Paperback and E-Books Rank #1, #2 in Trade Market While K-12 School Curriculum Market Shows Growth

From the Association of American Publishers:

Paperback and E-Books Rank #1, #2 in Trade Market
While K-12 School Curriculum Market Shows Growth
in AAP Publishers’ May 2011 Report

Thursday, 21 July 2011 | Andi Sporkin

“Washington, DC; July 21, 2011 — Adult Paperbacks ranked as the #1 format and e-Books — with an increase of 160.1% vs the first five months of 2010 — ranked #2 in the Trade market for the calendar year to date according to the May 2011 net sales revenue report of the Association of American Publishers, the industry’s national trade association.

Among other highlights of the report being released today, K-12/Schools net sales revenue saw growth in May vs the same month last year. May is traditionally the second month in the U.S. classroom curriculum buying period and AAP’s previous report showed a year-to-year decline for April 2011.

The popularity of digital publishing formats continued in May with Downloaded Audiobooks also gaining 17.0% year-to-date for calendar year 2011 vs 2010. Additionally, Religious Books maintained growth for another month, showing increases of 21.6% vs May 2010 and 10.8% year-to-date.

Editors’ note: BookStats, the new annual survey capturing the size and scope of the total U.S. publishing industry, will now be released in the first half of August. This original survey, produced from net sales and unit data provided by more than 2000 publishers to date and covering 2008-2010, will reflect the transformational changes in the dynamic industry.

According to publishers, the May uptick in K-12 revenue might reflect gradually improving conditions in that market as buying for the 2011 school year has gotten underway. While publishers have received strong interest in securing new classroom materials, it is believed some school districts opted to bank general funds for several years to address the difficult economy and decreasing federal stimulus funds for K-12 public education. The one-month increase might possibly be a sign of changing circumstances.

The May 2011 report includes data provided by 93 organizations representing commercial, education, professional and scholarly publishing. The complete monthly reports are available by paid subscription.

A breakdown of key May 2011 figures cite in this release is below. All are domestic net sales revenue.

Contact for media:
Andi Sporkin — [email protected] — 202-220-4554

Contact for investment companies and those wishing to purchase all AAP statistical reports:
Tina Jordan — [email protected] — 212-255-0275″

Borders may be in liquidation but folks continue to read.

Stephen