Religious book sales level out

Written by Eric Tiansay

Thursday, 21 January 2010 05:23 PM America/New_York

The months-long slide in sales of religious books halted in November, while overall book sales increased by 10.9% to $808.5 million and were up by 4.9% for the year, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP).

The month's sales for religious books were $48.7 million--with no change over October--although the category was down by 9.7% for the year. Previously, sales of religious books had been on a steady decline--decreasing 8.5%, 12.3%, 13.8%, 9.3%, 22%, 12%, 7.1%, 11.4%, 19% and 9% in October, 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 November, with sales of $18.3 million for the month--reflecting an increase of 185.2% for the year.

The Adult Hardcover category was up by 26.9% in November with sales of $204.4 million, and year-to-date sales were up by 6.7%. Adult Paperback sales decreased 3% for the month--posting $92.3 million in sales. The category was down 4.8% for the year.

The Children's/Young Adult Hardcover category decreased by 13.5% for the month with sales of $63.9 million, but year-to-date sales were up by 3%. The Paperback category for the same age increased by 1% in November with sales totaling $43.9 million, and sales rose by 4.1% for the year.

Audiobook sales increased 6.9% in November--with sales totaling $18.4 million--but the category's year-to-date sales were down by 14.9%.

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