MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
May 18-25, 2006 Edition
Publishing Sales
Maintain Upward
Climb in March
NEW YORK, NY/5/15/06Book sales remained steady in March for most of the categories tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Childrens /YA Hardcover rose while Adult Hardcover dipped. Net sales were up by 4.8 percent for the month, and up by 7.5 percent for the year.
Sales for the Adult Hardcover category declined by 9.6 percent for March with sales of $81.9 million; sales were down by 10.3 percent year to-date. Adult Paperback sales continued to grow with an increase of 18.7 percent (sales totaled $109.9 million) and increased by 20.8 percent year to-date. The Adult Mass-Market category leveled at a 0.0 percent for March with sales totaling $69.0 million, as well as a 15.1 percent increase for the year.
The Childrens/YA Hardcover category saw a gain of 23.3 percent in March with sales totaling $41.5 million; sales were down by 7.3 percent year-to-date as well. The Childrens/YA Paperback publishing sales dipped for the month with a decline of 5.0 percent (sales totaling $33.5 million) and a 13.5 percent increase for the year.
Audio Book sales posted a gain of 2.8 percent in March with sales totaling $13.8 million. This category posted a 3.5 percent increase for the year. E-books rose by 61.3 percent with total sales of $1.6 million; and increased by 33.8 percent for the year. Religious Books leveled, with 0.0 percent growth or decline ($27.5 million) and saw a 21.9 percent decrease for the year.
Sales of University Press Hardcover books saw a 10.8 percent loss in March with sales of $8.3 million; this category is down 25.7 percent for the year. University Press Paperback sales rose 21.9 percent with sales totaling $18.3 million; sales were up 133.0 percent for the year. Sales in the Professional and Scholarly category saw a gain of 30.2 percent for the month, with sales of $53.9 million as well as a 16.7 percent increase for the year.
Higher Education publishing sales saw a 27.7 percent decline in March with sales totaling $-53.2 million; this negative number is due to returns. Sales were up by 7.4 percent for the year. Finally, the net El-Hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category rose by 1.8 percent in March, with sales of $155.8 million. This category declined by 4.7 percent for the year.
The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAPs more than 300 members include most of the major commercial book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field, educational materials for the elementary, secondary, postsecondary and professional markets, scholarly journals, computer software and electronic products and services. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of intellectual freedom and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Associations primary concerns.
