From AAP:
Publishers saw double-digit growth in all categories of trade books -Adult Books (+19.6%), Children’s/Young Adult (+17.3%) and Religious Presses (+14.1%) in November 2018 compared to November 2017. Revenue for trade books (sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct to consumer, online retailers, etc.) totaled $7.29 billion for the year-to-date (Jan. – Nov. 2018), up by $330.3 million (+4.7%) compared to the same timeframe in 2017.
In November 2018, overall publisher revenue increased by $167.5 million, (+15.3%) for all tracked categories (Trade, PreK-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses) compared to November 2017. This brings the year-to-date total to $13.53 billion, up $42.3 million (+0.3%) from the same timeframe in 2017.
Trade Publishing
Jan. to Nov: Trade Book Revenue (in millions)
Jan. – Nov. 2018
Jan. – Nov. 2017
Percent Change
Adult Fiction/Non-Fiction $4,777.6
$4,547.4
+5.1%
Children’s/YA $1,960.0
$1,890.7
+3.7%
Religious Presses $553.4
$522.6
+5.9%
Total $7,291.0
$6,960.7
+4.7%
While all three categories of trade books saw increased revenue, the industry’s largest category – Adult Books – grew the most. With a revenue increase of $101.5 million (19.6%), Adult Books saw greater growth in November than in any other month in 2017. The month’s growth contributed to a $230.2 million (5.1%) increase in publisher revenue for the year-to-date for Adult Books, with most of the growth from sales of hardback books (+36.3%).
Jan. to Nov.: Total Trade Revenue by Format (in millions)
Jan. – Nov. 2018
Jan. – Nov. 2017
Percent Change
Hardback $2,863.8
$2,688.7
+6.5%
Paperback & Mass Market $2,496.3
$2,447.1
+2.0%
eBooks $935.3
$962.4
-2.8%
Downloaded Audio $424.5
$309.7
+37.1%
Physical Audio $42.3
$54.1
-21.8%
Board Books $139.8
$134.2
+4.2%
Other $388.9
$364.5
+6.7%
Hardback books benefitted the most from the uptick in trade book revenue, with +28.5% growth compared to November 2017. Downloaded audio also continued its significant growth in November, up +31.6%.
While they didn’t grow as much as they had in October, eBooks also benefitted from November’s revenue increase with +1.0% growth for the month compared to 2017. The growth came from a revenue increase of Children’s/Young Adult eBooks (+13.2%) and Religious Presses (+19.0%), balancing out the format’s decline (-0.7%) in Adult Books.
Education and Scholarly Publishing
Revenues for education and scholarly publishers were mixed in November, with revenue growth of +8.0% in Higher Ed and +25.4% in Professional Books, and declines in PreK-12 (-7.4%) and University Presses (-15.9%) compared to November 2017. With the exception of Professional Books, the year-to-date (Jan. – Nov.) revenue in all these categories remained down in 2018 compared to the same timeframe in 2017.
Jan. to Nov: Education and Scholarly Publishing (in millions)
Jan. – Nov. 2018
Jan. – Nov. 2017
Percent Change
Higher Ed Course Materials $3,033.8
$3,221.5
-5.5%
PreK-12 Instructional Materials $2,604.3
$2,732.5
-4.7%
Professional Books $509.3
$498.1
+2.3%
University Presses $45.5
$49.7
-8.3%
Publisher net revenue is tracked monthly by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and includes revenue from about 1,375 publishers, with participation subject to change over time.
About Gary Price
