After a decade of struggling, we readers are all glad to see a rise of Barnes & Noble nationwide as we enter a reading renaissance, widely thanks to the social media trends seen on BookTok and Bookstagram. But is this Barnes & Noble the same one we have always known and loved?
B&N: A Comeback Story
In the early 2000s and 2010s, Barnes & Noble was hitting a low. Stores were opening and closing at a concerning pace. Once Amazon became the number one international book seller, Barnes & Noble took a large hit, and by 2013, it was projected to close a third of its retail stores. In 2019, with the hopes of somehow stopping the decline, they brought in new CEO James Daunt. But then something that no one could have predicted happened.
Two major events in the early 2020s helped with the resurgence of Barnes & Noble’s sales. The first being the COVID-19 pandemic, the shutdown allowed for Daunt and B&N teams to regroup and refocus the store in a new way that consumers looking for new hobbies and an excuse to leave their houses would enjoy. The second was the rise of a trend on social media, giving way to BookTok and Bookstagram. By 2023, businesses started to come back, and now in 2025, Barnes & Noble is estimated to open 60 new stores.
Problems With the Indies
A recent article from Publishers Weekly stated that certain independent publishers have become frustrated with the largest brick-and-mortar bookseller in the U.S.. Many have indicated that since Daunt started in 2019, they have seen a significant decline in business with Barnes & Noble.
The main issue arises with a large cut in the number of buyers at the bookseller, as well as a shift in priorities. Indie publishers have found it difficult to reach B&N buyers. Most of the contact between buyers and sellers now comes from Edelweiss, a digital catalog platform that publishers use to pitch books to B&N, making it difficult to build trusting relationships with the buyers, or even to get in contact with them in person at all.
Biggest Buyer of Books
Historically, Barnes & Noble has been the second biggest buyer of books, with Amazon being the first. However, when interviewed by Publishers Weekly, almost a dozen independent publishers claimed that their business with B&N had significantly declined since Daunt took over.
“A third publisher disclosed that, while Amazon ordered 5,000 copies of a recent lead hardcover title at his press, B&N only ordered 200 — a clear indicator of how far B&N has fallen off in importance at his company.”
Jim Milliot, Independent Publishers Are Fed Up with Barnes & Noble
Some independent publishers claimed that B&N is no longer even their second-largest buyer. This has caused a rise in Books-A-Million as a reliable buyer, as well as a growing alliance between indie publishers and indie bookstores. Although Daunt has admitted to having reduced new inventory, he denies that the size of the publisher has any implication on buying decisions.
Troubles with Change
This change in B&N is not all bad. In fact, most independent publishers have agreed that it is good to see the rise in Barnes & Noble, and it brings hope to them that positive change is coming their way. With all change comes frustration and an adjustment period. As one independent publisher president said,
“Daunt’s entitled to run his business as he sees fit. Opening more is good. Sales being up is good. What he is doing is working — it’s just not working for us.”
Independent Publishers Are Fed Up with Barnes & Noble
It is evident that Daunt became CEO at an interesting time for the book world. Bookstores have not seen this much success in decades, and Daunt was wise to understand how to take advantage of this opportunity and the benefits it has for Barnes & Noble. However, many sources indicate BookTok as one of the major reasons Barnes & Noble is able to open more stores. I can’t help but wonder how BookTok fits into all this.
Trending Habits of Consumerism
When I read this, I immediately thought of the conversation I have seen online that points out the similarities between fast fashion and what we are seeing in the publishing industry. Many readers are worried that the popularity of reading will bring a decrease in the quality of books, as has happened with trending products in the past.
This Publishers Weekly article seems to make this argument a little stronger. It shows it is not just a general interest taken in reading, but a very specific interest that comes with a specific type of book. By simply following the trends, big publishers know exactly what type of books will be successful, and buyers like B&N know exactly what types of books will sell. Rather than focusing on what books to stock based on staying power, many publishers and buyers are always looking for the next best thing, predicting reading trends and speeding up the entire publishing process to keep up with these trends.
Impact of BookTok on Booksellers
Daunt admits that they are stocking differently than they used to. He is cited as having said in an interview that Amazon has helped them as a bookstore in some ways, as it has allowed them to take away the “boring” books, such as long how-to manuals that would take up shelf space for more “interesting” books. But he does not believe that BookTok has had a large impact on changing the store. He says that for as long as he’s been in the business, young people have been enthusiastic about books, and BookTok is just very good at building that community.
While this is very much true, I think that it is the large popularity of BookTok and the number of people engaging with it that has had an immense impact on how companies like Barnes & Noble are operating. While there is not much research on it, you can see it when you walk into a Barnes & Noble and are met with a table labeled #BookTok. They obviously want to sell the books that are trending, that will bring people into their stores and keep their name relevant on social media.
Accountability
I think the publishing industry has something that the fast fashion movement did not have. It is thanks to independent publishers speaking out and perhaps even calling out large sellers like Barnes & Noble on their actions that just may save the publishing industry from the fate of fast fashion.
This change we are seeing in the reading world, as with all change, brings with it many unknowns. However, in no way is it bad for anyone in the book business to have a rise in reading, and the independent publishers agree. While it may be changing the way that independent publishers think about selling their titles or the way the books are sold in general, with B&N opting for the big hits from BookTok and Bookstagram, most booksellers and publishers are seeing a rise in business thanks to the resurgence in reading.
And, like all social media trends, the rise in BookTok also means the rise in posting to make people aware of these trend cycles. And who knows, the next trend could just be to go to your local independent bookstore and find something new and unique that Barnes & Noble doesn’t have.
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