U.S. Book Production Reaches New High of 195,000 Titles in 2004

NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J.--May 24, 2005--Bowker, the leading provider of bibliographic information in North America, today released

statistics on U.S. book publishing compiled from its Books In Print database.

Based on preliminary figures, Bowker is projecting that U.S. title output in 2004 increased by 14 percent to 195,000 new titles and editions, reaching another all-time high.

The catalyst for growth in 2004 was adult fiction, which reversed a three-year plateau and increased a staggering 43.1 percent, to 25,184 new titles and editions, the highest total ever recorded for that category. Adult fiction now accounts for 14 percent of all titles published in the United States, the highest proportion since 1961. New poetry and drama titles increased 40.5 percent.

The number of new titles released by the largest trade houses increased 5.4 percent, to 24,159, their largest increase since 2001. University presses increased their title output 12.3 percent to 14,484, reversing a 4.3 percent decline in 2003. Since 1995, new titles have increased 72 percent for all U.S. publishers, 22 percent for the largest trade houses, and 12 percent for university presses.

New juvenile titles continued to rise in 2004, increasing 6.6 percent to 21,516, a new high for that category. Among adult non-fiction categories, religion, travel and home economics enjoyed the largest increases, while education, history, science and biography suffered the steepest declines. The large trade houses published significantly more business, juvenile, law, sociology, and travel titles, and significantly fewer religion, poetry, and literary fiction titles. New adult fiction titles published by the large houses increased a modest 3.5 percent, a fraction of the increase seen from U.S. publishers as a whole.

Meanwhile, university presses enjoyed increases in almost all categories, with only philosophy and psychology experiencing significant declines.

In 2004, the average suggested retail price for adult hardcovers released by the largest trade houses decreased 10 cents to $27.52; adult fiction hardcovers held steady at $25.08; and adult non-fiction hardcovers decreased 29 cents to $28.49. Adult trade paperbacks increased 11 cents to $15.76; adult fiction trade paperbacks increased 7 cents to $14.78; adult non-fiction trade paperbacks increased 15 cents to $16.16; and adult mass-market paperbacks increased 14 cents to $7.35. The average list price for juvenile hardcovers increased 26 cents to $16.09.