Global Book Publishing Industry

• The global book publishing industry was valued at $110 billion as of 2020, according to IBISWorld.
• Notably, industry revenue declined by a CAGR of 1.6% for the preceding five years, owing to the shift to e-books and the lower price point associated with virtual publications.
• At present, approximately 2.2 million books are published annually by over 15,000 publishers worldwide.

US Book Publishing Industry

• America represents approximately one-quarter of the global book publishing market, with annual revenues of $27 billion as of 2020.
• This geographic segment of the industry has been harder hit by the rise of digital books, which have become a source for increased readership but decreasing revenue.
• As a result, overall industry revenue declined by 2.3% between 2015 and 2020.
• Meanwhile, approximately 1 million books are published each year in the US by the country's 2,300 publishers.

Black Women-Owned Publishers

• Aurelio Leo (website link here) is an "independent Black woman-owned mobile bookstore" that is located in Louisville, Kentucky.
• The publisher has the stated goal of publishing works from "Disabled, Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (QTBIPOC)."
• Additionally, Aurelio Leo specializes in the genres of horror, science fiction and fantasy.
• Although Aurelio Leo was launched only five years ago, the publisher has a global reach and publishes works from authors around the world.

Summary of Initial Findings

• The research team leveraged the first hour of research to assess the availability of the requested information, as well as to provide a synthesis of initial findings.
• Given that a geographic scope for this research was not provided, the research team provided information that was relevant to the global publishing market as well as the US book publishing industry. If a different geographic focus (e.g., Europe) is desired for future research, this would need to be specified in a follow-up comment.
• Additionally, while the original request initially specified a scope of the general publishing industry (e.g., books, newspapers, magazines), the research team inferred based on the more specific questions posed that the desired scope of this research was the book publishing industry. If a different focus (e.g., general publishing industry) is desired for future research, this would need to be specified in a follow-up comment.
• Based on the general availability of information about the book publishing industry, as well as the more limited information about black women-owned publishers that are focused on STEM, science and/or science fiction, we recommend proceeding with the following next steps.