Book Publishers NAICS 513130

May 15, 2025 - Publishers Offer Fewer Nonfiction Paperback Editions

• Publishers are printing fewer nonfiction paperbacks, according to Jeffrey Trachtenberg, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who covers book publishing and media. New adult nonfiction paperback titles have decreased 42% in the past five years, primarily because new books are typically published first in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook format. Consumers who don’t want to pay $32 for a new nonfiction hardcover book can immediately buy the $15 e-book or an audiobook. Audiobooks are the fastest-growing segment of book publishing, according to Trachtenberg.
• A US appeals court sided with four major book publishers in their argument that the nonprofit Internet Archive's "large scale" copying and distribution of entire books online for free did not amount to "fair use." Publishers Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House accused the nonprofit of infringing copyrights in 127 books from authors like Malcolm Gladwell, C.S. Lewis, Toni Morrison, J.D. Salinger, and Elie Wiesel by making the books freely available through its Free Digital Library. The archive, which hosts more than 3.2 million copies of copyrighted books on its website, contended that the library was transformative because it made lending more convenient and served the public interest by promoting "access to knowledge." Circuit Judge Beth Robinson said in the decision that the archive merely supplanted the original books rather than transform them into "something new."

• The comic book and periodical industry is experiencing consolidation of small companies and acquisition of large companies by even larger, multi-genre publishers, according to information sector news site Clownfish TV. Boom! Studios recently sold itself to Penguin Random House, for example, and Dark Horse sold to Embracer Group in 2021. Many small comic book firms struggle financially, leading to mergers and to creators seeking movie and animation deals for financial success, according to Clownfish TV. Some larger comic book companies were started with the intention of selling them to major publishing firms. The comic book industry is facing distribution changes and low sales, but there is still high demand for certain products, according to Clownfish TV.
• Book publishing industry employment decreased slightly while wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first three months of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Personal consumption expenditures, an indicator of book sales, increased moderately during 2024, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.