Export editions “cannibalising” sales in Europe

There have been recent discussions at the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair surrounding the impact on the market of export editions upon publishers, with agent Madeleine Milburn going so far as to say that export editions of books are “cannibalising” sales.

Export editions are most commonly written in English for the European market, and are cheaper. Alongside that, they are incredibly prevalent in modern European society, especially in areas with high English literacy rates, such as the Netherlands. This means that for authors writing in English, the market has become incredibly competitive – so much so that editors and publishers have begun leaning towards local writers in order to avoid the growing problem.

Juliet Mushens of Mushens Entertainment has retained that the “threat of English-language export editions to translation editions” continues, with a “definite pressure” when it comes to publishing, where European authors are being advised to publish either simultaneously or “ideally ahead of the cheaper English edition.” Playing devil’s advocate, one could argue how this may be beneficial for local authors, gaining more attention, and hence traction in their home country rather than being dominated by English novels or versions of their texts, especially with the cost of translation increasing.

Yet it is important to note how this issue concerns the publishers as well as the authors themselves

Yet it is important to note how this issue concerns the publishers as well as the authors themselves. With such a frenzied market due to the increased demand for English-language works, publishers have to fall back onto their local writers who perhaps will not be as recognised in as many places. Also, these publishers will have let go of certain authors, losing out on business because the market is too risky to even enter. Especially for smaller publishing houses, they are effectively being shouldered out of the English-language market, one of the largest in the world, by the larger companies who own the rights to famous authors’ books.

With the issue being a large demand for English-language works, it is fair to assume that English-language authors are suffering from their own success – at least in Europe, their popularity has now started to hinder them in the sense that the market is too daunting for publishing houses to fight with any authors that aren’t already well-known and appreciated by European readers.

When the rights to a work are put up for auction, one publishing house can claim the book per language it is translated in.

With the rise in translation costs, we could see in future a decline in translated works

With the rise in translation costs, we could see in future a decline in translated works. For now though, it has been made clear that there has been unprecedented growth in translated works of fiction, people wanting to engage with the works of authors outside of their own country, with books beginning to spark global conversations.

This is incredibly positive progress, and it may lead people to wonder why export sales are being viewed as so threatening. To explain, with the increasing pressure on the market surrounding English works, the authors who write in English are losing opportunities art being published, with only the best UK and US writers being taken, due to their status as household names. Therefore popularity and renown are taking precedence in the English literature markets over talent at this point, with publishers only going so far as to protect themselves and ensure that their works are purchased.

In regards to non-fiction, there is a similar pattern, where a books success – measured by how widespread it becomes – is dependent not only on the quality, the author’s expertise, and the platform but also the author’s popularity. Established voices in the non-fiction world are again the exception to the trend of publishers prioritising local authors, again suggesting that there is now an unfair level of opportunity for aspiring English-language writers.

In short, the booming market for English-language export copies has begun to eat away at the sales of other works in Europe, written first in other languages – because the English-language market has become so saturated, European authors are struggling to get their works out there in an English format and English-language authors are struggling to be published since publishers are prioritising local works.