Following two months of double-digit increases in total publishing sales over the previous year, August showed a slimmer margin, increasing 8.9% at the approximately 1,411 publishers that report financial results to the AAP’s StatShot program.
The adult category increased 15.8%, led by a 17.6% rise in fiction, while nonfiction increased 13.3%. August adult fiction sales were once again led by Theo of Golden, which sold nearly 200,000 copies in the month.
The children’s/young adult category rose 4.3%, led by a 16.6% increase in nonfiction and a 1.8% rise in fiction.
Adult fiction sales were led by paperback formats, which rose 32.3%; hardcover was up 17.3%. Digital audio sales jumped 14.8% in the month, but e-book sales decreased 4.1%. On the nonfiction side, paperback formats rose 15.5% while hardcover sales jumped 11.8%. Digital audio sales rose 8.9% but e-books dropped 8.1%.
Print also led the way in children’s/YA. In fiction, hardcover sales rose 10.1% and paperback dropped 1.9%. Digital audio sales dropped 5.4% and e-book sales plunged 18.8%. In nonfiction, hardcover and paperback sales rose 14.4% and 22.2%, respectively. Digital audio showed a significant jump, at 27.5%, though it still remains a small part of the business. E-books rose 9.2%.
Religious presses, which had a slow start to the year, increased 11% from August 2025 and 2.2% year-to-date.
The education segment had a 2.8% sales decrease and the university presses category increased 5.5%. The professional and scholarly category saw sales increase 8% in August.
For the first eight months of the year, sales for all reporting publishers were up 5.9% over the comparable 2025 period.
