By Siobhan O’Leary

German book retailers are a lot more optimistic at the start of 2010 than they were a year ago. According to a survey conducted by buchreport, only 30% of booksellers are skeptical about their prospects for this year (compared to around 50% who anticipated a decline in business last year).

However, publishers of non-fiction and particularly self-help books should not expect an easy year ahead, as 40 to 50% of booksellers surveyed plan to purchase fewer of those titles for their stores in 2010.

Paperback novels are a sure fit for the bookshelves, but booksellers intend to be more selective about both hardcover fiction and audiobooks. A third of those polled intend to fill their empty square footage not with books, but with non-book products like video games and other entertainment products.