Bestselling Canadian books of 2023

At the end of last year, we showed you the bestselling books of 2023. Before we get too far into this year, let’s look at the bestselling books by Canadian contributors last year.

The following lists are based on print sales volume in Canada from January 1, 2023, to December 3, 2023, according to SalesData, BookNet’s national sales tracking service for the Canadian English-language trade book market.

Top 10 bestselling Fiction books by Canadians in 2023

1. Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune🍁 (9780735243781)

2. Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena🍁 (9780385698900)

3. The Defector by Chris Hadfield🍁 (9781039005402)

4. Five Little Indians by Michelle Good🍁 (9781443459181)

5. A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart🍁 (9781668009109)

6. The Whispers by Ashley Audrain🍁 (9780735239937)

7. The Lie Maker by Linwood Barclay🍁 (9780063320598)

8. The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding🍁 (9781538756966)

9. The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr🍁 (9781552454589)

10. Everything She Feared by Rick Mofina🍁 (9780778334378)

You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2023 - Canadian Fiction.

This list is quite different from last year’s top 10, with the exception of Michelle Good’s Five Little Indians, which was in the number one spot last year, and remains on this year’s list. Carley Fortune also returns to the list in 2023, but with a different book in 2023 than last year; in 2022, Every Summer After was number two on the list.

Similar to last year, the majority of the books on this list, 80%, were frontlist — published in 2023. And there was one lone hardcover (Chris Hadfield’s The Defector) the rest were paperbacks.

Top 10 bestselling Non-Fiction books by Canadians in 2023

1. Fraiche Food, Fuller Hearts by Jillian Harris🍁 and Tori Wesszer🍁 (9780735240780)

2. Outlive by Peter Attia🍁 and Bill Gifford (9780593236598)

3. The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté🍁 and Daniel Maté 🍁(9780735278363)

4. Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry🍁 (9781250866448)

5. 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson🍁 (9780345816023)

6. The Road Years by Rick Mercer🍁 (9780385688901)

7. Ducks by Kate Beaton🍁 (9781770462892)

8. When the Body Says No by Gabor Maté🍁 (9780676973129)

9. My Effin' Life by Geddy Lee🍁 (9780063159419)

10. Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson🍁 (9780063226562)

You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2023 – Canadian Non-Fiction.

There’s more overlap between the 2022 and 2023 Non-Fiction lists. Four books were repeats: The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté and Daniel Maté; Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry; 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson; and When the Body Says No by Gabor Maté.

And on the flip side from the Fiction list above, there was only one paperback edition (When the Body Says No by Gabor Maté) on the list, the remaining nine were all hardcovers.

Top 10 bestselling Juvenile and Young Adult books by Canadians in 2023

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

2. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch,🍁 illus. by Sheila McGraw (Board book) (9780228101048)

3. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch,🍁 illus. by Sheila McGraw (Hardcover) (9780920668368)

4. Every Child Matters by Phyllis Webstad,🍁 illus by Karlene Harvey (9781778540165)

5. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch,🍁 illus. by Michael Martchenko🍁 (9781773210292)

6. I Hope by Monique Gray Smith,🍁 illus. by Gabrielle Grimard🍁 (9781459825932)

7. Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Monique Gray Smith,🍁 illus. by Nicole Neidhardt (9781728458991)

8. The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson🍁 (9780735266124)

9. Dear Girl, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Paris Rosenthal, illus. by Holly Hatam 🍁 (9780062422507)

10. The Tryout: A Graphic Novel by Christina Soontornvat, illus. by Joanna Cacao 🍁 (9781338741261)

You can see all of these titles in this CataList catalogue: Bestselling Titles in Canada in 2023 – Canadian Juvenile & YA.

It seems as though Canadian book buyers will love Love You Forever forever - top spot since 2019. Three different editions of the classic Robert Munsch title take the top three spots on the list this year. They were all on last year’s list, too, along with the other Robert Munch classic, The Paper Bag Princess. The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson was the last title to appear on both this year’s and last year’s lists.

The only title on the list published in 2023 was Every Child Matters by Phyllis Webstad. The rest were backlist.

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!