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 Fiction / Horror BISAC subject. This time, we’re diving into the world of science fiction.
How did Science Fiction titles perform during the fourth quarter of 2025? We find out with the help of our SalesData and LibraryData services.
Buying Fiction / Science Fiction
As shown in the graph below, year-over-year sales of Science Fiction titles were up 39% in October, 68% in November, and 43% in December.
In 2024, sales decreased by 7% from October to November, and went back up in December by a noteworthy 86%.
In 2025, sales of Science Fiction titles were up 13% from October to November. The upward trend continued with a 59% increase from November to December.
Overall, the sales of Science Fiction titles increased by 73% and 79% in the fourth quarters of 2024 and 2025, respectively.
These are the BISAC subcategories with the highest year-over-year increases in sales:
Fiction / Science Fiction / Crime & Mystery — up 157%
Fiction / Science Fiction / Action & Adventure — up 138%
Fiction / Science Fiction / Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic — up 117%
From October to December, the most purchased Science Fiction subcategories were:
Fiction / Science Fiction / Action & Adventure — 47% of all Fiction / Science Fiction sales
Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Opera — 17% of all Fiction / Science Fiction sales
Fiction / Science Fiction / Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic — 9% of all Fiction / Science Fiction sales
Borrowing Fiction / Science Fiction
Year-over-year, Science Fiction loans increased by 15% in October, 14% in November, and 12% in December. Overall loans decreased by 22% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and decreased by 24% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Year-over-year renewals increased by 16% in October, 17% in November, and 6% in December. Overall, renewals decreased by 22% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and decreased by 29% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Which Science Fiction subcategories were the most popular in Canadian libraries? From October to December, these subcategories saw the greatest increases in library circulation compared to 2024:
Fiction / Science Fiction / Androids, Robots & Artificial Intelligences — loans up 71% and renewals up 42%
Fiction / Science Fiction / Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic — loans up 64% and renewals up 28%
Fiction / Science Fiction / Crime & Mystery — loans up 48% and renewals up 65%
During the fourth quarter of 2025, the most circulated Science Fiction subcategories were:
Fiction / Science Fiction / Action & Adventure — 27% of all Fiction / Science Fiction loans and 25% of all Fiction / Science Fiction renewals
Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Opera — 14% of all Fiction / Science Fiction loans and 14% of all Fiction / Science Fiction renewals
Fiction / Science Fiction / General — 15% of all Fiction / Science Fiction loans and 19% of all Fiction / Science Fiction renewals
Reading Fiction / Science Fiction
Top borrowed
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams
Dune series by Frank Herbert
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu; translated by Ken Liu
Top selling
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
Red Rising (Deluxe Slipcase Edition) by Pierce Brown
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!
Sales and library circulation data of Science Fiction titles during the the fourth quarter of 2025.