“like hot cakes,” and that some adult
titles also “sold briskly” at 50% off retail.
The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens
and Can I Sleep on Your Lap While You’re
Pooping sold very well, he added.
Chicago was the first BookCon for
Trinity University Press, whose director,
Tom Payton, was manning the booth.
Payton said one highlight was when a
middle-aged man came to the booth
early in the day and said that it “was the
best stinking booth” at BookCon, calling
it a “little adult center in a sea of young
adult energy.” Payton hasn’t decided
whether TUP will return to BookCon
next year.
Also uncertain about whether it will
go to BookCon in 2017 is Consortium
Book Sales & Distribution, which was at
the event for the first time in Chicago. V-p
and director of marketing Jennifer
Swihart said Consortium quickly gave
out lots of free books from its publishers,
but she wondered whether that approach
is really engaging with readers. Of the
eight Consortium publishers who took
part in BookCon, two had a great experi-
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ; MAY 23, 2016
authors, not celebrities such as Khloé
Kardashian, a big draw in 2014. The
shift in the author lineup led to a slightly
older audience this year; young teenagers
were in the majority in New York.
According to Reed, 60% of consumers at
BookCon were under 30, with 34% in
the 21–30 age bracket; 87% were female.
Publishers reported that they ran out
of their most popular free items quickly.
Todd Doughty, v-p and executive
director of publicity for the Knopf
Doubleday Publishing Group, said its
signed copies of John Grisham’s The
Litigators were gone in less than five
minutes, and the same held true for
the 10th-anniversary edition of The Da
Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Galleys that
went quickly included those of Carl
Hiassen’s forthcoming novel Razor Girl
and Nathan Hill’s The Nix. In addition,
Knopf gave away hundreds of Knopf and
Grisham tote bags, along with Knopf
centenary T-shirts; all were gone by 1
p.m., Doughty said.
Jason Wells, director of publicity at
Abrams, said its children’s titles sold
SOURCE: NIELSEN BOOKSCAN AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. NIELSEN BOOKSCAN’S U. S. CONSUMER MARKET PANEL COVERS APPROXIMATELY 80% OF THE PRINT BOOK MARKE T AND CONTINUES TO GRO W.
Unit sales of print books rose 7% in the week ended May 15, 2016, compared to the
similar week in 2015, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. The juvenile nonfiction segment had the biggest gain in the week, with unit sales up 13%. Seuss-isms!
A Guide to Life for Those Just Starting Out... and Those Already on Their Way by Dr.
Seuss topped the juvenile nonfiction list, with more than 9,000 copies sold. National
Geographic Kids Almanac 2017 had the strongest debut, selling more than 3,000
copies in its first week, putting it in fifth place on the category list. Unit sales in adult
nonfiction increased 11% in the week over 2015, led by big gains for Hamilton: The
Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, which sold more than
19,000 copies, as the book became widely available again in stores after being out
of stock. The 6% gain in unit sales in the juvenile fiction category was helped by
authors not necessarily thought of as children’s authors. Our Great Big Backyard by
Laura Bush and Jenna Bush Hager sold more than 14,000 copies in its first week,
landing it in third place on the juvenile fiction bestsellers list, while John Grisham’s
The Scandal debuted in sixth place on the list with almost 10,000 copies sold. Adult
fiction unit sales rose 4% in the week, with Jojo Moyes placing three editions of her
Me Before You in the second, third, and fourth spots on the adult fiction list. The
three books sold a total of approximately 75,000 copies, as the release date for the
movie of the same name neared and marketing efforts increased.
MAY 17, MAY 15, CHGE CHGE
2015 2016* WEEK YTD
Adult Non;ction 4,342 4,808 11% 12%
Adult Fiction 2,361 2,393 4% -0.2%
Juvenile Non;ction 778 877 13% 11%
Juvenile Fiction 2,435 2,593 6% 4%
Unit Sales of Print Books by Format
MAY 17, MAY 15, CHGE CHGE
2015 2016* WEEK YTD
Hardcover 2,784 2,965 6% 7%
Trade Paperback 5,719 6,288 10% 9%
Mass Market Paperback 1,592 1,390 -13% -10%
Board Books 389 442 14% 15%
Audio 79 67 -15% -14%
Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel
MAY 17, MAY 15, CHGE CHGE
2015 2016* WEEK YTD
Total 10,782 11,005 7% 7%
Mass Merch./Other 1,490 1,521 2% -3%
Retail & Club 8,782 9,484 8% 9%
*TOTALS FOR 2016 INCLUDE UNI TS SOLD THROUGH FAMILY CHRIS TIAN STORES. NO SALES THROUGH
FAMILY CHRISTIAN ARE INCLUDED IN 2015.
ence, two did not like it at all, and four
were ambivalent, she said, noting that
one of the publishers who enjoyed
BookCon used a contest to build its
reader list during the show.
The biggest complaint from consumers,
many of whom came from different parts
of the country, was that BookCon wasn’t
long enough. “It’s very stressful, having it
on one day—a lot of the [panels] I want
to go to overlap,” said Marissa Rodriguez,
a teen from Philadelphia.
While many publishers prefer the
one-day format, they also hope BookCon
will grow. Quarto’s Bayuk said, “My
marketing brain says expand—have
BookCons all over the country.” Eugenia
Pakalik, director of sales and marketing at Norton, called the Chicago
event “great” and added, “Maybe someday,
we’ll have BookCons in several cities.”
Knopf’s Doughty offered a suggestion
to help draw more consumers: invite
them to the adult and children’s
author breakfasts. “May BookCon grow,”
he said.
—Jim Milliot & Claire Kirch