Thai publishing ‘chapter’ of decline amid spending woes

The Thai publishing market faces a predicted decline this year due to economic challenges affecting consumer spending, according to the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (PUBAT). However, booksellers remain optimistic, identifying potential growth in niche markets.

Nattakorn Vuttichaipornkul, Vice-President of Internal Affairs at PUBAT, reported a modest decrease in book sales during the first half of the year.

“The reduced consumer purchasing power due to the country’s stagnant economy is the reason for the declining sales as people postpone buying new books.”

Further data from Theerapat Charoensuk, a member of PUBAT’s executive committee, highlighted a reduction in new book titles. The first half of 2024 saw around 4,500 new titles with International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs), a 10% drop from the same period last year, according to the National Library of Thailand.

Sales trends from national book fairs in 2023 and 2024 revealed comic books and light novels as market leaders, followed by novels, literature, and how-to books, Theerapat said.

“The sales of textbooks dropped as people turned to watching and learning from video platforms like YouTube.”

Theerapat also noted the continued growth of “boys’ love” or yaoi novels, which have seen increasing popularity over the past five years. This trend has sparked a rising demand for girls’ love novels. Currently, yaoi novels represent over 10% of overall book sales.

PUBAT observed a significant increase in membership, with the association now boasting 485 members, up from 288 during the pandemic. This growth includes many small publishers focusing on niche markets such as crime fiction, Chinese historical novels, boys’ love and girls’ love fiction, and finance and investment books, often priced higher, Theerapat said.

“Following the pandemic, the association has seen a rising trend of small publishers targeting particular niches.”

Additionally, the book subscription model has gained traction. Readers now frequently pay tokens to unlock chapters on reading app platforms. Some authors are also choosing to publish their work online first before transitioning to print.

The total market value of the Thai publishing industry in 2023 was 17 million baht. Pubat expects this figure to either slightly decline or remain steady this year, Theerapat said.

“There had been a slight drop in new book titles compared with the corresponding period last year.”