The Weekly Scorecard: Tracking Unit Print Sales for Week Ending August 23, 2015

Unit sales of print books increased 7% in the week ended Aug. 23, 2015, compared to the similar week last year, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. The adult nonfiction segment had a good week, with units up 12%. The increase was led by two new titles, with Glenn Beck’s It Is About Islam landing at #1, with just under 45,000 copies sold, followed by For the Love by Jen Hatmaker, which sold more than 33,000 copies. Juvenile nonfiction had another strong week with sales up 16% over the week ended Aug. 24, 2014, despite no major new releases. Once again, Johanna Basford’s Secret Garden took the top spot, selling more than 18,000 copies, followed by First 100 Words, which sold more than 10,000 copies. Units increased 4% in the adult fiction category, driven by two new titles. The mass market paperback edition of John Grisham’s Gray Mountain landed in the second spot, selling more than 40,000 copies, while Friction by Sandra Brown sold more than 18,000 copies in hardcover, putting it in sixth place on the adult fiction bestsellers list. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee remained #1 in the week, selling almost 47,000 copies. Two new titles could not prevent sales in the juvenile fiction category from falling 2% in the week. The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt sold more than 32,000 copies, putting it in first place in the category, followed by The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep by Carl-Johan Forssen Ehriln, which sold more than 29,000 copies.

Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format

Source: Nielsen BookScan and Publishers Weekly. Nielsen BookScan’s U.S. Consumer Market Panel covers approximately 80% of the print book market and continues to grow.