MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
November 1-15, 2003 Edition
AAP Reports Book
Strong Sales in September
Washington, DC/11/03/03—The month of September was very good for book sales, with almost every category tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP), showing positive figures for the month.
Adult trade hardcover books were up 31.7 percent, with sales of $179.8 million, and sales of paperback books were up 1.4 percent ($101.8 million) for the month. While the sales figures for September 2003 were positive, calendar year to date numbers show sales are down 5.8 percent for hardcover and down 4.5 percent for paperback.
Adult mass market books were up 27.9 percent in September, with sales of $80.2 million. Year to date sales figures show this category is down a slight .2 percent compared with last year at this time.
Sales of children’s/young adult hardcover books were up 62.1 percent, with sales of $113.4 million. Year to date numbers show sales are up 56 percent for the year. The children’s/young adult paperback category was up 7.3 percent ($40.6 million) for the month, however, year to date figures show sale are down 5.9 percent for the year.
Audio book sales rose 5.9 percent in September, with sales of $13.3 million. Year to date numbers for this category show sales are up 19.7 percent over last year at this time.
E-book sales were up 207.6 percent for the month, with sales of $500,000. Year to date figures show sales are up 219.5 percent for this fast growing category. Religious book sales were up 38.3 percent, with sales $30.7 million for the month of September. Calendar year to date numbers show sales are up 32 percent over last year at this time. Sales in the ‘other’ category were down 19.6 percent ($2.6 million) for the month, while year to date figures show sales are down 20.5 percent for the year overall.
Sales of university press hardcover books were up 15 percent in September, with sales of $6.3 million. Paperback sales were up 8.2 percent ($6 million) for the month. Year to date numbers show sales are up 16.7 percent for hardcover and up 11.9 percent for paperback. Professional and scholarly books were up 3.8 percent in September, with sales of $56 million.
Sales of higher education books rose 5.6 percent, with sales of $218.5 million. Year to date figures show sales are up a slight .8 percent over last year at this time. El-hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 net sales were down 3.8 percent for the month of September, with sales of $251.9 million. Year to date figures show sales are up 2 percent.
The Association of American Publishers is the principal trade association for the U.S. book publishing industry with some 300 members, comprising most of the major commercial book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and medium-sized houses, non-profit publishers, university presses, and scholarly societies.
