Wanted to read: what to go to the Nonfiction Spring Book Fair for

Romantic fantasy, Asian novelties, meetings with Mikhail Piotrovsky, Tatiana Chernihiv and Svetlana Bondarchuk, as well as presentations of new books by Zakhar Prilepin, Sergei Shargunov, Irina Deshkova are just a small part of the spring fair of intellectual literature "Non-fiction Spring". The Izvestia report describes how mandatory book labeling has affected consumer demand, what reader trends publishers are observing, and what to go to Gostiny Dvor for.

The trend towards Russian business and fiction

Until the end of the week, the main intellectual literature fair "Non-fiction Spring" will be open in the center of Moscow. More than 400 publishers presented their novelties of popular science, fiction, children's and comic literature.

One of the trends of this "non-fiction", as it is called by the regulars, is an interest in Russian literature. People are willing to discover new authors, both in fiction and business literature. Thus, the publishing house "MYTH" records the peak of popularity of books about Russian business.

— This trend began to form a couple of years ago and has now reached its peak. For example, last year Pavel Alferov's book "Project Management: how to do the right thing" received the Business Book Award. Among the main hits are "Venture Thinking", "Dodo: from basement to billion" and the same "Project Management". This is already a stable top three," Adele Yusupova, head of the press service of the MIF publishing house, told Izvestia.

If a few years ago readers were actively buying books on how to build a Tesla or Google empire, today they are guided by Russian realities. At the same time, publishers are also recording a shift in fiction. One of the main hits of the fair was the novel by Alena Selyutina "And our forests are quiet." Interestingly, the author started with fantasy and science fiction, and now turned to psychological prose. Such transitions are indicative: the role changes, but the author's voice and the quality of the language remain.

Kanevsky and Shura presented their autobiographies

Asia is still at the peak of its popularity. According to the Bombora publishing house, Genki Kawamura has been holding the position of one of the best-selling authors in Russia for two years with the book "If all cats in the world disappear". He continues to release new projects, including the novel "If Your Memory Disappears", as well as film adaptations: he works in both cinema and literature, which further fuels the interest of the audience. The novelty of the fair is the book "Exit 8. One decision can change everything", created based on the project of the same name.

The segment of books from public figures is growing separately. The headliners of the first day of the fair were Leonid Kanevsky and singer Shura (Alexander Medvedev). Both gathered the largest number of viewers at the presentations. Moreover, if Shura's fans sang his hits, Kanevsky's fans literally did not let him pass.

Medvedev said that he had not agreed to write a book for a long time — the team had been persuading him for two years. Now the artist has already been offered to create a script for a film based on his autobiography. Shura even has her own ideal candidate for the lead role.

— I see only Nikita Kologrivy in the main role. He doesn't have many teeth in his mouth yet. It's easy to paint over. I think he'll agree," the singer confessed at the presentation.

At the same time, interest in classics is steadily growing. MIF expanded the range of Russian and foreign literature and began producing gift sets designed like boxes of chocolates, inside of which there are compact editions of books. In addition, in the wake of film adaptations, including Wuthering Heights, the publishing house launched a series of classics in the original, featuring the works of the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen. The series is already popular.

— The readership is changing and evolving. Today, just text is no longer enough for many. They expect something more from the book. Hence the growing popularity of gift editions. Now the text is available everywhere, where for a fixed amount you can get access to a huge number of books that are physically impossible to read in a month. Therefore, in order to compete for attention, we must offer more than just content. As a result, there are painted edges, color illustrations, additional merch for pre—orders," Alexey Ionov, head of copyright brand promotion projects at the AST publishing house's fiction department, told Izvestia.

Fans, marking 18+ and romance

Another trend is dark, adult fantasy with recognizable tropes like "from love to hate" and a slight hint of unhealthy relationships. Such literature is presented in almost every major publishing house. And the editorial board of Inspiria even launched a separate direction — romenthesi.

— Stories with anguish are the most catchy — with painful, complicated relationships that in real life would most likely end badly. But it's this tension that makes you follow the characters: you realize that everything is not easy, and you still get emotionally involved," said Alexey Ionov.

Such books first become popular online, gain a fan base, and then receive offers from publishers. And today, fans can influence the work of even major players such as AST. So, Callie Hart's book "Mercury" has two translations at once: fan and classic. This is a unique case in the market.

— We agreed with its authors, bought the rights to the translation, and after a little proofreading, we released it as well. At the same time, a significant part of the audience was purposefully waiting for this particular fan text," he added.

A significant part of the products on the stands are packaged in film and marked with an exclamation mark in a triangle and the mark "18+". According to him, after March 1, when changes in legislation came into force, the publishing house had to review the entire range on sale.

— We act strictly within the law. If sales are prohibited, the products will be withdrawn and recalled. The content undergoes additional editing and censorship, if necessary to meet the requirements," said Ionov.

However, readers are not afraid of labels and film: they willingly buy literature.

Traditionally, Non-fiction hosts lectures, meetings with writers, exhibitions, and even vinyl sales. The fair will last until April 12 inclusive.