Rising Exports Drive UK publishing growth

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A successful UK exports drive to £4.1bn of sales in 2022 – up 8 per cent – helped total UK publishing revenues reach £6.9bn last year, an increase of 4 per cent, according to data from the Publishers Association. A total of 669m physical books were sold by UK publishers, the highest number on record.

The figures are contained in the report, ‘A Year in Publishing’, which underlined the resilience of UK publishing despite challenges to the UK economy.

The importance of overseas sales offset a 1 per cent decline in the UK market to £2.7bn.

Commenting on the figures, Dan Conway, Chief Executive of the Publishers Association said the publishing industry had shown strength in a difficult year and confirmed its vital role across the wider creative industries and the UK economy.

He said: "Trends such as #BookTok and the rise of ‘bookfluencers’ continue to encourage many to reignite their passion for reading, and trends like these will be pivotal in ensuring that the industry remains buoyant.... I am confident we can adapt and step up to the challenge – as we always have.”

The UK publishing industry comprises academic publishing worth £3.5bn, consumer publishing worth £2.3bn, and education publishing valued at £634m.

In terms of exports, UK academic publishing generated £2.5bn of overseas sales, consumer publishing £825m and education publishing £440m.

Download the full report.

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