Anne Carson’s ‘Autobiography of Red’ sales surge 203-fold in Nobel Prize boom

The Swedish Academy’s selection of Canadian poet and classicist ‘Anne Carson’ as this year’s ‘Nobel Prize in Literature’ winner has sent South Korea’s publishing industry into a major sales frenzy. The academy cited her “bold and original body of work that creates new forms of contemporary literature through a lively dialogue with the classical tradition.”

Extraordinary sales surge as readers flock to ‘Autobiography of Red’

According to Kyobo Book Centre data released on the 11th, sales of books by ‘Anne Carson’ jumped 203.9-fold from 8 p.m. on the 8th, when the winner was announced, through 9 a.m. on the 11th, compared with the same period immediately before the announcement. Carson is enjoying the so-called “Nobel Prize effect,” in which literature’s highest honor translates directly into sales.

The book drawing the strongest response from readers is unquestionably her signature verse novel, ‘Autobiography of Red’. It topped Kyobo Book Centre’s daily online bestseller list on the 10th, demonstrating its overwhelming popularity. ‘Nox’, written in memory of her brother, who died suddenly, ranked second among Carson’s books — eighth on the overall daily bestseller list. ‘The Beauty of the Husband,’ which made Carson the first woman to win the T. S. Eliot Prize, ranked third among her books and ninth overall.

An analysis of buyer data showed that women make up the dominant share of Carson’s readership. Women accounted for 73.5% of all buyers, or more than seven out of 10. Readers in their 40s represented the largest age group at 28.6%, followed by those in their 30s at 23.2%, 50s at 19.4% and 20s at 15.5%. The figures confirmed strong support from readers in their 30s and 40s.

A boundary-breaking literary world meets a reprinting rush as books sell out

A leading figure in Canadian literature, ‘Anne Carson’ has built a singular body of work as a poet, classicist, translator and essayist, moving freely across the boundaries between ancient and modern literature, poetry and prose, and creative writing and criticism. Nine of her books have been published in Korean translation. Readers can find Nanda Publishing’s ‘Eros, the Bittersweet,’ ‘Short Talks,’ ‘Glass, Irony and God’ and ‘Plainwater’; Hangyoreh Publishing’s ‘Autobiography of Red’, ‘The Beauty of the Husband,’ and ‘Red Doc〉’; and Bomnal Books’ ‘Float’ and ‘Nox.’

Publishers are moving quickly to respond to the sudden surge in demand. Park Ji-hong, CEO of Bomnal Books, said, “We now have only a two-digit number of copies of ‘Nox’ left in stock and about 1,200 copies of ‘Float.’ Orders poured in from major bookstores immediately after the winner was announced, and we expect all inventory to sell out within days.”

The publisher has consequently begun reprinting the books. The first reprint run will exceed 2,000 copies. For ‘Nox,’ a special-binding book that takes two months just to produce, Bomnal Books plans to bring forward the schedule as much as possible and begin production. The publisher also plans to continue the momentum from Carson’s Nobel Prize by officially releasing her new book ‘Wrong Norma,’ a National Book Critics Circle Award-winning work, in South Korea in mid-November.