Subject Spotlight: Satire

Welcome back to Subject spotlight, the blog series where we give you quarterly data-driven insights into a specific corner of the Canadian book market. In our previous post, we shared sales and library circulation data for the Juvenile Fiction BISAC subject.

This month, with the help of our SalesData and LibraryData services, we’re looking into how Satire titles performed during the first quarter of 2026.

Buying Fiction / Satire

As shown in the graph below, year-over-year sales of Satire titles were up 87% in January, 157% in February, and 78% in March.

In 2025, sales of Satire titles from January to February saw a decrease of 27% before seeing a growth of 19% from February to March.

In 2026, sales saw no change from January to February, however there was a decrease of 19% from February to March.

Overall, the sales of Satire titles decreased by 15% and 19% in the first quarters of 2025 and 2026, respectively.

Line graph comparing book sales between January, February, and March 2025 and 2026 in the Fiction / Satire BISAC category and a trendline illustrating the sales of all Satire print titles during the first quarter of 2026.

Borrowing Fiction / Satire

Year-over-year, loans for Satire titles increased by 21% in January, 37% in February, and 32% in March. Overall loans decreased by 12% in the first quarter of 2025 and decreased by 4% in the first quarter of 2026.

Line graph comparing book loans between January, February, and March 2025 and 2026 in the Fiction / Satire BISAC category and a trendline illustrating the loans of all Satire print titles during the first quarter of 2026.

Year-over-year renewals increased by 22% in January, 44% in February, and 6% in March. Overall, renewals increased by 11% in the first quarter of 2025 and decreased by 3% in the first quarter of 2026.

Line graph comparing book renewals between January, February, and March 2025 and 2026 in the Fiction / Satire BISAC category and a trendline illustrating the renewals of all Satire print titles during the first quarter of 2026.

Reading Fiction / Satire

Book covers for Bunny by Mona Awad and Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico & Sophie Hughes

Top selling

  1. Bunny by Mona Awad 🍁

  2. How Alberta Got Its Independence by Derek Smith

  3. Murder Bimbo by Rebecca Novack

  4. Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico & Sophie Hughes

  5. Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte

Top borrowed

  1. Bunny by Mona Awad 🍁

  2. Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico & Sophie Hughes

  3. Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

  4. Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte

  5. Murder Bimbo by Rebecca Novack

Stay tuned for future instalments of this series or sign up to our eNews for more digestible data on the Canadian book market.

Until next time!