For Immediate Release

Contact: Tina Jordan
212/255-0200 ext. 263
tjordan@publishers.org

AAP Reports Publishing Sales for Month of November

January 23, 2009, New York, NY: Book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month of November decreased by 14.4 percent at $743 million and were down by 4.4 percent for the year.

The Adult Hardcover category was down by 13.9 percent in November with sales of $164.5 million; year-to-date sales were down by 13.3 percent. Adult Paperback sales decreased 13.0 percent for the month ($95.4 million) but increased by 2.9 percent for the year.The Adult Mass Market category was down 29.5 percent for November with sales totaling $58.8 million; sales were also down by 2.5 percent year-to-date. The Children’s/YA Hardcover category saw an increase of 14.3 percent for the month with sales of $72.9 million; sales for year-to-date dropped by 20.6 percent.The Children’s/YA Paperback category was down 18.0 percent in November with sales totaling $39.0 million, though sales increased by 3.8 percent for the year.

Audio Book sales posted a decrease of 6.6 percent in November with sales totaling $14.2 million; sales for the whole year were down by 21.6 percent. E-books sales jumped up by 108.3 percent for the month ($5.1 million), reflecting an increase of 63.8 percent for the year. Religious Books saw a decrease of 9.0 percent for the month with sales totaling $47.8 million; sales were also down by 10.4 percent for the year.

Sales of University Press Hardcover books dropped 23.1 percent in November with sales of $5.2 million; sales decreased by 9.3 percent for the year. University Press Paperback sales posted a decrease of 21.5 percent for the month with sales totaling $4.8 million; sales were down 8.6 percent for the year.Sales in the Professional and Scholarly category were down by 19.3 percent in November ($56.2 million) and decreased by 3.6 percent for the year.

Higher Education publishing sales posted a decrease of 19.0 percent for the month ($177.3 million) but increased 2.0 percent for the year.Finally, the net El-Hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category posted a decrease of 9.8 percent in November with sales of $94.1 million; the category was down by 4.0 percent for the year.

The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’smore than300 members include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies—small and large. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field, educational materials for the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and professional markets, scholarly journals, computer software, and electronic products and services. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of the freedom to read and the freedom to publish at home and abroad, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Association’s highest priorities.

NOTE: All sales figures cited in this release are domestic net sales

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