AAP Says April Figures Still Show Gains

Posted on June 7, 2002

Although some categories showed more modest sales in April, almost all categories boasted positive numbers for the fourth month in a row, according to sales figures released by the Association of American Publishers. The Association of American Publishers is a trade association for the U.S. book publishing industry with some 300 members.

Adult trade hardbound sales rose 31.6 percent with sales of $121.8 million, while paperbound sales rose a more modest 9.5 percent ($62.6 million). Year-to-date figures show hardbound up 53.4 percent and paperbound up 21.4 percent. Juvenile hardbound sales were up 31 percent ($28.7 million) and paperbound jumped 61.4 percent with sales of $43.8 million. Juvenile hardbound is up 33.3 percent for the year and paperbound is up 26.5 percent overall. University press sales, both hardbound and paperbound, rose in April, with hardbound up 13.5 percent ($7.2 million) and paperbound up 26.8 percent ($3.1 million). Year-to-date figures show hardbound sales are down 6.2 percent for the year, while paperbound are up a slight 2.8 percent.

Sales of professional and scholarly books rose dramatically in April, up 34.9 percent with sales of $79 million. The category is up a mere 1.9 percent for the calendar year-to-date. Audio books sales rose 36.9 percent ($11.6 million), with sales up 36.5 percent for the year. Mass market paperback sales were up 9 percent for the month ($65 million) and showed a gain of 18.7 percent for the year overall. Elhi (elementary/high school) sales were down 9.9 percent in April with sales of $152.8 million. Calendar year-to-date sales are down 8.3 percent for the same time last year.