Latest figures show that eight years after the first Amazon kindle, eBook sales have reached stagnation and paper books are back on the rebound.

When ebooks arrived onto the scene, paper book sales were predicted to be decimated on the back of a digital revolution. 

These assumptions of hard-copy stamp-outs were not unreasonable, after the Australian paper book industry was shaken up following closures of Aussie bookstores Borders and Angus & Robertson.

Paper book sales remained dormant for some time, but according to Nielson Bookscan data, Australians bought 55.4 million print books last year- the first year of positive growth since 2008.

Chief executive of the Australian Booksellers Association, Joel Becker told Sydney Morning Herald that ebooks will continue to be around but ‘will not be the death of books.’

Predictions of total paper bookstore closure by 2016 have been countered by Australia’s biggest book printers Opus and PMP reporting positive sales growth.

PMP’s 2015 annual report showed a sales increase of 13 per cent; meanwhile Opus’ publishing revenue grew two per cent.

Australian bookstore Dymocks also boasts increased physical book sales, with children’s book revenue up 30 per cent in the last five years.

Spikes in paper book sales indicate that consumers are turning away from digital readership in favour of old-school hard-copy books.

Chief executive of PMP Peter George told ProPrint last month, “Digital books reading platforms have peaked, and worldwide books sales have increased in the past few years.”

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.  

Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter