Rachel Reid’s popular gay romance series Game Changers has sparked a big print book shortage in Australia. The series inspired the TV drama Heated Rivalry, which launched on HBO Max on November 28. Interest in the books has exploded, rivaling hits like Bridgerton. The seventh book, Unrivalled, will release internationally on September 29, HarperCollins confirmed. It continues the story of two close athletes, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, from the first two novels, Game Changer (2018) and Heated Rivalry (2019). The publisher said digital versions have been available in Australia and New Zealand for some time, but print copies arrived late due to printer closures over Christmas. Print editions of the first two books appeared on December 18, followed by books three to six on January 27. Still, these print runs could not meet huge demand. Dymocks sold out their stock of Game Changer and Heated Rivalry in one day and have large backorders. They expect restocks soon, pending shipping. Booktopia reports selling over 100 paperback copies daily and has sold 10,000 so far. The series remains in their top 10 bestsellers. QBD Books said the entire series is in their top 20 search list, with preorders for all titles rising. This demand surpasses many genre hits and shows a lasting craze, says QBD’s chief executive Nick Croydon. HarperCollins revealed over 650,000 Game Changers books have sold worldwide, a huge jump since the TV show aired. Executive VP Brent Lewis said, “The community around these books felt like a small town before the show. Overnight, it became a big city.” Rachel Reid has not publicly addressed the print shortage except for a brief Instagram reply: “I’m with you 😖,” responding to calls for more paperbacks. Australian fans hope more copies arrive soon as the series’ popularity continues to soar.