The total number of English-language books published in 2004 hit 375,000, a 9.7% increase over 2003, according to figures compiled by Bowker. The U.S. accounted for approximately 52% of the total production, with some 195,000 titles produced by American publishers. The U.K. wasn't too far behind, publishing 130,000 titles.

Big gains in output came in adult fiction/poetry/drama/literary criticism and children's/young adult. The number of computer books continued to fall, with output off 14% last year, while new science and technology books fell by 9%.