Exploring Canadian Romance and Erotica titles

Happy Valentine’s Day! In this season of love, we wanted to take a look at Canadian Romance and Erotica titles over the last five years. We used Canadian contributor data to determine whether the author, illustrator, translator, or editor (in the case of an edited collection of material) was Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada and we used BookNet Canada’s SalesData, the national sales tracking service for the Canadian English-language trade book market, and LibraryData, the national library collection and circulation analysis tool, to track the print book sales and library circulation in Canada.

Canadian Romance at a glance

Buying Canadian Romance

From 2020 to 2024, sales of Canadian Romance titles were up 404%. If we take a closer look, we can see sales were down 45% from 2020 to 2021 but then increased steadily from 2021 to 2024, up 814%.

Borrowing Canadian Romance

Overall, loans of Canadian Romance titles increased 640% in the last five years. From 2020 to 2024, loans increased gradually, the largest increase was from 2022 to 2023, up 84%.

The Canadian Romance subcategories readers are loving

From the data above, we can say that Canadian readers have been loving romance titles by Canadian contributors. Let’s take a look at the subcategories stealing the most hearts. The top selling subcategories were:

• Fiction / Romance / Contemporary — 46% of all Canadian Romance sales

• Fiction / Romance / New Adult — 21% of all Canadian Romance sales

• Fiction / Romance / Sports — 5% of all Canadian Romance sales

Reading Canadian Fiction / Romance

Here are the top selling and top borrowed Canadian Fiction / Romance titles from 2020 to 2024.

Top borrowed

1. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune 🍁

2. Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune 🍁

3. This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune 🍁

4. The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham 🍁

5. The Deal by Elle Kennedy 🍁

Top selling

1. Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune 🍁

2. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune 🍁

3. This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune 🍁

4. Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver 🍁

5. The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham 🍁

Canadian Erotica at a glance

Buying Canadian Erotica

Overall, sales of Canadian Erotica titles were up 176% from 2020 to 2024. Interestingly, from 2020 to 2023, sales decreased 59% but they had a sharp increase from 2023 to 2024, up 567%.

Borrowing Canadian Erotica

In the last five years, loans of Canadian Erotica titles were up 172% overall. Loans were fairly flat from 2020 to 2023, but similarly to the sales of Canadian Erotica titles, loans shot up 153% from 2023 to 2024.

The Canadian Erotica subcategories readers are loving

Canadian readers have been appreciating erotica titles by Canadian contributors recently. The top loaned subcategories were:

• Fiction / Erotica / Collections & Anthologies — 90% of all Canadian Erotica loans

• Fiction / Erotica / LGBTQ+ — 8% of all Canadian Erotica loans

Reading Canadian Fiction / Erotica

Here are the top selling and top borrowed Canadian Fiction / Erotica titles from 2020 to 2024.

Top borrowed

1. S.E.C.R.E.T by L. Marie Adeline 🍁

2. Secret Sex edited by Russell Smith 🍁

3. The Gift of Shayla by N. J. Walters 🍁

4. No Holds Barred by Callie Croix 🍁

5. Heckin' Lewd: Trans and Nonbinary Erotica edited by Nillin Lore 🍁

Top selling

1. Secret Sex edited by Russell Smith 🍁

2. S.E.C.R.E.T by L. Marie Adeline 🍁

3. The Nerves by Lee Suksi 🍁

4. S.E.C.R.E.T Revealed by L. Marie Adeline 🍁

5. An Honest Woman by JoAnn McCaig 🍁

Are you a publisher, retailer, or librarian who wants to see more data like this? Check out SalesData and LibraryData. Do you have questions about any of our products or services? Contact us!