Announcing Christian Bestseller Lists for January 2018
NEW RELEASES DOMINATE
New and recent releases continue to drive the Christian publishing industry. According to ECPA’s bestsellers lists for January 2018—reflecting POS data compiled by NPD BookScan in December—the #1 books in the Top 50 general, the Top 25 nonfiction, and the Top 25 fiction bestsellers lists were all released in the Fall 2017 season.
The top selling book in both the Top 50 general list and the Top 25 nonfiction list was Capital Gaines by Fixer Upper star Chip Gaines (Thomas Nelson). The #1 selling book in the Top 25 fiction list was Karen Kingsbury’s In This Moment (Howard Books). Both books were released in the Fall. Overall, 21 of the Top 50 general bestsellers list, 12 of the Top 25 nonfiction bestsellers list, and an impressive 16 of the Top 25 fiction bestsellers list were books released in the Fall.
As expected during the gift-giving season, readers bought books by authors they already knew. Six different editions of Jesus Calling and Jesus Always by Sarah Young (Thomas Nelson) appeared in the Top 50. Four books by Joyce Meyers (FaithWords), and two books each by Chip Gaines, Priscilla Shirer (B&H Publishing), Jonathan Cahn (Frontline/Charisma), and Paul David Tripp (Crossway) also appeared in the Top 50 general bestsellers list.
Two other books appearing in the Top 50 were notable because each is a former Christian Book Award® Book of the Year winner. Priscilla Shirer’s Fervent (B&H Publishing), the winner in 2016, came in at #39. Right behind it at #40 was the 2017 winner, Shaken by Tim Tebow (Waterbrook).
In what may be a “sign of the times,” two Fall releases by two of our industry’s most popular and enduring authors cracked the Top 10 tier of the Top 25 nonfiction bestsellers, each reflecting the desire readers have for books that deal with their anxious thoughts and feelings. Max Lucado’s Anxious for Nothing (Thomas Nelson) and Blessed in the Darkness by Joel Osteen (FaithWords) came in at #7 and #9 respectively.
In addition to her #1 title in the Top 25 fiction bestsellers, Karen Kingsbury held #7 and #19 with In This Moment and A Baxter Family Christmas (Howard Books). William Paul Young (Windblown Media), Amy Clipston (Zondervan), Francine Rivers (Tyndale), and Suzanne Woods Fisher (Revell/Baker) each placed two books in the Top 25.
The Top 25 juvenile bestsellers list was dominated by Christmas titles. Fourteen were Christmas, and half of these were released by Ideals/Worthy Publishing. Two of the bestselling children’s Bibles of all time, The Jesus Storybook Bible (Zonderkidz) and The Action Bible (David C. Cook), appeared at #4 and #9 respectively.
The Top 25 Bibles bestsellers list showed once again that readers prefer a variety of Bible translations. Six different translations comprised the Top 10 Bibles list.
Finally, ECPA will be releasing two special bestsellers lists in the next week—the Top 25 Christmas bestsellers list, and the Bestselling titles of 2017. Watch for those in E-Link.