In the final sales week of the year, NPD Bookscan recorded print sales of approximately 16.3 million units — even with the same week in 2021, and well ahead of previous years. That was the second week in a row that sales equaled or exceeded sales from 2021, providing a strong finish to the important holiday sales period that ran stronger than preceding months. For the six-week holiday period, tracked print sales were approximately 4.6 percent below 2021, totaling close to 140 million units. That put tracked print sales for all of 2022 at a strong 780 million units — […]
Archives for January 2023
Manuscript Thief Bernardini Pleads Guilty to One Count of Wire Fraud
A year after he was arrested and charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft related to a years-long manuscript phishing scam, Filippo Bernardini pleaded guilty in Federal Court to one count of wire fraud. As part of his plea, he agreed to pay restitution of $88,000. Bernardini will be sentenced by District Judge Colleen McMahon on April 5. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. But his lawyer, public defender Hannah McCrea, said he will likely face a sentence of 15 to 21 months imprisonment under recommended sentencing guidelines and in an agreement with the […]
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Unspared: Harry’s Memoir Is Out, and The Sales Watch Begins
The embargo for Prince Harry’s memoir SPARED fell, first in a trickle — the Guardian “obtained” an early copy — and then in a flood, as the edition in Spain accidentally went on sale early, on Thursday. The book will officially launch on Jan. 10 with strong pre-orders, but the guessing game is on over the potential strength of continuing sales. Random House has said it is printing 2 million copies, and Barnes & Noble ceo James Daunt is talking it up (which makes perfect sense): “Customer preorders have been crazy,” he told the WSJ. “It’s going to blow up […]
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Obituary: Fay Weldon
British novelist Fay Weldon died on January 4 at age 91. Weldon was the author of the memoir Auto Da Fay and 30 novels, including The Life and Loves Of a She-Devil and Praxis, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. She was also a playwright and screenwriter.