August sales of adult trade books slipped by 0.3% from August 2016, according to AAP’s StatShot program. The two major print formats, hardcover and trade paperback, had slightly lower sales, and mass market paperback sales were 10.6% higher. Downloadable audio had another good month, with sales up 25%, but sales of physical audio were down 12.5%. E-book sales from reporting publishers were 7.9% lower. In the children’s/YA segment, overall sales were 2.9% higher than in August 2016, partly due to a 6.6% increase in hardcover sales; sales of board books were up 4.2%, and e-book sales were down 2.9%. Sales for all 1,204 publishers reporting to AAP were 1.5% lower in August than in the same month last year.

For the first eight months of 2017, sales in the adult book segment were 1% higher than in the comparable period in 2016. Sales in the children’s/YA segment were down 2.5%, with hardcover sales falling 8.3%, but board books were up 9%. Sales for all publishers reporting to AAP were 0.6% lower in the first eight months of the year.

Category Chage August Change YTD
Adult Hard -1.5% 8.6%
Adult Paper -0.8% -0.8%
Mass Market 10.6% -11.8%
Physical Audio -12.5% -6.5%
Audio Download 25% 25%
Adult E-book -7.9% -5.4%
Children’s/YA 2.9% -2.5%
Religious Presses 7.8% -0.6%
Professional 36.3% 3.5%
K–12 Materials -4.9% -3.2%
Higher Ed. -4.1% -0.1%
University Presses 9.8% 4.2%

(Comparisons of $ sales against same periods in 2016)