Publishers Weekly - 14.10.2019

(Joyce) #1

8 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ OCTOBER 14, 2019


News


attracting new readers.”
NPD BookScan executive
Kristin McLean’s presentation
also focused on the role
graphic novels play in the pop
culture retail landscape. In
her presentation, she cited
the rebound of print sales, the
rebound of manga sales, and
the binge consumption of
anime on streaming sites such as Crunchyroll and its
impact on print sales. “Binge-watching anime and spikes
in manga sales are tied together: fans find the anime and
then go and buy the print,” she said, adding, “Comics and
graphic novels are the fastest growing category we track
at BookScan.”
McLean also cited ComicHub, a new point-of-sale
software platform designed for comics shops, presented
at the event by ComicHub spokesman Atom! Freeman.
Beginning in January 2020, ComicHub will begin to sup-
ply sell-through data direct to BookScan from comics
shops that use the platform. Comics shop inventory is
nonreturnable, and sales data has generally been sell-in,
not actual consumer sales; this new deal with ComicHub
is likely to change that as more stores adopt it. ComicHub
software is being used by about 90 comics shops in four
countries.
This reporter interviewed David Saylor, v-p, creative
director of Scholastic’s Graphix imprint, on stage about
the growth and development of Graphix and its lineup of
blockbuster authors, including Pilkey, Telgemeier, and
Kazu Kibuishi.
Asked what is the biggest change he’s seen over the
course of 15 years publishing graphic novels for young
readers, Saylor said it was the transformation of the com-
mercial and cultural response to the comics medium. “[In
2005] the major comics publishers had abandoned chil-
dren and weren’t paying attention to where the market
would be in five or 10 years,” he noted. “We needed to pub-
lish more comics for children. That was a tidal wave shift.
What’s gratifying about the embrace of graphic novels is
that it actually occurred. There’s much less resistance to
the medium, and people don’t believe that graphic novels
are going to ruin a kid anymore. Seeing something I thought
about come to fruition in the way it has—it’s been amaz-
ing. The world has absolutely changed from where we
were in 2005 when we launched Graphix.”
—Calvin Reid, with additional reporting by Gilcy Aquino

The Weekly Scorecard


Print Unit Sales Up in


Early October


With gains in the four major book categories, unit sales of print
books rose 2.8% in the week ended Oct. 5, 2019, over the compa-
rable week in 2018, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Guts
by Raina Telgemeier continued to drive sales gains in the juvenile
nonfiction category, where print units increased 13.8% over the
week ended Oct. 6, 2018. Guts sold more than 23,000 copies in
its third week. Dog Man: Guide to Creating Comics in 3-D by
Kate Howard was in second place on the juvenile nonfiction list,
selling 8,800 copies in its first week. Unit sales of adult nonfiction
increased 4% over 2018, led by two new books: Blowout by Rachel
Maddow topped the category bestseller list, selling more than
68,000 copies; in second place was The Book of Gutsy Women by
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, which sold nearly
30,000 copies. Trailing the Clintons was Bill O’Reilly’s The United
States of Trump, which sold more than 26,000 copies. Print unit
sales rose 3.5% in the adult fiction category despite there being
no new hot title. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates remained
in first place on the fiction list, selling more than 34,000 copies.
Bloody Genius by John Sandford was the top-selling new novel,
landing in the fourth spot on the category list, with more than
24,000 copies sold. Print unit sales inched up 0.5% in the juvenile
fiction category. While Dav Pilkey’s For Whom the Ball Rolls (Dog
Man #7) remained #1, with about 45,000 copies sold, a new release,
A Tale of Magic by Chris Colfer, hit the list in the third spot, with
more than 13,000 copies sold.

ERS APPROXIMSOURCE: NPD BOOKSCAN AND ATELY 80% OF THE PRINT BOOK MPUBLISHERS WEEKLY. NPD’S U.S. CONSUMARKET AND CONTINUES TO GROWER MARKET PANEL COV-.

TOTAL SALES OF PRINT BOOKS (in thousands)
OCT.6, OCT.5, CHGE CHGE
2018 2019 WEEK YTD
Total 11 , 598 11 ,925 2.8% -1.2%

OCT. 6 , OCT.5, CHGE CHGE
2018 2019 WEEK YTD
AdultNonfiction 4,924 5, 121 4.0% -0.4%
AdultFiction 2,237 2,315 3.5% -3.3%
JuvenileNonfiction 885 1 , 008 13.8% 3.0%
JuvenileFiction 2,887 2,891 0.5% -1.2%
YoungAdult Fiction 367 322 -12.2% -4.5%
YoungAdult Nonfiction 35 42 19.7% 4.4%

UNIT SALES OF PRINT BOOKS BY CATEGORY (in thousands)

UNIT SALES OF PRINT BOOKS BY FORMAT (in thousands)
OCT.6, 0CT. 5, CHGE CHGE
2018 2019 WEEK YTD
Hardcover 3,428 3, 591 4.8% 3.6%
Trade Paperback 6,138 6,3 78 3.9% -2.1%
MassMarket Paperback 873 793 -9.3%-15.5%
BoardBooks 733 728 -0.7% 2.5%
Audio 38 28 -27.0%-25.7%

NPD BookScan’s Kristen McLean
presents at Insider Talks.

PHO

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