Book sales in Canada fell 2% in the first six months of 2024, but over 20,000,000 books were sold, generating $477,159,543. Most of these sales were from physical bookstores but also online through various retailers. This data comes from Booknet Canada, which focuses exclusively on the Canadian market.
Anything fantasy romance-related continued to see strong sales in the first half of 2024. Fantasy and Romance were up 235%, and Young Adult Fantasy saw a significant sales increase, up 214%. Indigenous fiction books were up 104%. Non-fiction books on Israel and Palestine saw substantial increases, up 1,233%.
Adult fiction had the best six-month performance, with unit sales up 6% over 2023, while adult nonfiction sales fell 8%. Unit sales were down 5% in the juvenile/young adult category, but the segment remained Canada’s largest, accounting for 40% of English-language unit sales in the first six months of 2024. Frontlist sales struggled in the year, accounting for 26% of units sold, down from 28% a year ago.
Which titles sold the most in the first half of 2024?
- Bestselling Fiction title: The Women by Kristin Hannah
- Bestselling Non-Fiction title: Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Bestselling Juvenile and Young Adult title: Dog Man: The Scarlet Shredder (Dog Man #12) by Dav Pilkey
- Bestselling adult title by a Canadian contributor: This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
- Bestselling Juvenile and Young Adult title by a Canadian contributor: Claudia and the Bad Joke (Baby-Sitters Club #15) by Ann M. Martin and illustrated by Arley Nopra