THE MAGNOLIA STORY DEBUTS AT #1
In what must be the least surprising announcement of the year, The Magnolia Story (Thomas Nelson) by Chip and Joanna Gaines debuted at #1 on ECPA’s Top 50 Bestsellers list for November. The stars of Fixer Upper, HGTV’s most popular program, tell their story in an appealing way that shows why so many people relate to this charming couple.
Coming in at #2 is another new release, Jesus Always (Nelson) by Sarah Young, whose mega selling Jesus Calling occupies four other spots on the Top 50. In fact, new releases account for 6 of the Top 10 books in this month’s list, including new books from perennial bestselling authors David Jeremiah and Joel Osteen, and two books by millennials who are used to the spotlight. Debuting at #7 is Love Your Life, Not Theirs (Thomas Nelson) by Rachel Cruze, the daughter of Dave Ramsey and the co-author (with her dad) of Smart Money Smart Kids. Tim Tebow’s new release, Shaken (Waterbrook), rounds out the Top 10.
“The strength of new releases in our Top 50 is a healthy sign for Christian publishing,” says ECPA executive director Stan Jantz. “It’s also encouraging to see the strong showing of books by ECPA publishers in the general market bestsellers lists.”
Indeed, ECPA publishers hold four of the Top 10 slots on this week’s Publishers Weekly Top 25 Hardcover Nonfiction list:The Magnolia Story (#2), Shaken (#4), Jesus Always (#6), and The Broken Way (Zondervan), Ann Vosamp’s new book (#8).
“From all appearances,” says Jantz, “ECPA publishers are well positioned as we enter the Christmas selling season. The strong showing of new releases, combined with the continued popularity of books released over that past months and years, confirms that our publishers are touching people in powerful ways.”
All of ECPA’s bestsellers lists, including the Top 50 list, are compiled using data supplied by Nielsen BookScan, which captures actual multi-channel POS data from a wide array of retailers. ECPA culls this data for its member publishers and reports the ranking directly.