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Scheffler ousts Ross at the top of annual illustrator chart as big brand creatives rule
Axel Scheffler has usurped Tony Ross in the list of 2021’s most lucrative illustrators through Nielsen BookScan’s TCM.
Axel Scheffler has leapfrogged Tony Ross to become the biggest-selling illustrator in the UK, according to data compiled by The Bookseller via Nielsen BookScan.
There are no full-year volume and value figures due to the lockdown restrictions shuttering bookshops, but in 2021 Scheffler was the most successful illustrator both in terms of value and volume, with his biggest-selling title being Cat’s Cookbook (Macmillan Children’s Books), a collaboration with Julia Donaldson about a cat who is looking for a recipe book in a library, and part of the duo’s Acorn Wood series. Scheffler did, as ever, have many more books in the Nielsen TCM Top 1,000 than any other illustrator, because 54 of his titles featured in the list, compared to Ross’ 27. Wimpy Kid creator Jeff Kinney, who was third in the charts, had 21.
Jim Field, who last year was in fifth position, moved up to fourth thanks to his work with J K Rowling on The Christmas Pig, which shot to the top of the charts when it was released in October.
The chart is dominated by illustrators who work with chart-topping authors (Ross, Devries) and picture book artists (Scheffler, Lydia Monks etc), but there are creatives who work on other titles making an impact
Shane Devries jumped to fifth place from 12th last year, with his biggest seller being The Christmasaurus and the Naughty List, a follow-up to The Christmasaurus by author, musician and “Strictly Come Dancing” star Tom Fletcher. Dog Man creator Dav Pilkey finished in sixth place, down from fourth last year. The rest of the top 10 features Liz Pichon (seventh place), Janet Ahlberg (eighth), Lydia Monks (ninth) and Quentin Blake (10th).
The chart is dominated by illustrators who work with chart-topping authors (Ross, Devries) and picture book artists (Scheffler, Lydia Monks etc), but there are creatives who work on other titles making an impact. Ingela Arrhenius, whose pre-school titles for Nosy Crow are hugely successful, is 12th in the chart, up from 30th in 2020, and YA author Alice Oseman features for the first time (in 29th) thanks to her Heartstopper graphic novels (Hachette Children’s Books). The dominance of classic titles is clear too, with Eric Carle and Judith Kerr still present.
Ten out of the 30 bestselling illustrators had more than 10 titles in the top 1,000, while 11 had five or fewer. Only one, Gareth Conway, made the list with just one title, in this case Greg the Sausage Roll: Santa’s Little Helper, developed by social media team “LadBaby”, a.k.a. Mark and Roxanne Hoyle (Puffin).
The Bookseller’s illustration chart is compiled using Nielsen BookScan TCM full-year 2021 (including lockdown weeks) rankings, based on top 1,000 sales through the Pre-school & Picture Books, Children’s Fiction & YA and Children’s Non-Fiction categories.
