Mass Market Paperback
Book & Publishing Formats · 7 specs
Direct Answer
A Mass Market Paperback (also known as a Pocket Book / Rack-Size Novel) is a standardized commercial book publishing format measuring 4.25 × 6.875 inches (108 × 175 mm). Engineered for high-volume rotary letterpress/web offset printing on groundwood pulp paper, it is designed to fit spinning wire display racks in airports, supermarkets, and drugstores.
Source: Association of American Publishers (AAP) / Pocket Books Standards · Last reviewed Aug 28, 2026
Specs
| Width × Height (Imperial) | 4.25 × 6.875 in |
| Width × Height (Metric) | 108 × 175 mm |
| Paper Type | High-bulk mechanical groundwood pulp paper (uncoated, prone to yellowing) |
| Binding Style | Perfect Binding (cold EVA or hot PUR adhesive along trimmed spine) |
| Distribution Channels | Wire revolving racks in grocery stores, airport kiosks, newsstands |
| Strip-Cover Returns Policy | Unsold copies are 'stripped' (cover torn off for credit; body pulped) |
| Primary Genres | Thriller novels, romance, science fiction, crime paperbacks |
The 1939 Paperback Revolution
Pioneered by Allen Lane's Penguin Books in the UK (1935) and Robert de Graff's Pocket Books in the US (1939), mass market paperbacks priced at 25 cents transformed book distribution by treating literature as a disposable consumer packaged good sold alongside magazines and tobacco.
The Strippable Cover System
Unlike hardcover books and trade paperbacks (which must be physically shipped back to publishers for credit), distributors save heavy freight costs on mass market paperbacks by ripping off the front cover to mail back as proof of return while discarding/pulping the book block, explaining the standard copyright disclaimer: 'If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property.'