For Immediate Release

August 7, 2006

Contact: Jay Diskey
Ph: (202) 220-4549
Email: jdiskey@publishers.org

Book Sales Remain Cool for Month of June

Monthly Sales Slip; Year-to-Date Remains Steady

August 7, 2006, New York, NY: Books sales maintained an upward swing for the year however sales were down for some of the categories tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP).   Net sales were down by 2.3 percent for the month, while year-to-date sales were up 0.8 percent.

Sales for the Adult Hardcover category dropped by 12.5 percent in June with sales of $73.5 million; sales were down by 12.0 percent year- to-date.  Adult Paperback saw a slight decrease of 0.9 percent for the month ($87.4 million), while the category was up by 17.0 percent for the year.  Adult Mass Market grew 3.0 percent in June with sales totaling $56.8 million.  Sales were up 8.5 percent year-to-date as well.  The Children’s/YA Hardcover category saw a decline of 24.5 percent for the month with sales totaling $25.2 million; sales were down by 11.0 percent year-to-date.   The Children’s/YA Paperback category posted a decline of 21.2 percent for the month ($29.2 million) and a decrease of 4.2 percent for the year. 

Audio Book sales dipped 31.1 percent in June with sales totaling $10.0 million; sales were down 9.6 percent for the year.  E-books saw a rise of 40.3 percent with sales of $1.4 million; as well as an increase of 26.3 percent for the year.  Religious Books dropped slightly by 4.7 percent ($14.3 million) and saw a 19.8 percent decrease for the year as well.

Sales of University Press Hardcover books saw a 12.9 percent loss for the month with sales of $5.5 million; this category is down 3.6 percent for the year.  University Press Paperback grew by 7.4 percent with sales totaling $4.2 million; sales were up 6.1 percent for the year.  Sales in the Professional and Scholarly category posted an increase of 14.4 percent for the month, with sales of $63.4 million and sales were up by 6.6 percent for the year.

Higher Education publishing sales saw a 7.0 percent increase in June with sales totaling $223.4 million; sales were up by 6.1 percent for the year.  Finally, the net El-Hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category posted a slight decrease of 0.9 percent in June with sales of $645.1 million; this category also declined by 1.1 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 book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies.  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 intellectual freedom and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Association’s primary concerns.

NOTE: All sales figures cited in this release are domestic net sales

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