For Immediate Release
November 2, 2005
Contact: Tina Jordan
Ph: 212-255-0200 x263
Email: tjordan@publishers.org
Book Sales Stay Strong in September
November 2, 2005, New York, NY: Publishing sales remained steady in September for most of the categories tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Electronic books and Audio books both saw large gains for the month, while university press hardcover books saw a drop. Net sales were up 4.2 percent for the month, with sales for the year up 7.4 percent.
The sales figure for the adult hardcover category was down 9.9 percent
in September with sales
of $141.7 million. This has declined by 1.9 percent in 2005. Adult
paperback saleswere up 8.7 percent (sales totaled $111.4 million). Sales
for this category have grown 8.1 percent over last year’s sales.
The adult mass market category grew 7.7 percent with sales totaling $50.7
million for this category; a slight increase of 0.2 percent for the year.
The children’s and young adult hardcover category posted a rise of 23.4 percent in September (sales totaled $86.5 million). This category has done very well in 2005 with sales 96.5 percent greater than last year’s. The children’s and young adult paperback publishing sales saw a small increase of 4.3 percent with sales totaling $39.6 million. This category is up by 2.3 percent for the year.
Audio book sales gained 28.4 percent in September ($14.8 million); year to date sales are 36.5 percent greater than last year’s. E-books sales continue to grow with an increase of 36.6 percent in September with total sales of $1.2 million. This category is up 43.1 percent for the year. Religious books slipped 4.3 percent ($35.7 million); overall, sales were down by 8.0 percent for 2005.
Publishing sales of university press hardcover books showed a 42.7 percent loss in September (sales totaled $8.8 million). This category has lost 33.3 percent in 2005. Sales in the university press paperback category gained 13.3 percent with sales totaling $21.4 million; this category has lost 14.0 percent for the year. Sales in the professional and scholarly category saw a gain of 1.3 percent for the month, with sales of $63.6 million. Sales in this category are up by 1.6 percent for the year. Sales of ‘other’ types of books dipped 23.5 percent in September (totaling $2.3 million); this category is up 6.5 percent for 2005.
Higher education publishing sales saw a 9.7 percent gain in September with sales totaling $213.7 million. Finally, the net el-hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category gained 39.1 percent in September, with sales of $492.9 million, allowing for a 9.9 percent year to date growth figure.
The Association of American Publishers is the principal trade association for the U.S. book publishing industry with over 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.
NOTE: All sales figures cited in this release are domestic net sales
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