USA Today: Fantasy Comes of Age

Posted on November 29, 2005

An article in USA Today says that many kids introduced to Harry Potter as young children are now high school teens and they are starting to read adult fantasy novels.

Sales of science fiction and fantasy books have jumped 8.5% in the past five years -- nearly double the rate for all consumer books, according to Simba International, a publishing research company.
And much of that growth has its roots in the popularity of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series as well as renewed interest in J.R.R. Tolkien, thanks to the blockbuster movies based on The Lord of the Rings.
"Many of the kids who read the Harry Potter books when they first came out are now 15, 16 and 17 and are reading adult fantasy," says Brian Delambre, a buyer for Joseph Beth Booksellers, an independent chain based in Kentucky.

It's good to hear that fantasy is selling. The article also cites a couple booksellers who say that epic fantasy novels are a big seller in the fantasy/sf category. USA Today also listed two fantasy novels that recently debuted high on their bestseller list:

George R.R. Martin's A Feast for Crows (Bantam) debuted at No. 2

Robert Jordan's Knife of Dreams (Tor) also opened at No. 2