Publishers were disappointed, but not surprised, by Readerlink’s recent decision to stop distributing mass market paperbacks to its accounts, including mass merchandisers, by the end of 2025. In recent years, publishers said, mass merchandisers accounted for the lion’s share of mass market paperback sales, particularly for reprints—but as sales steadily declined, they too lost interest in a format that produced slim margins and proved inefficient to both publish and sell. “We see this as an inevitable outcome,” said one executive at a large publishing house, speaking with PW on condition of anonymity, about Readerlink’s decision.

Some publishers will be somewhat cushioned from the blow of mass merchandisers abandoning the format by the significant number of mass market paperback sales now coming for classic titles—as opposed to reprints of popular titles originally released in other formats—sold mostly to students through Barnes & Noble and other accounts. A look at Circana BookScan’s 2024 mass market paperback bestseller list found that the top sellers in the format comprised a heavy dose of established titles; of the top 50 bestsellers in the format last year, which sold a combined total of roughly 3.2 million copies, only 14 were published in 2024.

The two bestselling mass market paperbacks last year were both 75th anniversary issues of George Orwell classics, Animal Farm and 1984, which are published by Penguin Random House imprint Signet Classics and sold about 226,000 and 218,000 copies, respectively, at retailers that report sales to BookScan. Still, for some authors and publishers, mass market paperbacks generate a fair amount of money.

Danielle Steel had the bestselling new release with Happiness, which was published by PRH’s Delacorte Press imprint and sold almost 53,000 copies; the hardcover sold over 72,000 copies. Five other Steel titles among the top 50 sold approximately 257,000 combined copies. Other bestselling authors with hits in other formats whose mass market paperback editions hit the bestseller list included David Baldacci, Lee and Andrew Child, John Grisham, Stephen King, and Nicholas Sparks.

Previously, when the mass market paperback appeared in danger of disappearing, some publishers attempted to revive it through tweaks that included, for instance, making the print larger. This time, however, publishers don’t appear interested in experimenting in order to save the format.

Consensus across the six publishers that spoke with PW said that most new and established authors who had been published in mass market will now simply get moved over to trade paperback. “I think you'll see publishers aggressively scaling back on the number of mass markets they produce," said an executive at another major publisher, adding that reprints will be examined “on a case-by-case basis.” Another executive at a large publisher, aware of consumer concerns about pricing, suggested that maybe a less expensive edition of a trade paperback could be introduced.

James Daunt, CEO of Barnes & Noble, said that publishers shouldn't expect the nation's largest physical retailer to come to the rescue of the format. While most B&N stores carry classic titles and some B&N exclusives, Daunt said sections featuring new mass market paperbacks had been removed or downsized from about one third of B&N outlets across the country even before the Readerlink news. Daunt pointed to sales data that indicates that commercial mass market paperbacks tend to be bought mostly by older buyers, and speculated that stores in regions rich in those demographics may add some inventory.

Despite the pending loss of mass market shelf space at mass merchandisers, publishers were hopeful that, with the deadline for dropping titles in the format still months away, stores will have time to adjust their displays to cater to the trade paperback. HarperCollins, which owns romance publisher Harlequin and is the second largest publisher of mass market paperbacks behind Penguin Random House, said in a statement that it has been broadening the availability and distribution of trade paperback formats, and is "supportive of retailers and distributors doing the same."