preview
FEATURES
4 RICHARD & JUDY AND BEYOND . . .
As Richard & Judy move to digital TV,
Jonathan Ruppin praises the Book Club’s
success and takes a closer look at the
strategies of different publishers
6 BOOKSELLERS’ BESTSELLERS Our
panel reveal the titles they expect to see
in the bestseller charts between July and
December, from historical fiction to a
walk on the wild side
8 TOP OF THE PILE Jonathan Ruppin
shares his at-a-glance guide to the
‘Giants’ expected to succeed this season
PRODUCT PREVIEW
10 TIPPED FOR THE TOP Jonathan Ruppin
highlights the paperback titles set to
wow readers between July and Christmas
2008
‘Giant’ gap for Christmas
The paperback market in the second half
of the year has three distinct phases. The
first, which actually starts in late spring,
is summer reading. The range of titles
this time around is impressive, with all
sectors of the market well catered for.
Intelligent non-fiction is perhaps the only
area of weakness for some big publishers,
so it may be that the breakthrough
titles will come from independent publishers,
such as the Ones to Watch I’ve
included from Atlantic, Portobello and
Profile.
The second phase is September, which
is when publishers tend to bring out their
big hitters, in both hardback and paperback.
This year, paperbacks include
Maeve Binchy, Stephen King, Jeffrey
Archer, James Patterson, Cecelia Ahern
and Khaled Hosseini, all appearing
within days of each other.
I have been a little surprised by the
dearth of literary fiction during this
phase. The general belief seems to be
that the Man Booker-stimulated focus
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EDITORIAL
Editor-in-chief Neill Denny (6109)
Editorial assistant Hannah Davies (6104)
Features editor Tom Tivnan (6108
Supplements editor Victoria Arnstein (6111)
PRODUCTION/DESIGN
Chief sub-editor Mark Guest (6115)
Deputy chief sub-editor Brian Payne (6128)
Sub-editor Michael Haydock (6118)
Sub-editor Katie Allen (6123)
10
on literary hardbacks leaves little room
for paperbacks. Such is the discrepancy
between sales figures for the two
formats, however, that I think we need
to regard these almost as two separate
markets. Since literary fiction is generally
less formulaic, it’s more of a risk purchase
and the cost of a paperback is far
less of a deterrent to purchase.
The final phase of the year is the traditional
paperback wasteland of November
and December—a time when traditional
wisdom has it that bookshops let the
big-hitting gift books in the genres of
biography, humour, cookery and history
take centre stage. But I’m still a little
surprised by how few paperbacks have
been reserved for these final two months.
On my rounds this time, a number of
publishers commented admiringly on
Transworld’s decision to release Sophie
Kinsella’s Shopaholic & Baby in December
last year, which was a triumphant success.
And indeed, her next, Remember Me?, is
scheduled for December this year.
ADVERTISING
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Advertising manager Andrew Dixon (6126)
Advertising executive Nicola Chin (6124)
Classified sales executive Miraj Vyas (6078)
Classified sales executive Simon Collingwood (6121)
Advertising production Lucille Aspinall (6151
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www.thebookseller.com The Bookseller Autumn Paperback Preview | 6 June 2008 3
Jonathan Ruppin is
head of front of house
at Foyles bookshop on
Charing Cross Road in
London, where he has
worked since 2003.
Before this he was a
bookseller at Dillons.
He also sits on the
editorial committee
of the bi-annual New
Books in German
journal, which aims
to highlight titles
that would be good
for translation, and
was also the chair of
the Society of Young
Publishers in 2002.
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CONTENTS
The only other giants set
for December paperback
release are John Grisham,
Patricia Cornwell, Danielle
Steel and Peter James.
The first three are authors
with such a following that
they rise above almost any
market trend. In fact, all
but the first of James’ four
titles have been December
paperback releases,
so Pan’s belief in him has
been well rewarded.
There is, of course, the
significant issue of the cost
of display space in chain
booksellers in the run-up
to Christmas, but these last
months are an opportunity
for retailers to offer a bit of
diversity. Not all purchases
will be gifts and not all gifts
will be those titles heavily
promoted and discounted.
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