Bestselling books of 2020

These are the bestselling books in Canada for 2020 as tracked by @BookNet_Canada.
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A new year is around the corner which means that it’s time to look back at the top-selling books in Canada in 2020.

As usual, we’ve identified the top-selling titles in the Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Juvenile/YA categories based on print sales volume in Canada over a 48-week period from Dec. 30, 2019 to Dec. 6, 2020 (according to BNC SalesData, which tracks print sales in the English-language trade market).

Keep in mind that the list of bestselling Canadian books we published in October was based on data from Jan. 1 to Sept. 26, 2020, so don’t be surprised to see some shifts and changes in the Canadian section of each category.

Top 10 bestselling Fiction books of 2020

1. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (9781250754080)

2. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (9780735219090)

3. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (9780735224315)

4. The Wives by Tarryn Fisher (9781525809781)

5. The Guardians by John Grisham (9780525620945)

6. If It Bleeds by Stephen King (9781982137977)

7. The Guest List by Lucy Foley (9780062988959)

8. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell (9780062976802)

9. All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny 🍁 (9781250145239)

10. Camino Winds by John Grisham (9780385545938)

You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2020 – Fiction

Sadly, only one Canadian title made it to the top 10, unlike last year, this time it’s not a book by Margaret Atwood. Instead, All the Devils Are Here, a Mystery & Detective title by Louise Penny is representing Canadian literature in this subject category.

Continuing the trend from past years, most of the books on this list are frontlist titles, in fact, nine out of 10 books were published either in 2019 or 2020. The exception, in this case, is Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, a Literary title originally published in August 2018, a book that also made it to fourth place on last year’s list.

Top 10 bestselling Canadian Fiction books of 2020

1. All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny 🍁 (9781250145239)

2. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 🍁 (9780771008795)

3. The End of Her by Shari Lapena 🍁 (9780385695022)

4. The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham 🍁 (9781982128951)

5. The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel 🍁 (9781443455732)

6. Woman on the Edge by Samantha M. Bailey 🍁 (9781982126742)

7. The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner 🍁 (9781250272188)

8. The Woman Before Wallis by Bryn Turnbull 🍁 (9780778361022)

9. The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue 🍁 (9781443461788)

10. Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown 🍁 (9780735236240)

You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2020 – Canadian Fiction

Margaret Atwood, the dominant force of the Canadian Fiction category in 2019 with three of the top 10 titles, stays on the this year’s list with just one book, her 2011 novel The Handmaid’s Tale. Similar to the Fiction list, nine titles out of 10 were published in 2019 or 2020.

Top 10 bestselling Non-Fiction books of 2020

1. A Promised Land by Barack Obama (9781524763169)

2. Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump (9781982141462)

3. Untamed by Glennon Doyle (9781984801258)

4. From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle 🍁 (9781982101213)

5. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo (9780807047415)

6. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari (9780771038518)

7. Educated by Tara Westover (9781443452489)

8. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson (9780062641540)

9. Guinness World Records 2021 by Guinness World Records (9781913484002)

10. Rage by Bob Woodward (9781982131739)

You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2020 – Non-Fiction

2020 was, among many other things, the year of politics, and book sales reflected just that. Barack Obama’s book was launched in November and it climbed to the top of this list in just days, but last year was not so different, another member of the Obama family was also leading this list, Michelle Obama and her book Becoming made it to the 2018 and 2019 Non-Fiction top 10 lists.

Again, only one Canadian authored book made it to the list, From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle, originally published in August 2019.

Top 10 bestselling Canadian Non-Fiction books of 2020

1. From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle 🍁 (9781982101213)

2. Oh She Glows for Dinner by Angela Liddon 🍁 (9780735238190)

3. The Skin We're In by Desmond Cole 🍁 (9780385686341)

4. The Answer Is ... by Alex Trebek 🍁 (9781982157999)

5. Fraiche Food, Full Hearts by Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer 🍁 (9780735234307)

6. Home Body by Rupi Kaur 🍁 (9781501175305)

7. 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson 🍁 (9780345816023)

8. Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell 🍁 (9780316478526)

9. Burke's Law by Brian Burke 🍁 (9780735239470)

10. If I Knew Then by Jann Arden 🍁 (9780735279971)

You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2020 – Canadian Non-Fiction

For three books from this list, this is their second year in the Canadian Non-Fiction top 10. Fraiche Food, Full Hearts originally published in October 2019 moved down three positions in the ranking since last year, 12 Rules for Life published in January 2018 moved down two positions, and Talking to Strangers moved down five positions. In general, Biography & Autobiography along with Cooking titles make up more than half of the list.

Top 10 bestselling Juvenile books of 2020

1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (9781338635171)

2. Grime and Punishment by Dav Pilkey (9781338535624)

3. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (9780316707046)

4. Fetch-22 by Dav Pilkey (9781338323214)

5. The Deep End by Jeff Kinney (9781419748684)

6. Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure by Jeff Kinney (9781419749094)

7. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw 🍁 (9780920668375)

8. Logan Likes Mary Anne! by Ann M. Martin, illustrated by Gale Galligan (9781338304541)

9. For Whom the Ball Rolls by Dav Pilkey (9781338236590)

10. The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith, illustrated by Katz Cowley (9780545261241)

You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2020 – Juvenile & YA

The 2010 book, The Wonky Donkey, and the 1995 title, Love You Forever, returned from the 2018 and 2019 lists. Unlike last year’s list when no Young Adult titles sold more than the top 10 Juvenile titles, this year, two YA titles cracked the top three: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in first place and Midnight Sun in third place.

Top 10 bestselling Canadian Juvenile books of 2020

1. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw 🍁 (9780920668375)

2. School Rules! by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Dave Whamond 🍁 (9781443182034)

3. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko 🍁 (9781773210292)

4. Terry Fox and Me by Mary Beth Leatherdale, illustrated by Milan Pavlovic 🍁 (9780735267688)

5. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw 🍁 (9780228101048)

6. Smelly Socks by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko 🍁 (9780439967075)

7. Pyjama Day! by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko 🍁 (9781443139175)

8. A Bunch of Munsch! by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Jay Odjick and Michael Martchenko 🍁 (9781443182645)

9. So Much Snow! by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko 🍁 (9781443146173)

10. Purple, Green and Yellow by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Hélène Desputeaux 🍁 (9781554511136)

You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2020 – Canadian Juvenile & YA

Robert Munsch’s books continue to dominate the Canadian Juvenile category, only one book in this year’s list wasn’t written by him: Terry Fox and Me by Mary Beth Leatherdale. This is very similar to what we saw in last year’s list, where only two of the top 10 books were written by someone other than Robert Munsch.

Unlike the other categories, there are only two frontlist titles in the top 10: Terry Fox and Me and A Bunch of Munsch!

Are you a publisher, retailer, or librarian who wants to see more data like this? Check out SalesData, the sales tracking service for the Canadian English-language trade book market. Do you have questions about any of our products, services or this list? Contact us!

Ed. note: We have become aware of a reporting error in our data and have updated the bestselling 2020 lists with corrected data. As a result, the rankings of some titles have changed.