Children's retailers clamour for stand-alone titles
 09.04.10 | Caroline Horn in The Bookseller

Demand for series fiction for children has peaked with retailers pointing to rising demand for  stand-alone titles, especially at the younger end of the market.

Rachel Airey, children’s buyer for W H Smith, said: "We still see strong sales for established series but it is harder than ever to launch a new series. Customers, especially for young readers, are jaded with the idea of a new series and being faced with another set of six books to buy."

The success of series including Rainbow Magic and Beastquest has lead to a strong rise in series publishing. Sarah Clarke, children’s buying man­ager at Waterstone’s, said: "Perhaps you can have too much of a good thing."
She added: "Series fiction has its place, but we’d like to see more great one-off titles for this age group, such as The Great Hamster Massacre (the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize winner), to help add variety to the market."


Series for older children may also struggle, said John Newman of independent Newham Books. "If you can’t get children hooked on the first book, you’ve lost those readers for subsequent books."

Hachette launched a series for older readers, Conspiracy 365 by Gabrielle Lord, in January and is publishing one title each month. Les Phipps, Hodder sales director, said: "It’s an experiment for us. We know it will be a slow build  but if retail space holds, we know it will break through."

Annie Eaton, fiction publisher at Random House Children’s Books, said: "We still believe series, especially for younger readers, are here to stay. Series can help children to grow in confidence as readers."
The company plans to launch two or three series each year across the age ranges, as well as developing its existing series such as Astrosaurs.