MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
Aug 13 – 20, 2009 Edition

Book Publishing Sales Post Gains in June

NEW YORK, NY (Authorlink News, August 12, 2009)–: Book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month of June increased by 21.5 percent at $942.6 million and were up by 1.8 percent for the year.

The Adult Hardcover category was up by 12.6 percent in June with sales of $132.1 million; year-to-date sales were down by 17.8 percent. Adult Paperback sales increased 15.7 percent for the month ($132.6 million) but decreased by 14.3 percent for the year. The Adult Mass Market category was up 30.9 percent for June with sales totaling $94.2 million; sales were down by 3.6 percent year-to-date. The Children’s/YA Hardcover category decreased by 2.8 percent for the month with sales of $47.8 million, but sales for year-to-date were up by 30.7 percent. The Children’s/YA Paperback category was up by 1.1 percent in June with sales totaling $46.3 million; sales increased by 1.7 percent for the year.

Audio Book sales posted a decrease of 17.3 percent in June with sales totaling $12.9 million; sales for the whole year were down by 34.5 percent. E-books sales jumped up by 136.2 percent for the month ($14.0 million), reflecting an increase of 149.3 percent for the year. Religious Books saw a decrease of 22.0 percent for the month with sales totaling $41.7 million; sales were down by 7.2 percent for the year.

Sales of University Press Hardcover books reflected a 20.1 percent decrease in June with sales of $3.3 million; sales decreased by 7.3 percent for the year. University Press Paperback sales posted a decrease of 7.4 percent for the month with sales totaling $3.4 million; sales were down 6.3 percent for the year. Sales in the Professional and Scholarly category were down by 11.7 percent in June ($55.9 million) and decreased by 7.8 percent for the year.

Higher Education publishing sales rose by 60.6 percent for the month ($357.2 million) and increased 46.6 percent for the year. Finally, the net El-Hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category posted a decrease of 30.5 percent in June with sales of $530.4 million; the category was down by 24.0 percent for the year. 

The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’s more than 300 members include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies—small and large. 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 the freedom to read and the freedom to publish at home and abroad, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Association’s highest priorities.

NOTE: All sales figures cited in this release are domestic net sales