Hello and welcome to the Book Review Podcast. I'm MJ Franklin, an editor here at The New York Times Book Review. The year is almost done, the holidays are upon us, and the new year is on the horizon. But before we jump to 2026, I wanted to take a break and ask: what did 2025 mean for books? I don't mean the biggest and best books; you can find that in our previous episode. Today, I want to explore the big picture of 2025 for the book world. What was the year like? Were there dominant storylines or emerging trends? Looking back in 10, 20, or 50 years, how will we characterize this year in books? Joining me to debrief are my wonderful colleagues: Tina Jordan, a deputy editor here at The Book Review, and John Maher, a new book news editor. Welcome back to Alexandra Alter, a books reporter for The New York Times.

Alexandra, you write profiles of authors, literary trends, and breaking news about the publishing industry. You know everything. Not as much as Tina and John, but collectively, we might know almost everything. Our powers combined! I wanted to gather the smartest book people I know to talk about the year. First, a vibe check: How are you feeling about 2025? I'll start. I feel the year was both exhausting and 'meh.' Not that there weren't good books, but the energy seemed deflated. Tina, do you agree?

I fully agree it felt lackluster. However, I disagree because I spent a lot of time at romantasy (a portmanteau of romance and fantasy) book signings this year. You've never seen more excited people than at a midnight release party for a big romantasy novel. In these alternative publishing spaces, I found a lot of excitement happening. Alexandra, you think sometimes what the publishing industry feels like an 'eh' year isn't the same as the energy among readers. Readers were very excited to buy books, regardless of our own excitement.

You're totally right. The book world isn't a monolith; it has many communities and genres. Social media has created silos, each with varying levels of energy. So, that's our general vibe check: some of us feel exhausted, some energized. I want to go back to characterizing the big picture of the year in books. Please fill in the blank for me: '2025 was a ____ year in books' or '2025 was the year of ____.' For me, and we'll derail it immediately, 2025 was the lost year in books. The energy felt deflated. I was looking for a big breakout book of the year, and it didn't seem like there was one. There were big commercial books and critically acclaimed books, but the two didn't seem to meet. This is different from previous years with books like 'James' (by Péter Esterházy) or 'Chain Gang Allstars' that dominated the conversation and culture.

行业困境与新星崛起

I think you're talking about two different kinds of books. When I think of an 'it' book, I think of a grassroots, word-of-mouth hit. We did have those this year. 'The Correspondent' by Virginia Evans, a debut novel from Crown, quietly gained traction. Championed by independent booksellers and authors like Anne Patchet, it became a phenomenon, selling hundreds of thousands of copies. This is astonishing for a debut.

So I stand corrected. There were big books, but perhaps I've only seen them discussed in certain spaces. It's been bubbling up via word-of-mouth. Maybe this is a 2025 'it' book that will peak in 2026. Perhaps we were a little snobbish about this book, being commercial fiction. We tend to wrinkle our noses at that here. We're much better now, but when we cover things, we focus on literary conversations and awards, where commercial fiction is often overlooked. But these grassroots hits are rare these days.

To MJ's point, it's gotten so hard to break out a debut or a lesser-known author. People either have an existing platform, are celebrities, or are already bestselling authors like Freda McFaten or Rebecca Yaros. Getting a new author noticed by booksellers and readers is a huge feat. Rebecca Yaros herself built a grassroots audience. 'Alchemized', a huge book this year, was a grassroots hit. A literary agent picked up the author because of her massive readership on a fanfiction website for Draco Hermione fanfiction. This demonstrates how fan communities can drive success.

“粘性”的缺失与读者偏好转变

One of the reasons I call it the 'lost year' is that big books came out but didn't 'stick' around in the conversation. For instance, 'Catabasis' by RF Kong was huge online and on book talk, but the conversation felt confined to specific corners. A new Timandanda Ngoadichi book bubbled up and then fell off. Ocean Vuong's book, an Oprah pick, also faded. This isn't unique to books; there was no 'song of the summer' in music, and movie box offices are suffering. There's something in the air, but these things were in the works for years, signed when the mood was different.

Readers now want 'cozy reading,' they don't want to be upset. Judging by responses to our best books picks, where people asked if we were okay. People don't want to engage with depressing things right now. It's hard to blame them. We are so far from a monoculture that having 'the book of the year' is rare. 'James' was the book of the year for the literati (those involved in intellectual and literary pursuits), not necessarily for readers. We had anticipated titles and books we liked, but not a unifying cultural moment. Are there too many books? The New York Times Book Review news editor asserts there are. Even a new Emily Henry novel, while huge in certain spaces, didn't have the monocultural fervor of her previous books. This conversation is big in TV; it's time for books. There hasn't been a show everyone watched on Sunday since Game of Thrones. The book world is in a similar place. So, I called it the 'lost year.'

出版业的挑战与非虚构市场的低迷

I also think 2025 was a year of losses, from the book industry perspective. It's been grim for publishers. Inflation made book production more expensive. Mission-driven nonprofit publishers lost federal funding, making it incredibly difficult for them to acquire and publish books. These presses are the 'grass' of the industry, nourishing the ecosystem. Losing their funding will impact readers in a few years.

Small independent presses have been picking up where the big five publishers (industry slang for the largest publishing houses) have dropped off. The big five, now large corporations, prioritize safe bets and invest less in launching many new authors. They don't have the publicity budget. For example, the money put behind 'James' wasn't matched for publicity this year for other acclaimed books. Small publishers do incredible work but lack the resources to promote widely. Authors like Péter Esterházy (author of 'James') often start with small presses that cultivate their experimental work before they are picked up by larger conglomerates. If this pipeline weakens, readers will notice. Greywolf Press, a nonprofit, received federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, but may have lost it this year due to political priorities, which will hurt literature.

Publishing stepped up to counter these challenges. The Melon Foundation gave significant funding to poetry organizations. A donor funded the Restless Books immigrant writing prize. Reporters covered bookstores helping food stamp recipients during government shutdowns. The book business tried to fill the gaps. This provides some uplift.

粉丝文化与浪漫小说的崛起

To me, 2025 was the year of fan culture infiltrating mainstream publishing. The arrival of three Harry Potter fanfiction novels transformed into romance novels was stunning. Like 'Fifty Shades of Gray' (which started as Twilight fanfiction), these books had huge online audiences. Publishers moved quickly to acquire them, marketing them as Harry Potter fanfiction, navigating copyright gray areas. 'Alchemized', a debut, came with a massive existing audience from fanfiction spaces. It was packaged as a blockbuster fantasy romance, selling over 700,000 copies and spending 11-12 weeks on the bestseller list. This signifies publishers giving readers what they know they want, rather than discovering new writers. Fans won the gatekeeper debate. Publishers are now prioritizing what makes money, which can be an abdication of responsibility. This pushes us back to supporting small presses.

The Romantasy craze continues. Rebecca Yaros, author of the Dragon Military Academy series, sold over 7 million copies this year. Authors like Sarah Moss and newcomers like Cali Hart are also popular. The question is whether the market is saturated. Publishers are discussing if Romantasy is peaking. A surprising trend is dark romance, including mafia romance and 'shadow daddies,' which often involves taboo and morally gray themes. These started in fanfiction and self-publishing and are now being picked up by major publishers, who are willing to take risks given the market potential, recalling the success of 'Fifty Shades of Gray'.

非虚构的困境与特定领域的亮点

It's been a tough time for non-fiction, unless you're Mel Robbins. Her book 'The High 5 Habit' (implied by 'Let Them Theory') sold millions. People are exhausted by the news cycle and may not want serious engagement. They turn to ChatGPT or YouTube for practical information, challenging books as a primary source for recipes or travel planning. This is an interesting challenge for long-form non-fiction. There was a lack of 'meaty' non-fiction that tells a story, like David Grann's works. Publishers might have been hesitant to schedule complex topics post-election. The non-fiction that sold well was primarily self-help, offering reassurance, and religious titles, including sales of The Bible. Adult coloring books are also back. An exception is Kamala Harris's memoir '107 Days', which sold over 600,000 copies, possibly due to its narrative craft by Geraldine Brooks, making it a page-turner about minute-by-minute decisions.

年度新闻事件与媒体挑战

Other big storylines include the Mr. Beast and James Patterson book collaboration, which was very buzzy and aimed at younger readers. It felt like a 'mad lib' concept. Posthumous releases were notable, such as Joan Didion's therapy notes, raising questions about author privacy and legacy, and Harper Lee's story collection. A difficult year for book media: an AI-generated summer reading list with fake books appeared in syndicated papers like the Chicago Sun-Times, and the AP stopped syndicating book reviews. This indicates a downturn, a 'one-two punch' for media support of books. This shift in how people discover books, from reviews to TikTok ('BookTok') and Amazon, challenges traditional book reviews. The New York Times Book Review is innovating with podcasts, book clubs, and guides to engage readers.

年度亮点与积极展望

Two of my favorite authors released books they had spent 20 years working on: Karen Desai's 'The Loneliness of Sonia' and Helen Dewitt's book (author of 'The Last Samurai'). It's inspiring that people are still willing to dedicate such time to creation. John praises Laszlo Krasznahorkai and mentions rewatching 'Satan Tango'. Tina loved the spread and popularity of cozy genre fiction—cozy mysteries, horror, and fantasy—reflecting a desire for comforting, non-distressing reads. Examples include 'Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees' (a comic book) and Richard Osman's 'Thursday Murder Club' series. My favorite cozy cat fantasy was 'I Will Prescribe You a Cat'.

Unfortunately, we're running out of time. Thank you, Tina, Alexandra, and John. This was a fun, uplifting conversation. And thank you to our listeners for joining us this year. Next week, we'll discuss Ian McEwan's 'What We Can Know'. Until then, happy reading.