Sarah J. Maas’ fantasy novels generate record profits for Bloomsbury

Rising demand for Sarah J. Maas’s fantasy novels has enabled Bloomsbury Publishing to post another record year in sales and profits.

House of Flame and Shadow, the latest title in Maas’s Crescent City series and her 16th book with Bloomsbury, became a number one New York Times Bestseller upon its release in February.

The sequel continues the adventures of a half-human girl named Bryce Quinlan and her friend Hunt Athalar, who fight against the Asteri, a race of divine conquerors who rule the planet Midgard.

Its popularity led to further purchases of Maas’ backlist titles, including those in the Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Bloomsbury CEO Nigel Newton described the New York-born author as a “publishing phenomenon whose books have “captivated a wide audience.”

He said her novels were supported by significant promotional campaigns and word of mouth, especially on social media channels.

Analysts have attributed the success of Maas’s titles to ‘BookTok’, in which social media influencers use TikTok to promote new works and writers.

As a result, overall sales of the New York-born author’s books rose 161 percent in the 12 months ending in February.

As a result, Bloomsbury’s total turnover increased by 30 percent to £342.7 million and pre-tax profits increased by 63 percent to £41.5 million.

Other major recent sellers are included Impossible creatures by Katherine Rundell, The bone season by Samantha Shannon and by Tom Kerridge Pub kitchen.

Harry Potter novels also remained highly sought after, with The Philosopher’s Stone becoming the best-selling children’s title in Britain for the first time in over twenty years.

Commercial period: Bloomsbury is best known for publishing the Harry Potter books

Demand for these titles offset declining sales of Bloomsbury’s non-consumer books, which were hit as the higher education sector returned to more normalized levels.

However, the London-based company says it is ‘well placed’ to benefit from the international growth in post-secondary education.

It pointed to World Bank estimates that the number of students in higher education worldwide will increase from 220 million in 2021 to 380 million in 2030.

For the current financial year, the group expects trading to be ‘slightly ahead’ of expectations, even though it does not expect another newly published title by Sarah J. Maas.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, likened this absence to “a famous band saying they’re taking a break – disappointment now, but the potential to make even more money when they come back.”

He added: ‘It’s the wait that will test investors’ patience, and even news that current trading is ahead of expectations won’t hold back the share price.’

Investors reacted negatively to the possible absence of a new Maasroman Bloomsbury Publishing Shares diving 6.3 percent to £5.62 just before midday.

Bloomsbury also announced that its chairman, Sir Richard Lambert, would resign after the annual general meeting on July 16.

Subject to shareholder approval, he will be replaced by John Bason, who was finance director of Primark owner Associated British Foods for 24 years until April 2023.

Lambert was previously editor of the Financial Times, member of the Monetary Policy Committee and director general of the Confederation of the British Industry.

Newton said Lambert had been an “exceptional chairman” since he took office seven years ago and had “helped Bloomsbury so much during his tenure.”