Oliver top author in 2008
20.03.09 | Philip Stone and Graeme Neill
Jamie Oliver has leapt to the top of the author of the year chart. Last year sales of his books through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market totalled £11.5m.
The statistics, revealed for the first time in The Bookseller this week, show that book sales remain top-heavy. Around 2,000 authors sold £100,000-worth or more of books in 2008. Those 2,000 authors together sold £930m-worth but, within that, the top 50 authors accounted for around £250m-worth of sales. At £645m, the sales of the top 500 authors, out of 120,000 authors in all who sold books last year, accounted for a third of all book sales last year.
Oliver clinched the top spot from Rowling, whose The Tales of Beedle the Bard failed to match the overwhelming success of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007. Despite this, Rowling was the fourth most successful author of last year, with sales of £8.1m.
Oliver's success, driven by his Ministry of Food and Jamie at Home books, was symptomatic of a stellar year for chefs, with Nigella Lawson and Delia Smith also in the top 20. In particular, Delia's sales growth was dramatic in 2008. Her sales grew year on year by 410% to £7.6m, largely because of her How to Cheat at Cooking book. However, Gordon Ramsay fared less well, dropping from sixth position in 2007 to 21st last year, with his book sales falling by 34.7% to £4.8m.
While cookery had a strong 2008, the genre was outpaced by celebrity titles. The top 10 celebrity books had sales worth £44.5m last year compared to £37.2m earned by the top 10 cookery books. Paul O'Grady was top of the celebrities, with sales worth £6.8m, although one of the highest climbers was Katie Price, who returned to the bestseller lists with Jordan: Pushed to the Limit. Her sales grew 52.1% to £5.4m.
The top 10 children's writers had sales worth £50m in 2008. Alongside the ubiquitous Rowling, Stephenie Meyer was one of 2008's success stories. In 2007, she was languishing in 446th place but her bestselling Twilight series rocketed her up the chart, and sales grew more than 1,000%. Her books made £6.1m last year and she is number 12 in the list of top authors.
Philip Downer, c.e.o. of Borders UK, said: "The great thing about the children's sector is its extraordinary diversity and robustness, given the economic climate."
Comments on this article
By A B Seller
Cripes. Isn't there a possibility the trade might run out of celebrities?! Given that Justin Lee Collins' memoir is forthcoming, isn't this a sign the trade may well be scraping the barrel already?20 Mar 09 10:23
By BSEL
Which of these authors will continue to sell through a sustained recession?20 Mar 09 11:28
By A B Seller
Those in paperback one would assume. But given the prices at which celeb HBs are being sold by the Supermarkets, perhaps not. They're about as cheap as a tin o' beans.20 Mar 09 14:34
