Dominance of Suzanne Collins’ ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’

Despite a notable decline in sales, Suzanne Collins continues to lead the Official UK Top 50 with her latest installment, Sunrise on the Reaping (Scholastic). In the last week, Collins’ book achieved sales of 39,370 copies according to Nielsen BookScan, although this marks a two-thirds drop from its initial launch period.

Competitors Making Strides

Following Collins, the runner-up in the sales rankings is In Too Deep by Lee and Andrew Child (Penguin Transworld), which sold 20,572 copies. While this performance is commendable, it represents a 12.5% decrease compared to its predecessor, The Secret, released earlier in 2024.

New Entries and Resurgence in the Charts

This week saw a total of 11 new entries into the Official Top 50, alongside seven re-entries, largely attributed to the conclusion of the World Book Day redemption period. Among the new titles, Gozzle by Julia Donaldson and illustrator Sara Ogilvie debuted at seventh place with 8,187 copies sold, marking a remarkable 294.4% increase over their previous release, The Hospital Dog.

Jamie Smart’s Bunny vs Monkey: The Whopping World of Puzzles (DFB Phoenix) also made a notable entry with sales of 4,032 copies, reflecting a 33.7% rise compared to January’s Bunny Bonanza.

Fiction Sales Trends

As Mother’s Day approached, Kristin Hannah’s The Women (Pan) experienced a 48.9% surge in sales, reaching 13,399 copies, securing the third position in the TCM. Close behind is Marian Keyes’ My Favourite Mistake (Penguin), which saw a 27.5% increase in volume.

In terms of new releases, Chris Whitaker’s All the Colours of the Dark (Orion) entered with 7,472 copies sold, significantly outperforming his earlier title, We Begin at the End.

Hardback and Non-Fiction Successes

The top softcover fiction this week was The Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara (HarperVoyager), which sold 6,678 copies, aided by its inclusion in Illumicrate’s subscription box. Following closely was Harlan Coben’s Nobody’s Fool (Century), selling 5,314 copies upon release, reflecting an 11.1% increase compared to Think Twice.

In the Hardback Non-Fiction sector, Donna Ashworth’s To the Women (Black & White) maintained a strong lead with another week at the top and a 12.6% rise in sales. Meanwhile, Roxie Nafousi’s Confidence (Yellow Kite) secured second place, maintaining consistent performance comparable to her previous works.

Market Overview and Sales Growth

The Total Consumer Market saw a total of 3.5 million books sold this week, representing a 6.9% increase in volume and a 7.9% rise in sales value compared to the previous week. However, year-on-year figures indicate a 7.6% downturn in volume sales, although value remained steady with a slight increase of 0.4%.