Past success

TCM sales of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything (Doubleday) are approaching 400,000—an impressive answer to those who felt the move away from his successful travel writing last year was a gamble.

The book has proved to appeal to a wide age range beyond Bryson's normal readership. Doubleday's decision to publish in the summer rather than the peak Christmas season paid off: sales were strong on publication, but even stronger six months later. The book sold about a third of its total so far in the first two months on sale, but matched that figure in the final five weeks of 2003. Inclusion in key Christmas promotions and critics' best of year round-ups helped here, and though sales have dropped off since Christmas, the potential for Black Swan's June paperback edition—boldly priced at £8.99—is huge.

A Short History of Nearly Everything has not compromised Bryson's position as the leading travel author either—this week's Bookseller travel supplement shows his titles sold around 100,000 copies more than his nearest rival in 2003.