Audiobooks and e-books had the strongest September among publishing categories with sales of audio downloads up 18.9%, while sales of physical audio rose 13.1% and adult e-book sales increased 30.6%. For the first nine months of 2012, adult e-book sales were up 36.2%, to $961.1 million, while audio downloads hit $89.1 million at publishers that report to AAP's StatShot program. Sales in the children's/young adult segment fell 4.2% in September as a 44.4% increase in e-book sales was offset by declines in hardcover and paperback. For the nine-month period, sales in the segment were up 23.9% as e-book sales jumped 177%, to $190.6 million, and hardcover sales rose 24% to $545.8 million at houses that report to AAP. The educational segments had a bad September and the K-12 materials category in particular is headed to a weak 2012 with sales off 18.8% through September. StatShot figures are based on reports from 1,186 publishers.

Category % Change September YTD
Adult Hard 3.1% -1.5
Adult Paper -8.7 7.8
Mass Market -14.6 -16.1
Physical Audio 13.1 -2.6
Audio Download 18.9 27.9
Adult E-book 30.6 36.2
Children’s/YA -4.2 23.9
Religious Presses -8.3 -7.0
Professional -24.3 -4.8
K-12 Materials -41.8 -18.8
Higher Ed. -10.5 -3.7
University Presses 4.4 8.7

(Measured in $ sales against same time periods, 2011)