Canelo / Arts Council England

Canelo / Arts Council England | 
43

Literature in the 21st Century: Understanding Models of Support for Literary Fiction
around the world and English literary fiction stands out in this regard. 
Many writers will earn significant sums for these deals. There is no sign 
that the demand for English language fiction is slowing down. Coupled 
with booming export sales (built on the spread of reading level English, 
the competitive price of English books and premium demand for English 
language content) this puts British writers in a good position vis a vis their 
colleagues writing in other languages. The Dutch or Chinese writer of 
literary fiction will find securing a major translation deal even harder than 
their English counterpart – although English writers may be successful, 
it’s by no means easy. Nonetheless several editors and agents told us 
confidentially that many of their literary authors were earning more from 
foreign rights than English language sales. If you include rights sales and 
export sales UK publishing exported £2.6bn in 2016, comprising 54% of 
their total revenues
25
– up from £806m in 2009
26
. 
However, Europe accounts for 35% of that total: the biggest single 
region of exports. While the impact of Brexit on the publishing market is 
as yet unknown, new tariff barriers, logistical complications, intellectual 
property issues or business constraints would have a chilling impact 
on that total. Export markets such as the Netherlands, Germany or 
Sweden, strong book markets where English is widely spoken, are a vital 
component of both foreign rights and export sales. A further challenge 
looms with regards to US publishers. Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn 
Reidy, for example, has already stated that British publishers’ exclusivity 
on European distribution rights, a common feature in many contracts, 
is untenable post-Brexit. This will add further pressure onto the British 
literary ecosystem in a key redoubt. Many publishers are on the record 
as voicing their fears about Brexit, up to and including the boss of 
Bertelsmann, the 
€
18bn content industries giant and corporate parent of 
Penguin Random House, who claimed the UK’s position as its Intellectual 
property hub was under threat.
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Then there is a potential domestic 
impact. If the economy sharply nosedived this would have a knock-on 
effect on publishers and authors. The pound has already fallen and this 
means the costs of imports such as paper, and the cost of importing 
books printed abroad, has risen. While the latter point mainly applies to 
children’s and illustrated publishing, it puts more pressure on the system 
as a whole. Furthermore, there are the intangible aspects of Brexit. 
Almost everyone we spoke to voiced fears that the place of UK writing 
was threatened; that foreign publishers would be in some way less 
willing to work with authors and publishers, the public less willing to read 
English language books. While it is too early to say for sure, there will 
be some impact, and this could hit one of the few unmitigated success 
stories of recent years. 
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https://www.publishers.org.uk/media-centre/news-releases/2017/uk-publishing-has-record-year-up-7-to-48bn/ 
26
http://www.thecreativeindustries.co.uk/industries/publishing/publishing-facts-and-figures 
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https://www.thebookseller.com/blogs/goodbye-all-518251 

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