News

Trade (Consumer Book) Revenues Up 3.6% for Month of April, and Up 1% Year-to-Date

Today, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) released its StatShot report covering April 2026, reflecting reported revenue for Trade (Consumer Books), Education (combines PreK-12 Instructional Materials and Higher Education Course Materials), and Professional & Scholarly Publishing.

Total revenue across all categories for April 2026 was up 4.4% as compared to April 2025, coming in at $887.7 million. Year-to-date revenues were up 1.7%, at $3.7 billion for the year.

Trade (Consumer Books) Revenues

April

Trade (Consumer Books) revenues were up 3.6% in April at $768.9 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of April, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 3.1%, coming in at $265.8 million; Paperbacks were up 10%, with $281.4 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 77.2% to $2.4 million; and Special Bindings were up 44.4%, with $18.3 million in revenue. 

eBook revenues were down 1.2% at $84.6 million for the month, and revenues from the Digital Audio format were up 11.9% for April, coming in at $97.5 million in revenue. Physical Audio revenues were down 12.3%, coming in at $400 thousand.

Year-to-date

Year-to-date Trade revenues were up 1.0% at $3 billion for the year. Hardback revenues were down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis, coming in at $1.0 billion; Paperbacks were up 5.6%, with $1.1 billion in revenue; Mass Market was down 76.2% to $7.6 million; and Special Bindings were up 26.4%, with $75.7 million in revenue.

eBook revenues were down 4.1% compared to 2025, for a total of $345.6 million. The Digital Audio format was up 14.9%, coming in at $399.7 million in revenue. Physical Audio revenues were down 11.6%, coming in at $1.7 million.

Religious Presses Up 2.8% In April

Religious press revenues were up 2.8% as compared to the same month in 2025, coming in at $63.7 million. Hardback revenues were down 0.8% to $37.6 million in revenue, Paperback revenues were up 10.8% to $11.6 million, eBook revenues were down 1.6% coming in at $3.9 million, and Digital Audio revenues were up 0.8% at $3.9 million.

On a year-to-date basis, Religious press revenues were down 0.5% during the first four months of 2026, coming in at $283.3 million. Hardback revenues were down 3.5% to $167.8 million in revenue, Paperback revenues were up 3.2% to $54.1 million, eBook revenues were flat at $17.2 million, and Digital Audio revenues were up 1.8% at $16.4 million.

Professional & Scholarly Publishing Up 0.3% for April 2026

Professional & Scholarly Publishing, including business, medical, law, technical, scientific, and other books were up 0.3% for April of 2026, coming in at $33.3 million. The category was up 4.3% for the first four months of the year coming in at $137.4 million.

Education Materials (combines PreK-12 Instructional Materials and Higher Education Course Materials) Up 5.5% for April 2026

During April 2026, revenues from Education Materials were $74.1 million, up 5.5% compared with April 2025. Year-to-date Education Materials revenues were $583.8 million, up 3.5% compared to the first four months of 2025.

AAP’s StatShot

AAP StatShot reports the monthly and yearly net revenue of publishing houses from U.S. sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct to consumer, online retailers, and other channels. StatShot draws revenue data from more than 1,416 publishers, although participation may fluctuate slightly from report to report.

StatShot reports are designed to give ongoing revenue snapshots across publishing sectors using the best data currently available. The reports reflect participants’ most recent reported revenue for current and previous periods, enabling readers to compare revenue on both a month-to-month and year-to-year basis within a given StatShot report.

Monthly and yearly StatShot reports may not align completely across reporting periods, because: a) The pool of StatShot participants may fluctuate from report to report; and b) Like any business, it is common accounting practice for publishing houses to update and restate their previously reported revenue data. If, for example, a business learns that its revenues were greater in a given year than its reports first indicated, it will restate the revenues in subsequent reports to AAP, permitting AAP in turn to report information that is more accurate than previously reported.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) announced a major infringement suit today against WeLib, a for-profit pirate site that has made clear its purpose is “to illegally obtain, reproduce, distribute, and profit from works of authorship without regard to the authors, illustrators, publishers, and other creators who own, exercise, license, and make a living from their intellectual property.”

The suit, which was brought by thirteen publishing companies across the trade, educational, and professional and scientific publishing sectors, follows a similar infringement suit against the notorious pirate site Anna’s Archive. Publishers prevailed in that case last month when the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a sweeping default judgment against Anna’s Archive on May 19, levying the maximum statutory damage award for each of the 130 works in the suit and ordering all domain name registries and registrars for Anna’s Archive and all hosting and internet service providers for its websites to disable access to Anna’s Archive and prevent their transfer to anyone other than the plaintiffs. The judgement also directed international providers to stop hosting the site.

Statement from Maria A. Pallante, AAP President and CEO:

“WeLib steals, distributes, and profits from millions of literary, educational, and scientific works from its cowardly locations on the internet, in the process injuring authors, publishers, and the public.  Today’s action is part of our ongoing and vigorous response to the mass theft of literary works, which has no place in the modern world and cannot be tolerated.”

Excerpts from the complaint include:

• Defendants have deliberately violated the copyright law of the United States.

• Defendants boast that they have reproduced “an endless collection of literature, research papers, and education materials,” none of which they own or have licensed.

• Publishers bring this action to stop the mass distribution by Defendants of millions of legally protected literary works owned by Publishers that were unlawfully copied from physical and digital books and journals. Publishers’ action is now especially critical in light of reports that major large language model developers used illegal sites like WeLib as illicit sources of training data.

• They claim this stolen collection spans “every genre – from timeless masterpieces to the latest scholarly publications.”

• Through its various websites—including welib.org, welib.st, and welib-public.org (together, the “Website”)—WeLib hosts over 43 million books and 98 million papers. Its stolen collection of literary works has purportedly attracted over 80,000 active monthly users.  According to the Website, WeLib’s users have illegally accessed over 51 million books in the last month alone, or an average of over 1.7 million books per day.

• Defendants profit directly from their mass infringement business.

• For the copyrighted content hosted directly by WeLib, download speeds for free users are typically very slow. However, in exchange for a “donation,” users receive “fast downloads” and avoid waitlists. In reality, these “donations” are paid memberships. Given the volume of the pirated files WeLib encourages its users to download, buying this extra download speed is a practical necessity. WeLib accepts payment for these faster downloads through its “Donate” webpage.  Its paid subscriptions start at $7 per month for “25 fast downloads per day” and “25 fast reads per day.”  On the higher end, for $90 a month WeLib offers “1000 fast downloads per day” and “1000 fast reads per day.”

About the Association of American Publishers

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) represents the U.S. publishing industry on matters of law and policy, with a particular focus on the copyright, technology, and freedom of expression issues that make publishing possible. Founded in 1970, AAP regularly organizes and supports litigation that is of existential importance to the greater creative community. AAP’s members include large, small, and specialized publishing houses serving both local and global markets. Together, they inform and inspire the public, one work of authorship at a time.

About the Plaintiffs

Plaintiffs in Apress Media, LLC et al. v. WeLib and Does 1 - 10 include Apress Media, LLC; Cengage Group; Elsevier Inc.; Hachette Book Group, Inc.; HarperCollins LLC; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishing Group, LLC d/b/a Macmillan Learning; Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC; McGraw Hill LLC; Pearson Education, Inc.; Penguin Random House LLC; Simon & Schuster, LLC; Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The plaintiffs, and other AAP member publishers, publish and curate the important, beloved, and award-winning works of many of the world’s most acclaimed authors as well as leading educators and experts in various educational, scholarly, and scientific fields. They are global leaders who partner with brilliant authors to deliver works that educate, inform, and inspire every type of reader.

Read the full complaint here.

Washington, DC and Chicago, IL – The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today announced a partnership with the technology company Vermillio to document and facilitate the removal of infringing copies of literary works from online sites, including a rapidly rising flood of unauthorized generative AI copies that substantially reproduce, mimic, and perform protected audiobooks. With Vermillio’s TraceID™ as a new high standard for protecting publishing IP in the era of generative AI, the milestone marks a pivotal moment for publishers aligning across the industry to safeguard authors’ works.

As part of its services, Vermillio will deploy TraceID to address infringing copies accurately and swiftly, with the goal of reducing the scale, duration, and cost of the damage suffered by publishers and authors in as close to real time as possible. This includes copyright abuses on both generative AI platforms and distribution platforms, such as YouTube. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for infringers to upload infringing files to popular hosting sites immediately after a lawful publication hits the market, if not contemporaneously, and for these sites to benefit directly or indirectly from the traffic.

“As we celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the nation, we are proud to note that the American publishing industry has been there every step of the way,” said Maria A. Pallante, AAP President and CEO. “But today we have a system of infringement on the internet that is shocking and getting worse, calling for fresh thinking, sophisticated tools, and strong alliances. We are pleased to work with Vermillio in the effort to forge next-generation solutions for publishers, authors, and platforms.” 

AAP has a long record of organizing legal actions against entities that engage in industrial scale copyright infringement, including most recently a March 2026 lawsuit against the notorious pirate site Anna's Archive that seeks to profit from its stockpile by selling it to AI developers. Vermillio offers essential, supplemental strategies that will help to proactively remove copyright abuses, while also asserting control over how copyrighted content is used in AI systems. 

“As part of their comprehensive playbook, publishers are moving strategically from defense to offense in the AI era,” said Dan Neely, Co-Founder & CEO of Vermillio. “We need independent solutions, not ones owned by the very platforms seeking to monetize work that isn’t theirs. The publishing industry’s adoption of TraceID sends a clear signal that consent, control, and compensation must be foundational to the future of AI.” 

As part of its mission to empower humanity in the era of AI, Vermillio continues to partner with leading talent, studios, record labels, and more – including Sony Music and high-profile individuals like Steve Harvey – to protect them from IP theft and give them the opportunity to monetize their image and likeness by securely licensing their data. Vermillio previously announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with talent agency WME to protect its clients’ IP and likeness. On the heels of being named to the annual TIME100 Most Influential Companies list, Vermillio officially extended TraceID to individuals worldwide for free.

About The Association of American Publishers (AAP)

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) represents the leading book, journal, and education publishers in the United States on matters of law and policy, advocating for outcomes that incentivize the publication of creative and intellectual expression in support of a vibrant, imaginative, and informed democracy. As essential participants in local markets and the global economy, our members invest in and inspire the exchange of ideas, transforming the world we live in one word at a time. AAP members include large, small, independent, educational, and scholarly houses who collectively publish the world’s preeminent authors, including winners of the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Newbery Medal, Man Booker Prize, Caldecott Medal and Nobel Prize. Learn more at publishers.org.

About Vermillio

Vermillio is an AI licensing and protection platform with a mission to empower humanity to thrive in the era of Generative AI. Providing cutting-edge protection and control, Vermillio’s TraceID^TM – recently made available for free – enables talent and IP holders to take advantage of the benefits of Generative AI in a safe and secure environment while understanding where their valuable data is being used. Named to the 2025 TIME100 Most Influential Companies list, Vermillio is building the guardrails for a Generative AI internet to empower talent, studios, record labels, and more to protect and monetize their content. Co-founded by Dan Neely, who also made TIME’s list of 100 most influential individuals in AI, Vermillio’s team is led by experienced technologists who bring significant collective experience building AI software and scaled transaction systems. Learn more at vermill.io.

Media Contacts:

John McKay | jmckay@publishers.org

Sarah Rothman | Vermillio@ledecompany.com

On May 19, 2026, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Jed S. Rakoff issued a default judgment in Apress Media, LLC et al. v. Anna’s Archive and Does 1- 10, a major infringement suit against the notorious pirate site Anna’s Archive. 

The judgement levies the maximum statutory damages of $150,000 for each of the 130 Works in the suit and orders all domain name registries and registrars to disable access to Anna’s Archive domain names and prevent their transfer to anyone other than the plaintiffs. The judgement also directs international providers to stop hosting the site.

The suit was filed on March 6^th of this year by thirteen publishing companies across the trade, educational, and professional and scientific publishing sectors, seeking permanent injunctive relief for the copying and distribution of millions of infringing files, both books and research journal articles. The works in the suit included an extraordinary scope of authorship, including bestselling titles and winners of the Nobel Prize, Man Booker Prize, Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Newbery Medal, and Caldecott Medal.

Statement from Lui Simpson, Executive Vice President, Global Policy, Association of American Publishers

“We thank the court for this powerful decision, which sends a clear message that piracy will not be tolerated, and that pirate repositories like Anna’s Archive are the wrong place for big tech companies to acquire the high-quality content – including books and journals – that they need to develop powerful AI systems. Publishers will capitalize on this landmark decision in every way possible to disrupt and frustrate the piracy activities of this site. We believe that this action will further encourage the growth and development of the already robust legitimate market for licensing to AI systems, and speed the growth of a fair and open marketplace that will equally benefit both the tech and creative sectors.” 

The full default judgement can be found here.

About the Plaintiffs

Plaintiffs in Apress Media, LLC et al. v. Anna’s Archive and Does 1-10 include Apress Media LLC; Cengage Group; Elsevier Inc.; Hachette Book Group, Inc.; HarperCollins LLC; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; Bedford, Freeman, & Worth Publishing Group, LLC d/b/a Macmillan Learning; Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC; McGraw Hill LLC; Pearson Education, Inc.; Penguin Random House LLC; Simon & Schuster, LLC; Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The plaintiffs, and other AAP member publishers, publish and curate the important, beloved, and award-winning works of many of the world’s most acclaimed authors as well as leading educators and experts in various educational, scholarly, and scientific fields. They are global leaders who partner with brilliant authors to deliver works that educate, inform, and inspire every type of reader. Moreover, these publishers are investing in artificial intelligence tools to improve business practices and reader experiences while maintaining emphasis on human authorship as the bedrock of creative and scholarly endeavor.

Today, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) released its StatShot report covering the first three months of 2026 reflecting reported revenue for Trade (Consumer Books), Education (combines PreK-12 Instructional Materials and Higher Education Course Materials), and Professional & Scholarly Publishing.

Total revenues across all categories for the first quarter of the year were up 0.9% as compared to the first three months of 2025, coming in at $2.9 billion.

Trade (Consumer Books) Revenues for First Quarter of 2026

Trade (Consumer Books) sales were up 0.2% during the first three months of the year, coming in at $2.2 billion. Within the Trade category, books for adults decreased 0.5% to $1.5 billion compared to the first three months of 2025 while books for children and young adults increased 2.6% to $560.7 million.

In terms of physical paper format revenues during the first quarter, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 6.5%, coming in at $760 million; Paperbacks were up 4.2%, with $796.2 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 75.6% to $5.2 million; and Special Bindings were up 21.6%, with $57.4 million in revenue.

eBook revenues were down 5% as compared to the first three months of 2025, for a total of $261 million. Digital Audio was up 15.9% for the first three months, coming in at $302.3 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 11.4%, coming in at $1.3 million.

Trade (Consumer Books) Revenues by Month

January

Trade (Consumer Books) sales were down 4.5% in January, coming in at $754.8 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of January, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 11.3%, coming in at $263.1 million; Paperbacks were up 0.3%, with $272.3 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 68.5% to $3.6 million; and Special Bindings were down 3.4%, with $19.6 million in revenue.

eBook revenues were up 3.6% at $85.2 million for the month, and revenues from the Digital Audio format were up 5.9% for January, coming in at $94.1 million in revenue. Physical Audio revenues were down 32.1%, coming in at $500 thousand.

February

Trade (Consumer Books) sales were up 5.9% in February, coming in at $758.9 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of February, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were up 5%, coming in at $256.1 million; Paperbacks were up 7%, with $254.6 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 85.3% to $900 thousand; and Special Bindings were up 18%, with $18.2 million in revenue.

eBook revenues were down 13.1% at $90.9 million for the month, and revenues from the Digital Audio format were up 27.9% for February, coming in at $117.2 million in revenue. Physical Audio revenues were up 16.8%, coming in at $400 thousand.

March

Trade (Consumer Books) sales were down 0.4% in March, coming in at $722.4 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of March, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 11.5%, coming in at $240.9 million; Paperbacks were up 5.7%, with $269.3 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 80.5% to $700 thousand; and Special Bindings were up 70.2%, with $19.6 million in revenue.

eBook revenues were down 5.9% at $82.8 million for the month, and revenues from the Digital Audio format were up 13.4% for March, coming in at $91 million in revenue. Physical Audio revenues were up 1.4%, coming in at $400 thousand.

Religious Presses Down 1.4% First Quarter of 2026

Religious press revenues were down 1.4% during the first three months of 2026, coming in at $219.6 million. Hardback revenues were down 4.3% to $130.2 million in revenue, Paperback revenues were up 1.3% to $42.4 million, eBook revenues were up 0.5% coming in at $13.3 million, and Digital Audio revenues were up 2% at $12.5 million.

Professional & Scholarly Publishing Up 5.7% for First Quarter of 2026

Professional & Scholarly Publishing, including business, medical, law, technical, scientific, and other books were up 5.7% during the first three months of the year, coming in at $104.1 million.

Education Materials (combines PreK-12 Instructional Materials and Higher Education Course Materials) Up 3.2% for First Quarter of 2026

During January 2026, revenues from Education Materials were $211.1 million, down 4.8% compared with January 2025. In February, Education Materials revenues were $185 million, up 13.9% from February 2025. For March, Education Materials revenues were $113.7 million, up 3.4% compared with March 2025. Year-to-date Education Materials revenues were $509.7 million, up 3.2% compared to the first three months of 2025.

AAP’s StatShot

AAP StatShot reports the monthly and yearly net revenue of publishing houses from U.S. sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct to consumer, online retailers, and other channels. StatShot draws revenue data from approximately 1,416+ publishers, although participation may fluctuate slightly from report to report.

StatShot reports are designed to give ongoing revenue snapshots across publishing sectors using the best data currently available. The reports reflect participants’ most recent reported revenue for current and previous periods, enabling readers to compare revenue on both a month-to-month and year-to-year basis within a given StatShot report.

Monthly and yearly StatShot reports may not align completely across reporting periods, because: a) The pool of StatShot participants may fluctuate from report to report; and b) Like any business, it is common accounting practice for publishing houses to update and restate their previously reported revenue data. If, for example, a business learns that its revenues were greater in a given year than its reports first indicated, it will restate the revenues in subsequent reports to AAP, permitting AAP in turn to report information that is more accurate than previously reported.