NPD Books, which tracks book sales in the US, finally established a Twitter account in November (@NPDBooks) and is posting a few insights. We say finally because other companies reporting on book sales, such as BookNet Canada, actively write about trends and share stats.
Two recent data points: Graphic novels (adult fiction) was the top-growing category of the 2019 holiday season, up by 27 percent, with Strange Planet by Nathan W. Pyle as the number-one seller. The second top-growing category was the juvenile nonfiction category of history/sports/people/places (yes, that’s one category), up 22.5 percent, driven by Raina Telgemeier’s Guts.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
