MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
October 18 – October 25, 2007 Edition
Two Reporting Sources
Show Book Sales
Improved in August
NEW YORK/NY/10/15/07–Book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month of August saw an increase of 9.8 percent for the month; yearly sales were up as well with an increase of 11.2 percent.
In a separate report just a few days later, the Census Bureau reported a gain of 7.5% to $2.29 billion for the same month. By comparison, retail sales were up 4.0% for August. The Bureau’s year-to-date figures for books remained down 0.7% to $10 billion. The release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows helped stem the sales dip, which had reached a negative 6.6% during the first six months of 2007.
The AAP, which uses slightly different reporting methods, said the Adult Hardcover category was down by 21.3 percent in August with sales of $93.1 million; year-to-date sales were up by 14.6 percent. Adult Paperback sales were up by 12.8 percent for the month ($144.6 million); sales were down slightly by 0.1 percent for the year. The Adult Mass Market category declined by 7.8 percent for August with sales totaling $74.3 million; sales also declined by 6.1 percent year-to-date. The Childrens/YA Hardcover category saw an increase of 58.6 percent for the month with sales of $105.9 million; sales year-to-date were also up by 85.3 percent. The Childrens/YA Paperback category increased by 8.2 percent in August with sales totaling $58.9 million; sales were also up by 3.7 percent for the year.
Audio Book sales posted a decline of 4.8 percent for August compared to last years figures with sales totaling $12.7 million; however, sales for the whole year were up by 40.9 percent. E-books sales rose by 18.0 percent for the month ($2.3 million); the category also posted an increase of 22.2 percent for the year. Religious Books posted an increase of 25.4 percent for the month with sales of $68.4 million; sales were up by 9.1 percent for the year.
Sales of University Press Hardcover books were up by 12.8 percent in August with sales of $7.6 million; sales were also up by 6.9 percent for the year. University Press Paperback sales posted a decline of 0.8 percent for the month with sales totaling $11.0 million; sales were up 3.7 percent for the year. Sales in the Professional and Scholarly category posted an increase of 23.5 percent in August ($96.2 million); sales were up 10.6 percent for the year.
Higher Education publishing sales rose by 9.9 percent for the month ($799.8 million); sales were up by 8.2 percent for the year. Finally, the net El-Hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category posted an increase of 9.3 percent in August with sales of $882.2 million; this category also posted an increase of 3.2 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 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 Associations highest priorities.
