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The resurgence of adult colouring books in Australia is a trend worth paying attention to. In a current publishing landscape that is being impacted by cost of living pressures, the daily infiltration of social media and constant worldly anxiety, it’s a sign of the times that printed colouring books for adults are as successful as they currently are. Let’s take a look at what has led to that success, as well as how self-published authors are using this trend to their advantage.
The Rise of Adult Colouring Books
While adult colouring books might be a book medium that you’ve recently noticed an uptick in, it’s a genre of publication that has been around for decades, and maybe even centuries. Before colour printing was invented - and almost since the dawn of printing itself - artists, printers, booksellers, consumers and readers were all applying their own colours to original black and white images in the fifteenth century, according to the Public Domain Review. This wasn’t out of boredom or artistic expression - these images were printed with the purpose of inviting their adult reader to fill in the lines with whatever colours they wished.
Fast forward to the 1960s. Satirical and subversive adult colouring books - specifically books like Executive Coloring Book by Brenda Jackson, Dennis Altman, Marcie Hans, Martin A. Cohen and Ronald L. McDonald, published in 1961 - made fun of corporate culture and mocked American society. Considered the advent of modern colouring books for adults, this era of the medium introduced consumers to an active way of engaging with printed books.
Now, with two of Australia’s top ten bestselling books in 2025 being adult colouring books, the trend is back and bigger than ever. Both of those bestselling publications (Cozy Corner and Cozy Cuties) were by Coco Wyo - an international cohort of artists, colourists, editors and marketers. Additionally, Aussie artist Cherry Lam sold 50,000 copies of her own colouring book Cosy Calm in 2025, and also won the award for Marketing/Publicity Campaign of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards in 2026.
From Mindfulness To Merchandise And Sticker Books
There are plenty of reasons why adult colouring books are flooding the Australian market at the moment. According to The Conversation, one of the most prominent reasons for this uptick in popularity is a reflection of what happened to the market during COVID in 2020 when adult colouring books were last trending. In a time of social upheaval and uncertainty, colouring books became a resource of mindfulness and meditation.
Now, that trend has extended into 2026 with the help of social media trends like BookTok and ‘cosy’ lifestyle and craft influencers. The simple, childlike illustrations encourage adults to turn their brains off and tune in to the task at hand, all while providing imagery that feels homely, cute, domestic and cosy, prompting feelings of simplicity and safety. With the world on the verge of a recession and global conflicts and distressing events flooding the internet every time you go online, it only makes sense for an activity that is easy, accessible, familiar, fun and - most importantly - offline, to be thriving as a trend for adults.
Another part of the adult colouring trend that book writers and indie authors are taking note of is the rise of colouring books as merchandise. One of the most prominent examples of this use of the medium at work is the accompanying colouring book for #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Sarah J. Maas’ series A Court Of Thorns And Roses. The use of an additional product in the colouring book not only allows the reader to extend the story and the world of the book in a new interactive way beyond reading, but also allows for the author to extend their reach on the book market and experiment with different book printing and publishing formats.
The success of the current adult colouring book trend is now prompting similar types of books to follow suit. The uptick in sticker books aimed at adults - often used to decorate, collage and be used in other art and craft activities that are all part of the social media ‘cosy’ trend - this is more evidence of the fact that books are being reimagined as products that are active in participation and can be used to help users engage with exterior activities, not to simply be flicked through and read.
How Self-Published Authors Are Successfully Getting On Board
According to a report by Research and Markets, the global adult colouring book market was valued at USD 152.57 million ($219.91 million) in 2025, with a projection to reach USD 266.04 million ($383.5 million) by 2031. It’s no wonder why self-published authors are jumping into the market of this incredibly profitable sector in the book printing and publishing industry.
Better yet, adult colouring books are relatively simple to design, illustrate, print and publish, meaning that many indie authors and small businesses are finding this segment of the book printing and publishing world accessible and profitable. It’s not just easy for these book makers to print a colouring book of their own as a singular product, but it’s also easy to produce one to accompany a self-published book by an indie author or align with a marketing campaign as part of their small business.
Like any trend in the book printing world, adult colouring books is one that has found success in our current moment thanks to the quality and quantity of amazing books on the market that are serving book readers and consumers’ desires. If you’re thinking about jumping on this trend and creating an adult colouring book of your own, now would be the perfect time to get involved.
To learn more about our self-published colouring book printing services, get in touch with our team at FolioFox today. We're here to help you navigate the evolving world of self-published book printing with confidence.
