a photo of a Black woman browsing a bookstore

News

Romantasy, #BookTok Help Book Sales in First Half of 2024

Plus, a look at the top ten best selling books of 2024 so far.

Community

Contributor

Book Riot Editorial is made up of passionate readers, writers, and book lovers dedicated to delivering insightful book recommendations, literary analysis, and the latest in book culture. With expertise spanning multiple genres and a deep understanding of the publishing industry, we offer thoughtful commentary, book deals, and news that matters to readers. Whether it’s uncovering hidden gems, analyzing literary trends, or championing diverse voices, Book Riot’s editorial team is here to keep you informed and inspired.

View All posts by Community

Jul 24, 2024

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Book sales in the first half of 2024 are down .5% from the previous year, lead by strong sales in adult and young adult fiction, according to new data from Circana. Adult fiction sales increased by 5.6 million units, an increase over the previous year. Fantasy and thriller book sales led the category, with “romantasy” books helping drive adult fiction sales. Manga, on the other hand, grew the least in the adult fiction realm year over year.

Sales in adult nonfiction were down 4.1 million units in the first half of 2024 compared to 2023. Memoir dropped the most in sales, likely in part due to the huge sales in early 2023 of memoirs like Prince Harry’s Spare. There were areas of growth in nonfiction, though, including religion, bibles, and parenting books.

Conversely, children’s book sales were down 3.5 million units since the same time last year, this time lead by a decrease in fiction sales. Middle grade books showed the steeped decline in sales year over year and accounted for nearly half of the decrease in sales in the children’s category. This might not come as a total surprise, given the decreased placement of middle grade books in the largest brick and mortar bookseller in the US, Barnes & Noble. Children’s fiction as a whole accounted for two-thirds of the sales decrease. Sales in children’s books were not down across the board, as activity books, imagination and play books, and biographies–especially those focused on celebrities–saw growth.

The young adult category saws its sales up year over year by almost one million units. The primary driver? Fantasy and most frequently, titles discovered, shared, and highlighted on #BookTok.

As for the top selling books of the year so far across all categories? Check out the titles below. Only three have been published in 2024:

Today In Books

The Women by Kristin Hannah
Dog Man: The Scarlet Shredder by Dav Pilkey
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Oh , The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.

More breaking news here

You Might Also Like