From coloring books to Harper Lee, a good year for paper

NEW YORK (AP) — From adult coloring books to a new novel by Harper Lee, it was a year for unexpected hits and hits that sold well in paper editions.

As e-book sales remain stalled at some 25 percent of the market, hardcovers and paperbacks held steady at a time digital has upended the music, film and television industries.

According to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks around 85 percent of the print market, sales of paper editions increased modestly in 2015. As of early December, 571 million units had sold, compared to 559 million in 2014.

Coloring books for grown-ups, a concept once as out of left field as, say, a second of work of fiction from Lee, were the hottest trend. Led by Johanna Basford's "Lost Ocean" and "Enchanted Forest," the phenomenon understandably caught on almost exclusively in the print format, and Basford has no desire to change that. Numerous apps have been designed for adult coloring, but Basford wants her work "experienced only on paper," according to Penguin Books publisher-senior vice president Patrick Nolan.

Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy noted the rise of coloring books and of books by YouTube stars, another genre that did especially well in print. "Neither of these categories was a factor before this year," she said.