ECPA releases May Bestsellers, including Spanish
Bob Goff’s Everybody Always (Thomas Nelson) debuts at #1 on the ECPA Top 50 Bestsellers list for May, reflecting April POS data compiled by NPD BookScan. Everybody Alwayscomes exactly six years after the publication of Goff’s first book, Love Does (Thomas Nelson), which introduced the world to this “recovering lawyer” whose outsized personality shines through his books, encouraging people to “embody love by doing the unexpected, the intimidating, the seemingly impossible.”
Goff lives out that dictum by example. Besides his extensive speaking schedule and personal availability to readers through his published cell phone number, Goff is a global activist. All the profits from his books are designated to support kids in conflict areas, including Uganda, Iraq, Nepal, Somalia, and India. In fact, Goff is known as an Honorary Consul for the Republic of Uganda for his work through Love Does, the organization he founded in 2001 to promote education and human rights in current and recovering conflict zones.
The Top 50 Bestsellers list includes nine other debut books from eight different publishing imprints. The Road Home by Beverly Lewis (Bethany House) is #7 on the Top 50 and #1 on the Top 25 Fiction bestsellers list. Debuting at #12 is Unified by Tim Scott and Trey Goudy (Tyndale Momentum). Scott is an African American U.S. Senator, and Goudy is a white U.S. Congressman, both from South Carolina. As the subtitle of this important book states, their story of friendship gives hope for a divided country.
It’s noteworthy that the Top 3 books in the Top 50 bestsellers list are currently in the Top 20 of Amazon’s overall Top 100 list. These include Everybody Always, The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (Moody), and Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis (Thomas Nelson).
One more feature of the Top 50 is worthy of attention. On May 1st at ECPA’s Christian Book Awards celebration at the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, Jesus Always by Sarah Young (Thomas Nelson) was named the 2018 Christian Book of the Year®. It appears at #10, followed by the 2016 Christian Book of the Year, Fervent by Priscilla Shirer (B&H Publishing Group) at #25 and the 2017 Christian Book of the year, Shaken by Tim Tebow (WaterBrook) at #47.
The Top 3 books in the Top 25 Fiction Bestsellers list show the variety in the Christian fiction genre. The Road Home by Beverly Lewis is a fine example of Amish fiction. The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers (Tyndale House) is a story of romance and family drama. And Joel Rosenberg’s The Kremlin Conspiracy (Tyndale House) is a political thriller.
The sales of children’s books, especially backlist titles, continue to be strong in our industry. The Top 25 Juvenile Bestsellers list is topped by The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones (Zonderkidz), a book first published in 2007. At #2 is God Bless You & Goodnight by Hannah Hall (Thomas Nelson), followed by The Beginner’s Bible (Zondervan).
Finally, ECPA is excited to announce the debut of a new bestsellers feature: the Top 50 Spanish Books and Top 25 Spanish Bibles, reflecting April POS data compiled by NPD BookScan and the Spanish titles published by ECPA members. On the Top 50 Spanish Books list, 14 of the titles have earned ECPA Sales Awards and a few are previous Christian Book Award® winners. Five titles on the list are from Joyce Meyer and four titles were compiled by Barbour staff, including the #1 bestseller, 365 Historias Biblicas para la Hora de Dormir. The Kendrick brothers and Sarah Young each had three titles among the top 50.