“Apparently, the industry’s anti-gravity boots are still working compared to 2019, which admittedly was a pretty lackluster year,” notes Andrew Albanese with Publishers Weekly.
Catching up with PW's Andrew Albanese
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NPD BookScan sales data for the week ending August 15 found unit sales of print trade books fell 5.6% from the previous week. Yet as Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer reports, this drop was not entirely surprising.
A week earlier, August 8 weekly sales had climbed 10.2%, driven by blockbuster titles Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer and Sean Hannity’s Live Free or Die.
“Sales of those books are now beginning to trail off, though they are still respectable,” Albanese points out. “Here’s the good news – sales last week were up 14.3% over 2019.”
As the U.S. moves haltingly away from pandemic restrictions, more bookstores are now open and print orders are rebounding, Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. Moreover, people are still staying home and consuming media, including books, rather than going to restaurants or bars.
“We also have some potential blockbusters on the horizon including a new Bob Woodward book on Trump, and a memoir from Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, which will both be out in September,” Albanese says.
Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.
