The New Adult genre is not only filling bookstores and topping bestseller lists – it’s transforming the publishing industry. Long dismissed as “light reading”, these novels are shaking up publishers and book fairs – and forcing literary critics to reevaluate popular fiction.
The shifting dynamics of Germany’s publishing industry are on full display at Frankfurter Buchmesse. As soon as the doors of the world’s largest book fair open, crowds flock to Lyx’s glittering, pastel-hued booth. The New Adult imprint of publishing house Bastei Lübbe has become home to the country’s most successful authors in this flourishing genre, including Mona Kasten, Laura Kneidl and Anabelle Stehl.Enemies to Lovers
Last year, the “safe space for everyone who loves reading” even set an international record when the TV adaptation of Mona Kasten’s Maxton Hall became the most-streamed non-American series Amazon has ever produced. Set not in Germany but at an elite British boarding school, this coming-of-age story embodies the “dark academia” aesthetic popularised on social media. Here, ambitious, kind-hearted Ruby Bell, who comes from a humble background, meets privileged heir James Beaufort. Their initial rivalry soon blossoms into a passionate romance. It’s a familiar storytelling pattern – or trope: enemies to lovers, foes who gradually fall for each other.Gen Z Is Stabilising the Market
While the German Publishers and Booksellers Association reports declining book sales across most age groups in 2024, 16- to 29-year-olds are bucking the trend. This generation is reading more than ever – especially romance and romantasy. So alongside rising retail prices, Gen Z is keeping the struggling market afloat with its stories about lovesick boarding school students, bloodthirsty alchemists and sexy dragon riders.Publishing houses have long responded to the boom in new romance novels with many major publishers now offering New Adult imprints or other initiatives aimed at a young, predominantly female audience. These readers aren’t just sold lavishly designed books with gold embossing, glitter and tinted edges – imprints like Lyx (Bastei Lübbe), Kyss (Rowohlt), Everlove (Piper) and Forever (Ullstein) are also engaging in community-building activities for readers with newsletters, social media and in-person events. Recognising the trend, the Frankfurt book fair dedicated an entire hall to New Adult literature in 2024, providing space for book signings and the long queues of eager young readers.
Overwhelmed by the Hype
You’d think the literary press could no longer ignore the genre’s commercial success, yet reviews of Antonia Wesseling’s latest romance thriller Loverboy – Niemand liebt dich so wie ich or SenLinYu’s fanfiction-inspired Alchemised (translated from English into German) remain few and far between. When it does attract the attention of literary journalists, New Adult is often framed as little more than a quirky cultural phenomenon. German critics have yet to develop a coherent approach to the genre, let alone criteria for classifying and evaluating its works.Their struggle to engage with successful popular fiction is highlighted by recent discussions surrounding Caroline Wahl’s new novel. The 30-year-old author wrote two of the most successful German books of recent years with 22 Bahnen (2023) and Windstärke 17 (2024). This autumn, her latest book, Die Assistentin, was eagerly anticipated – especially since Wahl has shifted from the sentimental coming-of-age stories of her previous novels to an autobiographically inspired account of abuse of power within the publishing industry. Like her protagonist Charlotte, Wahl herself once worked as an assistant to a German-language publisher. In Die Assistentin, the boss quickly reveals himself to be overbearing and manipulative, humiliating his young employee with absurd tasks and intrusive comments about her appearance.
When Online Critique Outshines the Literary Press
Shortly after its release, Wahl’s fans voiced their disappointment on social media about the novel, which not only deals with abuse of power but constantly comments on its own narrative style. The audiobook, narrated by Wahl in a somewhat amateurish manner, also drew criticism on streaming platforms. The discussion surrounding her character was further fuelled by her overconfident statements in interviews. Literary critics, by contrast, struggled to offer any kind of substantive assessment. Instead, coverage consisted of interviews with Wahl or features portraying her during walks along the Kiel Fjord. It was almost as if critics lacked the tools to engage meaningfully with her work, which aligns closely with popular fiction and follows familiar narrative patterns. For decades, the generally elitist German-language literary press has largely ignored these light, commercially successful works.An Invitation to Reassess the Present
Now, however, the beleaguered book market and the declining influence of the literary press are forcing critics to undergo a shift in mindset. At the same time, a new, often sociologically informed generation is stepping into the heart of the literary scene, one far less wary of commercial appeal and popular entertainment. Simply dismissing Caroline Wahl’s bestsellers as “midcult” – the term coined by literary scholar Moritz Baßler for novels that merely feign political engagement and literary ambition – can no longer be considered a viable option.Like the booming New Adult segment, bestsellers call for a form of literary criticism that can assess both their socio-economic significance and their literary merit. After all, a bestseller also reflects the society and moment in which it is read. So, when huge crowds gather at the glittering, pastel-hued booths of the Frankfurt book fair, or long lines of fans form for signings by Caroline Wahl or Sebastian Fitzek, the publishing industry should not see this as a sign of cultural decline. Rather, it should be taken as an invitation to reassess the present moment.
October 2025