Make physical books trendy, cool for YAs

When digital media first took off, many feared it would spell the end of printed books and bookstores - and even the end of reading anything beyond scrollable pap. Those fears certainly weren't misplaced. Brick-and-mortar bookstores have become rarer than ghosts. But there may be a new phenom emerging: digital and physical book publishing feeding off each other. Surprisingly, it's online that's nudging readers back towards 'paper'.

Take Britain's Waterstones. Book sales are reportedly being buoyed by young adults (YAs) treating books as an escape from their screens. TikTok's 'BookTok' community has turned literary chatter into viral recommendations, a millennial version of Oprah's Book Club, reviving interest in genres like YA fantasy, SF and romance. In Cologne, antiquarian bookstore Willbrand was rescued from closure after its owner began discussing classics online, drawing new customers. This symbiosis between digital and print can only grow. Back in 2004, when Google set out to digitise millions of books, publishers worried about copyright infringement and death of book sales. Yet, a 2023 American Economic Journal: Economic Policy study, 'Digitization and the Market for Physical Works: Evidence from the Google Books Project', tracking nearly 38,000 titles digitised between 2005 and 2009, found digitisation boosted visibility and helped sales.

For Indian publishers and retailers, these are green shoots worth seizing. But the challenge goes beyond selling books. It lies in reimagining the book, curating experiences around it, enhancing bookstores as experiential spaces with events and shows, even involving celebs. In other words, by positioning reading physical books as something cool, especially for the young, non-boomer crowd.