Unit sales of print books fell 6% in January compared to the first month of 2023 at outlets that report to Circana BookScan.
The decline was due largely to the absence of a marquee title published early enough in the month to compete with the strong sales performance turned in last January by Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, which sold more than 900,000 copies between its release on January 10, 2023, and the week ended February 4, 2023. Overall unit sales did improve toward the end of the month, following the January 30 release of House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas. The novel sold more than 361,000 copies in its first week—good enough to make it the bestselling adult book of the month.
Maas had two other titles among the top 10 January adult bestsellers, with A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury selling more than 150,000 and 96,000 copies, respectively, and Rebecca Yarros’s Iron Flame and Fourth Wing combined to sell more than 330,000 units in January. Between the two authors, adult fantasy—and specifically, the romantasy subcategory—had five of the top 10 January adult bestsellers. The only nonfiction title to crack the adult top 10 was James Clear’s Atomic Habits, which sold more than 176,000 copies.
In addition to the strong performance by adult fiction, gains in young adult fiction helped to offset the decline in adult nonfiction.
