Total net book sales in September in the U.S. rose 14.4%, to $1.7 billion, compared to September 2024, representing sales of 1,324 publishers and distributed clients as reported to the Association of American Publishers. For the year to date, net book sales were down 0.4%, to $10.9 billion. The September results are the first gain in book sales since March.
In September, trade book sales jumped 10.9%, to $1.04 billion, while year to date, trade book sales are down 3.2%, to $6.8 billion. Most of the biggest categories among gainers were adult and children's hardcover and paperback.
In terms of format, in September trade hardcover sales rose 14.5%, to $466 million, paperbacks rose 15.1%, to $321.6 million, mass market dropped 6.5%, to $8.5 million, and special bindings were up 5.4%, to $28.8 million. E-book revenues were down 7.9%, to $85.4 million, digital audio slipped 0.6%, to $89.1 million, and physical audio fell 41.3%, to $500,000.
Sales by category for September 2025: