#ReadThis @nookBN #BarnesandNoble Barnes & Noble Research: Women Are Outpacing Men in Top 10 Bestseller Book Sales in 2019
New book sales research released by Barnes & Noble today shows that women are outselling men among 2019’s top 10 bestseller book sales at stores around the country as we start Women’s History Month this March. This is a reversal from 2018, when male authors outsold women among the top 10 bestselling books both in the first quarter, and for the full calendar year, according to Barnes & Noble book sales from around the country.
“Sales of books by women are outpacing men among Barnes & Noble’s top 10 lists so far this year, and with more major titles coming, they very well could outrank male authors for top 10 bestseller sales in 2019,” says Liz Harwell, Senior Director of Merchandising, Trade Books at Barnes & Noble. “Whether looking at ongoing sales of Michelle Obama’s Becoming or Tara Westover’s Educated, or forthcoming titles from major names such as Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Atwood of The Handmaid’s Tale-fame, 2019 is shaping up to be a great year for women authors.”
Book Buzz – March 2019
Welcome to Barnes & Noble Book Buzz, a newsletter about books for media and book-watchers on what’s trending from the world’s largest retail bookseller. For Women’s History Month, Barnes & Noble looked at the top bestsellers to find that women writers are outpacing men in 2019, a reversal from last year, with more major books from women on the way this year.
When tracking the top 10 bestsellers in Barnes & Noble stores across the country this year, our research shows that women are outselling men by a strong margin, often with stories drawn from their own lives and experiences.
“Sales of books by women are outpacing men among Barnes & Noble’s top 10 lists so far this year, and with more major titles coming, they very well could outrank male authors for top 10 bestseller sales in 2019,” says Liz Harwell, Senior Director of Merchandising, Trade Books at Barnes & Noble. “Whether looking at ongoing sales of Michelle Obama’s Becoming or Tara Westover’s Educated, or forthcoming titles from major names such as Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Atwood of The Handmaid’s Tale-fame, 2019 is shaping up to be a great year for women authors.”
The trend for women writers outpacing men is a reversal from 2018, when male authors outsold women among the top 10 bestselling books both in the first quarter, and for the full calendar year, according to Barnes & Noble data. The top selling books that drove the trend ranged from memoirs to personal development to historical novels and fantasy. Two of the biggest sellers are memoirs: Michelle Obama’s Becoming and Tara Westover’s Educated. But other popular titles include the self-development hit by Rachel Hollis, Girl, Wash Your Face, the historical novel from Heather Morris, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and the YA fantasy bestseller from Tui T. Sutherland, Hive Queen, from her Wings of Fire series.
This is just the start of what Barnes & Noble sees as a major year for women and publishing, Harwell says.
“Just this March, during Women’s History Month, we’ll see major publications from Oprah Winfrey, Rachel Hollis, as well as Joanna Gaines and Hoda Kotb with a new children’s book,” Harwell says. “Later this year, we’ll be selling books from Melinda Gates, E.L. James of Fifty Shades of Gray-fame, and of course Margaret Atwood’s much-anticipated The Testaments, a follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale that is over twenty years in coming.”
Some of Barnes & Noble’s Most Anticipated titles in 2019 by women are below, and you can find more books by women to celebrate Women’s History Month on BN.com.
You Are My Happy (B&N Exclusive Edition), Hoda Kotb (March 5)
Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals (B&N Exclusive Edition), Rachel Hollis (March 5)
The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose (B&N Exclusive Edition), Oprah Winfrey (March 26)
We Are the Gardeners, Joanna Gaines (March 26)
Lost Roses (B&N Exclusive Edition), Martha Hall Kelly (April 9)
The Mister, E. L. James (April 16)
The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World (B&N Exclusive Edition), Melinda Gates(April 23)
With the Fire on High, Elizabeth Acevedo (May 7)
The Rest of the Story, Sarah Dessen (June 4)
The Testaments (B&N Exclusive Edition), Margaret Atwood (September 10)
About Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is the nation’s largest retail bookseller, and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The Company operates 630 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web’s premier e-commerce sites, BN.com (www.bn.com). The Nook Digital business offers a lineup of popular NOOK® tablets and eReaders and an expansive collection of digital reading and entertainment content through the NOOK Store®. The NOOK Store (www.nook.com) features digital books, periodicals and comics, and offers the ability to enjoy content across a wide array of popular devices through Free NOOK Reading Apps™ available for Android™, iOS® and Windows®.
General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained by visiting the Company's corporate website at www.barnesandnobleinc.com.
Barnes & Noble®, Barnes & Noble Booksellers® and Barnes & Noble.com® are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. or its affiliates. NOOK® and the NOOK logos are trademarks of Nook Digital, LLC or its affiliates.
