The Publishers Association of NZ / Te Rau o Tākupu (PANZ) launched the Book Industry Market Size Report 2021 at their conference this week. The report highlights key findings from survey results and looks at the shape of Aotearoa New Zealand Publishing.
The good news is that the book market remains buoyant — Trade publishing has grown 6.7% on the pre-pandemic level — and Te Reo Māori publishing is on the rise with over 40% growth in sales year on year from 2019.
The rest of the book market has remained constant with similar data emerging from last year. The market grew 3% in 2020 and held steady across 2021 with a further 0.7% growth and New Zealand educational content sold domestically grew by 6% reflecting the increased importance of New Zealand curriculum content to educators across the second year of the pandemic.
Book lovers will be delighted to hear that physical books show no signs of disappearing anytime soon. Over 90% of New Zealand’s book market value is in print formats, and both digital and print formats have seen nearly 10% growth on 2019’s values.
‘The New Zealand publishing industry once again proved to be resilient in the face of the many pandemic-related challenges,’ says Nevena Nikolic, Territory Manager, Nielsen BookData New Zealand. ‘On top of which were added, inflationary pressures, paper shortages, and further supply-chain issues. Many of these issues affected publishers globally so were not unique to New Zealand but were exacerbated by our geographic location and further distance from the main supply warehouses based in Australia.’
Post-pandemic PANZ has been focused on rebuilding export markets, which provide vital income for New Zealand authors and publishers alike. The export market saw a 1% growth in exported titles. Australia continues to be the dominant export market for the book trade, showing 10% value growth. In education exports, China just edged out the United States as the key export market holding 33% of all export revenue for the first time.
‘PANZ has a vision for a thriving, sustainable and inclusive publishing industry for local and global readers,’ says Graeme Cosslett, President, Publishers Association of New Zealand / Te Rau o Tākupu.
‘Whilst the global pandemic continues to present challenges, the New Zealand publishing industry has held steady when compared with 2020. This report is a testament to our vision at PANZ and the enduring appeal of books. It shows our industry remains resilient, sustainable, and in reasonably strong heart.’
