This Week's Bestsellers: June 3, 2024

ABA Releases Annual Report, Emphasizes Education and Advocacy

In the report, CEO Allison Hill emphasized the group's efforts to both educate and advocate in the political sphere for the organization's growing numbers of member stores.

The Uncles in Minneapolis Celebrate 50 Years of Bookselling Perseverance

Four years after two Minneapolis specialty bookstores were destroyed amid unrest following George Floyd's murder, Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore and Uncle Edgar’s Mystery Bookstore are thriving in their new locations as owner Don Blyly celebrates 50 years as a bookseller.

This Week’s Bestsellers: May 27, 2024

‘The Paradise Problem’ by Christina Lauren had no trouble getting to #7 on our hardcover fiction list. Plus rockers Kathleen Hanna and Serj Tankian each debut in a new genre—memoir—and Miranda July’s latest novel is a scorcher.

ABA Reports Strong Financials and Increased Membership for 2024

The American Booksellers Association held its annual meeting and community forum with 128 individuals and store locations in attendance. ABA’s present membership includes 2,433 bookstore companies with 2,844 store locations, representing “an 11% increase in membership year over year,” according to ABA board VP and secretary Cynthia Compton.

Seminary Co-op Bookstores Voluntarily Recognize Booksellers' Union

The management of Chicago's Seminary Co-op and 57th Street Books has voluntarily recognized a union formed by bookseller employees of the member-owned cooperative. SCBU IU 660 is a branch of the Industrial Workers of the World.

Are Bookstore Sales Really Down?

Sales at bookstores were down slightly in 2023 and fell again in the first quarter of 2024, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. But is the decline due to a drop in sales, or a change in how sales—particularly sales from college stores—are reported?

This Week’s Bestsellers: May 20, 2024

‘Long Island,’ Colm Toíbín’s sequel to 2009’s ‘Brooklyn,’ lands at #5 on our hardcover list. Plus Entangled Publishing debuts some deluxe models, and a new cast of celebrity memoirs walk the bestseller carpet.

Print Book Sales Fell 4% in April as Nonfiction Struggles

The decline was due in part to an earlier Easter this year, as well as the continued soft sales in the nonfiction category, according to Circana BookScan.

Amazon Launches Massive Six-Day Book Sale

The inaugural Amazon Book Sale will run May 15–20 and feature deep discounts on thousands of books, including 50% off print bestsellers. The e-retailer is touting the event as "The Book Sale of Your Dreams."

This Week’s Bestsellers: May 13, 2024

Erik Larson’s latest historical narrative, ‘The Demon of Unrest,’ is the #2 book in the country. Plus the YA romantasy ‘Powerful’ by Lauren Roberts is #7 in the country, and Rachel Khong’s ‘Real Americans,’ #10 on our hardcover fiction list, is a book club fave.

Book Club Picks for May 2024

Kaliane Bradley's debut, Colm Tóibín's latest, and Rachel Khong's sophomore effort are among the novels chosen this month by the nation's biggest book clubs, from Oprah and Jenna to 'Good Morning America.'

This Week’s Bestsellers: May 6, 2024

Emily Henry’s latest contemporary rom-com, ‘Funny Story,’ is the #1 book in the country. Plus novelist Amy Tan goes birding, and ‘The Covenant of Water’ by Abraham Verghese gets a boost from ‘CBS Sunday Morning.’

Independent Bookstore Day 2024: 'An Indie Bookseller's Christmas'

For this year's Independent Bookstore Day, held on April 27, hundreds of indies across the country extended their celebration across the entire weekend as crowds crawled from one shop to the next, snapping up books.

ABA Seeks to Add Bookstores to FTC Lawsuit Against Amazon

The American Booksellers Association has filed a motion with the Federal Trade Commission seeking to fix a hole in the FTC’s antitrust complaint against Amazon that many in the industry agree needs correcting: that it did not specifically include what Amazon’s practices have done to book retailing in general and to independent bookstores in particular.

This Week’s Bestsellers: April 29, 2024

Chloe Walsh’s ‘Taming 7,’ a new entry in her BookTok-popular Boys of Tommen YA series, debuts at #3 on our children’s fiction list. Plus novelists Salman Rushdie and Caleb Carr publish memoirs, and a memoir in Spanish by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is a stateside hit.

This Week’s Bestsellers: April 22, 2024

Leigh Bardugo’s ‘The Familiar,’ a standalone fantasy novel, is the #3 book in the country. Plus Anne Lamott returns with ‘Somehow,’ a meditation on matters of the heart, and Elsie Silver launches a new romance series with ‘Wild Love.’

The Next Generation of Booksellers Is Changing the (Bookselling) World

The bookstore proprietors of today are putting inclusivity first, building communities, and opening up shop in unexpected places.

Portland, Ore.’s Literary Arts Plans Expansion, Transformation

Literary Arts, the Oregon nonprofit responsible for the Portland Book Festival, Portland Arts and Lectures, Oregon Book Awards, and other community programming, plans to move into a new headquarters in fall 2024.

Professional Booksellers School Expands, Offering Mentorship and Self Study Programs

The Professional Booksellers School has educated nearly 1,000 booksellers since it was launched in 2021, and has recently rolled out new self-study courses as well as “Bookstore Year One,” a year-long program designed to provide mentorship for new bookstore owners.