US publisher revenues grow 6.7% in first quarter

In the first financial quarter of 2019 revenues from US publishers increased 6.7% to $2.5bn (£2bn), with growth in all categories apart from e-books and physical audio, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP).

In trade publishing, which includes sales to bookshops, wholesalers, online retailers and directly to the consumer, revenues were up 5.7% to $1.6bn (£1.3bn) over the January-March period.

Sales of adult books (fiction and non-fiction) grew 2.4.% to $984m (£785m) and children’s and YA revenues increased 9.7% to $390m (£311m). The biggest increase was from sales of titles from religion presses, which reported a revenue rise of 20.6% to $145m (£116m).

In terms of format, revenues from audiobooks saw the strongest gains, up 35.3% to $99m (£79m). Hardbacks increased 7.8% and paperbacks 3.1%, whist board books were up 14.6%.

Revenues from physical audiobooks and e-books declined 17.1% and 4.5%, respectively.

In educational publishing revenues were up by 7.9% to $860m (£686m), with particularly strong growth (11.6%) in higher education course materials.

Publisher net revenue, including sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct to consumer, online retailers, etc., is tracked monthly by the AAP and includes revenue from about 1,372 publishers, with participation subject to change over time.