The publishing sector grows by 4%, driven by young adult literature

BarcelonaModerate satisfaction, in the words of Patrici Tixis, president of the Catalan Publishers' Guild. "The publishing sector continues to post record figures. We are growing at around 3-4%," he said at a press conference at the Ateneu Barcelonès. The 2025 percentage is lower than the 10-12% of 2024, but maintains the upward trend of the 2019-2025 period, during which the publishing sector grew by 29%, according to data from the Publishers' Guild. "Spain and Portugal represent the Iberian exception in a European context where growth has stagnated," Tixis asserted. The press conference also served to announce the winners of the 40th edition of the Night of Publishing, which will be held this Monday at the Goya Theatre in Barcelona: the Atlántida Award goes to the teacher, pedagogue, philosopher, and essayist Gregorio Luri; and the Fernando Lara Memorial Prize, for Arpa Editores.

Once again, the overwhelming dominance of the printed book continues, representing 94% of sales. The remaining 6% corresponds to digital books, half of which are audiobooks, a sector that continues to grow. More than 72% of buyers choose bookstores to purchase books, while sales of physical books through e-commerce have fallen from 25% to 22%.

Speaking of the sector's good health, Tixis highlights "the boost in young adult literature, which has grown by 15% and practically doubled the figure from three years ago." "Thanks to young people, reading has become a shared pleasure," says the president of the Guild, who values ​​the recommendations that young people make on social media. Furthermore, according to reading habits data, 65% of the population regularly reads books, a percentage that reaches 75% in the 14-24 age group. "This is an indication of the rejuvenation of the readership pyramid," Tixis notes.

Another key element in the strong sales performance is fiction, which is growing by 12% in both Catalan and Spanish. In contrast, paperbacks and non-fiction have reached "a certain ceiling." The growth of comics is consolidating thanks to "the boost from graphic novels for adults and Asian comics, both Japanese and Korean."

Discontent over the use of generative AI

One of the issues that most concerns the Gremi d'Editors (Publishers' Guild) is the use of generative artificial intelligence by technology platforms and public administrations. "The platforms train AI with content they take without permission, transparency, or remuneration; they are plundering intellectual property. They are investing billions of euros in technological infrastructure and large data processors, but they don't dedicate a single euro to content and choose to train AI systems without the authorization of the rights holders, without providing compensation online, illegally," denounces Txis, who also laments that "the public administration, which should be setting an example and leading the use of generative AI models while fully respecting intellectual property, has launched the ALIA system fed with illegal content and without asking permission from the authors." "We have the support of the Ministry of Culture, but the fight is with the Ministry for Digital Transformation," explains Txis.