MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
April 19 – April 26, 2007 Edition
U.S. Publishing Sales
Rise in February,
AAP Reports
NEW YORK, NY/4/24/07– Books sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers saw an increase for the month of February with net sales up by 12.6 percent for the month and 10.2 percent for the year.
The Adult Hardcover category was up by 43.4 percent in February with sales of $111.9 million; sales were also up by 40.8 percent for the calendar year. Adult Paperback sales also saw a gain of 3.2 percent for the month ($97.6 million); however, sales were down 4.9 percent for the year. The Adult Mass Market category declined by 11.2 percent for February with sales totaling $59.3 million; sales declined by 7.8 percent year-to-date. The Children’s/YA Hardcover category grew by 43.4 percent for the month with sales of $37.4 million; sales year-to-date were also up by 31.7 percent. The Children’s/YA Paperback category increased 5.7 percent in February with sales totaling $34.1 million; however sales were down by 12.9 percent for the year.
Audio Book sales posted a small decrease of 0.5 percent for February compared to last year’s figures with sales totaling $10.5 million; sales for the whole year were up by 9.5 percent. E-books sales rose by 44.7 percent for the month ($2.5 million); the category also posted an increase of 26.4 percent for the year. (E-book figures were compiled in cooperation with the International Digital Publishing Forum.) Religious Books posted an increase of 31.8 percent for February with sales of $39.5 million; sales were also up by 33.0 percent for the year.
Sales of University Press Hardcover books were up 6.8 percent in February with sales of $5.4 million; sales were up by 3.6 percent for the year. University Press Paperback sales decreased by 0.2 percent for the month with sales totaling $4.5 million; sales were up 5.5 percent for the year. Sales in the Professional and Scholarly category posted a decrease of 7.3 percent in February ($36.2 million); sales were also down 2.3 percent for the year.
Higher Education publishing sales were up by 3.2 percent for the month ($10.3 million) and sales were also up by 15.2 percent for the year. Finally, the net El-Hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category posted a decrease of 10.1 percent in February with sales of $79.0 million; this category also posted a decrease of 13.8 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 societiessmall 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.
