Story perspectives

Mass Market Paperbacks Face Decline, ReaderLink Halts Distribution

12/15/2025

Summary

Story summary

ReaderLink will stop distributing mass market paperbacks by the end of 2025.
Sales fell from 131 million units in 2004 to 15 million in 2024, about 84% drop.
Mass market paperbacks thrived from the 1960s through the 1990s due to affordable pricing and distribution.
Kensington Publishing, the largest independent mass market publisher, has shifted away from this format.
Rising production costs and competition from e-books have driven the format's decline.

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Story summary

ReaderLink will stop distributing mass market paperbacks by the end of 2025.
Sales fell from 131 million units in 2004 to 15 million in 2024, about 84% drop.
Mass market paperbacks thrived from the 1960s through the 1990s due to affordable pricing and distribution.
Kensington Publishing, the largest independent mass market publisher, has shifted away from this format.
Rising production costs and competition from e-books have driven the format's decline.