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Berry on the top as the print market posts growth for first quarter
Mary Berry has once again been crowned queen of Mother’s Day, as Mary Berry Everyday (BBC) ascended to the UK Official Top 50 number one spot. It sold 28,231 copies to end David Walliams’ four-week run with Blob (HarperCollins Children's), doubling its volume week on week.
Despite Bruno Vincent’s spoof Famous Five quintet swiping the Christmas gift crown from Jason Hazeley & Joel Morris’ Ladybird for Grown-Ups series, the duo still rule Mother’s Day after their 2016 hit How it Works: The Mum (Michael Joseph) beat Five Forget Mother’s Day (Quercus) by just 681 copies. The Mum took third place below Blob, while Five Forget Mother’s Day had to settle for fourth.
Other titles boosted by last Sunday included The Unmumsy Mum Diary (Bantam), which returned to the Top 50, and Rosie Goodwin’s Mothering Sunday (Zaffre), which rose to its highest ranking yet, of 40th place. Elena Favalli and Francesca Cavallo’s Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls (Particular) made a return to the chart’s upper echleons after declining from its International Women’s Day boost a few weeks ago. Haenim Sunim’s The Things You Can Only See When You Slow Down (Penguin Life), a mindfulness guide written by a Buddhist monk, zipped up the chart, increasing 470% in volume on the week before. It sold 9,882 copies to claim 11th place.
Children’s also saw a knock-on effect—Mr Men: My Mummy (Egmont) went straight into the Top 50, shifting 4,285 copies.
After James Patterson’s double number ones a week ago, he abruptly lost both last week—Philippa Gregory’s Three Sisters, Three Queens (Simon & Schuster) reclaimed the Mass Market Fiction number one from Patterson and Candice Fox’s Never Never (Arrow), while 16th Seduction (Century) was bumped off the Original Fiction number one by Wilbur Smith and David Churchill’s War Cry (HarperCollins).
The Mass Market Fiction top 20 also saw Mark Billingham’s Die of Shame (Sphere) enter in third place, shifting 10,596 copies and becoming the highest new entry overall.
Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens (Vintage) maintained its Paperback Non Fiction number one after rocketing into the overall top 10 a week ago. It was joined atop the category's chart by the sequel, Homo Deus, which hit second place and entered the Top 50 in 17th.
The print market was up 8.5% in value week on week and a stunning 8.2% year on year, with average selling price up to £7.88, a 6.6% increase on the same week in 2016. For the first quarter, 2017’s total value of £314m gives it a marginal rise of 0.62% on the first 12 weeks of 2016. This year suffers from the lack of a blockbuster hit such as Joe Wicks’ Lean in 15 (Bluebird) in Q1 2016, which drove the market up 12% in value over 2015.
