Weekly E-Ranking: Pullman fends off Patterson at top

Philip Pullman’s The Secret Commonwealth has spent a second week as the Weekly E-Book Ranking number one—and it’s only the second Children’s title ever to top the chart. The first, of course, was Pullman’s own La Belle Sauvage, The Secret Commonwealth’s predecessor in the Book of Dust series, back in 2017. While reviewers of Pullman’s sequel have claimed the title deals with too many adult themes to be considered a Children’s book, it is coded as one through Nielsen Bookscan.

It is rare that kids’ books do well in e-book format, even as print sales post record highs. While US fantasy Young Adult Fiction might make an occasional appearance, the market’s behemoths David Walliams and Jeff Kinney have only managed to feature in the top 20 five times between them. Pullman’s success in the format is most likely down to the same reason that the Harry Potter books are generally the only kids’ titles to perform strongly in the Audible charts: that sales are driven by twenty- and thirty-something Millennial nostalgia rather than actual modern-day children.

In print, the paperback of La Belle Sauvage leapt 188% in volume in the week of The Secret Commonwealth’s release, and has sold more than 9,000 copies in the past three weeks alone. The e-book edition also returned to the Ranking top 20, for its 12th appearance overall.

James Patterson’s 19th Christmas jingled into second place, the highest new entry. It is the incredibly prolific author’s 46th appearance in the Ranking, with his Women’s Murder Club series, co-authored by Maxine Paetro, accounting for 13 of those. The latest Women’s Murder Club title follows on from spring’s 18th Abduction, which also débuted in the runner-up spot. Given his efficiency, it’s surprising that Patterson has only racked up a single number one in the e-book charts: 16th Seduction topped the ranking in March 2017.

Week ending 12th October 2019. Titles with a selling price below £2 are excluded, as are titles priced £4.50 or below with any print versions priced above £17.99. Participating publishers: PRH UK, Hachette, HarperCollins, Pan Macmillan, Bloomsbury, Simon & Schuster, Bonnier Zaffre & Canongate.