With four categories posting double-digit gains, October sales at the 1,279 publishers who report data to the Association of American Publishers’s StatShot program rose 8.3% over last October. The religious book category had the largest increase, with sales up 19.1% in the month and rising 18.5% in the 10-month period. Estimated sales of higher educational course materials rose 18.9% in October.
In the trade segments, adult fiction had another big month, with sales up 17.5%. Hardcover sales led the way, up 28.2%, while sales of digital audiobooks increased 25.7%. Trade paperback sales increased 17.4%, but e-book sales managed only a 0.4% bump. Adult nonfiction sales slipped 0.5% as hardcover sales dipped 2.4%. Digital audiobook sales rose 9.9%, but sales of e-books fell 12.6%.
In the children’s/young adult category, fiction sales rose 2.3% in October, and nonfiction had one of its strongest months of the year, with sales up 9.3%. Paperback did especially well in nonfiction, with sales up 15.2%, while hardcover sales increased 5.8% in fiction.
In other major segments, sales of professional books increased 2%, and sales in the university press category rose 14.9%.
With the October gain, total sales at the publishers that report results to the AAP increased 7.1% in the first 10 months of 2024. Sales in the religion book and adult fiction categories were up 18.5% and 13.5%, respectively. Year-to-date sales were down 2.5% in children’s/YA and 0.4% in the professional books segments.
Sales in the year have been helped by a continuing decline in returns, reinforcing the belief that accounts have drawn down any excess inventory and have been placing new orders to refill their stock.
