Has publishing abandoned teen boys?

Debate was sparked when Portuguese-English author JJ Arcanjo published his article ‘Has publishing abandoned Teen boys?’ in The Bookseller magazine last month. Since then, the book community has been discussing why the number of boys reading for pleasure has plummeted and whether this is because of publishers focusing their efforts elsewhere.

According to a study of over 76,000 young people aged 5-18 throughout 2024, the National Literacy Trust discovered that more girls are reading for fun than boys. In their findings, the National Literacy Trust claim that this is largely because of a greater drop in reading enjoyment in boys than in girls; the gender gap had nearly tripled compared to the previous year, increasing from a 4.8 per cent difference in 2023 to a 12.3 per cent difference in 2024. The National Literacy Trust claim that this is largely because of a greater drop in reading enjoyment in boys than in girls.

With such an alarming difference during just a year, it begs the question: why?

To read the full article on theboar.org, click here