Miscellaneous publishing in Italy: a decline in 2025, but not without hope

2025 ended with mixed results for Italian publishing. The fiction and non-fiction market in trade channels (physical bookshops, online and large retailers) recorded a 2.1% decline in value, settling at €1,483.9 million, with 99.5 million copies sold, down 3% compared to 2024. This represents approximately 3 million fewer books than the previous year and a loss of €32.6 million.

A negative trend that began long ago

The decline in 2025 represents the intensification of a trend that had already emerged in 2024, when the market closed at -0.9%. Throughout 2025, the signs were consistently negative: -3.6% in the first four months, over -4% in the first five months, down to -2.4% in the first ten months, partially recovered thanks to a positive November. Among European markets, Italy’s proved to be the most troubled.

Who suffered the most: small publishers and independent bookshop

Analysis of the data reveals that the impact of the crisis has not been uniform. Large publishing groups have remained largely stable, while small and medium-sized publishers have suffered the greatest losses. Medium-sized publishers (with a turnover of between €1 million and €5 million) lost 13.1% in value, while small publishers (under €1 million) recorded a loss of 7.3%. On the distribution front, independent bookshops continue to suffer: over the last ten years, Italy has lost 1,000 of them.

As for sales channels, the share of online sales has fallen to 40%, while physical bookshops have seen their market share grow, confirming their status as the preferred channel for Italians to purchase books. Large-scale distribution has remained stable (at around 4.6%).

The structural causes of the crisis

According to Innocenzo Cipolletta, president of the Italian Publishers Association (AIE), the reasons for the decline can be found in long-term trends, such as demographic decline, the impact of new technologies on reading and changing study conditions. A contingent but significant factor in 2025 was the sharp decline in demand support. Purchases made by 18-year-olds using Culture Cards in the first four months amounted to €18.3 million, compared to €45.9 million in 2024. Excluding these Culture Card purchases, the market would have grown by 2.9%.

Bestsellers also performed worse. The top ten new releases in 2025 sold almost a quarter fewer copies (-23.9%) than in 2024. The data on Italian fiction is significant: while six Italian novels appeared in the top 10 for the first four months of 2024, in 2025 there were only two, in eighth and tenth place.

Literary genres and trends

In terms of genres, 2025 saw the consolidation of certain trends that had already emerged in previous years. Psychological thrillers continue to attract readers, with stories that favour introspection and ambiguity over TV series-style plot twists. Interest is growing in hybrid works that blend fiction and non-fiction, with novels incorporating documentary elements and historical analysis, responding to readers’ need to explore complex themes through compelling storytelling. Romance and romantasy remain strong, driven in part by the influence of BookTok and social media platforms. Eco-dystopias and hopepunk are also emerging, fiction that addresses climate change with a narrative of repair rather than apocalypse.

Outlook for this year

Despite the difficulties, the sector is looking to the future with cautious optimism. The arrival of €60 million for libraries, €18 million for the Culture Card for low-income families and the relaunch of the Teachers’ Card (currently still delayed) give hope for a more positive 2026. The AIE continues to call for the implementation of reforms to cultural purchase cards, expanding the range of beneficiaries and simplifying access procedures, together with the definition of a law for books that supports the entire supply chain.

Although the Italian publishing market is going through a difficult period, it retains a wealth of diversity and quality, represented by the 85,872 titles published in print in 2024 and a ‘living’ catalogue that has exceeded 1.5 million available titles for the first time. However, this wealth requires structural support policies in order to continue to thrive and reach readers, especially in a country where over 15 million people have not read a single book in the last year.