Sales of English-language books are on the rise in Portugal, up 33% year-on-year in the first quarter, a phenomenon, according to Lusa, driven largely by TikTok, “which is worrying Portuguese publishers”. “Portuguese publishers are very worried”, and there are already many titles in which the Portuguese edition has lower sales than the same edition in English, which jeopardises “the viability of many publishing projects”, warned the Pedro Sobral, president of APEL, the the Portuguese Publishers and Booksellers Association. Accepting that it is “very positive” to have new generations in Portugal with a absolute mastery of the English language, Sobral fears the Portuguese language may be facing “a very important challenge in its future”, arguing that the defence of the Portuguese language should be a priority, supporting Portuguese writers, publishers and booksellers.
Portuguese publishers concerned with increase in sale of English language books
