Bloomsbury, the book publisher, has thanked its lucky stars for the rise of e-readers as it announced e-book sales of £1.5 million for January 2010 to March 2011.

That's an 18 times increase in revenue from digitised books for Bloomsbury year-on-year, reflecting the rise and rise of the e-reader, no doubt somewhat fuelled by the explosion of the tablet market.

Interestingly, £1.1 million of the sales were made in the first three months of 2011, suggesting that the boom times for e-books have only just begun.

Thank goodness for e-readers

Bloomsbury chief executive Nigel Newton said, "Demand for digital delivery, including e-books, is increasing significantly.

"It will change the publishing business model, creating one worldwide market. The publishing world is handling its own revolution."

Unfortunately for Bloomsbury, despite impressive e-book sales, its overall profits were still significantly down compared to 2009. The question is, can digitised books prove the saviour of the publishing industry?

Via The Bookseller