Unit sales of print books dipped 0.3% in the week ended May 18, 2014, compared to week 20, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. The decline was due entirely to a weak performance in the adult fiction segment, where unit sales fell 19%, compared to the week ended May 19, 2013. There were no major new adult fiction releases in the week, with the mass market paperback edition of Inferno the top seller in the category, selling just over 37,000 copies at outlets that report to BookScan. There were no big debuts on the juvenile fiction segment either, but sales of the two paperback editions of The Fault in Our Stars had strong double-digit gains over week 19 of 2014, and combined to sell about 127,000 copies in week 20. The juvenile nonfiction list had a solid 12% unit increase in the week, compared to week 20 of 2013, as two Minecraft titles remained on top. The National Geographic Kids Almanac debuted at #3, selling approximately 6,550 copies at BookScan outlets.

Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel

May 19, 2013 May 18, 2014 % Chge Week % Chge YTD
Total 10,201 10,174 -0.3% 0%
Mass Merch./Other 1,883 1,749 -7 -3
Retail & Club 8,318 8,424 1 1

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category

May 19, 2013 May 18, 2014 % Chge Week % Chge YTD
Adult Nonfiction 4,029 4,118 2% -1%
Adult Fiction 2,904 2,348 -19 -13
Juvenile Nonfiction 639 716 12 11
Juvenile Fiction 2,232 2,616 17 13

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format

May 19, 2013 May 18, 2014 % Chge Week % Chge YTD
Hardcover 2,880 2,713 -6% 2%
Trade Paperback 5,426 5,673 4 1
Mass Market Paperback 1,352 1,201 -11 -12
Board Books 290 338 16 15
Audio 95 92 -3 7

Source: Nielsen BookScan and Publishers Weekly. Nielsen BookScan’s U.S. Consumer Market Panel covers approximately 80% of the print book market and continues to grow.