Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light notches up six weeks at the top

Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light (Bluebird) has ratcheted up a sixth week in total in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 30,412 copies. Personal trainer James Smith’s Not a Diet Book (HarperCollins) had an endorphin-inducing first week on the shelves, but at 26,417 units sold in three days, didn’t quite leapfrog the Pinch of Nom sequel for the top spot. All told, this is Pinch of Nom authors Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson's 14th overall number one and their 24th pole in the Hardback Non-Fiction number one spot.

Kate Atkinson’s latest Jackson Brodie title Big Sky (Black Swan) soared into the Mass Market Fiction top 20 number one, with 13,697 copies sold. This is the author’s 15th week in the pole and her third title starring the detective to swipe the category top spot on the trot. Her last number one was achieved less than a year ago with Transcription. Amazingly, the hardback of Big Sky was her first to score an Original Fiction number one back in July.

Jo Nesbo‚Äôs Knife (Vintage) also made its début in the Mass Market Fiction top 20, slicing into third.

Kimberley Chambers’ Queenie (HarperCollins) reigned atop the Original Fiction chart with 6,208 copies sold. A flurry of new entries followed in its wake, including Jeanine Cummins’ American Dirt (Tinder), William Gibson’s Agency (Viking) and James Patterson’s Blindside (Century).

Jack Fairweather’s The Volunteer (W H Allen), winner of the Costa Biography Award for 2019, zipped into the Paperback Non-Fiction number one for the week ahead of the overall winner’s announcement. With 7,140 copies sold, it improved 250% week on week. Perhaps the lead-up to the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz brought the story of Witold Pilecki, who formed the underground army that smuggled reports out of the concentration camp to the world, to the forefront of the public’s attention.

The print market inched upwards 1.5% in volume and 1.2% in value week on week. To date, the weekly figures so far this year have yet to drop against the equivalent week in January 2019.