QUILLBLOG

Booksellers’ picks of the year: science fiction and fantasy

Agreeing on this year’s top seller in Canadian sci-fi and fantasy is no difficult task for booksellers. Wonder (Viking Canada), the third volume in the WWW trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer, has been flying off shelves across the country.

“His books always do well,” says Walter Sinclair, co-owner of White Dwarf Books in Vancouver, crediting Sawyer’s busy touring schedule with much of the author’s success. “He makes sure his books are visible. He works hard to get his bestseller status.”

Wonder is also the best-selling 2011 title at Bakka Phoenix Books in Toronto. Watch, the second novel in Sawyer’s series, is among the store’s top 10, too. “Sawyer is huge in Canada, so that doesn’t surprise me,” says manager Chris Szego.

In YA sci-fi and fantasy, Once Every Never (Puffin Canada), the first book in a trilogy by Lesley Livingston, has been a top seller since its release in July. “I was really pleased to see Lesley’s book [become a bestseller],” says Szego. “We’ve sold as many of Lesley’s books as we have The Hunger Games. That’s a thrill for us.”