Publishers’ book sales for the first three quarters of the year (Jan. – Sept. 2015) were down 2.0% at $11.9 billion compared to $12.1 billion for the first nine months in 2014. These numbers include sales for all tracked categories (Trade - fiction/non-fiction/religious, PreK-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses). Revenue for trade books was flat.

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The figures from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) includes sales data from more than 1,200 publishers (#AAPStats). The stats represent publishers’ net revenue for the U.S. (i.e. what publishers sell to bookstores, direct to consumer, online venues, etc.), and are not retailer/consumer sales figures.

Some of the trends noted during the three quarters of 2015:

  • While sales for trade books overall were flat, the specific categories had different growth trajectories from Jan. – Sept.: Adult Books were up 2.9%, Children/YA were down 7.4%, and Religious Presses were down 1.5%.
  • Paperbacks and downloaded audiobooks within the trade category grew in double digits.
  • Sales declined for Higher Educational Course Materials and PreK-12 Instructional Materials.

Trade:

Year-to-date, Trade Book revenues were flat at $5.0 billion.

  • Adult Books: The largest of the categories grew to $3.5 billion through Sept. 2015 compared to 3.4 billion in the same timeframe in 2014. Within that, paperback books (16.0%) and downloaded audio (41.5%) were the formats with the greatest growth. This category has grown every month in 2015, with the exception of Feb.
  • Children/YA: Revenue within the category declined to $1.1 billion through Sept. 2015 from $1.2 billion for the same timeframe in 2014. eBooks (44.8%) and hardback books (14.5%) led the overall 7.4% decline in the category. We’re still seeing the impact of tough competition against 2014 blockbuster titles, including the Divergent series.
  • Religious Presses were down 1.5%, with $390.1 million in revenue to date in 2015 compared to $395.9 million in 2014.

Trade Formats:

  • Downloaded audio remained the fastest-growing format, with 37.7% growth compared to the same period in 2014.
  • eBooks were down 11.1%, with most of the decline coming from Children/YA books (44.8%).
  • Paperbacks continued their good performance this year with 13.3% growth.
  • Hardback books were down 6.4%.

Educational Materials:

Revenues for PreK-12 instructional materials were down by 5.0% in the first three quarters of the year. Higher Education course materials were down 4.4%.

Professional and Scholarly Publishing:

Sales for Professional Publishing, which includes business, medical, law, scientific and technical books and journals, are up 13.0% through Sept. 2015 compared to the same timeframe in 2014. University Presses declined slightly at 1.8%.

About AAP

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) represents about four hundred member organizations including major commercial, digital learning and education and professional publishers alongside independents, non-profits, university presses and scholarly societies. Find us online at www.publishers.org or on twitter at @AmericanPublish.