Number of new books drops, but manga looks up

ICv2.com reports that the number of new books published in the United States has declined for the first time since 1999.

The number of new books and new editions of older books released in the U.S. dropped from 200,000 titles in 2004 to 172,000 last year. That's a decrease of 9 percent. Those figures come from Bowker, which provides ISBNs for U.S. publishers and produces Books in Print.

However, ICv2 says it believes the number of manga and graphic novel releases were up slightly in 2005: "Manga publishers experienced a shakeout effect from the increasingly crowded market, but the number of titles released in 2005 matched 2004 levels, while the number of non-manga graphic novels increased. This growth in the number of manga and graphic novel releases appears to be continuing in 2006 and testifies to the fact that foreign and domestic graphic novels remain one of the hottest categories in publishing."