[the_old_crowd] Now OT: Paging Steve, or anybody else: HP Awards?

[Aberforths Goat / Mike Gray]

David wondered,

> As a matter of interest (and if it's not stealing your own 
> thunder) how do Left Behind, His Dark Materials, and HP 
> compare for sales?  

Well. First of all, I just heard back from someone at Christopher Little.
Worldwide sales are 320 million, but I'd need to ask publishers for
individual countries. Not much help, but that's a helluva big number.
Obviously, it's been a one-time-in-history bestseller in all English
speaking countries, and has done absurdly well in a lot of other languages
too.

Pullman next: I also just got an email from Pullman's agent. Pullman's got 8
million worldwide, in 38 languages (similar sales rankings in the US and
UK). Which you almost feel sorry for him until you realze that even selling
8 million rat traps in 38 countries is quite a feat.

Now the really interesting part. Left Behind. The LB series has 62 million
total sales. (You know, I'm not sure whether that is individual books or the
whole series - and since the series is 12 books long, it makes a
difference!) Every new volume has certainly topped camped out at the top of
NYT bestseller list. However: the entire series has been translated into
only 3 languages. Already guessed which three? Bingo: Spanish, Hungarian and
Afrikaans. (?!) 12 other languagse have at least some part of the series and
16 other languages are planned. Total sales in translation: under 1m.

Now that I've started this silly thing, I 'm going to have to contact the LB
people and find out a little more about UK sales. My hunch is that UK sales
are a tiny fraction of the total. 

Preliminary Research Conclusion: We Americans need to have our heads
checked, but at least we're not as bad off as those Hungarians and
Afrikaans-speaking South Africans.

> (Have you really read all the Left Behind series?  Sheesh!)

I have, your honor. And I ought to read them all at least two or three more
times. Shudder. I actually read the whole series in 9 days a few month
before Accio last year. By day 9 I was so punch drunk I could hardly walk
straight. In defense of their literary quality, let it be said that the
spelling seemed to be quite good.*

(I haven't read the 3 prequels, the 10 graphic novels, or the FORTY-TWO
childrens novels, though.

> David, noting that the difference between Left Behind and 
> right ass is only a matter of which pocket you put your wand in...

Giggle.

Baaaaaa,

Mike

*People who have been around here a while know what a good judge I am.