Rebecca Yarros shakes up London book fair 2025

Photo by Elin Melaas on Unsplash

Rebecca Yarros stunned fans at the London Book Fair 2025 by announcing a graphic novel adaptation of her bestselling Empyrean series, while her latest release, Onyx Storm, dominated bestseller charts. This news comes as romantasy continues its rise, fuelled by social media hype and a growing readership. With BookTok propelling the genre to new heights, publishers and authors are racing to meet demand.

Rebecca Yarros, best known for Fourth Wing, thrilled fans with the announcement that her Empyrean series is getting a graphic novel adaptation. Kaitlin Ketchum at Ten Speed Graphic has acquired the rights, with the deal brokered by Nicole Resciniti at Alliance Rights Agency and Louise Fury at the Fury Agency, in collaboration with Entangled Publishing. While there is no official release date yet, fans are already eager to see how the adaptation will translate the high-stakes fantasy romance into a visual format.

BookTok influencer @SophieReads, who has over 500,000 followers, shared her excitement: “Romantasy books give readers the best of both worlds—epic fantasy with high-stakes action, but also swoon-worthy romance. Rebecca Yarros absolutely nails this, so a graphic novel adaptation is going to be unreal!”

On top of that, Yarros’s newest novel, Onyx Storm, which hit shelves on January 21, 2025 has dominated the bestseller charts. The popularity of the book reflects the broader trend of increasing romantasy sales, which have surged by 37% over the past year according to Nielsen BookScan. Much of this growth is fuelled by BookTok, where the hashtag #romantasy has racked up over 3 billion views, showing just how influential online communities have become in shaping the book market.

Beyond Yarros, other big names in romantasy made waves at the event. Antonia Hodgson, known for her historical crime novels, introduced The Eternal Path, her upcoming romantasy trilogy, with the first book, The Raven Scholar, set to release later this year. Hodgson’s move into fantasy reflects a larger shift in publishing, as more authors recognize the genre’s expanding readership. In fact, research from WordsRated shows that romantasy made up 25% of all fantasy book sales in 2024—up from just 10% five years ago.

The London Book Fair 2025 made it clear: romantasy isn’t going anywhere. As more authors and publishers lean into the genre, new adaptations, crossover projects, and innovative storytelling methods are keeping readers hooked. A study from the Publishers Association found that 78% of romantasy readers are between 18 and 34 years old, meaning university students and young adults are at the heart of this trend. With authors like Rebecca Yarros leading the way and social media continuing to drive engagement, romantasy is set to dominate bookshelves for years to come.

Influencer @BookishBella summed it up best: “Romantasy isn’t just a genre—it’s a movement. These books are changing the way people experience fantasy, and I don’t see the hype slowing down anytime soon.”

by Kamila Tran