Total net book sales in October in the U.S. rose 6.7%, to $1.5 billion, compared to October 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 rose 0.4%, to $12.4 billion. The October gains follow solid September results, which were the first gain in book sales since March.
In October, trade book sales were up 3.5%, to $1.1 billion, while year to date, trade book sales are down 2.3%, to $8 billion. The biggest categories with healthy sales jumps in October included digital audio, adult (except for mass market), and some university press and religious categories. In October, adult book net revenue rose 6%, with fiction increasing 11.3% and nonfiction up 0.6%. Children's/YA net revenue dropped 4.7%, with fiction down 6.7% and nonfiction up 5%.
In terms of format, in October trade hardcover sales rose 4.5%, to $521.3 million, paperbacks rose 1.5%, to $350.6 million, mass market dropped 22.7%, to $7.9 million, and special bindings were down 4.9%, to $26.1 million. E-book revenues rose 1.9%, to $88.3 million, digital audio rose 7.3%, to $92.6 million, and physical audio fell 21.1%, to $700,000.
Sales by category for October 2025:
