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Dr Julie Smith’s breakout Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? has sold more than one million copies across all formats in the UK and export, according to publisher Penguin Michael Joseph (PMJ).
The psychologist and mental health educator’s debut was first published in 2022, becoming an instant bestseller and it has continued to hold its place in the charts throughout 2023. It has sold 472,000 copies for £4.1m through Nielsen BookScan TCM in hardback alone.
Smith has updated the book to include additional content on panic attacks and anxiety, which will be available from January 2024.
She said: “My mission to teach people how they can impact their own mental health day to day has, you might say, escalated. From my small personal project to over one million English copies sold and over 40 foreign language translations. I continue to listen to what people are asking me for, which is why I have included a step by step anxiety action plan and panic attack guide in this updated edition. And so the mission continues.”
Ione Walder, publisher and head of cookery and self-development at PMJ, said: “Right from when we first acquired Julie’s book we knew it had potential to be something special and we talked about it as a self-help book with the power to reach people who don’t typically buy self-help books. With this milestone, that power has been proven, and millions of people are benefitting from the invaluable tools, wisdom and words of advice that Julie has shared. Julie’s talent and passion for educating others has always been the driving force behind the book and I’m so proud of what she has achieved.”
Smith’s agent Amanda Harris, global managing Ddrector of YMU Literary, also commented: “It’s a privilege to work with Dr Julie and witness the positive impact she has on millions of readers and followers – around the globe. Selling over one million copies of Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? and significantly more when adding up copies sold in all its 43 international territories, Dr Julie has democratised access to the very best principles of mental wellbeing and 1:1 clinical therapy. With WHNTMTB? firmly retaining its presence in the Sunday Times bestseller charts, over two years after its first publication, the sky’s the limit for the exceptional Dr Julie and her publishing.”