Mook (publishing) explained

A mook is a publication which is physically similar to a magazine but is intended to remain on bookstore shelves for longer periods than traditional magazines, and is a popular format in Japan.^{[1] [2]}

The term is a portmanteau of "magazine" and "book". It was first used in 1971, at a convention of the Fédération Internationale de la Presse Périodique.^[3]

American examples of mooks include Make and Craft.^[4]

In Japan

The format remains popular in Japan, where it has been in use since at least the 1970s.^{[5] [6]} An identical format, predating the term "mook", existed since the 1950s.^[7]

The number of new mooks published in one year peaked in 2013, with over 8,000 different new mooks published. A little over 6,000 were published in 2019. Sales revenue, however, peaked in 1997 and has been mostly dropping ever since.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Meet Japan's 'Brand Mooks': Half-magazine, Half-book, All Hit . Osawa . Juro . Japan Real Time . The Wall Street Journal . October 20, 2010 . May 10, 2014.
2. Web site: Taillandier. Fanny. January 13, 2014. Mooks are here to stay. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150207062434/http://www.francelivre.org/index.php/eng/News/Carte-blanche-to-Livres-Hedbo/Mooks-are-here-to-stay. 2015-02-07. FranceLivre. May 10, 2014.
3. Book: Cannon, Garland . The Innovative Attraction of English . Manuscript, Narrative, Lexicon . Associated University Presses . 237 . 2000 . 9780838754405 . May 10, 2014.
4. Web site: It's a Magazine, It's a Book, It's a Mook . Lupton . Ellen . Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum . Smithsonian . May 24, 2007 . July 16, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140512214553/http://www.cooperhewitt.org/es/conversations/2007/05/23/its-magazine-its-book-its-mook . May 12, 2014.
5. https://www.jbpa.or.jp/nenshi/pdf/p16-34.pdf
6. Web site: 出科研コラム | 出版科学研究所.
7. Web site: 【ムック本とは】雑誌・写真集との違いは何？特徴や人気ムックも.
8. Web site: 日本の出版統計 | 出版科学研究所.