'The Hunger Games' trilogy drives juvenile fiction sales up 13.1 percent for 2012

Children’s and young adult books experienced a spike in sales for 2012, and publishers have a teenage girl with a bow and arrow to thank.

According to a new report by the Association of American Publishers, young adult and children’s books experienced a 13.1 percent increase in sales from 2011. Publishers Weekly points to “The Hunger Games” trilogy by Suzanne Collins as the main reason for the jump, since “The Hunger Games” books were a large part of the reason that sales of children’s and YA hardcover books increased 11.2 percent for the year.

Children’s and young adult e-books also experienced a massive increase in sales, with e-books sales increasing by more than 120 percent in 2012. E-book sales of adult titles also increased for the year.

Paperbacks were the only category in the children’s and young adult books sector to fall slightly, experiencing a 4.5 percent decrease from 2011.

Other good news? According to the AAP report, American publishers’ net revenue increased by 6.2 percent for 2012.

It will be interesting to see the sales numbers this time next year for young adult and children’s books, as it seems that area of publishing often benefits from a success story like “The Hunger Games” trilogy, the "Twilight" series by Stephenie Meyer, or the "Harry Potter" books to drive their numbers. Will 2013 bring another smash hit series?