Journalists and industry analysts from several continents convened recently under the PubMagNet umbrella to share data and insights on book publishing.

Short for “Publishing Magazines Network,” PubMagNet members surveyed sales results in 2020 across a wide range of countries, reports Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer.

“Colleagues at Buchreport said the German-language book market swung wildy in 2020 as pandemic restrictions came, went, and returned again,” he tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. “In Germany, a boom in book sales for the first half of December was followed by a stringent lockdown that crushed the holiday market. Overall, 2020 ended with German publishers down 2.3% in revenue, and down 5.3% in unit sales.”

According to data shared by Livres Hebdo editor-in-chief Fabrice Piault, the book business in France had a tough year as well with total sales falling 4.5% over 2019.

“As elsewhere across Europe, all bookshops in France were closed during the first springtime lockdown, and then again during the second lockdown that began late in the year,” Albanese notes. “Online sales and curbside pickup, however, helped online sales.”