Increase in Nonfiction Led to 2% Unit Gain in Mid-June

Unit sales of print books in the week ended June 17, 2018, rose 2% over the comparable week in 2017 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The increase was due to gains in nonfiction, where sales rose 5% and offset fiction declines. The segment was given a boost by strong sales of Kitchen Confidential, which drew the interest of book buyers following the untimely death of its author, Anthony Bourdain. The memoir sold more than 66,000 copies in the week, making it the top title in the category. Another nonfiction book that had a leap in sales was The Plant Paradox by Steven Gundry, which jumped from 20th to fifth place on the category list, selling nearly 17,000 copies. Summer Bridge Activities books took six of the top 10 spots in the juvenile nonfiction segment, contributing to a 6% gain in sales over the week ended June 18, 2017. The six titles sold a total of about 41,000 copies. Adult fiction sales continued to be soft, falling 3% in the week. The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson remained the #1 title in both the category and in overall sales, selling more than 121,000 copies. Tom Clancy: Line of Sight by Mike Madden sold more than 20,000 copies, landing it in third place on the category list in its first week. The 3% decline in the category was just slightly larger than the 2% drop posted by the top 100 adult fiction bestsellers in the week in 2018 compared to the similar week in 2017. Print unit sales in juvenile fiction fell 2% in the week. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss stayed at #1 on the category list, selling more than 19,000 copies.

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)