Research from BookNet Canada
The book industry changes at an accelerated pace and keeping up can be straining — but you don’t have to do it alone. BookNet Canada publishes timely and actionable research so that your company is in the know and your staff has the know-how.
New from BNC Research
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Where does our research come from?
BNC SalesData – Our national sales tracking service that represents 85% of the English-language trade print book market in Canada. SalesData is used to investigate market trends, identify sales opportunities, plan book orders, and more.
Online surveys – We regularly survey Canadians who read, buy, borrow, and listen to books to shed light on consumer behaviour and trends. We use this data in everything from blog posts and studies to custom reports and presentations. We also conduct an annual survey of Canadian retailers and publishers, on an alternating basis, to produce our State of Independent Bookselling and State of Publishing reports.
Custom research
We produce custom research reports to suit the needs of our stakeholders. Need to measure the sales impact of a marketing campaign or literary award? Want to better understand the buying habits of Romance readers in Western Canada? We can provide the insights you need using data from our tracking tools, SalesData and LibraryData, and our consumer and leisure surveys. Just get in touch to learn how we can customize our research for your company.
Complimentary research for SalesData & LibraryData subscribers
SalesData and LibraryData subscribers can access exclusive reports on the impact of awards, perennial bestsellers, backlist trends, market performance, year-over-year analysis, and more. These reports contain confidential information and are restricted to registered users of SalesData and LibraryData. You can find the password on the salesdata.ca or librarydata.ca home pages. Log in here.
Our current studies
Buying, borrowing, and reading behaviour
We survey Canadian book buyers, readers, and library users to shed light on consumer behaviour. Topics include: audiobook use, interest in reading Canadian authors, and more. Older studies can be found in the archive.
Turning Pages: Print Book Use in Canada 2023: This study benchmarks print book use in Canada, exploring the buying, borrowing, and reading habits of Canadian print book consumers. This study also tracks the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic climate on print book use, by comparing data from 2023 with past years.
Canadian Leisure & Reading Study 2023: In-depth research about Canadians’ leisure activities, with a particular focus on reading behaviour and preferences such as where readers like to find and obtain books, what devices, apps, and subjects they prefer, and more.
Tapping into Ebooks: Ebook use in Canada 2022: This free study benchmarks ebook use in Canada, and reveals the buying, borrowing, and reading habits of Canadian ebook consumers. It also tracks the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ebook use, by comparing data from 2022 with past years.
Canadian Book Consumer Study 2022: Results from our quarterly surveying of Canadian book buyers. In this report you’ll find the most popular formats and subjects, insights on why and how Canadians acquire books, the reasons why Canadians decide to read, buy, or borrow specific books, and data comparing and contrasting buyers and borrowers. Find previous versions here.
On Loan: Library Use in Canada 2021: This free study benchmarks library use in Canada by exploring the browsing, borrowing, and reading habits of Canadian library patrons. Find previous versions here.
Listening In: Audiobook Use in Canada 2021: This free study uses recent data from BookNet Canada’s consumer surveys to explore the continued interest of Canadians in acquiring and listening to audiobooks. Find previous versions here.
On Diversity: A Survey of Canadian Readers 2021: Insights about the ways readers discover diverse books, what they consider to be a diverse author or title, their perceptions of diversity in the publishing industry, the topics they want to see more often in the books they read, and much more.
Reading Together: Book Clubs in Canada (Paid): The percentage of Canadian book buyers who belong to a book club or reading group jumped from 7% in 2018 to 14% in 2019. This sudden increase in book club membership drew our attention and made us want to know more about the enigma that is book clubs.
#AmReading (Paid): Research reports on the top social media platforms used by Canadian book buyers, how publishers and retailers are using these platforms to reach readers, and the demographics and buying habits of those users.
Deep Dive (Paid): A series of in-depth studies combining sales trends with consumer research on top-selling genres.
Canadians Reading Canadians 2017: An update to previous studies on consumer attitudes towards books by Canadian authors and about Canadian subjects. Find previous versions here.
Sales and library circulation trends
We draw on current and historical information from SalesData and LibraryData to create market research reports, examining both annual trends and the impact of specific events (like awards) on sales and library circulation. Some studies, like the Deep Dive series, also include information from consumer surveying.
The Canadian Book Market 2023 (Paid): Our annual comprehensive report on the Canadian market. Contains detailed information on more than 50 subject categories, including market share, weekly unit sales, average selling price, top 10 hardcover and paperback sellers, and, new this year, public library lending.
Must-Watch, Must-Read: Book-to-Screen Adaptations in the Canadian Book Market 2022: With data related to 30 television shows and 60 films adapted from books in 2020 and 2021, this study explores the influence of book-to-screen adaptations on both book sales and library circulation in Canada.
Deep Dive (Paid): A series of in-depth studies combining sales trends with consumer research on top-selling genres.
Industry trends
We survey publishers and retailers every other year for our two reports, The State of Publishing in Canada and The State of Independent Bookselling in Canada.
The State of Publishing in Canada 2023: This free study provides a comprehensive overview of the Canadian English-language publishing landscape. It surveys Canadian-based publishers of all sizes and explores publishers' operations and staffing, revenue and sales, distribution, format-specific publishing programs, and more to provide a snapshot of the industry in 2023.
The State of Independent Bookselling in Canada 2020: The follow up to the 2018 study, What’s in Store, offers new insights into independent bookstores in Canada. Based on survey results from English-language independent booksellers, this study shares information on operating expenses and processes, revenue and profit margins, and more. It also delves into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on bookselling: both what has been difficult and what changes independent bookstores intend to keep.
You can find older studies in the Research Archive.
Research on the blog
We occasionally publish tidbits of research (and fun infographics) on the BNC Blog.
Canadian literary awards
An overview of all the research we publish on the biggest literary prizes in Canada, as well as a comprehensive historical list and catalogues of all the nominees and winners for those prizes.
All reports copyright © BookNet Canada (ISNI: 0000000107013646), subject to individual terms of use.
Highlights from The State of Publishing in Canada 2023.