Internationally acclaimed literary fiction like The Silent Patient, Yellowface, and The Palace of Illusions, translated Korean fiction like The Vegetarian and Hindi works like poetry of Kabir and books written by Babasaheb Ambedkar are among the most popular reading choices for Gen Z in India, according to a National Book Trust (NBT) report based on a sample survey of visitors to the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) 2026.The internal report prepared by the NBT, an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Education (MoE), was exclusively accessed by The Hindu. It was commissioned for the first time as the NBT sought to understand the reading and purchasing habits of young visitors to the fair, which was held in January.India’s youth are driving a distinct shift toward cosmopolitan tastes, the report said, citing the popularity of English titles and the emerging demand for identity-driven literature alongside the consumption of Hindi books.
While there is a growing interest in regional language books, it is “constrained by publisher availability and discoverability,” the report noted. Book fair sample surveyAccording to the data shared by the NBT with The Hindu, this year’s book fair saw participation by 352 English publishers who set up 1,373 stalls, followed by 156 Hindi publishers who set up 371 stalls.
In comparison to English and Hindi publishers, there were only 24 Urdu publishers who set up 40 stalls. Participation of regional language publishers was sparse, with four Punjabi publishers, three publishers each for Tamil and Sanskrit, two each for Bengali, Gujarati, and Sindhi literature, and one Malayalam publisher participating in the fair.
Of the twenty lakh people visited the fair, the NBT collected survey data from a sample size of 3,650 people who spent a total of ₹59 lakh in purchasing books. Based on the sample size, college students comprised about 40% of total attendees, the report notes.
NBT extrapolated the total visitor spending of twenty lakh visitors to an estimated ₹323 crore on books, with a mean individual expenditure of ₹1,615.80. “Dominance of college students underscores NDWBF’s critical role as an intellectual engagement space for emerging readers and future literary consumers. This demographic represents both immediate economic impact and long-term readership development potential,” the report said.Bestsellers: global fiction, self-help, Hindi classicsThe NBT asked publishers for their bestselling titles and then followed up by identifying the books that drove the most interest at the fair.
Officials noted that the heavy attendance of college-educated youth underscores the book fair’s role as a critical intellectual engagement space. The NBT evaluation revealed that youth at the fair showed a preference for internationally acclaimed literary fiction.
Psychological thrillers like Alex Michaelides’ The Silent Patient and Rebecca F. Kuang’s Yellowface emerged as bestsellers.There was also high demand for translated fiction, particularly Korean works such as International Booker Prize-winning Han Kang’s The Vegetarian and Bora Chung’s Cursed Bunny, along with Japanese titles like Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Satoshi Yagisawa’s Days at the Morisaki Bookshop.
The strong demand for translated Asian fiction indicates cosmopolitan tastes and a desire for diverse global perspectives, the NBT report said.Self-help books dealing with marriage and positive living were also in demand, according to the report. The popularity of Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel “resonates with emerging professional identity,” the report said.
In the Hindi language segment, bestselling titles included the poetry of Kabir, the writings of B.R. Ambedkar, works by Osho, self-help literature, and translated copies of the Constitution of India.Choices driven by aspiration, Insta-worthy aesthetics“Purchase decisions of the youth are dependent on content addressing identity, belonging and contemporary social issues.
Purchasing fantasy and speculative fiction provides respite from academic and career pressures,” the report said in its analysis.Officials at the NBT said that the English-Hindi bilingual dominance reflects India’s complex linguistic landscape. “College-educated youth primarily purchase English titles but show growing interest in Hindi and regional language content. Urban youth are also increasingly exploring vernacular literature as a part of cultural identity assertion,” the report noted.
It added that despite high digital device usage, there is a strong appetite for physical books and that ‘Instagram-worthy aesthetics’, such as cover design, also influence purchase decisions. Most of the titles purchased were by authors who had won international awards, it noted.The language mix“The primacy [of] English language books is driven by demand for educational content, professional literature and aspirational positioning.
Hindi has ‘the national language advantage,’ particularly in the regional and cultural content,” the report said.“Demands for regional languages is growing but is limited to smaller segments,” it added, noting that the growing interest in regional language books is “constrained by publisher availability and discoverability.”A senior official from the NBT told The Hindu: “Data from NDWBF should be compared with similar metrics across book fairs conducted by the NBT in States such as Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Ladakh, Odisha, and Meghalaya, with different dominant regional languages, to develop a better idea of vernacular publishing.The official added, “If the regional language reader is unable to visit the national capital for NDWBF, we intend to bring books in their languages to their doorstep by organising fairs at State levels.”The NBT offered free public entry to the NDWBF for the first time in 2026, the senior official said. The NBT incurred an actual expenditure of ₹33.83 crore for organising the fair, according to official data shared by the Trust.