Are shrinking markets a sign that fantasy fiction isn’t popular?
Just because book sales in general don’t seem too affected by the recession, doesn’t mean that people are buying more fantasy fiction. What little I did find on sales figures didn’t give any sort of breakdown by genre, unfortunately. There are other indicators I could look to, however. Closing markets, like Realms of Fantasy, might imply that fantasy fiction isn’t a viable genre. There are other possible explanations, though: a poor business model or a lack of interest in the short story format. The former, in particular, is key to me. The rise of online markets suggests that print magazines will need to adapt to this new medium if they wish to survive. Another indicator that struck a chord with me is disappearing shelf space at bookstores. I walked in to my local chain store the other day and noticed that the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section had ceded an entire row to the neighboring genre. My first reaction was panic, followed by outrage. When I finally cooled down a few seconds later and gave
