This is a corpus of best selling books by Black authors from 2004 through September, 2021. The database includes backlist titles published earlier, but the sales data is from 2004 to September 2021. This was created as a part of an assignment to create a LibGuide for the Pratt Library and Information Studies program.
We defined "best selling" - which is a subjective term in publishing - as books that have sold over fifty-thousand (50,000) copies. We compiled book titles from a combination of best-sellers lists (e.g., The New York Times), publically available lists of books by Black authors from a variety of literary organizations, and by searching the sales of well-known Black authors on NPD Bookscan.
We're sure that we missed some best-selling books by Black authors but to our knowledge this is the first collection of high selling books by Black authors based on actual sales. We hope this will be used as a resource by writers, publishers, marketers, librarians, and anyone interested in the history and legacy of successful Black writers in book publishing.
Note: RTD means 'Retail Sales To Date', and YTD means 'Yearly Sales To Date.' Each column can be sorted by ascending or descending order, or by category, including gender (female or male), type of book (fiction, non-fiction, or poetry), publisher, author, format, imprint, etc.
Type
- Fiction · 19 ✖
Publisher
Imprint
- Aladdin Paperbacks · 19 ✖
Gender
- Female 19
Format
- Hardcover · 19 ✖
ISBN ▼ | Title | Type | Author | Gender | Publisher | Format | Publication Date | Imprint | RTD Sales | YTD Sales |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9781416980063 | Dork Diaries 1, 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2009-06-02 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 1347095 | 27039 |
9781416980087 | Dork Diaries 2, 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2010-06-08 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 869871 | 15092 |
9781442411906 | Dork Diaries 3, 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2011-06-07 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 751753 | 12047 |
9781442411920 | Dork Diaries 4, 4: Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2012-06-05 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 765854 | 11468 |
9781442422339 | How to Dork Your Diary | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2011-10-11 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 535564 | 4594 |
9781442449619 | Dork Diaries 5, 5: Tales from a Not-So-Smart Miss Know-It-All | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2012-10-02 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 682760 | 7871 |
9781442449633 | Tales from a Not-So Happy Heartbreaker | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2013-06-04 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 666407 | 7579 |
9781442487673 | Tales from a Not-So-Glam Tv Star | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2014-06-03 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 574239 | 9386 |
9781442487697 | Dork Diaries 9, 9: Tales from a Not-So-Dorky Drama Queen | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2015-06-02 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 505945 | 10234 |
9781442487710 | Omg! All About Me Diary! | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2013-10-01 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 289118 | 3742 |
9781481421843 | Dork Diaries 8, 8: Tales from a Not-So-Happily Ever After | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2014-09-30 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 634469 | 7152 |
9781481457040 | Dork Diaries 10, 10: Tales from a Not-So-Perfect Pet Sitter | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2015-10-20 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 734248 | 10806 |
9781481460019 | The Misadventures of Max Crumbly 1, 1: Locker Hero | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2016-06-07 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 236369 | 4339 |
9781481460033 | The Misadventures of Max Crumbly 2, 2: Middle School Mayhem | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2017-06-06 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 150909 | 3464 |
9781481479202 | Dork Diaries 11, 11: Tales from a Not-So-Friendly Frenemy | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2016-11-15 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 657780 | 11168 |
9781534405608 | Dork Diaries 12, 12: Tales from a Not-So-Secret Crush Catastrophe | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2017-10-17 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 563717 | 20232 |
9781534426382 | Dork Diaries 13, 13: Tales from a Not-So-Happy Birthday | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2018-10-16 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 406387 | 22801 |
9781534427204 | Dork Diaries 14, 14: Tales from a Not-So-Best Friend Forever | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2019-10-22 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 408244 | 48125 |
9781534453494 | The Misadventures of Max Crumbly 3, 3: Masters of Mischief | Fiction | Rachel Renée Russell | Female | Simon & Schuster | Hardcover | 2019-06-04 | Aladdin Paperbacks | 65885 | 3706 |