Irish vs UK Book Market: Sales, Trends & Top Titles

Irish book market shows higher average selling price (ASP) compared to UK, though volume slightly decreased. Motivational guides like 'The Let Them Theory' perform well in Ireland. Fiction and Non-Fiction category differences noted.

The Leading 1,000 titles in the Irish Consumer Market (ICM) have actually offered a total amount of 2,548,536 books given that the start of January, phoning EUR31.7 m through the till– approximately the matching of ₤ 27.7 m– providing an average asking price of EUR12.45, which, even when converted to sterling, is dramatically higher than the UK Top 1,000’s ASP of ₤ 7.08.

Irish Book Market Performance

Mel and Sawyer Robbins’ The Allow Them To Theory is currently the successful book of the year in Irish book shops according to data from NielsenIQ BookData– while the UK top, Dawn on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins needs to go for 2nd area.

The greatest fiction title in the UK, Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, is the 14th most prominent book amongst Irish readers: the profession book edition has marketed 11,713 duplicates, significantly less than the 314,963 copies the same title has actually offered in hardback in the UK.

Where there is a similarity with the UK is within year-on-year efficiencies. Volume is experiencing a weaker efficiency, down by a mild 0.7% in Ireland compared with the comparable period in 2024, while value has actually risen 1.9%. Total efficiency in the UK market is even worse, with both quantity and value seeing a decrease, however there is a similar difference between them.

The Robbins have actually marketed 29,268 duplicates of their motivational guide to unlocking the secret to success– and for them a minimum of the theory appears to have functioned, as they beat Collins’ title by 2,752 systems. In the UK, while The Allow them to Concept continues to be the highest-selling non-fiction title, it opts for 13th position, with sales half that of The Appetite Games innovator.

Back to that difference in between volume and value when it comes to the Irish proportion of the UK the marketplace (both markets can possibly find out something from these numbers)– the ICM might offer extra units with a much deeper price cut, yet the UK might uncover that volumes do not decrease also promptly as the ASP climbs.

It appears just in advance of Harmful Silence by Jacqueline Connolly and A Time for Truth by Sarah Corbett Lynch– both newest native releases, both published by Hachette Ireland. On the other hand, the first Non-Fiction title does not show up in the UK TCM until The Let Them Concept in 13th, belatedly complied with by The Nerve to Be Disliked in 33rd location.

Price discounting is much from the only difference between both markets– in the UK, Fiction classifications make up just over fifty percent of the complete cash absorbed the Leading 1,000 titles, but it is a little bit less in Ireland, being available in at 44.8%. The decline in Fiction is to Non-Fiction’s benefit, with the proportion of income taken by the Kid’s categories varying by much less than half a percent between the two markets.

Fiction vs Non-Fiction Trends

The three most preferred non-fiction titles– putting The Let Them Concept apart– all appear inside the Top 10 in the ICM. Additionally, they are all home-grown publications, with each of them released in Ireland itself. Mathematical Tables, which ispublished by the Stationery Office and authorized for usage in state exams, is a perennial bestseller in the ICM– life time sales complete 446,865 given that it was published in 2009– and turns up in the positions as the sixth successful title of the year thus far.

The three most prominent non-fiction titles– putting The Allow Them Concept aside– all appear inside the Top 10 in the ICM. Mathematical Tables, which ispublished by the Stationery Office and accepted for use in state evaluations, is a perennial bestseller in the ICM– life time sales complete 446,865 since it was released in 2009– and transforms up in the rankings as the 6th bestselling title of the year so much.

With 8 titles showing up in the ICM Top 50– and 21 in the leading 1,000– Dav Pilkey is Ireland’s most preferred author, with sales appearing at 125,765 duplicates– 55.1% more than local rival Freida McFadden and 63.1% more than picture-book behemoth Julia Donaldson. Among the equal 1,000 titles in the UK, the same three authors leading the graph, although right here McFadden is the most prominent in Ireland, with Pilkey settling for third area behind Donaldson.

Author Popularity in Ireland

It isn’t simply Non-Fiction titles that see a substantial difference– the largest Fiction title in the ICM is the 2022 novel Little Things Like These from Area Wexford-based author Claire Keegan, showing up in third place right here, 297 areas greater than in the TCM, while a few of the largest names in the UK scene, consisting of Lee Youngster, Richard Osman and Bob Mortimer, each show up more than a hundred places lower in the ICM.

In volume terms, the ICM Top 1,000 is just 7.1% the dimension of the equal UK number. That higher ASP means value comes in at 10.9%– perhaps that is not unusual when we consider that the typical discount in the UK is 34.1% lower than the RRP; in Ireland, the matching figure is just 7.7%.

Volume and Value Comparison

Where there is a resemblance with the UK is within year-on-year efficiencies. Total efficiency in the UK market is even worse, with both volume and value seeing a decrease, yet there is a comparable distinction in between them.