Jun 01 2008
Analysis of United States book industry released
Book Industry Trends 2008, a report examining trends and figures in United States book sales, says that American publishers’ sales were down from 2006.
The report was published by the Book Industry Study Group, a trade association. Here are some of the main points:
- There were 3.13 books sold by publishers in 2007, which is not even one percent higher than the number sold in 2006.
- Many larger publishing houses saw a drop in book sales in 2007.
- The report predicts that the amount of books sold in 2008 will actually drop, by 0.7 percent.
- Another prediction the report makes is that growth for the next four years will be basically flat.
According to an article in the New York Times, David Rosenthal of Simon & Schuster attributes these results to “a time of uncertainty and of overall economic concern” in the United States.
Book genres that saw increased sales from 2006 were: juvenile books (the final Harry Potter book playing its part), religious books and fiction and non-fiction geared towards adults.
Source:
New York Times
2 Responses to “Analysis of United States book industry released”
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It’s sad to think of book sales dropping, because this indicates that perhaps less people are reading. Let’s hope they are just borrowing books from friends and buying books at used book store.
I hope that’s happening too! Maybe e-books are also becoming more popular. This possibility makes the tactile book-loving part of me sad, but the reader in me happy.