Canadian book sales see romance, fantasy sales spike
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/09/2024 (383 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The first six months of 2024 saw books sales in Canada remain relatively compared to the same period in 2023, according to a recent report by Booknet Canada.
Using SalesData, Booknet Canada’s national sales tracking service for Canadian English-language books, the organization determined overall print unit sales were down two per cent in 2024 compared to January to June 2023.
While sales of juvenile and young-adult titles were down by five per cent relative to 2023, they still made up 40 per cent of English-language book sales in the country so far, followed by fiction (30 per cent) and non-fiction (29 per cent).
Movers and shakers so far this year were headed up by fantasy/romance (up 235 per cent), romance/fantasy (up 104 per cent) and young adult fantasy/romance (up 214 per cent), likely due in large part to the BookTok videos in which they are wildly popular. Indigenous fiction was also up 104 per cent, while self-help titles also saw strong growth.
The bestselling overall fiction title was Kristin Hannah’s The Women, while the top-selling non-fiction title was James Clear’s Atomic Habits. Carley Fortune’s This Summer Will be Different was the top-selling adult title by a Canadian author.
To see the entire report, visit wfp.to/CEg
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Carol Off, the Winnipeg-born author and former host of CBC’s As it Happens, returns to the city where she spent her formative years as she launches her new book At A Loss For Words: Conversation in the Age of Rage on Sunday at 2 p.m. at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location.
Off explores the ways in which six words — woke, freedom, truth, choice, democracy and taxes — have been distorted and co-opted by various factions, particularly the far right in the U.S.
Terry MacLeod will host the launch and discussion.
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Winnipeg poet Angeline Schellenberg launches her latest poetry collection this coming Wednesday at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location.
Mondegreen Riffs, published by Winnipeg’s At Bay Press, is Schellenberg’s third full-length collection explores the ways in which meaning, wonder and sensation intersect. Her first collection, Tell Them It Was Mozart, landed Schellenberg the top poetry prize and the award for best first book at the Manitoba Book Awards.
Schellenberg will be joined at the launch by fellow poet Joanne Epp, who will serve as host and facilitate discussion.
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Lac Seul First Nation member Martha Troian brings her debut picture book to McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location for a launch on Thursday at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 to be hosted by former CBC host Shelagh Rogers.
It’s Powwow Time! tells the story of Bineshii, a young boy learning to dance at his first powwow. The book was illustrated by London, Ont.-based Mushkego Cree artist Hawlii Pichette.
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A career diplomat who was the last Canadian representative in Kandahar visits Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore (163 Lilac St.) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. to launch his new book.
In his new book, Unwinnable Peace: Untold Stories of Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan, published in June by Tidewater Press, Tim Martin interviews 21 pivotal personalities who played roles in Canada’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan between 2001-14, exploring the challenges they faced and the struggles that remain.
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The National Book Awards has announced American novelist Barbara Kingsolver will receive the Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in November, an award presented for an author’s body of work.
Kingsolver’s best-known works include her 1998 book The Poisonwood Bible, her debut The Bean Trees and her most recent novel, 2022’s Demon Copperhead, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction along with Hernan Diaz for his novel Trust — the first time the award has been given to two authors in one year.
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Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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