Report: Book Sales Up 7 Percent in Early '08

Mac Slocum
March 25, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Listen

U.S. book sales were up 7.2 percent in Jan. '08, according to the Association of American Publishers.

Sales were driven by the adult categories:

• Adult hardcover -- $94.4 million/+4.2 percent over Jan. '07
• Adult paperback -- $135.2 million/+37.6 percent
• Adult mass market -- $65.3 million/+17.3 percent

The children's market splintered. Children/young-adult paperback sales were up 28.2 percent ($34 million), but hardcover titles were down 21.9 percent ($33.6 million).

Ebooks and audio books saw double-digit growth: ebooks posted $3.1 million in sales, an increase of 26.1 percent over Jan. '07; audio books brought in $13.5 million, a boost of 16.8 percent from the same period a year ago.

Last week, bookstore sales figures from the U.S. Census Bureau showed a 4.7 percent increase in Jan. '08.

(Via GalleyCat).