HarperCollins is having a “Hunger Games” moment; another year or so of these kinds of sales, and it will become a “Fifty Shades” moment.
For the second week in a row, the three HarperCollins “Divergent” series titles took the top three spots on our bestseller list, perhaps on the strength of the “Divergent” movie’s opening weekend haul of $56 million, a very good number. The fourth spot is the collection of all three titles for $14.99 — a savings of about $5 for readers who are finding the best deals, and a powerful argument for e-book bundling.
Amazon Publishing looks to have a consistent hit with “Hidden” by Catherine McKenzie after a series of titles this year that jumped onto and off the list week-to-week. It currently sits at No. 5, ahead of every e-book without the word “divergent” somewhere in the title.
Six of the next seven best-selling ebooks are from Penguin Random House, which has 11 total bestsellers in the top 25 this week.
Bestseller prices dip again
Several very low price big-five titles hitting the list helped drive the average price of a bestselling e-book down to $6.77 from $7.65 last week.
“The Maze Runner” by James Dashner (Penguin Random House, $1.99), “Beautiful Ruins” by Jess Walter (HarperCollins, $1.99), “Little Girl Lost” by Brian McGilloway (HarperCollins, $0.99) and “Bullseye: An Original Will Robie / Camel Club Short Story” by David Baldacci (Hachette, $1.99) are all new to the list this week.
E-book best-sellers from the week ending 3/22:
1. “Divergent” (Divergent Series), Veronica Roth, HarperCollins, $4.99
2. “Insurgent” (Divergent Series), Veronica Roth, HarperCollins, $6.99
3. “Allegiant” (Divergent Series), Veronica Roth, HarperCollins, $6.99
4. “The Divergent Series Complete Collection”, Veronica Roth, HarperCollins, $14.99
5. “Hidden”, Catherine McKenzie, Amazon, $4.99
6. “The Fault in Our Stars”, John Green, Penguin Random House, $7.99
7. “The Husband’s Secret”, Liane Moriarty, Penguin Random House, $5.99
8. “Missing You”, Harlan Coben, Penguin Random House, $11.99
9. “The Goldfinch”, Donna Tartt, Hachette, $7.50
10. “Sycamore Row”, John Grisham, Penguin Random House, $6.49
See the complete list of this week’s top 25 e-book bestsellers at Digital Book World.
Jeremy Greenfield is responsible for managing all editorial content on DigitalBookWorld.com, including the DBW Expert Publishing Blog, the Digital Book Wire and editorial email and social media communications. Prior to joining Digital Book World in October 2011, Jeremy spent three years as a careers editor at FINS.com. Jeremy lives and works in New York City and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
