Top 10 Christmas book threshold lowest in five years

02 November 2009

According to the Bookseller, the threshold for publishers to get into the top 10 list is at its lowest level in five years.
This autumn if a book sells on average 4,139 copies they are into the top 10 hardback non-fiction chart, but in 2008, a publisher would have needed to sell 5,343 books to even get a slim chance of charting in the top 10.

The hardback non-fiction sector is also suffering in comparison to 2008. Last week only; Guinness World Records, Delia's Happy Christmas and Ant & Dec's Ooh! What a Lovely Pair sold more than 10,000 copies (Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market). In the same week last year, 10 titles reached these sales figures.