Lack of New Science Fiction Novels

[Serendipity]

I've a friend who is in more in touch with what is going on in the speculative fiction market than me. His comments effectively include:

• Main UK publishers are down on the number of new SFF novels they publish.
• Most of those were fantasy.
• When the pandemic finally ceases, the publishers are going to be scrambling for science fiction material for 18 months.

I would question the first point for a few publishers - Gollancz has certainly continued publishing at their rate as far as I can see. But others? I don't know. As for the other points, I can't make up my mind.

What does the SFFchronicles hive-mind think?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

All new books are down - publishers have been scrambling to avoid releasing in lockdown (and no wonder, she said, worryingly looking at her stacks of unsold new releases) but in most cases it’s to delay the release. My instinct is there is so much stuff to be released into what will be a very crowded market (29th April has so many new releases, it feels like October) that, if anything, purchasing will slow down.
also plenty of new sf out, some pretty cool stuff (Skyward Inn, Little Eyes and the new Chris Beckett are all taking my fancy) but fantasy always dominates the market.

 

[Steve Harrison]

My publisher in the UK, Elsewhen Press, has maintained their one book a month program throughout the pandemic, with many good SF titles (none of them mine, I should add!).

They are a small outfit and often overlooked, but they publish a lot of terrific books.

 

[tinkerdan]

if your friend is well connected in the industry then I'd tend to believe.

However:
I have to wonder. With all these people locked up, it would seem reading should have gone up. Mine certainly has.
Any slowdown in published books seems more likely to be on the publishing end in perhaps deliberate decision to withhold the rollout of releases.
Most die-hard authors are most likely still writing and there will be a flood of those types of submissions--maybe already is.
That means at best it will be less likely there will be much need for new authors for a while.
It just seems more likely the publishers decided to throttle production until after the pandemic.
Why:
Could be a number of reasons.
Lots of potential readers who just didn't have time for it while working.[there are plenty of books they haven't read, already on the market]
Likely the pipeline from production to brick an mortar has been slowed or stopped.
Likely they had a period to adjust their production to new standards via the lockdown.
At this place in time a wait and see attitude might well have taken hold.

Personally I have been reading a multitude of older novels and not looking for any new novels when I shop.
Yeah; once everyone gets back to regular work hours there will be a flood of work that needs doing in all industries.
In the industries that survive.