A Blue Tsunami For Books?

 

Though they are still counting ballots from this historic midterm election, one thing is abundantly clear: The nation, at least for now, has done a big pendulum swing, rebuking President Trump, to embrace a government of Democrats.  The USA is Blue. For now.

So what does this mean for the book industry, books, authors, education, libraries, and free speech?

It means the best and worst policies and ideas return. We will likely see:

* If the broader economy improves, due to policy changes, more money in consumer hands could yield more consumer and institutional book sales. 

* Tariffs could be removed or decreased, leading to lower inflation, which means books become more affordable to all. Further, any book production costs that rose due to tariffs could disappear Increased funding of libraries and culture centers — and more book buys.

* Increased funding in education, thus, higher book sales.

* Increased spending for social welfare programs, leaving more money for citizens to buy books.

* A comeback for Woke and DEI policies. This could impact what gets read in schools and to a degree, the type of books published.

* Fewer mergers in the book industry as Democrats often see monopolies where Republicans don’t.

* Free speech should win when liberals are in charge but sometimes all that changes is which type of speech gets persecuted. One thing to watch for is the left-wing’s propensity to distort language to meet its political ideology. PC language destroys our culture when we try to blame words for merely reflecting ugly truths and facts that we wish were not so.

* Book bans could see a big decrease after hitting record numbers.  

Lastly, this was a historic election and it will lead up to a contentious presidential election battle for 2028. Many books will be published about this and the upcoming election, as well as about proposed policy and about new political movements and figures. 

 

This election featured a lot of firsts, all of which could be the subject of many books: 

 

* The DSA added five new members to Congress. 

 

* A half-dozen trans women just got into Congress.

 

* MI elected the first Muslim to the US Senate.

 

* TX turned blue and has its first Latina Governor.

 

* GA and FL each elected its first Black Governor.

 

* NH elected the nation’s first openly gay senator.

 

* NM elected the first female Native American Governor in US history.

 

* Ohio had a governor’s race decided by blowback to a controversial commercial.

 

* The majority of state governorships are now blue for the first time in over a generation.

 

There was such an enormous shift from red to blue that complete reversals of policies — locally and nationally — could occur. All of that will impact every aspect of the book industry. Buckle up for an interesting ride.

Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator! 

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 11 million page views. With over 5,700+ posts over the past 15 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2026, 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2026.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum