2026 Trend Predictions in Book Printing and Publishing

It’s a new year, and the first month of 2026 has already flown by, but we thought we’d share our 2026 predictions for the book printing and publishing industry anyway! As a Melbourne-based book printing company, we try to stay attuned to the Australian publishing industry since we do end up printing quite a few books of the paperback retail book variety in particular. 2025 was a big year for book printing, and we expect 2026 to be no different, so here are our top five predictions for the year (or at least 11 months) ahead.

Special Edition & Minimalist Hardcovers

Walk into any Australian bookstore today and you’ll immediately notice a stack of beautiful hardcover special edition books at the front, with sprayed edges, gold foiling and more alluring finishes. More and more readers are investing in beautiful special editions, whether it’s for reading or collecting, as customers are really appreciating books as beautiful items more than just a format for consuming stories and information. Traditional publishers have quickly jumped onto this, with many taking advantage and producing special editions for a limited first print run to get readers buying copies as soon as books are released, and they’re not necessarily hardcovers either.

“Sprayed edges on paperbacks is here to stay,” says Chloe Berry, literary agent and founder of The Berry Agency, “Imprints such as Atria (from Simon & Schuster) are doing sprayed edges on paperbacks for the first print run only, which is driving demand and early sales.”

Special editions have not always been available across all genres, with most limited editions being for fantasy and young adult books, but the romantasy genre’s explosion in popularity has helped bridge the gap for contemporary, romance and general fiction books to get special editions of their own. Canberra-based business, The Romance Mafia, is one of a few small businesses selling curated special editions of books, often by indie authors, which can’t be found in your typical bookstore across Australia. They will be one of many local bookish businesses opening new brick and mortar locations for romance book lovers in 2026, much like online store Trilogy of Romance, who are opening their first physical store and book cafe in Melbourne this month.

From a book production perspective, although we don’t have the capability of printing book edges (...yet, watch this space 👀), we’ve also noticed more of our customers; authors and businesses, opting for minimalist hardcover books with foil stamping. Not only is it elegant and feels more premium, but it’s more economical than producing hardcover books with sprayed edges which typically require large print runs in the thousands, compared to smaller print runs of 300-500 copies. Often, simply printing your book in hardcover and leaning on an impactful limited edition cover design is enough to add that extra special factor for readers and book fans.

Accessible Books for Infrequent Readers

Although book sales may have increased in the last year across Australia, reading rates haven’t and more books are being left unread according to recent research by Australia Reads. The study found over 30% of Australians who are infrequent readers, can be characterised as ambivalent (lacking in interest), lapsed (used to read but rarely does now) or aspirational (read far less than they want to). While concerning, this research has led organisations and authors to realise that there is a greater need for accessible books that are easier to find, more attractive and can compete against other leisure activities to get more people reading.

“Our really ambivalent readers, our lapsed readers, are looking for more accessible genres and shorter books," says Anna Burkey, Head of Australia Reads, in conversation with ABC reporter James Purtill last month.

“With over a third of Australians sitting in the “aspirational, ambivalent or lapsed” infrequent reader categories, the biggest opportunity in publishing comes from meeting casual readers where they are – with accessible stories that feel inviting, flexible, and engaging,” says author and book marketer, Karina May.

These insights have since inspired others to actually create more accessible books that will encourage reading in Australian adults, from new imprints and authors so we anticipate that this is a trend that will launch and potentially take-off in 2026.

The Continued Rise of Graphic Novels

It might not be a traditional book, but reading graphic novels certainly counts as reading! Known for their highly visual internal pages, these books are often stunning, satisfyingly thick due to the higher gsm paper and as enjoyable to print as they are to read. We expect their demand and increasing popularity (especially since the pandemic) to continue and evolve, particularly from new authors and potentially even self-published authors too.

The release of a full colour kindle has already been a game-changer for existing graphic novel enthusiasts who prefer digital reading, but printing physical graphic novels has never been easier with digital printing too. We’re already seeing movers and shakers in the industry with the recent addition of Perentie Press, a new Australian independent publisher founded focussed on publishing graphic novels. Printing beautiful, portable novels that lean on visuals certainly seems like a clear-cut way to entice more kids and adults to read.

Readers Opting for Physical Books > eBooks

While we’ll always concur that nothing beats an old school physical book for reading, writing or other, the decline in eBooks and increase in physical book sales isn’t a new headline. It’s been called a trend and a myth over the last few years, from varying data points and surveys, but we think that this year it might actually be real. 

Why? A few reasons that’s led us to this prediction include the increasing prices of eBooks from traditional publishers, the alarming increase in new AI-written eBooks flooding (and scamming readers) in the market and exciting new complementary technology that would encourage readers to own both physical and audiobook copies of a book.

Genre Fiction Books: New Mash-Ups to Overtake Romantasy

Romantasy has been the industry’s big craze when it comes to retail fiction books in the last few years, but we can expect this interest to soon drop off (if it hasn’t already for many readers). However, we do think that certain aspects of the Romantasy and Dark Romance genres will prevail in genre mash-ups this year.

“I think that dark romcoms or slasher romcoms will start to take over the contemporary space. We're seeing readers slowly move over to sci-fi so I'm also manifesting sci-mance (sci-fi romance!) and the popularity of Dark Romance to continue in other genre mash-ups.”
‍_{- Chloe Berry, Publishing Marketing Professional & Founder of The Berry Agency}

There are definitely more trends which have already begun in the last few years that we anticipate to continue in the same direction this year, which is why we haven’t gone into full detail on. Some that you’ve likely seen before in other articles include authors preferring to self-publish (especially to avoid fake AI publishers) and businesses leaning more on digital printing short runs from local printers (like us!) for better flexibility and to reduce long term costs.

That being said, we’ll be keeping a closer eye on the five key predictions detailed above throughout the year and look forward to seeing if any of these come true! In the meantime, if you’re planning to publish a book or print a new project, get the conversation started by reaching out to us and we’ll be here to provide guidance, and print your potential.