Printed book sales rise for first time in four years as ebooks decline

Adult colouring book craze and 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland helped revival in traditional publishing last year

Sales of printed books have grown for the first time in four years, lifted by the adult colouring book craze and 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland, as ebooks suffered their first ever decline.

Ebook sales fell by 1.6% to to 554m in 2015, the first drop recorded in the seven years industry body the Publishers Association has been monitoring the digital book market. Meanwhile, sales of printed books grew by 0.4% to 2.76bn.