The children's literature market - France

1.2 The global children's book market

According to The Business Research Company, the market for children's and teen books is expected to grow at a CAGR of *.*% over the period ****-****, reaching $**.* billion in **** (***).

sales trends in the children's book market World, ****-****, in billions of dollars

Publishers are increasingly offering personalized storybooks that allow children's names and interests to be inserted into the story. Wonderbly and Bookyboo are two examples of companies offering personalized books for children[***]

1.3 The national children's book market

According to a Gfk study, more than ** million children's books were sold in France in ****. The children's book segment represents a significant share of the book market, with sales of ***.* million euros in November ****. However, compared to ****, this figure is clearly down, with a **% drop in volume and a *% drop in sales. It is important to note that **** had seen an increase of **% over **** and **% over **** in terms of volume, which tempers this recent decline.

Publishing sector market share France, ****, in *Literature, Art and fine books, Maps and atlases, Religion and esoterica, Dictionaries and encyclopedias Source: ****

The children's publishing sector in France is the fourth-largest in terms of value, according to a **** study. It is estimated that there are between *** and *** publishing houses or brands publishing more than * children's titles a year, of which around ** are VSEs, ** are SMEs and ** are part of a group. Each year, the sector publishes around *,*** new titles.

Publishing houses with more than five children's titles a year France, ****, in Source: ****

2.1 What young French people read

Young French people (***). Novels lost the most readers, dropping from **% to **%.

Book genres read by young French people France, ****-****, in Source: ****

It is possible to refine these results by age group. For example, primary school, junior high and high school students read differently. Primary and secondary school pupils prefer comic books, which are easier to read with pictures, while **% of secondary school pupils prefer novels. Manga remains very popular with middle school (***) students.

Types of books preferred by primary school pupils France, ****, in Source : CNL Types of books preferred by middle school students France, ****, in Source : CNL Types of books preferred by high school students France, ****, in Source: ****

2.2 Novels remain popular with young French people

Within the "novels" category, science fiction and fantasy books (***) are the most popular among French *-** year-olds. These are also the novel categories with the strongest growth since ****.

Types of novel most read by young French readers France, ****-****, in Source: ****

2.3 Young French people's relationship with reading

There are many reasons why young French people don't read or read less. The digitalization of society plays a major role in the decline in reading time: on average, *-** year-olds read * hours ** minutes a week, but spend * hours ** minutes a day in front of a screen, and * hours ** minutes on the Internet, according to Vie-publique.fr.

The reasons for the lack of reading among readers (***) who don't read for leisure are as follows:

Why don't you read books for leisure? France, ****, in Source: ****

And the reasons for lack of reading among readers (***) who read for leisure are as follows:

Why don't you read books for leisure? France, ****, in Source: ****

3.1 Where to buy children's books and the culture pass

According to an Ipsos survey entitled "Les jeunes Français et la lecture" (***), most children's books are purchased on the Amazon website or in large cultural stores such as Fnac, Espace Culturel Leclerc or Cultura. Bookshops only come third.

Places where young French people buy books France, ****, in Source: ****

The creation of the Pass Culture by the French government in February **** has significantly boosted book sales. Indeed, this is a mobile app and physical card that gives young people aged ** a cultural credit of *** euros to access various cultural activities, such as concerts, exhibitions, museums, books, films, shows, etc.

Among **-** year-olds, */* have benefited from the Pass Culture, but only half have actually used it.

Use of the Pass Culture among young French people France, ****, in Source: ****

3.2 Digitalization and the Internet's influence on children's literature

More and more young people (***) are influenced in their reading choices by social networks and the Internet more generally. For example: many Youtube influencers will recommend - whether paid or not - educational books, novels etc., which will help the book in question to gain notoriety. What's more, in the age of Netflix series, Amazon Prime, etc. and films based on children's books, one young person in two claims to have read the book after finishing the series or film. [***]

Have you ever read a book after watching a series or film? France, ****, in Source: ****

3.3 Bookshops in France

We wanted to study the number of bookshops in France, as well as the number of employees. To do this, we used NAF code **.**Z: Retail sale of books in specialized stores. This code covers bookshops in general, without taking into account Fnac-type stores, for example, or superstores that also sell children's books.

number of bookstores in France France, ****-****, in # Source: ****

We note that the number of bookshops in France has remained relatively stable over the last six years; and has even tended to increase in ****-**** to reach *,*** outlets by the end of ****. The health crisis has therefore had little effect on the sector - even though the government banned their opening during the first containment in March **** - and this shows the growing interest of the French, young and old, in reading.

number of employees in the bookshop sector France, ****-****, in # Source : Urssaf Like the number of bookshops in France, the number of employees has remained broadly constant over the past six years, with a marked increase in ****.

4.1 The most popular children's books

In ****, the ten most popular children's books were the following:

Source: ****

Note that **% of the books were written by French authors, **% by an American (***) and **% by two British writers.

4.2 Book price breakdown

According to the Librinova articleamong the various players involved in children's books, the bookseller receives **.*% of the book's sale price, more than * times as much as the author (***).

Average breakdown of a book's selling price France, ****, in The average selling price of a book is estimated at ** euros. Source: ****

Authors' share remains extremely low compared to that of other players. A **** France Inter article describes this situation and the "real life" of children's authors, using slogans such as "If the book were an apple, the author would get the seeds..." or "You have to sell *** pounds to buy a pair of ***-euro glasses, or ** pounds to buy a **-euro free-range chicken", and denounces this malaise.

In France, the value chain for a book is fairly classic[***]

The author is considered the creator of the work and retains intellectual property rights, although the publisher may sometimes take the initiative. The agent is an intermediary, not very present in France at present, who is entrusted by the author with negotiating publishing contracts. The publisher is the one who remunerates the author, either through a retainer or through royalties linked to sales. From an economic point of view, the publisher is the real producer ...

4.3 The trend towards reading on digital media

The digitalization of society has not spared the children's book sector. Many publishers, initially sceptical about the idea of reading on a screen, have now embraced this new market. There are many e-readers on the market (***), and the market is growing rapidly. [***]

The market for e-books and audio books

The children's book market has followed the trend because there's demand: **% of young people have already read a digital book, according to the CNL, with strong growth among the under-**s since **** (***).

Have you ever read a digital book? France, ****, in Source: ****

Moreover, most reading is done on smartphones: **% of *-** year-olds say they read using this medium, a clear increase on **** (***).

Digital reading media used by *-** year-olds France, ****, in Source : CNL According to the same Ipsos survey for the CNL, the main times and places where young French people read digital books are before going to bed and during school vacations.

Times when *-** year-olds read digital books France, ****, in Source: ****

5.1 Regulations

Book economics concerns the economic aspects of book production, publishing, distribution and marketing. Players such as authors, publishers, bookshops and private and public libraries interact in a competitive market with sometimes divergent interests. Over the years, new distributors and distribution methods have emerged, leading legislators to adapt the laws governing the book economy. The Lang law and the law on the price of digital books were the first laws to regulate this market, followed later by the Darcos law on shipping costs for books, which protects small distributors. Finally, the Robert law, also known as the library law, guarantees equal access to culture for all. [***]

The Lang law and the law on the price of digital books

The Lang Law, promulgated on August **, ****, is a law on the single price of books in France. This law regulates the price of books for all distributors, protecting independent booksellers from competition from superstores, hypermarkets, first- and second-tier bookshops and online retailers. Distributors must sell a new book at a single price set by the publisher. The Digital Book Pricing Act, passed on May **, ****, has the same principle as the Lang Act, but applies to digital books and aims to ensure fair competition for ...

6.1 Segmentation of players in the children's book market

• Gallimard Jeunesse
• Flammarion Jeunesse
• Auzou
• Fleurus Editions
• Rageot
• Scrinéo
• Hachette Jeunesse
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