Horror novels revive interest in Basra’s bookstores despite declining sales

BASRA—Despite a significant decline in book sales over the past few years, Basra’s bookstores are experiencing renewed interest thanks to an unexpected trend: horror novels. Local publishers have reported up to an 80% drop in sales since 2019, largely due to the rise of social media influencers summarizing books into short videos, leading to reduced demand for longer reads.

However, some genres are bucking this trend. “Horror novels seem to be the new lifeline,” said Badr Khamis, owner of Al-Fikr Al-Muasir bookstore. He noted that this surge in demand is primarily driven by younger readers, aged 14 to 30. “Fantasy and horror novels have been the most requested this week. It’s a new trend I can’t quite explain,” he added, pointing to titles like Osama Al-Muslim’s Ard Stan and Khauf as particularly popular choices.

The decline in book sales first began in 2019, coinciding with the rise of social media influencers who summarize lengthy books in five-minute videos. “Since influencers started condensing books, we’ve seen a real drop in readership,” Khamis explained. The rise of influencers and bite-sized book summaries has had a major impact on the longer reading experience. Despite this, horror novels seem to be defying the overall trend, offering a silver lining for booksellers like Khamis.

Hussein Youssef, owner of Al-Elmeya Bookstore, shared a slightly different perspective. “There’s been a consistent demand for academic books, especially with the start of the new school year,” Youssef said. He also noted that classic novels remain highly sought after. “Dostoevsky’s works, such as White Nights, continue to attract readers with their engaging stories centered on chance and fate. We’ve also noticed increased interest in Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s Cemetery of Forgotten Books series,” Youssef told 964media.

Both Khamis and Youssef agreed that the physical book market has been hit hard in recent years by the rise of ebooks and audiobooks. Khamis pointed out that e-readers like Kindle have contributed to the decline of paper book sales. “Ebook stores like Kindle provide a more comfortable reading experience than PDF formats, which has drawn many readers away from traditional books,” he said. E-readers allow for adjustable text sizes, easier navigation, and additional features that enhance reading comfort, making them more appealing than static PDF formats.