Sales of adult books were flat in October compared to October 2017, according to figures released by the AAP as part of its StatShot program. Sales in the children/young adult segment fell 6.8% in the month compared to 2017.
In adult books, sales of downloadable audio jumped 37.6% in the month, while sales of e-books had a rare monthly sales gain, with revenue up 3.0% over last October. For the first 10 months of 2018, e-book sales from reporting publishers were still down 3.3%. Mass market paperback was the only adult print segment to post a gain in October, with sales up 3.2%. For the first 10 months of 2018, sales in the adult category rose 4.0% over the comparable period in 2017.
The October decline in the children/young adult category was due to a 19.7% drop in hardcover sales compared to a year ago. Like in the adult segment, e-books had a good month, with sales up 17.3%. For the January through October period, sales in the segment were up 1.8% over the same time period a year ago.
Sales for all 1,080 publishers who report results to the AAP were down 0.8% in October and were off 0.7% in the year to date. Religious presses have had the best year so far, with sales up 5.2%, while adult trade book sales increased 4.0%. Sales through November were down for both educational categories.
