‘We're losing accessibility': America says goodbye to the mass-market paperback

• Mass-market paperbacks, typically 4x7 inches and priced like cigarettes at 25 cents historically, were sold outside traditional bookstores in tens of thousands of outlets, making literature accessible to working-class readers who might never enter a bookstore
• The format's portability advantage has been replaced by smartphones and e-readers offering 'an infinite bookshelf in your pocket,' while trade paperbacks are now barely more expensive to produce than mass-market editions
• Affordability concerns are acute for young readers: teenagers earning minimum wage cannot afford $19.99-$21.99 hardcovers, losing access at a time when libraries face defunding and book bans are increasing

Market Summary: Decline of Mass-Market Paperbacks in America

Key Development

ReaderLink, the largest book distributor in the United States, has announced it will cease distributing mass-market paperbacks, effectively ending a nearly century-old publishing format. This decision reflects a dramatic market contraction, with sales plummeting from 131 million units in 2004 to just 21 million in 2024—an 84% decline over two decades.

Market Impact

The mass-market paperback segment, characterized by pocket-sized books (approximately 4x7 inches) sold at low price points in non-traditional retail locations like supermarkets and pharmacies, is being phased out across distribution channels. Hudson airport retail stores began eliminating these formats in 2023, while major book series like Bridgerton will no longer be restocked in this format once current inventory depletes.

Economic Factors

According to industry analysts, the format's economic advantages have eroded. Production costs for mass-market paperbacks now approximate those of larger trade paperbacks, eliminating the traditional price differential that justified their existence. Original mass-market titles sold for $0.25 (equivalent to a pack of cigarettes in the 1940s), but modern pricing at $19.99-$21.99 for trade paperbacks creates accessibility barriers, particularly for younger, lower-income readers.

Competitive Pressures

Digital alternatives have displaced the format's core utility. E-readers and smartphones now provide portable reading solutions with superior economics and convenience. The BookTok phenomenon on social media has also shifted consumer preferences toward premium hardcovers with aesthetic features rather than disposable paperbacks.

Publisher Response

Kensington Publishing, the largest independent mass-market publisher, reported producing zero mass-market titles in January 2025 for the first time since its 1974 founding, signaling a fundamental industry transformation.