Alternative spellings

• best seller
• best-seller

Noun

Singular bestseller

Plural bestsellers

bestseller (plural bestsellers)

1. A book or other product that has sold in large numbers.

Derived terms

• bestsellerdom

A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (number one best selling new cookbook, novel, nonfiction, etc.). The New York Times Best Seller list is one of the best-known bestseller lists for the US. The New York times does not include sales from Internet retailers or box stores such as Walmart or Target. It is not uncommon that a book that appears as number 1, will fall short in actual sales. The New York Times Best seller list only tracks National and Independent book stores.

In everyday use, the term bestseller is not usually associated with a specified level of sales, and may be used very loosely indeed in publisher's publicity. Bestsellers tend not to be books considered of superior academic value or literary quality, though there are exceptions. Lists simply give the highest-selling titles in the category over the stated period. Some books have sold many more copies than contemporary "bestsellers", but over a long period of time.

Blockbusters for films and chart-toppers in recorded music are similar terms, although, in film and music, these measures generally are related to industry sales figures for attendance, requests, broadcast plays, or units sold.

Particularly in the case of novels, a large budget, and a chain of literary agents, editors, publishers, reviewers, retailers, and marketing efforts are involved in "making" bestsellers.

• Australian Literature Awards@ (14)
• Awards for Short Stories@ (3)
• British Literature Awards@ (9)

• Canadian Book Awards@ (22)
• Children's Awards and Bestsellers@ (14)
• Science Fiction Awards@ (16)

See also:

• Arts: Awards (15)
• Arts: Literature: Reviews and Criticism (265)
• Arts: Writers Resources: Contests (134)

• NYFA Source - Literature
  nyfa.org
  The New York Foundation for the Arts' searchable database of awards, services and publications, for literature. Various types of awards, international and by US state. Links to information on NYFA awards and activities.
• The Academy of American Poets
  poets.org
  Awards, prizes and grants for poetry. Information and links for other major poetry awards. Also presents poems and poets, events and exhibits, discussion forums, and various related links.
• The Kiriyama Prize
  kiriyamaprize.org
  International prize awarded each year by Pacific Rim Voices, for fiction and nonfiction books that contribute to understanding and cooperation among the peoples and nations of the Pacific Rim and South Asia. Winners, reviews, author biographies, articles, and rules.