What’s this book shortage everyone is talking about? Here’s your quick guide

Running out of books is every reader’s worst nightmare, but don’t panic (yet)

This paper shortage might hit even worse than the toiler paper one

(Photo by Ben Garratt on Unsplash)

Even if you don't follow the news fervently, mentions of a book shortage might have snuck onto your social feeds - in my case, those took the shape of authors warning fans to preorder their autumn releases early.

Not going to lie, my first thought was, this is obviously a strategy to boost sales before release day. But a quick Google search proved me wrong, bringing up more information than I could have anticipated.

Here’s a quick round-up of the key points:

Why are there book shortage concerns?

According to Insider, the US is currently dealing with some serious disruptions across the entire publishing supply chain, starting with a paper shortage which is making the job of printers hard. What’s more, print book sales have increased by 18.7% compared to this time last year, and they’re set to maintain that trajectory going forward, writes the business publisher.

The pandemic, of course, is coming into play on multiple levels of the supply chain problem, from COVID-19 outbreaks shutting down factories and lorry drivers self-isolating to major ports closing due to the virus.

This is not an issue that cropped up overnight either. Distractify goes on to explain a report from Publisher's Weekly on the matter, saying that publishers first became aware of the book shortage problem in July 2021. Things have obviously gotten worse since, and the American publishing industry finds itself between a rock and a hard place with diminished printing capacity and lack of workers.

In a nutshell, Distractify’s conclusion is that every step of the way to publishing a book is now experiencing problems, from understaffed warehouses to shipping delays and deliveries from overseas printers.

The same Publisher's Weekly report claims that US publishers are trying to combat the worst of it by pre-ordering bulk shipments of the most anticipated releases well in advance, and cites the two biggest trade wholesalers, Ingram and Bookazine, on their warnings over shipping delays going into autumn and the winter holidays.

Best Life explores another angle of the pandemic which has contributed to the problem, quoting Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt who points towards the “extraordinary amount of reading and buying of books” since the outbreak of COVID-19.

In the same interview Daunt admits that as we get closer to Christmas, the issue will only become more exacerbated, and advises that even though there’s no need to panic, ordering books sooner than usual will help readers avoid disappointment during the festive season.

Best Life also reports that experts predict the paper shortage causing the publishing industry a headache might stretch all the way into 2023, thanks to the rise in raw material costs.

Is this book shortage world-wide?

The reports above mainly focus on the US publishing industry, as this is where the supply chain problems are hitting hardest at the moment; however, American booklovers won’t be the only ones affected.

The Guardian reports that UK booksellers are also hunkering down in anticipation of book shortages, giving the example of Waterstones, who upped stocks by a quarter and ordered early in an effort to avoid distribution woes.

Daunt, who also runs Foyles, Daunt Books in the UK, crops up again to say the longer lead times on books, particularly those printed abroad, could cause problems towards the end of the year, especially if a title turns out to be an unforeseen literary hit.

According to The Guardian other UK publishers, such as Penguin Random House, Hachette UK and HarperCollins have all stocked up early in anticipation of issues with distribution. The paper quotes Nigel Newton, the chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing, who attributes the problem to a “cocktail of the Brexit and Covid-driven [lorry] driver exodus occurring against an upswing in consumer demand plus ... sea-freight capacity shortages.”

The Independent Ireland, meanwhile, claims that in addition to the lorry driver shortage, many European paper mills are struggling to find workers after pandemic shutdowns, since many of their employees were migrants who returned home permanently following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Things you can do to avoid an involuntary book buying ban

The folks at Insider recommend starting your holiday book shopping ahead of Black Friday, shopping locally, and looking at second-hand books.

Distractify, meanwhile, quotes the advice author Tasha Suri gave readers on Twitter. Suri warns that debut authors and those not on the New York Times bestseller list will be most impacted by the upcoming book shortages, because the size of print runs is determined by how much a publisher expects they can safely sell. The best way to support your favourite author in this case is to preorder the books you’re most excited about, signalling to publishers that the demand for these titles is out there.

Carina Pereira over at Book Riot has some fantastic advice as well. She also stressed the importance of buying locally, adding that you should buy in person where possible, to avoid further increasing the demand for packaging.

Pereira sagely recommends gift cards for the occasions when you have your heart set on gifting a book which is out of stock, or even veering off your existing wishlist and picking up a title on a whim from a bookstore near you.

If all else fails, you could always read the books you already have waiting on your TBR shelf. Don’t frown at your screen, I know you have at least half a dozen. I do too.