Growth of adult e-books slowed to 20.7% in November with sales from publishers that report to AAP’s StatShot program hitting $94.8 million. Still, overall sales for the adult trade segment rose 2.3% in the month as the much-troubled mass market paperback segment saw a 75.5% leap in sales, to $38.2 million. There were no big releases in the month, but mass market heavyweights like James Patterson, Janet Evanovich, Lee Child, and Clive Cussler all had new titles hit shelves. The gain in mass market paperback helped offset a 21.5% decline in hardcover sales.
In other segments, sales in the children/young adult category fell 4.8% in November, as a 17% decline in hardcover sales offset a 53.2% increase in e-book sales. The religion category had a good month with sales ahead 17.1% at houses that report to StatShot. Sales in the K-12 segment dropped 25.8% in the month, by far the biggest decline of any segment.
In the year to date, total e-book sales in the trade segment were up 34.5%, to $1.15 billion, as sales for the entire trade segment rose 7%, to $4.45 billion. Figures are based on reports from 1,193 publishers.
