Industry Statistics

The New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) released the results of its first Publishing Industry Economic Impact study, which significantly honors and underscores “specifics on the industry’s continued significance and contribution to New York City’s creative economy,” a press release states. Publishing is a signature industry for New York City, and merits continuing and increased support from the government, the report recommends. Unfortunately, much of the study groups all of “publishing” together, including book publishing along with print (newspapers and magazines) and digital journalism, plus bookstores, printing and more, broken into four sectors: Publishers, Talent (independent […]

The AAP released StatShot data for August from participating publishers, reporting $686 million in trade sales, down (9.8) percent from $760 million last year—when stores had stocked up early for holiday sales due to supply chain issues. The month’s total for this year is well ahead of earlier past years’ numbers—$648 million in 2020 and $602 million in 2019. Adult sales were $475 million, a (9.3) percent decline from $523 million in August 2021. Hardcover sales fell (22.1) percent to $129 million and paperback sales were $174 million, down (5.6) percent. Mass market sales were $15 million, a decline of […]

The AAP released StatShot data from their participating publishers for July, reporting trade sales of $623 million, down (12) percent from a high point of $708 million last July but still above 2019 levels. Adult sales were $435 million, down (11) percent from $491 million last year. Hardcover sales were $102 million, a (31.7) percent decline, and paperbacks were nearly flat at $171.6 million. Mass markets were $14.7 million, compared to $25.6 million in 2021. Children’s sales were down (13.5) percent to $188 million, with hardcover sales of $51 million—a (24.5) percent decline—and paperback sales of $94 million—a (12.3) percent […]

Through the first three quarters of 2022, NPD Bookscan reports that measured print book sales reached 543 million units, still the second-best result in years. That total is 27 million below the same point in 2021, but well above 2020 and earlier. The sales comp actually improved during the third quarter, when sales were just 1.9 percent or 3.4 million units below the same period in 2021. Adult fiction (AKA Colleen Hoover fiction) remained very strong, up 9 percent in the quarter, adding 11.3 million units compared to 2021. In addition to romance, graphic novels and fantasy also performed well. […]

Four independent directors on the board of Australian retailer Booktopia announced their resignations yesterday, after former ceo and continuing shareholder Tony Nash called a meeting to remove two of them. In a release, the company says that the board has been negotiating the “board composition” with Nash since he made the announcement in August. “The two priorities for these discussions have been having a quality independent board and ensuring a good transition and stability for the company. As nothing has been able to be resolved, the four independent directors have therefore decided to resign,” it continues. Su-Ming Wong’s resignation was […]

The AAP released their StatShot Annual Report for 2021 on Friday, for the second year in a row providing a substantial collection of actual, directly-reported data, received from a modestly expanded pool of reporting publishers. Trade sales (starting with their default measure, which includes religious presses alongside trade) increased more than 13 percent to $10.14 billion — gaining almost $1.2 billion — with 1.412 billion trade units sold in 2021, up 11.1 percent from 1.271 billion in 2020. In keeping with our longstanding practice, we will report on the actual reported data only; not the magically-modeled estimates that nearly double […]