YNOT – The publishing industry in general may have been hit hard by a combination of global economic unrest and evolving technology, but one market segment remains as strong as ever, according to venerable trade magazine Publishers Weekly: erotic fiction.“While the types of erotic stories that sell best remain constant, the way readers access this writing has evolved with technology,” an article in a recet issue noted. “Now they’re enjoying their stories and books on Kindles, Sony Readers and Nooks; if they’re without a device, they’re downloading them to their home computer. ‘That’s one big change,’ says Seal Press publisher Krista Lyons.”

In addition to a shift in format preference, readers also are showing a preference for shorter erotic fiction: novellas, short stories and “quickies” instead of novel-length manuscripts, according to PW. A similar mindset may be at work in the popularity of so-called “tube sites,” compilation DVDs and gonzo content in the adult entertainment industry.

“No matter the medium, when readers do sit down with their erotica, more and more are opting for the quickie: If Twitter is changing the way we communicate, a similar abbreviated form is influencing erotica,” the PW article stated.

“And while short stories have been a popular form of erotica for years, it’s these very-short-shorts (anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand words) that are gaining ground,” article continued. “Cleis Press publisher Brenda Knight, who calls them ‘erotica for the ADD generation,’ says she first noticed the trend when Alison Tyler’s Frenzy: 60 Stories of Sudden Sex (2008) sold 500 copies a week for a steady six months. Last month, during Cleis’s Naked Reader Book Club — held online and in partnership with sex toys retailer Edenfantasy.com — readers were unequivocal in their appreciation for the short-short story.”

With publishers pay more attention to the hot erotica market — most big New York firms have established their own divisions devoted to erotic romance, for example — other trends have emerged, as well.

According to PW, sexually explicit encounters between vampires, werewolves and other fantastical creatures are the hottest of the hot at the moment. Also selling well are re-imagined fairy tales that incorporate hardcore content. Readers are snapping up erotica across the fiction genre spectrum, too: tales set in the past, present and future, on Earth and outer space, in worlds both real and imagined do equally well. Readers’ ages seems not to be a factor, nor do reader preferences for adventure, romance, mystery and suspense or literary tone.

Even the market for erotic nonfiction has enjoyed an uptick, the article noted.