Fiction: Delia Owens nets the Top 50 number one spot

Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing has made a splash in the Official UK Top 50 number one, selling 21,299 copies in the same week its film adaptation débuted in UK cinemas. The paperback, published in December 2019, spent much of the following two years riding high in both the Mass-Market Fiction top 20 and the e-book charts, becoming a lockdown hit. In 2020, it was the second-bestselling fiction title of the year, trumped only by Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club, and since publication it has sold more than 700,000 units—outside of lockdowns.  

Even since the end of Lockdown 3.0, Where the Crawdads Sing has steadily maintained strong sales. While it has never dropped below 3,000 copies sold per week in its lifetime, it hasn’t slid below 5,000 since mid-May, as the hype for the film built.  

Can we take a moment to acknowledge the power Daisy Edgar-Jones holds over the book charts? The actor starred in the BBC TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People, which shot to the top spot during Lockdown 1.0, and she also takes the lead role in “Where the Crawdads Sing”. What next—will she don prosthetics to star in the adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club?  

Adult Fiction sales were up year on year, by 10.9% in volume and 13.6% in value—but even the most casual peruser of the weekly charts pages won’t be surprised to read that. But last week was a healthy one for all the major categories, with Children’s limbering up for the school holidays with a 9.8% boost in volume and a 7.7% jump in value against the same week in 2021. Even Trade Non-Fiction, which has trailed 2021 figures since the spring, bounced back last week with a 1.9% rise in volume and 5.9% bump in value year on year. Altogether, the print market had its strongest week since early March, with 3.6 million books sold for £30m—a rise of 7.7% in volume and 8.6% in value against the same week a year ago. 

Juno Dawson’s Her Majesty’s Royal Coven ascended to the Original Fiction throne in its first week on sale, forming an all-new top three with Lisa Jewell’s The Family Remains and Frankie Boyle’s Meantime. YA Book Prize winner Dawson’s adult title becomes the seventh Sci-Fi & Fantasy title to chart in the category chart number one so far this year.