Sales of adult eBooks during the first quarter of 2012 surged 28.1% to $282.3 million, up from $220 million in Q1 2001, and the growth was enough to put them ahead of hardcover sales for the quarter, which grew slightly to $229.6 million.  Sales of adult trade paperback declined from $335 million in Q1 2011 to $299.8 million in the most recent quarter, but the paperback segment of the market remained the largest. 

 

In the YA/Children’s category hardcover sales rose 67.1% year-over-year according to the March report of the Association of American Publishers as they rose to $187.7 million for the quarter.  As might be suspected eBooks represent a smaller share of the young readers market, though the electronic book segment in growing by leaps and bounds as more teens and kids get their hands on e-readers.  For the first quarter of 2012 sales of YA and Children’s eBooks were up 233% to $64.3 million.

 

"Downloaded Audio Books" is another device-driven (blame smart phones) growth category with the AAP reporting that in Q1 downloaded audio sales registered a 32.7% gain from $18.8 million in Q1, 2011 to $25 million in Q1, 2012.