MJ reassures trade on GCHQ Puzzle Book stock

Michael Joseph, publisher of surprise Christmas hit The GCHQ Puzzle Book, has assured retailers that the book "should remain in stock until Christmas" after a number of booksellers reported that the surge in demand for the title had resulted in it going out of stock last week.

The book, which has soared up the charts to number three this week, has been reprinted by Michael Joseph nine times to keep up with demand.

Some retailers had found that they had run out of copies of the book in the wake of its surprise success, with Alex Milne-White of Hungerford Bookshop, Nic Bottomley of Mr B's Emporium and Patrick Neale of Jaffe Neale Bookshop reporting that the book was out of stock or low on stock last week. However all reported the problem had now been resolved.

A spokesperson for Michael Joseph told The Bookseller that it was reprinting the title following a "phenomenal" week of sales. "To deal with the jump in sales (going from 11k to 45k) we have delivered more stock and the book should remain in stock until Christmas", she said.

Bottomley told The Bookseller the book was "selling at an incredible rate from a low base. It's £12.99 for a relative who loves a challenge. Waterstones had an enormous window display.”

Dan Bunyard, non-fiction publisher at Michael Joseph, described the experience of working on the book.

He told The Bookseller: "After buying the book from Adam Gauntlett at PFD, we’ve had a very special experience working with GCHQ, not just because of who they are and what they do, but also as it's offered a chance to showcase the dizzying brilliance of some of the minds that work for them as well as a little of the history of their organisation. The fact that it's been done in partnership with the wonderful charity Heads Together makes it even more rewarding to now see it become such a success. Indeed, if you're given the book as a stocking filler, my suggestion would be that it's only through putting your head together with a family member or friend that you're likely to do able to solve some of these puzzles..."

The GCHQ Puzzle Book has sold 146,162 in total since it was published on 20th October.