Gabaldon is Kiwi Christmas Number One

2:33 PM, 17 December 2021

The much-anticipated return to the Outlander series from bestselling author Diana Gabaldon, Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone, is the official New Zealand BookScan Christmas Number One.

Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone, the ninth book in the Outlander series, swept in to take number one ahead of Lee & Andrew Child’s latest Jack Reacher novel, Better Off Dead, with nearly 3,500 copies sold in the last week alone. Its sale is the biggest for a Christmas number one since 2019.

It is the first time that Gabaldon has scooped the New Zealand Christmas number one, breaking David Walliams winning streak of the previous four years with Code Name Bananas in 2020, The Beast of Buckingham Palace in 2019, The Ice Monster in 2018 and Bad Dad in 2017.

Published in 42 countries and in 38 languages, in 2014 the Outlander novels were made into an acclaimed TV series starring Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser and Caitriona Balfe as Claire Beauchamp and Seasons 1 to 5 are available to view on NEON in New Zealand, with Season 6 set to premiere in March 2022.

Nevena Nikolic, NZ Territory Manager at Nielsen Book, said: ‛Diana Gabaldon has sold more than 132,000 copies of her books in New Zealand to-date and she is the 47th best-selling author since BookScan began tracking sales in New Zealand at the end of 2007. In a year when Adult Fiction has performed particularly well, up 21% by value year on year, it is fitting that a fiction title also be the number one.’

Christmas is such a vital time for the New Zealand book industry, and this year is no exception, proving book sales have been resilient in the face of COVID-19 challenges.

In total, $5.2m was spent on printed books in New Zealand in the seven-day period ending 11th December across 37,415 different book titles (usually 31,000 on an average week) showing the support New Zealanders have for buying a wider range of books locally this Christmas.

In Australia, Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty tops Nielsen Book’s 2021 Christmas bestseller list, having sold more than 11,500 copies during the same week of 5 to 11th December 2021.

This year’s New Zealand top 10 bestselling titles in the Christmas week include four Fiction titles, three Non-Fiction titles and three Children’s titles. Two out of the top ten books were published in New Zealand; number nine Lost & Found by Toni Street (Allen & Unwin NZ) and number 10, Salad by Margo & Rosa Flanagan (Allen & Unwin NZ).

Nielsen BookScan NZ Top 10 Christmas Bestseller List (ranked by copies sold in the week 5 to 11 December 2021)*:

1. Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone: Outlander 9, Diana Gabaldon (Penguin Random House) 2. Better Off Dead: Jack Reacher 26, Lee Child (Penguin Random House)
3. Gangsta Granny Strikes Again!, David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross (HarperCollins) 4. Wish You Were Here, Jodi Picoult (Allen & Unwin)

5. Perspectives: Cat Kid Comic Club 2, Dav Pilkey (Scholastic)
6. Never, Ken Follett (Pan Macmillan)
7. Big Shot: Diary of a Wimpy Kid 16, Jeff Kinney (Penguin Random House) 8. Windswept & Interesting, Billy Connolly (Hachette)
9. Lost & Found, Toni Street (Allen & Unwin NZ)
10.Salad, Margo & Rosa Flanagan (Allen & Unwin NZ)

* Data sourced from Nielsen BookScan New Zealand Total Market measuring print book sales in New Zealand through its defined panel of retailers. Weekly data is for the period 5 to 11 December, 2021. Year-to-date is to week ending 11 December, 2021.

Christmas Number Ones Past 10-Years: New Zealand

2021: Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone: Outlander 9, Diana Gabaldon
2020: Code Name Bananas, David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross
2019: The Beast of Buckingham Palace, David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross
2018: The Ice Monster, David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross
2017: Bad Dad, David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross
2016: Night School, Lee Child
2015: Dan Carter, Duncan Greive & Dan Carter
2014: The Free Range Cook: Through the Seasons, Annabel Langbein 2013: The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton
2012: The Free Range Cook: Simple Pleasures, Annabel Langbein