US booksellers see a return to print

New York

FIVE years ago, the book world was seized by collective panic over the uncertain future of print.

As readers migrated to new digital devices, e-book sales soared, increasing 1,259 per cent between 2008 and 2010, alarming booksellers that watched consumers use their stores to find titles they would later buy online. Print sales dwindled, bookstores struggled to stay open, and publishers and authors feared that cheaper e-books would cannibalise their business.

Then in 2011, the industry's fears were realised when Borders declared bankruptcy. "E-books were this rocket ship going straight up…