The discourse is once again reckoning all over the internet with a factoid from the PRH-S&S antitrust trial in 2022 that was not an established fact at all. The provocative Substack declaration — “no one buys books” — is based on an exchange during the trial that has been misunderstood from the start. The popular takeaway is a belief that the Department of Justice found that half of the new books published every year sell fewer than 12 copies in a year. But going by the public record, that was never a fact introduced as evidence or supported by documentation […]
Industry Statistics
Deals Rebounded In the First Quarter, Led By Strong Six-Figure Reports
Deal reports rebounded in the first quarter of 2024, likely helped by an early convening of the London Book Fair and driven by strong investment in adult books. The gains come in comparison to a lower bar from a year ago, when Harper Collins was dealing with a strike and cutbacks. This quarter’s deal volumes were nearly back to the record total from 2022, and six-figure sales hit a new high. Adult fiction sales set a new record, up 20 percent over last year. Adult nonfiction recovered meaningfully from last year’s lull, gaining 10 percent, though still well off its […]
Audio Sales Continue to Grow, While Returns Fell in 2023
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) released StatShot data from participating publishers for December, and the full year 2023. In December, adult books fell 3.9 percent to $460 million, with $144 million in hardcover sales (down 11.8 percent) and $145 million in paperback sales (down 11.7 percent). Digital formats grew significantly, with ebooks up 10.1 percent to $73 million and digital audio sales up 28 percent to $70.5 million. Children’s book sales gained 5.2 percent in the month to $198 million, with hardcovers down 4.5 percent to $65 million, paperbacks flat at $86 million, and ebooks gaining 82.6 percent to […]
Children’s Sales Gained in November, While Adult Books Fell
The Association of American Publishers released sales data for November from participating StatShot publishers, reporting trade sales down 1.5 percent to $775.2 million. Adult books sold $513 million, a 6 percent drop from the previous year. Hardcovers sold $213.6 million, down 4 percent, and paperback sales fell 12 percent to $137.9 million. Ebook sales were also down, 6 percent to $68.6 million, while digital audio sales rose 15.5 percent to $70.1 million. In YA and children’s books, sales were up 8 percent to $261.1 million. Hardcovers sold 100.6 million, a gain of 11 percent, while paperbacks rose 12 percent to […]
Print Unit Sales Declined in 2023
Circana Bookscan announced full-year statistics for 2023, reporting print unit sales of 767 million, a decline of 3 percent from 2022. Adult fiction sales grew for the fifth year in a row, up 1.5 million units or 1 percent, driven by fantasy, romance, coming-of-age, and historical fiction. Young adult books grew as well, led by driven by the dystopian books, romances, and thrillers. Children’s books, however, saw a sharp decline–influencing the full year’s drop–with sales down 13.5 million units. Fantasy, magic, and humor books fell from their high sales in 2022. “Despite an overall decline and keeping in mind that […]
Trade Sales Flat in October
The AAP released StatShot data for October, reporting trade sales of $889 million, compared to $886 in the same month last year. Adult books sold $595.4 million, up slightly from $586.5 million. Hardcovers sold $264.8 million (down 2.2 percent) and paperbacks were flat at $164.6 million. Digital audio gained 9.5 percent to $63.9 million and ebooks were up 4.2 percent to $70.9 million. In children’s and YA books, total sales were $293.7 million, down 1.9 percent from $299.4 million. Hardcovers fell 5.8 percent to $121.3 million, while paperbacks gained 11 percent to $121.2 million. Digital audio rose 1.4 percent to […]