Religious book sales slide again

Written by Eric Tiansay

Thursday, 17 December 2009 03:14 PM America/New_York

Continuing a yearlong trend, sales of religious books decreased 8.5% in October, while overall book sales increased by 10.2% to $725.8 million and were up by 4.1% for the year, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP).

The month's sales for religious books were $60.3 million, with the category down by 10.7% for the year. Sales of religious books have been on a steady decline, decreasing 12.3%, 13.8%, 9.3%, 22%, 12%, 7.1%, 11.4%, 19% and 9% in September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February and January, respectively.

The bright spot in the AAP report was e-book sales, which continued to rise in October, with sales of $18.5 million for the month--reflecting an increase of 180.7% for the year.

The Adult Hardcover category was up by 6.3% in October with sales of $259.9 million, and year-to-date sales were up by 3.9%. Adult Paperback sales rose 37.5% for the month--posting $130.4 million in sales--but the category was down 4.8% for the year.

The Children's/Young Adult Hardcover category decreased by 0.5% for the month with sales of $87.9 million, but year-to-date sales were up by 4.4%. The Paperback category for the same age increased by 20.2% in October with sales totaling $52.7 million, and sales rose by 4.1% for the year.

Audiobook sales decreased 1.8% in October--with sales totaling $19.7 million--and the category's year-to-date sales were down by 18.8%.

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