It’s the end of another year. And we couldn’t help but wonder, what were the top-selling books in Canada this past year?
Well, we no longer have to wonder, because we’ve identified the top-selling titles in the Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Juvenile/YA categories based on print sales volume in Canada over a 48-week period from Dec. 31, 2018 to Dec. 1, 2019 (according to BNC SalesData, which tracks print sales in the English-language trade market).
And this year, we’re also bringing you the Canadian bestseller lists for each category!
10 bestselling Fiction books of 2019
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood 🇨🇦(9780771009433)
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (9780062877000)
The Reckoning by John Grisham (9780525620938)
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (9780735219090)
The Huntress by Kate Quinn (9780062740373)
The Institute by Stephen King (9781982110567)
The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton (9781525803710)
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 🇨🇦(9780771008795)
Past Tense by Lee Child (9780399593536)
The Mister by E. L. James (9781984898326)
You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2019 – Fiction.
This year, just like last year, the top 10 list is frontlist heavy: seven of the 10 titles were published in 2019 (okay, one was technically published on Dec. 31, 2018 but that’s so close to 2019 that, in our eyes, it makes the “frontlist” cut).
Thrillers have lost some of the share of the top 10 this year; in 2018, they accounted for more than half of the list, but this year they’re down to only four of the 10 titles.
Only one Canadian author title made it onto the top 10 list for this year, but it came in at number one with a bullet. Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments was a highly anticipated title in 2019 and the sales backed up the hype. The (split) Booker win did, too. Her other book to make the list, The Handmaid’s Tale, made it to the number eight spot.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris is the only returning title from last year, though it’s moved up the list from the number three position last year to the number two spot this year.
There are, however, many returning authors. Kate Quinn, Stephen King, and John Grisham all made the list in 2018, and all return on this year’s list with new novels.
Last year, Grisham’s The Rooster Bar made the list and this year The Reckoning is his entry. Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network was on the 2018 top 10 Fiction list and this year it’s her new novel The Huntress. And Stephen King’s The Outsider was replaced in 2019 by The Institute.
E.L. James’s The Mister, her first standalone novel, takes the number 10 spot on our list, proving she’s not just a one (series)-hit wonder.
10 bestselling Canadian Fiction books of 2019
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood 🇨🇦 (9780771009433)
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood 🇨🇦 (9780771008795)
A Better Man by Louise Penny 🇨🇦 (9781250066213)
Someone We Know by Shari Lapena 🇨🇦 (9780385690829)
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline 🇨🇦 (9781770864863)
The Gown by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 (9780062674951)
The Quintland Sisters by Shelley Wood 🇨🇦 (9780062839091)
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan 🇨🇦 (9781443459587)
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje 🇨🇦 (9780771073809)
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 🇨🇦 (9780735253308)
You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2019 – Canadian Fiction.
Atwood has a stronger showing on the Canadian Fiction list, with three of the top 10 titles: two editions of The Handmaid’s Tale and the number one overall bestselling title, The Testaments.
After those three Dystopian Fiction titles, the breakdown of genres in the Canadian Fiction top 10 list is fairly evenly spread out: one Mystery & Detective novel, A Better Man by Louise Penny; one Thriller, Someone We Know by Shari Lapena; two Historical Fiction titles, The Gown by Jennifer Robson and The Quintland Sisters by Shelley Wood; and two Literary Fiction titles, Washington Black by Esi Edugyan and Warlight by Michael Ondaatje.
10 bestselling Non-Fiction books of 2019
Becoming by Michelle Obama (9781524763138)
Educated by Tara Westover (9781443452489)
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson (9780062641540)
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari (9780771038518)
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell 🇨🇦(9780316478526)
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis (9781400201655)
Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis (9781400215065)
Fraiche Food, Full Hearts by Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer 🇨🇦(9780735234307)
Everything Is F*cked by Mark Manson (9780062888464)
Yum and Yummer by Greta Podleski 🇨🇦(9781775047001)
You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2019 – Non-Fiction.
Half of this year’s Non-Fiction list are titles that appeared on last year’s top-selling list, too: Becoming by Michelle Obama, Educated by Tara Westover, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, and Yum and Yummer by Greta Podleski are all repeat titles.
Only four of the top 10 were published in 2019: Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell, Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis, Everything Is F*cked by Mark Manson, and Fraiche Food, Full Hearts by Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer.
Self-Help continues to dominate the list with four of the top 10 titles belonging to that category. Though these four books were written by two bestselling authors: Mark Manson (The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and Everything Is F*cked) and Rachel Hollis (Girl, Stop Apologizing and Girl, Wash Your Face).
Three Canadian-authored titles made the list: the returning title from Greta Podleski, Yum and Yummer, Malcolm Gladwell’s 2019 book, Talking to Strangers, and the cookbook Fraiche Food, Full Hearts by Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer.
10 bestselling Canadian Non-Fiction books of 2019
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell 🇨🇦 (9780316478526)
Fraiche Food, Full Hearts by Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer 🇨🇦 (9780735234307)
Yum and Yummer by Greta Podleski 🇨🇦 (9781775047001)
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson 🇨🇦 (9780345816023)
By Chance Alone by Max Eisen 🇨🇦 (9781443448543)
Scotty by Ken Dryden 🇨🇦 (9780771027505)
Cat and Nat's Mom Truths by Catherine Belknap and Natalie Telfer 🇨🇦 (9780735235656)
The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma 🇨🇦 (9781443456623)
The Obesity Code by Jason Fung 🇨🇦 (9781771641258)
The Vagina Bible by Jen Gunter 🇨🇦 (9780735277373)
You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2019 – Canadian Non-Fiction.
Canadians are varied in their preferences when it comes to Canadian-authored Non-Fiction. The top 10 list includes two cookbooks, Fraiche Food, Full Hearts by Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer and Yum and Yummer by Greta Podleski, but the remainder of books run the gamut of subject matter from Humour to Social Science.
We’re also glad to see that a Canadian hockey book made it onto the top 10: Scotty by Ken Dryden.
10 bestselling Juvenile and YA books of 2019
For Whom the Ball Rolls by Dav Pilkey (9781338236590)
Guts by Raina Telgemeier (9780545852500)
Brawl of the Wild by Dav Pilkey (9781338236576)
Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid by Jeff Kinney (9781419740275)
The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith, illustrated by Katz Cowley (9780545261241)
Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney (9781419739033)
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw 🇨🇦(9780920668375)
Boy-Crazy Stacey by Ann M. Martin and Gale Galligan (9781338304510)
Lord of the Fleas by Dav Pilkey (9780545935173)
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss (9780679805274)
You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2019 – Juvenile & YA.
There are four titles from last year’s list that made it onto this year’s list: The popularity of The Wonky Donkey continues, Lord of the Fleas by Dav Pilkey, and the perennial bestsellers, Love You Forever by Robert Munsch and Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. The rest of the titles were frontlist (published in 2019 or in late December 2018).
Half of the titles on the list are Comics or Graphic Novels: For Whom the Ball Rolls by Dav Pilkey, Guts by Raina Telgemeier, Brawl of the Wild by Dav Pilkey, Boy-Crazy Stacey by Ann M. Martin and Gale Galligan, and Lord of the Fleas by Dav Pilkey. And three of those are Dav Pilkey titles.
All 10 titles were Juvenile Fiction; no Young Adult titles cracked the top 10 in 2019.
10 bestselling Canadian Juvenile and YA books of 2019
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw 🇨🇦(9780920668375)
Sharon, Lois and Bram's Skinnamarink by Sharon Hampson, Lois Lillienstein, and Bram Morrison, illustrated by Qin Leng 🇨🇦(9780735264069)
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko 🇨🇦(9781773210292)
Pyjama Day! by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko 🇨🇦(9781443139175)
Say Something! by Peter H. Reynolds 🇨🇦(9780545865036)
Moose! by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko 🇨🇦(9781443107181)
Hugs by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko 🇨🇦(9781443142908)
Smelly Socks by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko 🇨🇦(9780439967075)
Bear for Breakfast by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Jay Odjick 🇨🇦(9781443170550)
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw 🇨🇦(9780228101048)
You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2019 – Canadian Juvenile & YA.
The Canadian Juvenile & YA top 10 list is a little bit sad unless your name is Robert Munsch or Michael Martchenko. Not that we have anything against Munsch books, it would just be nice to see some more variety in these bestsellers.
The two of the 10 that weren’t written by Munsch are a song-turned-book by a beloved children’s group, Sharon, Lois and Bram's Skinnamarink by Sharon Hampson, Lois Lillienstein, and Bram Morrison, illustrated by Qin Leng; and Say Something! by Peter H. Reynolds.
Wonder what next year will bring? You’ll just have to come back here at the end of 2020 to find out.
Are you a publisher, retailer, or librarian who wants to see more data like this? Check out SalesData, the sales tracking service for the Canadian English-language trade book market. If you’re already a subscriber, and want to see the top-selling titles for a specific time period or in a certain category (like we did in this post), see how to run a Bestseller Report. If you still have questions, or want SalesData training, contact us!
Ed. note: We have become aware of a reporting error in our data and have updated the bestselling 2019 lists originally published on Dec. 9 with corrected data. As a result, the rankings of some titles have changed.
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