US romance print was strong in the rolling year to June 2025
Keep the 51-million-unit signal as a dated benchmark while watching current book-level results and later Circana releases. It is not a 2026 forecast.
Evidence released through 21 July 2026
Where demand, formats and regions are moving.
Five of these six signals were released in 2026. The older US romance card remains because it is the latest free, genre-specific unit benchmark located. Every card keeps geography, period, format and method attached; figures from different panels are not added together.
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Turn signals into experiments
What could the catalogue test next?
A useful signal can lead to a cover test, reader interview, metadata experiment, format decision or audiobook quote. Results from the actual books then become the next layer of evidence.
Audio keeps gaining across two different US measures
AAP's publisher panel and the APA's broader audiobook survey use different methods, but both point upward. Test audio economics without pretending their dollar totals are directly comparable.
Science fiction, fantasy and romance intersect differently by market
BookNet reported Canadian tracked-print growth of 14% for science fiction, 8% for fantasy and 236% for the smaller Romance/Science Fiction category in 2025. Large percentage changes need the category-size caveat.
Format horizon
One story can travel through several doors.
Print, ebook, subscription reading and audio have different economics and discovery systems. Build the story contract first, then choose the format sequence that can be produced and supported well.
Useful for events, gifts and readers who want an object. Unit economics depend on trim, page count, colour, returns and shipping.
Ebook
Fast to update and distribute. Exclusivity, price rules, mature-content metadata and territory controls can change the route.
Audio
Powerful for performance-led romance, but narration, editing, rights, casting and quality control require a real budget.
International print pulse
One repeated measure across several travel regions.
NielsenIQ's March 2026 release compared print point-of-sale movement across 19 territories. Coverage and genre detail vary by place, so this is a directional world signal rather than a complete global market total.
Swipe or scroll horizontally to compare markets.
| Market | 2025 print revenue change vs 2024 | 2025 print unit change vs 2024 | What this says |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | +20.7% | Not stated publicly | Fastest revenue growth in the public 19-territory summary. |
| Brazil | +11.2% | Not stated publicly | Strong value growth; no format beyond print is included. |
| Mexico | +7.0% | +3.9% | Both value and units rose. |
| New Zealand | +6.9% | +9.6% | Unit growth outpaced value growth. |
| Australia | +3.2% | +1.4% | Measured print grew in both value and volume. |
| United Kingdom | −0.5% | Not stated in this release | The separate UK report still found adult fiction value up 5%. |
Open the NielsenIQ 19-territory release ↗ · Open the separate UK and Ireland analysis ↗