Romantasy pays for Bloomsbury Publishing

London-listed Bloomsbury Publishing upgraded its revenue and profit forecasts amid growing demand for “romantasy” novels.

The London-listed company expects a full-year revenue of £291.4 million (€341.1 million) and pre-tax profits of £37.2 million (€43.5 million) compared with £264.1 million (€309.1 million) and £25.4 million (€29.7 million) in 2023.  Shares have also risen by a record 11.5 per cent.

Bloomsbury, which publishes the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling who is now worth more than £1 billion (€117 billion, has enjoyed buoyant sales since the pandemic lockdowns re-awoke an interest in reading.

The company is now profiting from a growing taste for romantasy – a combination of romance and fantasy – whose authors include Samantha Shannon and Cixin although Sarah J Maas is arguably Bloomsbury’s leading provider of the genre.

Her latest book, which was released at the end of January 2024, has reached the Number One spot in the UK, the US and Australia.

Bloomsbury’s chief executive Nigel Newton has described Ms Maas, as a “publishing phenomenon”, who has produced 15 books and is under contract to provide a further six. “We are very fortunate to have signed her up with her first book 13 years ago,” Newton said.