Fascinating facts for writers and readers

Public Lending Right says five children's authors are among the top ten most borrowed authors in UK libraries in 2014-15.

It also shows James Patterson at the head of the list for the ninth year running - but is that surprising when he published 15 books in that time period and has 300 titles to his credit? Fortunately he doesn't get PLR payments, for which other authors must be grateful! The 202 authors who received the maximum capped £6,600 are all from the UK.

Thrillers are the most popular genre. Nine out of the top ten most borrowed books are in this group.

Among classic authors Shakespeare came in at number ten with Jane Austen at eleven. Roald Dahl was top, with Enid Blyton second and Agatha Christie third.

David Walliams’w popularity continues to grow and he’s now the 41st most borrowed author compared to his 157th position in 2012-13. His book Awful Auntie was also the most borrowed title in libraries in Northern Ireland. “What fantastic taste the children of Northern Ireland have,” said Walliams. “I am beyond delighted. Libraries are vital for children and adults to discover a wide variety of books. Long may they live!” Another big riser was Liz Pichon (64th from 160th last year), who was told off for doodling as a child. But the author of the excellent Tom Gates series, which she writes and illustrates, is one of the most popular in libraries.

David Walliams’s popularity continues to grow and he’s now the 41st most borrowed author compared to his 157th position in 2012-13

In the humour category  Bart Simpson: Big Shot! by Matt Groening came top.

"So many writers benefit from PLR money. In February 2016, PLR will make payments totalling £6 million to 22,347 writers, illustrators, photographers, editors, translators, adaptors, narrators, producers and abridgers. This year’s rate per loan is 7.67 pence."

In the travel and holiday genre, Londoners chose Lonely Planet’s Italy by Cristian Bonetto as their top pick. Other regions disagreed - in Scotland the most borrowed was Edinburgh for Under Fives, edited by Cathy Tingle; in Wales it was Insufficiently Welsh, by Griff Rhys Jones; and in Yorkshire it was North York Moors & Yorkshire Wolds, by Mike Bagshaw.

Mary Berry was the most burrowed non-fiction writer, but MC Beaton, author of the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth crime fiction books, has held the title of most borrowed British author of books for adults for the last six years. MC Beaton said: “I am thrilled to bits to be the most borrowed British author in UK public libraries. Writing is a very isolating job and, as I am only human, PLR is a sort of lifeline to me from the general borrowing public. I thank them from the bottom of my inky heart.”

Catherine Cookson remains the UK’s most borrowed author over the past 20 years: her books have been borrowed over 32 million times between 1995 and 2015. Jacqueline Wilson is the UK’s most borrowed children’s author over the past 20 years: her books have been borrowed over 24 million times between 1995 and 2015.

Read all the detail here: Martin Chilton, culture editor 5 FEBRUARY 2016 • 6:54AM

Libraries

Terry Deary, shock horror, supports his local council, Sunderland, as it looks into the possibility of closing libraries to save money. While authors up and down the land protest any and all cuts on libraries, he thinks libraries have had their day and are no longer relevant.

The concept of a free library came into being in 1850 and the idea of free books is now entrenched in our psyche. In Victorian times the impoverished had no access to literature, but now they do, via the compulsory schooling for which we all pay. Deary claims that books are entertainment, and should be paid for just as people buy cinema tickets and tv licences.

Authors, he says, are not “like Enid Blyton, middle-class women indulging in a pleasant little hobby. They need to eat, and have to make a living.”

The maximum amount possible a writer can earn from the Public Lending Right scheme is capped at £6,600. Deary claims that if he sold a book he would get 30p per book rather than the 6.2p PLR offers. Therefore, instead of earning £6,000 from PLR for a title, he should be getting £180,000.

“But never mind my selfish author perception,” he says. “What about bookshops?” Bookshops are closing down because someone is giving away their product for free. Libraries give nothing back, but booksellers pass on money to both publisher and author. Libraries damage the book industry. They cost vast amounts of money when most are used by diminishing numbers of people.

I hate to admit it, but his argument makes sense.

OTOH, we do pay for library books via our taxes, though not at the going rate. Libraries do purchase the books they lend, so money goes to publishers. But publishers receive only one payment while the book is loaned and read until it falls to pieces. There is an argument that library users will risk reading an unknown author whereas they may not pay out good money for something they may not enjoy. Libraries help authors build a following. And not everyone can afford to go out and buy a book whenever they want something to read. I doubt very much that the habit of  reading would rise if libraries were abolished. Would Mr Deary be as well-known as he is, if libraries had not promoted his books for all to sample? Probably not. I have to say that the libraries do good work and this country would be poorer if we followed Mr Deary’s suggestions.