Book Sales Up at Start of Year

The Association of American Publishers reported that book sales for the month of January 2009 increased by 3.6 percent to $785 million over January 2008.

Segments that posted increases include the children’s/young-adult hardcover category, which rose 60 percent for the month with sales of $54.4 million; and the children’s/young-adult paperback category, which was up by 9.3 percent in January with sales totaling $37.4 million. Additionally, sales in the professional and scholarly category increased by 2.1 percent ($48.7 million), while higher education publishing sales posted an increase of 29 percent for the month ($340.8 million).