Penguin Random House Tops German Annual Bestseller Lists
Every year, the trade magazine “Börsenblatt” determines the best-selling books of the year in Germany. In 2023, Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe publishers topped the ranking in each of the three categories evaluated – Fiction, Nonfiction, and Advice.
What were Germany’s best-selling books in the year just ended? Just before Christmas, the German trade magazine “Börsenblatt” issues its annual ranking, eagerly awaited by publishers across the nation. Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe publishers received a particularly welcome Christmas present for 2023. They took the top spot in each of the three categories of the annual bestsellers: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Advice.
The year’s bestselling novels
The overall best seller in the annual Fiction list was the German edition of “Atlas – The Story of Pa Salt” by Lucinda Riley and Harry Whittaker, published by Goldmann. The publisher reports that the novel, following its release on May 11, 2023, has sold 450,000 copies in the German-speaking territories to date – 700,000 copies across all edition types. This earned the eighth and final volume in Lucinda Riley’s bestselling “Seven Sisters” series first place in the annual rankings. Following Lucinda Riley’s death in June 2021, her son Harry Whittaker finished writing the book. As the publisher explained to “Börsenblatt”, “Atlas” made a perfect Christmas present, as evidenced by the steady increase in repeat orders in December.
The year’s bestselling nonfiction books
In January 2023, Penguin Random House published Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare” in all its markets, generating a huge media response. As in other countries, the German-language edition published by Penguin as “Reserve” immediately shot to number one on the bestseller lists. The publisher reported more than 100,000 copies sold in its first few days on shelves. More than 360,000 copies were sold in the German-speaking markets over the course of the year. This put the book at the top of the “Börsenblatt” annual nonfiction chart. “Reserve” was also the top title featured in a big Christmas campaign mounted by Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe, leading to a further increase in demand in December. Karen Guddas, Head of Penguin Publishing Nonfiction, tells us that everyone at Penguin Verlag was delighted to have published not only the year’s best-selling nonfiction book, but probably also the most-discussed book of 2023 in “Reserve”: “We had anticipated immense interest from readers, booksellers, and the media; but the overwhelming response and its rapidly burgeoning sales surprised us all. An enormous achievement by the entire team, whom I would like to take this opportunity to thank for their hard work, and a truly unique experience for us all.”
Besides Prince Harry, another celebrity generated considerable media coverage and corresponding book sales for Penguin in 2023: Britney Spears, whose memoir “The Woman in Me” was published on October 24 and already did so well that it made No. 11 in the annual charts.
The year’s bestselling advice and self-help books
Stefanie Stahl once again reigned supreme in Advice, the third category of the year’s top-selling books as determined by “Börsenblatt”: Her perennial bestseller, “Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden” (The Child In You), published by Kailash in November 2015, is the undisputed top seller. More than 270,000 copies were sold in Germany in 2023, with over 395,000 copies sold across all formats. Since 2015, “Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden” has sold over 2.8 million copies. The accompanying workbook, published in 2017, sold more than 70,000 copies in Germany in 2023 and over 460,000 copies since its publication. It ranks fourth in the annual list of advice bestsellers. Stefanie Stahl is also popular with young readers; in October, she won two prizes at the inaugural TikTok Book Awards.
