More Fiction Softness Leads to Dip in Sales in Late May

Declines in both adult and juvenile fiction print unit sales offset gains in nonfiction in the week ended May 27, 2018, resulting in a 1% decline in print unit sales overall compared to the similar week in 2017, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The 5% decline in adult fiction compared to the week ended May 28, 2017, came despite a solid performance by Stephen King’s The Outsider, which sold nearly 97,000 copies in its first week, taking the top spot on the category bestseller list. The Outsider drained much of the sales from adult fiction. The Cast by Danielle Steel was in second place, selling a little more than 15,000 copies. The top 100 bestselling adult fiction titles sold more than 637,000 copies in the week, a decline of 8% from the similar week in 2017. Print unit sales in juvenile fiction also fell 5%. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss was the top-selling title in the week in both 2017 and 2018, selling about 48,000 and 46,000 copies, respectively. The big difference from last year was in the young adult section of the juvenile category, where sales were softer. War Storm by Victoria Aveyard was the top-selling young adult novel in the week ended May 27, 2018, selling more than 9,000 copies. Last year at this time, six young adult novels sold more copies than War Storm, led by Cassandra Clare’s Lord of Shadows, which sold nearly 33,000 copies. Print unit sales in the adult fiction category rose 2% over 2017. John McCain’s The Restless Wave sold more than 33,000 copies in its first week, trailing only Magnolia Table by Joanne Gaines on the category bestseller list.

Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel (in thousands)

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category (in thousands)

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format (in thousands)