Contact:

Tina Jordan

(212) 255-0200 ext. 263
tjordan@publishers.org

New York, NY, June 16, 2010— Book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month of April increased by 24.8% percent in April to $629.8 million and were up by 11.8 percent for the year through April.

The Adult Hardcover category was up 49.2% percent in April compared to last year with sales of $142.9 million; sales through April are up by 16.2% percent. Adult Paperback sales increased 19.6 percent for the month ($128.2 million) and increased by 19.4 percent for the year. Adult Mass Market sales decreased 17.7 percent for April with sales totaling $49.1 million; sales were down by 6.3 percent through April. Hardcover Children’s/YA sales declined 11.2 percent for the month with sales of $40.5 million; sales through April are down by 30.2 percent. Children’s/YA Paperback sales decreased 0.8 percent in April with sales totaling $39.9 million; sales fell 6.1 percent through April.

Audio Book sales posted an increase of 18.6 percent in April with sales totaling $11.7 million; sales through April are up by 15.6 percent. Downloaded Audio Books increased 32.1 percent at sales of $6 million; the category was also up 30.8 percent through April. E-book sales jumped up 127.4 percent for the month ($27.4 million), reflecting an increase of 217.3 percent for the year-to-date. Religious Books were up 19.3 percent for the month with sales totaling $46.6 million; sales were up by 1.3 percent through April.

Sales of University Press Hardcover books fell 1.5 percent in April to $4.5 million; sales decreased by 1.3 percent through April. University Press Paperback posted a gain of 17.9 percent for the month with sales totaling $2.3 million; sales were down 0.5 percent for the year. Sales of Professional books rose by 14.6 percent to $54.4 million and were up by 15.4 percent through April.

Higher Education publishing sales increased 112.8 percent for the month ($ 74.5 million) and increased 28 percent for the year. Finally, the K-12 El-Hi (elementary/high school) category posted total net sales of $164.2 million, down 1.3 percent from March 2009, and sales through April were $485.4 million, an 8 percent increase.

About AAP
The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’s more than 300 members include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field, educational materials for the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and professional markets, scholarly journals, computer software, and electronic products and services. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of the freedom to read and the freedom to publish at home and abroad, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Association’s highest priorities.

NOTE: All sales figures cited in this release are domestic net sales.