In the Wake of a Bestseller
At #1 on our Hardcover Nonfiction list (and #2 overall) is Dead Wake, by Erik Larson, with
42,873 units sold. Prepress publicity and strong sales for this book, which explores the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, gave a bump to some of the nonfiction author’s backlist titles—which deal with the first U.S. ambassador to Nazi Germany, the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and the chief meteorologist in Galveston, Tex., during the hurricane of 1900.
The Good Fight
Every Day I Fight, a memoir by Stuart Scott, with Larry Platt, is at #5 on our Hardcover Nonfiction list with 8,059 units sold. Scott, who was an anchor for ESPN, and journalist Platt completed the manuscript in early December 2014; a month later, Scott died of cancer at age 49. In the book, Scott recounts the various treatments and exercises he tried while fighting his disease, in addition to describing his childhood in North Carolina and his success at ESPN.
Selfie Satisfied
Atria’s new Keywords imprint, which aims to turn Internet fame into book sales, has just released its second title. I Hate My Selfie, an essay collection by Shane Dawson, debuts at #5 on our Paperback Trade list with 13,311 units sold. It’s likely that many of those sales came from Dawson’s massive online audience (6.3 million people subscribe to the most popular of his three YouTube channels, and he has 2.3 million Twitter followers and 1.3 million Instagram followers). The imprint’s first release, Zoe Sugg’s Girl Online—which encountered a bit of backlash amid allegations that the novel is ghostwritten—has sold 58,273 units since its November 2014 release and is at #23 on our Children’s Frontlist Fiction list this week with 2,175 units sold. Next up for Keywords is April’s A Work in Progress, by Connor Franta.
| Rank | Title | Author | Imprint | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Girl on the Train | Paula Hawkins | Riverhead | 44,404 |
| 2 | Dead Wake | Erik Larson | Crown | 42,873 |
| 3 | American Sniper (movie tie-in) | Chris Kyle | Morrow | 30,150 |
| 4 | Green Eggs and Ham | Dr. Seuss | Random | 25,511 |
| 5 | The Target | David Baldacci | Vision | 24,034 |
| 6 | One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish | Dr. Seuss | Random | 21,800 |
| 7 | Festive in Death | J.D. Robb | Berkley | 19,339 |
| 8 | All the Light We Cannot See | Anthony Doerr | Scribner | 18,017 |
| 9 | The Cat in the Hat | Dr. Seuss | Random | 17,590 |
| 10 | Last One Home | Debbie Macomber | Ballantine | 16,778 |
