Bestseller Stat Shot
So far, 2014’s been the year of young adult fiction. Overall print sales of children’s and young adult fiction have outpaced adult fiction by 14% —a far cry from last year, when adult fiction sales edged out juvenile by 8%. In fact, only four of the 20 top-selling books of the year so far are adult fiction titles. (Dr. Seuss alone has three books in the top 20.) And of course, no discussion of young adult fiction would be complete without mentioning the Divergent powerhouse, which sold 6.7 million copies in all formats last year and has seen sales grow in the weeks leading up to the highly anticipated film adaptation. Here’s how the categories have stacked up so far this year, along with the three top-selling titles from each.
From the Newsletters
Five perfectly perfect sentences.
Announcing Wimpy Kid #9, due out this November. It’s got big shoes to fill—Wimpy Kid #8 was the bestselling book in the country last year.
The scoop on Dark Horse’s ambitious plans for its new Project Black Sky line.
The bestselling cookbooks of 2013, plus how cookbooks are faring in nontraditional outlets and libraries.
Blogs
Have you checked out PW’s Tumblr yet? Among other things, you’ll find some gems from the PW archives, including some of our original coverage of Bennett Cerf’s battle to overturn the ban on importing James Joyce’s Ulysses.
The joy of having young kids visit the bookstore, and ways to turn them into readers.
Authors
Christopher J. Yates talks about how the D.H. Lawrence dictum of “Never trust the artist. Trust the tale.” informs his new novel, Black Chalk (Harvill Secker).
Italian journalist Andrea di Robilant on his new book, Chasing the Rose (Knopf), about his quest to uncover the history of a rose cultivated by his great-great-great-great grandmother, a contemporary of Josephine Bonaparte.
Podcasts
On Image publisher Eric Stephenson’s controversial speech at ComicsPRO.
On the Google-Viacom Youtube copyright settlement, and what it might mean for other forms of digital media.
Events
How has digital publishing impacted romance books featuring queer and trans characters? Representatives of Harlequin’s Carina imprint and independent presses MLR and Riptide Publishing will discuss during our March 28 webcast. Register now—it’s free!
Going to Bologna? We are. Come see us in Hall 26, B38 on the American Collective Stand.
The most-read review on publishersweekly.com last week was Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. (Bantam)
PW Radio
Phil Klay discusses his new short story collection, Redeployment (Penguin Press). Plus, PW senior writer Andrew Albanese previews the London Book Fair.
