The release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child helped lift sales in the children’s/YA category 31.1% in July over the same month in 2015, according to figures released by the Association of American Publishers as part of its StatShot program. Cursed Child gave a particular spark to the segment’s hardcover format, where sales soared 95.2%. The other formats in the children’s/YA category all declined in the month. Sales in the adult book segment fell 5.4% in July. The biggest decline came in hardcover, with sales falling 22.2%. Last July, Go Set a Watchman was a huge hit in hardcover. The brightest spot for the adult segment was digital audio once again, with sales up 23.2%. E-book sales fell again, dropping 12.7%. For the entire publishing industry, sales fell 17.9% in July compared to the previous year. Sales figures are based on reports from 1,208 publishers.
| Category | Change July | Change YTD |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Hard | -22.2% | -7.4% |
| Adult Paper | 9.1% | 9.0% |
| Mass Market | 11.4% | -0.8% |
| Physical Audio | -6.6% | -11.7% |
| Audio Download | 23.2% | 31.0% |
| Adult E-book | -12.7% | -17.3% |
| Children’s/YA | 31.1% | 6.3% |
| Religious Presses | -5.5% | 8.3% |
| Professional | -21.4% | -19.4% |
| K–12 Materials | -20.2% | -8.9% |
| Higher Ed. | -27.1% | -18.1% |
| University Presses | -11.7% | -3.9% |
(Comparisons of $ sales against same periods in 2015)
