Banville’s sales jump after Booker

MAN Booker winner John Banville has already experienced a massive hike in sales for his novel The Sea since it was announced the winner of the prestigious award on October 10.

According to Nielsen Book Scan, the company that tracks book sales in Britain and Ireland, Banville’s novel shot up from weekly Irish sales of 280 in the week before the Booker prize to Irish sales of 2,302 in the week after the prize.

But the real difference the Booker makes is even clearer in Banville’s British sales. Before winning, Banville’s novel didn’t even chart, as Nielsen only lists the top 30 selling novels in any given week.

However, in the week before the Man Booker, the lowest charting novel sold just 790 copies in the UK. Last week, the first week after the prize, saw Banville shift 5,436 copies of The Sea in Britain.

“Around 34,000 copies of The Sea were printed before he won the Booker prize,” said a spokesperson for Banville.

“And 40,000 more copies were printed the morning after he won.”