For Immediate Release
October 20, 2006
Contact: Tina Jordan
Ph: 212-255-0200 x263
Email: tjordan@publishers.org
Book Sales Rise in August
Most categories make gains for the month; sales are down slightly for the year
October 20, 2006, New York, NY: Books sales were up for the month of August for most of the categories tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Net sales were up by 3.3 percent for the month; however, year-to-date sales were down 2.6 percent.
Sales for the Adult Hardcover category rose by 14.0 percent in August with sales of $112.5 million; however sales were down 7.0 percent for the year. Adult Paperback also saw an increase of 3.3 percent for the month ($133.2 million), and an increase of 12.5 percent for the year. Adult Mass Market climbed 16.3 percent for the month with sales totaling $81.0 million. Sales were up 8.1 percent year-to-date as well. The Children’s/YA Hardcover category dropped 18.2 percent in August ($67.6 million); sales were down by 42.1 percent year-to-date. The Children’s/YA Paperback category posted an increase of 13.1 percent for the month with sales totaling $54.3 million and an increase of 1.4 percent for the year.
Audio Book sales declined slightly by 0.6 percent in August with sales totaling $13.1 million; sales were also down 25.6 percent for the year. E-books saw a decrease of 2.7 percent for the month ($1.3 million); however, the category posted an increase of 19.9 percent for the year. Religious Books declined 19.5 percent ($27.1 million) and declined by 18.0 percent for the year.
Sales of University Press Hardcover books posted a 7.9 percent
gain in August with sales of $8.0 million; however, this category saw
a decrease of 2.3 percent for the year. University Press Paperback grew
by 1.7 percent in August with sales totaling $11.0 million; sales were
up 5.3 percent for the year. Sales in the Professional and Scholarly
category posted an increase of 10.9 percent for the month ($83.5 million);
sales were up by 5.3 percent for the year.
Higher Education publishing sales saw a slight increase of 3.0 for August
($732.2 million); sales were up by 2.4 percent for the year. Finally,
the net El-Hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category
posted a decrease of 1.6 percent in August with sales of $798.5 million;
this category posted a slight decrease of 0.6 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
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