News
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ JANUARY 26, 2015 4
The Hot and Cold
Categories of 2014
Self-help was tops in adult, science
fiction/fantasy led juvenile
The self-help and graphic novels categories had the fastest growth in print book unit sales among adult segments in 2014, posting gains of 15% and 13%, respectively, compared to the previous year, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. Graphic novels was one of
only two adult fiction categories that had an increase in print
unit sales last year, with westerns the second. Sales of print fiction titles were hurt more than adult nonfiction was by the
growth in e-book sales. In nonfiction, eight categories had a
drop in units last year, and eight had an increase. Following
self-help, religion/bibles and biography/autobiography/memoir
both posted unit increases of 12% in 2014.
While religion did well in nonfiction, religion fiction had one
of the steepest unit declines last year, with sales down 15% at
outlets that report to BookScan. Units fell the most in the occult/psychological/horror category, falling 26%. The action/
adventure category also had a 15% decline. Among the largest
adult fiction genres, unit sales of romance books fell 11%, suspense/thrillers units dropped 9%, and sales in the mystery/detective segment fell 4%.
In adult nonfiction, the humor segment had the largest decline, with units off 13%, followed by a 12% drop in computer
book sales and a 11% decline in the history/law/political science
segment.
The juvenile segment performed much better overall than
adult, and of the 16 categories measured by BookScan only three
children’s segments had a decline in units last year, compared
to 2013. Units in the animals segment in fiction fell 4%, but
the category rose 19% in nonfiction, in which DK’s Animals sold
almost 134,000 units. The big winner in 2014 was the science
fiction/fantasy/magic category, in which units rose 38%. The
segment, which was the largest juvenile genre segment last year,
is home to such 2014 blockbusters as the Divergent trilogy, the
Frozen franchise, and the novels of James Dashner and Rick
Riordan. The games/activities/hobbies segment had a 33% unit
rise in 2014, led by a large number of blockbuster Minecraft
titles that were joined by solid performances of Lego and sticker books. —Jim Milliot
%
2013 2014 CHANGE
Adult Nonfiction
Art/Architecture/Design/Photography 6,739 6,984 4%
Biography/Autobiography/Memoir 20,425 22,803 12%
Business/Economics 15,473 16,604 7%
Cooking/Entertaining 15,363 15,492 1%
Computers 5,311 4,652 -12%
Crafts/Hobbies/Antiques/Games 8,314 8,485 2%
Health/Fitness/Medicine/Sports 22,488 21,574 -4%
History/Law/Political Science 17,080 15,220 -11%
House & Home/Gardening 2,309 2, 130 -8%
Humor 5,604 4,897 -13%
Performing Arts 7,358 7,706 5%
Reference 32,642 31,989 -2%
Religion/Bibles 32,012 35,798 12%
Self-Help 8,546 9,848 15%
Travel 7,658 7,417 -3%
General Nonfiction 29,509 28,533 -3%
Total Adult Nonfiction 236,833 240, 130 1%
Adult Fiction
Action/Adventure 2,619 2,239 -15%
Classics 7,817 7,578 -3%
Fantasy 8,615 7,526 -13%
Graphic Novels 7,659 8,669 13%
Mystery/Detective 14,884 14,304 -4%
Occult/Psychological/Horror 4,474 3,329 -26%
Religion 4,925 4, 174 -15%
Romance 34,585 30,885 -11%
Science Fiction 4,448 4, 142 -7%
Suspense/Thrillers 22, 161 20, 111 -9%
Western 2,088 2,232 7%
General Fiction 36,314 33,524 -8%
Total Adult Fiction 150,590 138,712 -8%
Juvenile Nonfiction
Animals 3,891 4,625 19%
Biographies/Autobiographies 3,429 3,979 16%
Concepts 3, 106 3,790 22%
Education/Reference/Language 6,556 6,496 -1%
Games/Activities/Hobbies 9,289 12,362 33%
History/Sports/People/Places 10,429 11,232 8%
Holidays/Festivals/Religion 3, 108 3,895 25%
Social Situations/Family/Health 2,475 2,502 1%
Total Juvenile Nonfiction 42,283 48,882 16%
Juvenile Fiction
Animals 9,430 9,051 -4%
Classics 9,684 9,981 3%
Concepts 8,916 8,909 -0%
History/Sports/People/Places 13,686 14, 107 3%
Holidays/Festivals/Religion 7,420 8,621 16%
Science Fiction/Fantasy/Magic 32,900 45,511 38%
Social Situations/Family/Health 23,777 27,815 17%
General Juvenile Fiction 51,895 52,690 2%
Total Juvenile Fiction 157,707 176,685 12%
Unit Sales by Category, 2013–2014
(in thousands)
SOURCE: NIELSEN BOOKSCAN
