Greece’s book publishing market has recorded lower revenue while operating costs are on the rise, hitting publishing companies and bookstores.
Although the sector expects a strong start by the New Year to balance out the losses in sales, it does not expect a strong performance in general.
According to the president of the Book Publishers Association, Konstantinos Angelakis’ statements to “N”, “the market has remained on a sharp downward trajectory over the last years. We expect the Christmas holiday season to bring a slight boost in sales, however, the forecasts are not very optimistic, as the market is showing a decline rate of around 20-30% this year.”
Both this year and last year, the “pie” of the domestic book market is decreasing both in terms of production of new titles and revenue from book sales, while 2025 is expected to be even more difficult.
Based on estimates from the German platform Statista in Greece, book market revenues are expected to reach 177.4 million euros in 2024, while the annual growth rate until 2029 (CAGR 2024-2029) is set at 0.19%.
By 2029, the number of readers in the Greek book market is expected to reach 4.1 million.
Within this framework, the book market focuses its strategy on limiting the publication of new titles, while new experimental ventures in literature, as well as less “commercial” options for at least two years, are put on “ice”.
The efforts to attract readers is carried out on all channels, while the market has been strongly activated on social media and at book fairs organized throughout the country. The increased tourist flow also acts as a booster, especially for foreign language publications.
