Uncertain Days Ahead for Book Business

On a week that leading publishers reported drops in book sales even while profits jumped, the forecast for fall is “wait and see.”

Several publishers released quarterly sales and profit figures this week, including Simon & Schuster, where sales rose 5.3%, and HarperCollins, whose 2019 fiscal year ended on June 30, where profits were up 6% for the year.

For the week ending August 10, according to NPD BookScan, industry-wide unit sales fell 4.3% in adult nonfiction over 2018.

“Overall, there are some worrying trends in the numbers—chief among them, that the nonfiction boom that was sparked by political books— let’s just say it: Trump books – appears to be over,” reports Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer.

“This is one of the most uncertain periods for the book business that I can remember,” he notes. “Fiction sales are soft, and nonfiction sales, which had been booming in recent years, have now cooled off. But the real uncertainty comes from the looming threat of tariffs on books printed in China. If those come to pass, it would have a noticeable effect on publishers’ bottom lines. There are also worries about a recession—and even if that’s not imminent, those fears are real and could certainly impact consumer spending.

“In addition, Barnes & Noble now has new owners, so we’ll see what happens there, and after a couple of quiet years, Amazon is back in the headlines for its publishing-related activities,” he tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.

Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.