2011 UK book sales pass GBP 1 billion

The amount spent on books in the UK so far this year has passed the GBP 1 billion mark, with David Nicholls' One Day currently the bestselling book of 2011, new data reveals.

Figures from Nielsen BookScan show that the GBP 1 billion barrier was broken the week ending September 24th, though this is two weeks later than when the landmark was reached in 2010.

A contributing factor to the slight slowdown in sales is thought to be the migration to e-readers as people choose digital downloads over tangible books.

UK publishers indicate that digital titles now account for a tenth of their overall sales, compared with just five per cent in 2010, though spending on hardback non-fiction titles has actually increased in 2011.

One Day is by far the biggest seller this year, despite originally being published in 2009, with a much-hyped film adaptation a contributing factor to the 756,000 copies sold so far.

Jamie's 30-Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver took second spot, with 453,000 copies, though his new title, Jamie's Great Britain, is expected to overtake his previous book in the Christmas rush and could even threaten One Day's title as 2011's bestselling title.

Emma Donoghue's Orange Prize for Fiction-nominated Room, inspired by the Josef Fritzl case, is the third biggest-selling novel of the year so far, with Dawn French's A Tiny Bit Marvellous and John Grisham's The Confession in fourth and fifth place, respectively.