IN 1975, THE YEAR’S BEST-SELLING BOOK, E.L. Doctorow’s "Ragtime," sold 232,000 copies, chain bookstores were still a new concept, and the word "marketing" was scarcely heard in publishing houses. By 2000, John Grisham’s "The Brethren" exceeded the sales total of "Ragtime" by twelvefold, nearly all best-selling books were published by just five publishing conglomerates, and Amazon.com had become every publisher’s best market-research friend. What has happened?

In the last twenty-five years, consolidation in publishing, retailing and distribution; the advent of digital technology; and an intensified culture of celebrity have transformed the book business, for better and for worse. Increased pressures and serious distortion represent the "worst" side of the equation; previously unimagined levels of sales and opportunities to reach readers represent the "best" side of the equation. There has been scant data and analysis, however, to help us identify, understand, and place these trends in the context of publishing and cultural history.

Seeking to fill that information gap, in 2002, National Arts Journalism Program research fellow Gayle Feldman—a contributing editor at Publishers Weekly and New York correspondent of The Bookseller (London)—undertook a research project and report that systematically compares "best books" of the last 25 years with best-selling books of that period.

Feldman’s report, BEST AND WORST OF TIMES: THE CHANGING BUSINESS OF TRADE BOOKS, 1975-2002, uses interviews, historical research, observational sessions and a detailed study of bestsellers and best books to understand the present, touch on the future and give history its due. In the overlaps, divergences and trendlines, the story of the publishing industry as it enters the 21st century can be told.

Among her findings:
- The number of new books being published each year increased more than 300 percent, from 39,000 in 1975 to 122,000 in 2000 (and to more than 140,000 in 2001).
- Beginning in the 1970s, the marketing function, as opposed to the editorial function, became the driving force in book publishing as the potential for mass sales grew.
- Consolidation in the publishing industry is visible in the bestseller list. In 2000, 83.5 percent of the best-selling titles on the weekly lists of Publishers Weekly were from only five companies.
- During the past twenty-five years, mass market paperbacks have become far less profitable as trade paperbacks have become far more profitable.
- The overwhelming majority of spaces on the annual fiction bestseller list are taken up by brand names. The brands may change over time, but the phenomenon, if anything, has become even more pronounced during the last two decades.
- There is surprisingly little intersection between best-books choices on different lists, and when it does occur, it usually involves fiction titles.
- Most nonfiction bestsellers do not stand the test of time. Ideas on health, fitness, beauty, diet and money change very quickly and do not make for longevity in print.
- Technological innovation has created a blurring of boundaries between sectors (i.e. retail, publishing, distribution) and between roles (i.e. author, publisher, retailer).

In December 2002, Feldman moderated a panel, co-sponsored by the NAJP and the Women's Media Group, to discuss the evolving industry and the report's findings. Speakers included Roxanne Coady, owner of the independent R.J. Julia Booksellers, Madison, Conn.; Larry Ashmead, legendary HarperCollins editor whose career has spanned four decades; Michael Pietsch, publisher of Little, Brown and editor of "The Lovely Bones;" Daisy Maryles, executive editor, Publishers Weekly. A transcript of the panel will be available online at www.najp.org in the coming weeks.

Copies of the report are available for $20. Please contact the NAJP at 212.854.1912 or najp@columbia.edu for ordering information.

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