For Immediate Release

ctober 5, 2005

Contact: Tina Jordan
Ph: 212-255-0200 x263
Email: tjordan@publishers.org

Publishing Sales Remain Steady in August

October 5, 2005, New York, NY:  Publishing sales stayed steady in August for some of the categories tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP).  Adult paperback and electronic books were both up, while religious books saw a drop.  Net sales were up 4.8 percent for the month, with sales for the year up 7.5 percent.

The sales figure for the adult hardcover category was down 9.3 percent in August with sales of $83.2 million.  This has slightly declined by 0.1 percent in 2005.  Adult paperback sales were up 13.1 percent (sales totaled $110.2 million).  Sales for this category have grown 8.0 percent over last year’s sales.  The adult mass market category slipped by 7.5 percent with sales totaling $58.6 million for this category; a small dip of 0.6 percent for the year.

The children’s and young adult hardcover category posted a rise of 36.9 percent in August ($76.3 million).  This category has done very well in 2005 with sales 118.2 percent greater than last year’s.  The children’s and young adult paperback publishing sales however, saw a small loss of 6.8 percent ($40.8 million). This category is up by 2.0 percent for the year.

Audio book sales gained 15.5 percent in August ($12.5 million); year to date sales are 37.5 percent greater than last year’s.  E-books sales grew an impressive 96.6 percent in August ($1.2 million); this rapidly expanding category is up 44.0 percent for the year.  However, religious books slipped 30.0 percent ($28.0 million); overall, sales were down by 8.6 percent for 2005.

Publishing sales of university press hardcover books showed a 22.8 percent loss in August (sales totaled $10.1 million).  This category has lost 31.8 percent in 2005.  Sales in the university press paperback category lost 5.0 percent in August with sales totaling $25.9 million; this category has lost 16.8 percent for the year.  Sales in the professional and scholarly category were down a slight 3.5 percent for the month, with sales of $74.8 million.  Sales in this category are down 2.0 percent for the year.  Sales of  ‘other’ types of books rose 6.5 percent in August (totaling $4.0 million), this category is up 10.6 percent for 2005. 

Higher education publishing sales posted an 8.7 percent gain in August ($708.3 million); this category has witnessed a year to date net gain of 5.7 percent.  Finally, the net el-hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category gained 11.9 percent in August, with sales of $801.3 million, allowing for a 6.6 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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