Authors who were wary of releasing new titles into a market wracked by the temporary closure of retail stores appear to have had a point. Overall, only six new titles were among BookScan’s top 50 print adult fiction bestsellers in the week ended March 28.
The top selling new novel in the week ended March 28 was The Sinner by J.R. Ward, which landed in the number eight spot on NPD BookScan’s adult fiction list, selling more than 9,000 print copies. The Sinner was followed on the list by new releases by James Rollins (The Last Odyssey) and Emily St. John Mandel (The Glass Hotel).
By comparison, in the week ended March 7, the last week where the retail landscape was generally intact, 15 new books were among the top 50, including the top three bestsellers led by House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas, which sold nearly 42,000 copies.
The situation was pretty much the same in adult nonfiction. Only one new title was among BookScan’s top 10 bestsellers in the nonfiction category. Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner sold about 8,500 print copies, making it #4 on BookScan’s nonfiction list.
Four new books made BookScan’s top 50 adult nonfiction print bestsellers last week. In the week ended March 7, 11 new releases were in the top 50, including two of the top three bestsellers, with Carrie Underwood’s Find Your Path at #1, with over 45,000 print copies sold.
