In the week following HarperCollins's February 3 announcement that it will be publishing Harper Lee's second novel, Go Set a Watchman, in July, sales for Lee's landmark first book, To Kill a Mockingbird, nearly tripled.
According to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks an estimated 80% of print sales, for the week ended February 1, the publisher's trade paperback edition sold 1,076 copies. For the week ended February 8, the book moved 3,084 copies, a 187% increase in sales.
Go Set a Watchman follows Scout Finch, the plucky young heroine of Mockingbird, 20 years later, as an adult. Following news of its publication this summer, pre-orders pushed the title to the top of Amazon's chart, taking Mockingbird along with it.
Additionally, Grand Central's mass market addition saw a major sales spike. The week ended February 1, the edition sold 7,039 copies, and 13,070 the following week.
