Children’s Institute Talk to Showcase Trends in U.S. Children’s Book Market

At the ABC Children’s Institute featured talk “The U.S. Children’s Book Market: Where We Are and Where We’re Going,” Kristen McLean, director of new business development and resident children’s specialist at Nielsen Book, will share the latest data and trends in the children’s book market.

“Children’s is a relatively stable category,” said McLean, who is co-chair of the Nielsen Children’s Book Summit and editor, since 2010, of Nielsen Book’s deep-dive consumer study “Children’s Books in the Digital World.” Previously, McLean was executive director of the Association of Booksellers for Children, which merged with ABA under her leadership.

During her presentation, McLean will provide a general market overview and compare year-over-year numbers. “We’re going to look at a few new things this year,” she added, specifically comic and graphic novels, nonfiction, and series fiction.

Based on a study currently underway, McLean will share the results of an analysis of the rise and decline of midlist series fiction, which aims to determine if there is a typical pattern as to when the popularity of a series peaks and falls. “I’m looking to see if I can find anything in the data that can help booksellers manage series fiction in their sections more effectively,” she said.

McLean will also present information about the segmentation of children’s book consumers from an analysis conducted following last year’s Children’s Institute in Pasadena, California. “We really wanted to understand who the most valuable consumers are for children’s books — who the core customer is, what do they look like, and where do we think the best opportunity for growth is going to be.”

“Avid readers” are the current core customers for children’s books, but the “social omnivores” group may be the growth opportunity, said McLean.

Her goal, she added, is to ensure booksellers have a good handle on the categories of books that show the most opportunity for growth, as well as understand who their core customers are as they think about marketing and outreach. Booksellers will also take away information that will help them make buying decisions for their children’s sections for the fourth quarter.

The children’s book market flourished in 2014, in part due to the prominence of blockbuster movies and related books, and McLean noted that 2015 still showed flat to modest growth. “The children’s market is doing great,” she said. “It continues to be a real bright spot for publishing, and we’ll try to point out the areas growing fastest or that have the most potential value.”

“The U.S. Children’s Book Market: Where We Are and Where We’re Going” will be presented on Wednesday, June 22, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Magnolia-Jasmine Ballroom at the Wyndham Orlando Resort International Drive. See the full Children’s Institute program here.