One knew the day was coming wherein the speedy pace of information consumption would create the pressing need to collectively slow down:
Long-form would become an oasis of cognitive and cultural nutrition, in a field of shortcuts to dopamine and parasocial community. Society would embrace an economic slowburn as ease of pace became an indicator of quality once again.
No longer abandoned to the solo appreciation of longstanding literati, reading would find its way into popular culture with the force it once held before. However, this time, things would be a little different.
A Definition of Luxury and What It Means for Literature
A pace of ease and an emphasis on craft that a slow life provides are markers for what we call luxury. What I have always considered luxury to be is invention that outdoes every other invention because of its process. Arguably a work of art, purists consider true luxury to have nothing to do with pricing and everything to do with craft.
How something looks and feels is irrelevant if the journey to its completion isn't considered thorough and complex enough to only be repeated by specialists. One could try but will inevitably fall short without the time and discipline required to master the skillset required to produce a luxury item or experience.
The Numbers
Much like luxury itself, books did not decline in sales during, and slightly post, COVID-19. Instead, the publishing industry saw a sharp spike in book sales. Not e-books, despite fears around the spreading of the virus, but paperbacks.
Print sales went up by 8.2% from 2019 to 2020, and the first half of 2021 saw an increase of 18.5% across all genres and a 30.7% in adult fiction (Milliot, 2021). When comparing mid-November 2020 and 2021, unit sales increased by 11.7%, indicating that demand – while potentially slowing – was still significantly larger than pre-pandemic levels (Publisher’s Weekly, 2021).
When life slowed down and society eliminated morning and afternoon commutes, people read books.
The sudden abundance of time reshaped the market. People's interests beheld ease, slow living and self-improvement. As nature seemingly healed outside, so did people.
What conclusions can be drawn on this fleeting assumption? Well, simply that one luxury is indicative of another - the availability of time determines rates of reading for pleasure. The latter was already known, however, with added variables of duress and uncertainty that the pandemic brought forth - society turned to literature for comfort, culture and connection. A market that was, due to the popularity of television streaming, under threat at the time.
AI Spurning A Return to Craft
AI has created an unnaturally paced production rate. Cheap labour, questionable ethics and high commercial value is something a future with computerised writing processes and press belts suggests - similarly to a bag stitched together by a conveyor belt instead of a skilled bag maker. What luxury literature is and what it offers are books authored by a skillful person. Days, months, years of conceptualisation and refinement. Handbound, of course - an ode to the heritage of the codex and literary practice.
D'ORO Collection, an Italian publishing house that produces handbound books using gold, fine paper and dedicated craftsmanship. The Aron Press in California, preserves archaic printing techniques and produces a single text over an expansive amount of days.
I consider Zuri Manor House, my private press, and how a revelation of the aforementioned presses during my research helped refine my vision as I uncovered that there were others who shared the values that I laid the foundations of the house upon. Details like paper quality, the pulp and paper suppliers we use and the techniques we employ all constitute what luxury literature may mean or at least, what we are leading it towards. Prices reflect the craftsmanship, thought, mindfulness and process of each title perfect for collectors who aim to host our works in home libraries and studies that will be passed on from one generation to the next.
Relationships and Customer Experience
The experience around book collection is becoming as important as the books themselves. Consider how one walks into a Chanel flagship store and is offered a glass of champagne and a knowledgeable brand ambassador, or two, throughout their experience. One thinks of the hype the Harry Potter saga created when we were younger and how, years later, the series embodies a life of its own. Back then gradual branding happened through book culture, cinema and merchandise that generated a dedicated following through the ages despite life's changes. Today, in the age of socials and tech, this process is sped up through content engagement and creation. Thus, quirky event titles in aesthetically pleasing locations create taggable experiences that cement an association in the buyer's mind about your product. Books are products and their sale, an event. The author, the product and the experience of purchase must all now be packaged into a meaningful brand and message that can be replicated from online platform to online platform and pop up shop to pop up shop. For example, Miu Miu recently hosted Summer Reads. Novels handpicked by Miuccia Prada were wrapped in Miu Miu ribbons and were paired with branded boxes containing ice cream popsicles. These were given to participants who visited the Miu Miu branded bookstands and ice cream trucks positioned in various cities across the northern and eastern world.
Beyond Books, The Rise of Printed News Media in Fashion Marketing Campaigns
It doesn't stop at books. Print is having a moment overall:
The Fold, a London clothing brand, launched its WorkWear Foundations range - a stunning collection of neutral clothes designed specifically for the workplace. They provided data on how clothes impact first impressions and invited patrons to grab a copy of their newspaper and a complimentary coffee when visiting their outlet. Reminiscent of the London Times or in our case, Business Day - the alignment of a clothing brand with printed news to appeal to what is probably mostly a Millennial and Gen Z market speaks volumes. It appears that in the midst of access, speed and blue screens; the presence of tradition is making waves enough to be incorporated into campaigns that center work, money and expertise. The association our generation and the next seems to make to print is that of tastemakers, gatekeepers and aspirational living. Ironically, there is little rejection of these notions in a world experiencing the backlash of fake news and monotonous AI driven content. The lack of regulation of information on the worldwide web seems to have brought consumers back to the beginning where words are only the start and editors, teams, proof of research, regulatory boards and bibliographies are everything.
What Happens Now?
From social media campaigns to luxury cultural experiences, print is in. Long form is in - but most importantly, collecting long-form print is in. It's not a matter of what, similarly to luxury, it's a matter of how. It's a matter of relationship building and a matter of purpose, craft and impact. The presence of tech and easy access to entertainment has developed a pressing need for publishers to consider their overall impact and brands alongside what their books (products) offer the market in the midst of it all. For me and my house, it is about quality, depth and longevity. Values that do not always align with the popular book sales industry as we know it but seem to be emerging as a basic requirement for what I predict will be a luxury book market. Regulations for this world are pending as we observe how the literary industry engages with AI, the advancements within digital publishing and the ever shifting landscape of demand.
Ten years ago, I predicted that digital would lead sales - I was told that retail would always be rooted in location. Neither I nor my colleague were wrong but I was most certainly right. Today, I say that luxury literature will happen and the essence of private presses will be pushed into popular culture. Publishing conglomerates will purchase more niche presses as imprints and may produce their own luxury versions of books they have already published. Authors will be brands and publishers will elevate their branding to be audience specific be it as thought leaders in a corporate sense or a culture leader in the eyes of their audience. Publishers will have to recount their social impact. Literary events will do for literature what fashion weeks have done for fashion (with the correct branding and marketing).
Luxe literature will be born of a time where we return to expertise and experience over quick access because of a restored yearning for tastemakers. AI will exacerbate the success of luxury literature as people seek options that are guaranteed to be AI free. The experience of reading and collection of authentic books will become the point as people purchase titles to keep and pass down.
Nona Ngwenya is the founding director of Zuri Manor House, a member of RedBoxMe in Collaboration With Cartier