01/25/2011, Phoenix, Ariz. -- Based on retail sales activity
of Christian books in the U.S., ECPA announces the Top 50 Bestselling
Christian Books and the Top 20 Authors for 2010. By combining title
rankings and sales analytics from booksellers around the country, with
online and direct mail distributor sales, this year's list represents
the most popular Christian content of 2010.
Many recognizable names and titles adorn the Top 50 list once again for
2010. Such notables fill the top three spots: Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages (Moody Publishers), The Love Dare by Stephen & Alex Kendrick (B&H Publishing Group) and the 2007 runaway bestseller, The Shack by William Paul Young (Windblown Media).
"The 2010 list represents a very diverse sample of retail activity,
including the mass market, which may have favored titles with a tried
and true presence in a market place that was possibly not as receptive
to new titles, due to the struggling economy" says ECPA’s Information
& Education Director Michael Covington.
"The absence of a new release among these top spots is not a concern as
the rest of the list is populated by more recent titles such as Jesus Calling (Sarah Young, Thomas Nelson Publishers) and Crazy Love
(Francis Chan, David C Cook), both of which seem to be following
closely in the footsteps of the top three, as sales data would reveal
their rankings outside of Christian retail channel are notable, though
not quite as high."
"Christian book buyers are not all the same," says Covington. "While
Christian content enjoys very broad distribution today, it's obvious
that certain titles sell better through channels that are shopped more
heavily by the core Christian book consumer." To demonstrate this, ECPA
also produced a Top 50 title listing for 2010, exclusively using sales
from Christian retailers. In this second list, Jesus Calling and Crazy Love
took the #1 and #2 spots, suggesting that these titles were more
popular among the "active Christian" population, which makes up the
majority share of the Christian retail consumer base.
"While 2010 was a rebuilding year for most ECPA publishers, many
publishers will close out 2010 with an increase, even though the
industry did not have a blockbuster release that captured the attention
of the broader audiences as we have seen with other titles in the past,"
reports Mark Kuyper, CEO. Previously, titles such as The Purpose Driven Life
(Rick Warren, Zondervan) as well as The Left Behind Series (Tim
LaHaye/Jerry Jenkins, Tyndale House Publishers) found their way to the
top of every major bestseller list, helping to increase awareness of the
entire Christian content genre.
"Though we are very pleased with the broad and diverse sales
representation on this list, ultimately there is no such thing as a
perfect bestseller list," says Kuyper. "Accomplishing that would
require participation from every single bookseller. The purpose of
these lists then, is to help increase awareness of Christian content and
the authors that create it, and to honor the impact they have in both
mainstream and Christian channels."
Email to a Friend