Adult Trade, Children’s Categories Posted Six-Month Gains

Sales of adult trade book rose 3.1% in the first six months of 2017, over the comparable period last year, according to figures released Thursday morning by the Association of American Publishers as part of its StatShot program. Sales of children’s/young adult books increased 4.5% over the first half of 2016.

The largest sales increase in the period came in the higher educational course material segment, where sales were up 11.2%; the category had a soft 2016, with sales for the year dropping 12.6%. The religious press segment was the only category where sales fell in the most recent six-month period, declining 3.8%.

the adult book category, the digital audio and hardcover segments had the best performance in the six-month period; sales up 25.6% and 13.5%, respectively. E-book sales dropped 4.4% in the period, compared to 2016, while mass market paperback sales fell 13.6%.

In children’s/YA, board books continued to be a bright spot, sales of board books were up 11.9% in the first half of 2017. Hardcover sales rose 7.9%, while e-book sales dropped 9.8%.

Sales are drawn from information supplied to the AAP by 1,204 publishers. Sales for all reporting publishers increased 3.5% in the first half of 2017, over the comparable period in 2016.
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