Book sales bounced back in March after a slump in February, growing 4 percent year over year to $652 million, according to the Association of American Publishers’ StatShot report. Adult books sold $454 in the month, growing 3 percent, with $250 million in fiction (up 1 percent) and $204 million in nonfiction (up 6 percent). Hardcovers drove the lift, selling $454 million–a 21 percent jump from the same period last year–while paperbacks sold $151 million, ebooks registered $74.8 million, and digital audio accounted for $69.9 million. Children’s and YA book sales grew 7 percent to $198 million, with $160 million […]
Industry Statistics
Trade Sales Slumped in February
The Association of American Publisher released StatShot data for February, reporting trade sales of $605 million, down 5 percent from the previous year. Adult books sold $447 million in the month, down 2 percent. Fiction sales were flat at $260 million and nonfiction fell 6 percent to $187 million. Hardcover sales were flat at $128 million, paperbacks fell 12 percent to $142.5 million, ebooks grew 11 percent to $90.1 million, and digital audio sales grew 9 percent to $76.4 million. Children’s and YA book sales fell 13 percent to $158 million, with $131 million in fiction (down 14 percent) and […]
Bookshop.org Sales Are Growing Again, Says eBook Offering Is Running Ahead of Projections
Bookshop.org founder Andy Hunter is the latest interviewee on the Open Book with David Steinberger podcast. Hunter reports that their recent initiative to add ebook sales to the retail site is, “Already performing three times what we expected when we launched—about 5% of our sales now, and I thought it would take a year for us to get to that point.” On overall sales through the site, Hunter says they are growing significantly: “This year we’re looking to do about $70 million, maybe $75 million.” That would be significantly ahead of sales of $44 million in 2024, which showed modest […]
Print Book Sales Fell Slightly In the First Quarter Due to Easter Comp
First quarter US print book sales fared well all things considered, according to Circana Bookscan, declining just 1 percent (or 2.3 million units) compared to the same period a year ago. The primary difference is in the timing of Easter week — last year, Easter fell in March, and sales spiked by more than 2.3 million units in the week before the holiday. Adult fiction continued to lead the market, growing 1.9 million units in the quarter, helped by the release of Rebecca Yarros’s ONYX STORM. Bookscan notes that “classics also saw a boost led by backlist dystopian titles.” While […]
First Quarter Deals Were Strong, As Big Fiction Reports Continued to Set New Records
On the heels of a soft fourth quarter in 2024 (-3.2 percent) capping a record year (+3.6 percent overall), PM deal reports show renewed strength in the first quarter of 2025. As was the case a year ago, early dates for the London Book Fair and Bologna Book Fair helped strengthen the pre-fair deal counts in the quarter, which could lead to a softer second quarter. Nonfiction maintained its comeback pattern, at least in total deals, rising one percent, as adult fiction remained the growth engine, gaining another 4.5 percent over last year’s record period. Children’s deals increased for the […]
January Trade Sales Fell Slightly
The Association of American Publishers released its StatShot financial report for January based on data from reporting publishers. Trade sales for the month were $662.5 million, down 1 percent from 2024. Adult books sold $483 million, a 3 percent decline, with fiction falling 6 percent to $249 million and nonfiction flat at $234 million. Hardcovers fell 3 percent to $152 million and paperbacks fell 8 percent to $166 million. Digital formats grew, however, with ebooks up 3 percent to $67.2 million and audio up 8 percent to $78.9 million. Children’s and YA books sales grew 5 percent to $179 million, […]