US half-year print book sales up 2.8%

In the US, print book sales in the first half of 2020 were up 2.8% on the same period in 2019 according to NPD BookScan, reports Publishers Weekly.

In the six months to July, 322.1 million print books were sold, up from 313.5 million in the first half of 2019. Leading the increase were children’s nonfiction books helping parents educate and entertain their children during school shut downs, and books on race relations and social justice, sales of which surged following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.

Junior nonfiction was up 25.5% compared to 2019, with the strongest subcategories being education/reference/language (up 64.6%), and games/activities/hobbies (up 41.2%). Meanwhile, junior fiction was also up, by 7.1%.

Adult fiction was up 2.9% compared to the first six months of 2019, with graphic novels (up 10.3%) and general fiction (up 8.2%) the best-performing subcategories. Adult nonfiction fell 3.4% over the same period, thanks to a 42% plunge in travel titles, as well as double-digit declines in the business/economics, health/fitness/medicine/sports, computers, and religion subcategories. These were partially offset by strong performances in the categories of crafts/hobbies/antiques/games (up 30.8%), cooking/entertainment (up 11.9%) and general nonfiction (up 9.9%).

Category: International news