Announcing the Bestselling Books of 2006

This week, Book Sense is announcing the Book Sense 2006 Bestsellers, a special listing of the year's top-selling books across six categories, based on sales at independent bookstores with Book Sense nationwide. The list provides the year's top 15 titles in Hardcover Fiction, Hardcover Nonfiction, Paperback Fiction, Paperback Nonfiction, Children's Fiction, and Children's Illustrated.

As it did last year, Book Sense has produced the 2006 Bestsellers in six downloadable PDFs. The 8-1/2" x 11" PDFs are distinctive and persuasive marketing tools that can be used individually or placed together to create one large Book Sense 2006 Bestsellers poster.

"When a bookstore creates a grouping of these six individual pages, it makes for a really dynamic visual statement," said Meg Smith, associate director of Book Sense marketing. "Of course, a bookstore may also choose to highlight a particular bestseller list based on the store's particular market niche. For example, a children's bookstore can choose to separate out the children's lists." But, she added, "However it's used, the 2006 Bestsellers is a list of great book titles and a versatile marketing tool that we hope will help spur sales."

Booksellers can utilize the Book Sense 2006 Bestsellers list in any number of ways. In addition to grouping the pages into a poster form, Smith suggests using copies of one or more of the fliers as handouts at the cash wrap or as bag stuffers. In addition, the colorful PDFs are perfect as a backdrop for in-store and window displays.

The year-end lists are also great hooks for local media and are equally effective when they are included in the store's printed or e-mail newsletters.

The Book Sense 2006 Bestsellers List are available in both PDF and text format via ABA's trade website, BookWeb.org.

To use the PDFs to create a large poster-effect, booksellers should place the Hardcover Fiction, top left; Hardcover Nonfiction, top right; Paperback Fiction, middle left; Paperback Nonfiction, middle right; Children's Fiction, bottom left; and Children's Illustrated, bottom right.

Questions or inquiries regarding the Book Sense 2006 Bestsellers list should be addressed to Smith at [email protected].