Thirty-four new books published each day in 1999

Book production in Switzerland increased by 5 per cent last year, even though there was no boom in millennium titles as some industry watchers had predicted.

Book production in Switzerland increased by 5 per cent last year, even though there was no boom in millennium titles as some industry watchers had predicted.

A total of 13,700 new books were published in the past 12 months, an increase in line with the steady rise on international markets.

Sheet music, novels and legal texts were still the three most popular genres, accounting for 30 per cent of new titles.

Publishing for children and young adults saw an above-average increase of 40 percent, mostly due to Swiss publishers developing new international markets.

Translations were again very popular with Swiss readers: 1,652 works were translated last year.

“American literature continues to be very popular, as has already been the case in past years,” said Philippe Girard of the Swiss National Library, which compiles national publishing data. Every second book was translated from English, he said.

Despite a new surge in religious and political books, the boom in millennium titles – both of the apocalyptic and futuristic kind — did not happen, as publishers steered clear of year 2000 texts.

From staff and wire reports.