Fiction collapses from 24% to near-zero of bestseller lists
Source: Marginal REVOLUTION
The near-disappearance of fiction from mainstream bestseller lists in a single decade reflects a shift in what newly published books succeed commercially: narrative literature has lost ground to self-help, memoir, true crime, and partisan politics. The change stems from the economics of attention and retail shelf space, where publishers increasingly bet on books that promise transformation, truth-telling, or tribal identity rather than imaginative escape. Readers are favoring books that deliver a measurable outcome over those that simply transport them.