28 Jul Memoirs named the most popular non-fiction genre sold on Amazon
Right now, memoirs are the top selling non-fiction genre on Amazon, the online retailer that has the monopoly on book sales. However, the rich and famous are not the only one’s lining the bookshelves, there is a rapidly growing trend of new authors from everyday existences with extraordinary stories propelling memoirs into one of the fastest growing areas in publishing. Statistics suggest that this demand for new authors is projected to grow 9% from 2020 to 2030, with national ghostwriting agencies reporting up to 400% increases in inquiries over the pandemic. One such company that has observed a similar trajectory is StoryTerrace, the leading international memoir-writing service.
Having penned the memoirs of 1,000 ordinary people in the past year alone, the life story curators are embracing a new wave of people looking to have their life stories recorded. In their landmark research, StoryTerrace found that over half of the nation (51%) wish they could tell their younger self to have their life story documented, with 38% of Brits who are 35+ being keen to write their memoir once they retire to pass down to their children.
Historically, memoirs have been one of the fasted growing areas in publishing, with Neilson Book Research reporting a staggering 42% increase in sales from 2018-2019. Readers are leaning into to these authors with experiences they can relate to, and as such, publishers are delivering. With the demand high, publishing director at 4th Estate, owned by HarperCollins, Helen Garnons-Williams states publishers are now focusing on these types of non-fiction titles as “what readers want is people who are normal and who they can trust”.
One example of this phenomenon is a Great Ormond Street Hospital nurse, who sold 100,000 copies of her memoir within the first few weeks of it being published, joining a trend of ordinary people recounting their heartfelt life stories, and publishing them for the world to see. After working 20 years in intensive care units in children’s hospitals, Christie Watson had experienced enough to write her memoir, The Language of Kindness: A Nurse’s Story, recounting tales from resuscitating patients who were in cardiac arrest, to helping a young boy write a thank you letter to the parents of another boy who passed away, and whose organs were used to save his life. Much of her story, like so many others, were formed through the diaries she kept, working long hours in the hospital, penning her feelings on paper. Rutger Bruining, founder of StoryTerrace, the UK’s leading biography service, emphasises the importance of preserving each and every life story, as all deserve to be documented – and may even end up being a best seller.
Rutger Bruining, CEO and Founder of StoryTerrace, shares his thoughts on the boom of people wanting to have their life stories written:
“I believe that the growing trend of ordinary people writing extraordinary memoirs is one of the most cherished outcomes from such a challenging few years, but what I was really keen to see is if it would persist into 2022. We are delighted to see the plethora of people coming to StoryTerrace who are keen to have their stories written, shared and passed down – from all walks of life. Some heartbreaking, some hilarious but all of them inspirational. We think here at StoryTerrace that the next 10 years of autobiographies will be the most interesting society has ever seen.
“At StoryTerrace, our writers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but all share the same fundamental passion for helping people to capture their stories. We have now built a network of over 750 incredible writers and only hope to expand in the future.”
