Total net book sales in August in the U.S. rose 8.9%, to $1.2 billion, compared to August 2025, representing sales of 1,411 publishers and distributed clients as reported to the Association of American Publishers. For the first eight months of the year, net book sales rose 5.9%, to $7.9 billion.
Overall trade sales in August rose 12.5%, to $904.7 million. In terms of physical format, hardback revenues rose 13.8%, to $320.2 million; paperbacks were up 17.6%, to $333.3 million; mass market dropped 14.6%, to $6.2 million; and special bindings were up 3.7%, to $20.4 million.
Sales by category for August 2026:
