Month-to-Month: Simba's Analysis of Bestseller Trends 2009


Attention: There is an updated edition available for this report.

In Month-to-Month: Simba’s Analysis of Bestseller Trends 2009, the acclaimed monthly Scorecards data from our monthly intelligence publication, Book Publishing Report, is brought together in this briefing to provide an analytical narrative of 2009.

What categories did better in which months? What authors had a tendency to fall out of favor with buyers quickly and which ones had staying power? What imprints came out on top and when? Only this reference answers these and other questions regarding the increasingly complicated consumer book landscape.

Highlights include:

  • Exclusive month-by-month analysis of key categories: see which months favor which segments of trade books.

  • A look at the succes of Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight series.

  • Perspective on the meteoric success of William P. Young’s The Shack. 

  • Case studies of the romance segment and mystery & detective titles.

  • Ranking of all of the top imprints, titles, and authors of 2009 to help determine “what sold well and when” throughout the year.

Simba senior trade book analyst Michael Norris has been tapped by the New York Times, TIME and USA Today to discuss industry trends and bestseller data for the publishing market. Have this firsthand intelligence at your fingertips to understand buyer habits, the most popular categories in today's market and where the strengths and weaknesses lie for the top imprints in trade book publishing today.


Stamford, CT—March 3, 2010—Simba Information, the market intelligence firm behind Trade E-Book Publishing 2009, Children's Publishing Market Forecast 2010 and >Audiobook Intelligence Briefing 2010 has released its second annual Month-to-Month: Simba’s Analysis of Bestseller Trends, covering all of the major books, authors, imprints and categories that made a splash in 2009.

Book Publishing Report, Simba’s monthly intelligence briefing, has provided data from its flagship Scorecards department, which takes a look at every book to hit the New York Times, Publishers Weekly and USA Today bestseller lists. By looking at a compilation of all three lists and creating a narrative that winds through January 2009 all the way to December, Simba has made a comprehensive resource for authors, book clubs, publishers and others to get an understanding of what kinds of books, authors and imprints made it big in 2009. In addition, the report contains a thorough review of the top categories of books sought out by consumers during the year.

The report also features case studies to show readers of Month-to-Month additional detail of Stephenie Meyer’s success as well as perspective on the meteoric success of William P. Young’s The Shack. A case study of the romance segment as well as mystery & detective titles is also included.

About Simba Information:

Simba Information is widely recognized as the leading authority for market intelligence in the media and publishing industry. Simba's extensive information network delivers top quality, independent perspective on the people, events and alliances shaping the media and information industry. Simba provides consulting and reports that provide key decision-makers at more than 15,000 client companies around the globe with timely analysis, exclusive statistics and proprietary industry forecasts.

  • Introduction
  • Author, Category, Imprint and Title Trends in 2009
    • Table Number of Authors on Lists, January-December 2009
    • Table Average Titles per Author, January-December 2009
    • Table Number of New Authors on Lists, January-December 2009
    • Table Performance of Stephenie Meyer By Rating, January-December 2009
  • Case Study of 2009 Performance: Stephenie Meyer
    • Table Number of Categories on Lists, January-December 2009
  • Case Study of 2009 Performance: Romance and Mystery & Detective
    • Table Performance of Romance and Mystery & Detective by Rating, January-December 2009
    • Table Average Titles per Category, January-December 2009
    • Table Average Authors per Category, January-December 2009
    • Table Average Imprints per Category, January-December 2009
    • Table Average Titles, Authors, Imprints Top 10 Categories, January-December 2009
    • Table Average Titles, Authors, Imprints Top 50 Categories, January-December 2009
    • Table Number of Imprints on Lists, January-December 2009
    • Table Average Titles per Imprint, January-December 2009
    • Table Average Authors per Imprint, January-December 2009
    • Table Average Authors, Titles Top 10 Imprints, January-December 2009
  • Case Study of 2009 Performance: Doubleday
    • Table Performance of Doubleday By Rating, January-December 2009
    • Table Average Authors, Titles Top 50 Imprints, January-December 2009
    • Table Average Authors, Titles All Imprints, January-December 2009
    • Table Number of Titles on Lists, January-December 2009
    • Table Average Weeks on Lists, January-December 2009
    • Table Performance of Three Cups of Tea and The Shack by Rating, January-December 2009
    • Table Performance of Select "Spiked" Bestselling Titles, January-December 2009
  • Case Study of 2009 Performance: Three Cups of Tea and The Shack
    • Table Number of New Titles on Lists, January-December 2009
    • Table Total New Titles by Class, January-December 2009
  • The Months
    • Table Top 20 Titles, January 2009 (out of 431 total)
    • Table Top 20 Authors, January 2009 (out of 335 total)
    • Table Top 20 Imprints, January 2009 (out of 138 total)
    • Table Top 20 Categories, January 2009 (out of 77 total)
    • Table Top 20 Titles, February 2009 (out of 436 total)
    • Table Top 20 Authors, February 2009 (out of 327 total)
    • Table Top 20 Imprints, February 2009 (out of 129 total)
    • Table Top 20 Categories, February 2009 (out of 75 total)
    • Table Top 20 Titles, March 2009 (out of 429 total)
    • Table Top 20 Authors, March 2009 (out of 330 total)
    • Table Top 20 Imprints, March 2009 (out of 143 total)
    • Table Top 20 Categories, March 2009 (out of 71 total)
    • Table Top 20 Titles, April 2009 (out of 491 total)
    • Table Top 20 Authors, April 2009 (out of 378 total)
    • Table Top 20 Imprints, April 2009 (out of 147 total)
    • Table Top 20 Categories, April 2009 (out of 73 total)
    • Table Top 20 Titles, May 2009 (out of 428 total)
    • Table Top 20 Authors, May 2009 (out of 329 total)
    • Table Top 20 Imprints, May 2009 (out of 139 total)
    • Table Top 20 Categories, May 2009 (out of 79 total)
    • Table Top 20 Titles, June 2009 (out of 418 total)
    • Table Top 20 Authors, June 2009 (out of 320 total)
    • Table Top 20 Imprints, June 2009 (out of 133 total)
    • Table Top 20 Categories, June 2009 (out of 67 total)
    • Table Top 20 Titles, July 2009 (out of 457 total)
    • Table Top 20 Authors, July 2009 (out of 333 total)
    • Table Top 20 Imprints, July 2009 (out of 133 total)
    • Table Top 20 Categories, July 2009 (out of 68 total)
    • Table Top 20 Titles, August 2009 (out of 448 total)
    • Table Top 20 Authors, August 2009 (out of 331 total)
    • Table Top 20 Imprints, August 2009 (out of 132 total)
    • Table Top 20 Categories, August 2009 (out of 72 total)
    • Table Top 20 Titles, September 2009 (out of 492 total)
    • Table Top 20 Authors, September 2009 (out of 381 total)
    • Table Top 20 Imprints, September 2009 (out of 139 total)
    • Table Top 20 Categories, September 2009 (out of 76 total)
    • Table Top 20 Titles, October 2009 (out of 448 total)
    • Table Top 20 Authors, October 2009 (out of 342 total)
    • Table Top 20 Imprints, October 2009 (out of 141 total)
    • Table Top 20 Categories, October 2009 (out of 76 total)
    • Table Top 20 Titles, November 2009 (out of 434 total)
    • Table Top 20 Authors, November 2009 (out of 309 total)
    • Table Top 20 Imprints, November 2009 (out of 136 total)
    • Table Top 20 Categories, November 2009 (out of 77 total)
    • Table Top 20 Titles, December 2009 (out of 476 total)
    • Table Top 20 Authors, December 2009 (out of 330 total)
    • Table Top 20 Imprints, December 2009 (out of 138 total)
    • Table Top 20 Categories, December 2009 (out of 78 total)

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