US book market contracts slightly for fifth year in a row

25 June 2019 Books+Publishing

The Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) annual StatShot report on the US book industry, published on 21 June, found the total US book market to have contracted slightly for the fifth year in a row in 2018, reports Publishing Perspectives.

Publishing revenue for trade and education publishers combined was US$25.82 billion (A$37.07bn), down 7.6% from a five year high of US$27.96 billion (A$40.14bn) in 2014. In contrast, trade publishers’ revenue continues to rise slightly each year, with the 2018 figure of US$16.19 billion (A$27.5bn) an increase of US$760 million (A$1.09bn) since 2014.

The biggest percentage revenue growth over the five years was in nonfiction books, with adult nonfiction revenues growing 22.8 percent, and children’s and YA nonfiction revenues growing 38.5 percent from 2014 to 2018. Publisher revenue for adult fiction was flat (up 0.4 percent), while children’s and YA fiction grew slightly by 1.6 percent.

In terms of sales channels, there has been a 24.5 percent decline in physical retail—partially offset by a five-year, 17.4 percent growth in online sales.

The StatShot Annual Report is a yearly statistical survey of publishing’s estimated size and scope. It uses yearly sales data from almost 1200 publishers, and makes estimates for publishers who don’t participate based on company financial reports, government filings and other third-party sources. As previously reported by Books+Publishing, in February the AAP published its estimated report on the 2018 US book market.

Category: International news