Bestseller Stat Shot
Divergent has not only sold the most copies of any print book in the country so far this year (307,511 in paperback, and another 30,048 in hardcover as of Feb. 23), it’s also been the top-selling book in the country every week so far this year, except for two weeks in late January, when Robert M. Gates’s memoir, Duty (Knopf), bested it. This is a very different story from last year, when seven different books topped the chart in the same period. Here’s a comparison of 2014 to 2013.
2013
| Week | Title | Author | Wkly Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Third Wheel | Jeff Kinney | 42,592 |
| 2 | A Memory of Light | Robert Jordan | 155,178 |
| 3 | Proof of Heaven | Eben Alexander | 34,057 |
| 4 | Private Berlin | Patterson/Sullivan | 37,325 |
| 5 | The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia | Shigeru Miyamoto | 58,728 |
| 6 | American Sniper | Chris Kyle | 38,616 |
| 7 | The Third Wheel | Jeff Kinney | 29,668 |
| 8 | Alex Cross, Run | James Patterson | 63,140 |
2014
| Week | Title | Author | Wkly Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Divergent | Veronica Roth | 40,857 |
| 2 | Divergent | Veronica Roth | 36,826 |
| 3 | Duty | Robert M. Gates | 39,480 |
| 4 | Duty | Robert M. Gates | 39,480 |
| 5 | Divergent | Veronica Roth | 34,881 |
| 6 | Divergent | Veronica Roth | 37,047 |
| 7 | Divergent | Veronica Roth | 42,764 |
| 8 | Divergent | Veronica Roth | 41,771 |
From the Newsletters
Seth Fishman, literary agent and author of the new YA novel The Well’s End (Putnam), gives some tips on how to write YA.
Jay Asher, author of the bestselling novel Thirteen Reasons Why (Razorbill), discusses his part in a national campaign against bullying. Asher will tour all 50 states this fall and winter.
Author Cara Putman lucked into an accidental movie tie-in with her novel Shadowed by Grace: A Story of Monuments Men (B&H).
The most-read review on publishersweekly.com last week was Save the Date by Jen Doll (Riverhead).
Blogs
New books from Hippocampus Press explore H.P. Lovecraft’s relationship with a group of literary ladies.
Children’s bookseller Josie Leavitt on how supporting independent bookstores means more than shopping local.
Podcasts
The latest creative legal maneuvering in the Apple price-fixing case.
Richard T. Morris and Tom Lichtenheld discuss their new picture book, This Is a Moose (Little, Brown).
Authors
Maxwell Neally-Cohen drew from video games and the Bible for his debut, Echo of the Boom (Rare Bird Books). We talk to him about writing the end of the world.
Events
Why do some cookbooks thrive in traditional channels while others take off in specialty markets or nonbook chains? Find out during our March 21 webcast, hosted by PW senior reviews editor Mark Rotella and featuring panelists from the Taunton Press and Robert Rose Inc.
Come see us at PLA, March 11–15! We’ll be at booth 1417. See you in Indianapolis!
Terry Frei talks about his new book, March 1939: Before the Madness (Taylor Trade). PW comics reviews editor Heidi MacDonald has the latest from the world of graphic novels.
