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UK book sales by value set new record: Nielsen

Monday, 24 January 2022   Books+Publishing
@booksandpublishing

In the UK, Nielsen BookScan has recorded 2021 as the biggest ever year for print book sales by value, reports the Bookseller.

In 2021, there was a total of £1.82 billion (A$3.4b) of sales, up 3% on 2020 and higher than the previous record of £1.79 billion (A$3.4b) in 2008. Nielsen used a formula based on a combination of the final 42 weeks of sales and estimates of sales for the first 10 lockdown weeks of 2021, when UK booksellers were closed for in-store sales.

The boost to sales was led by strong performances from fiction and children’s titles. Fiction sales in the final 42 weeks of 2021 were up 21% on the same period in 2019, and accounted for 23.8% of the overall market—the largest share for fiction since 2012. Children’s sales in the final 42 weeks of the year were up 15% on the same period in 2019, while nonfiction was up 3%.

UK top 10 bestselling books in 2021

  1. The Thursday Murder Club (Richard Osman, Penguin)
  2. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse (Charlie Mackesy, Ebury)
  3. The Midnight Library (Matt Haig, Canongate)
  4. The Man Who Died Twice (Richard Osman, Penguin)
  5. Pinch of Nom: Quick and easy (Kay Featherstone & Kate Allinson, Bluebird)
  6. Guinness World Records 2022 (Guinness World Records)
  7. And Away … (Bob Mortimer, Gallery)
  8. Megamonster (David Walliams, HarperCollins)
  9. Windswept and Interesting (Billy Connolly, John Murray)
  10. Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens, Corsair)

 

Category: International news