NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast

In Episode 26 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Philip and Belle count down the UK's bestselling books of September (02.33) and share their Beyond the Bestsellers picks (18.57). In Under the Spotlight (30.02), Belle welcomes Claire Harrison, NielsenIQ BookData's expert on the Australian book market, for an exclusive discussion of new research into audiobook consumers in Australia. Tune in to discover the two titles that set tills ringing in September with enormous first-week sales, which puzzle book could be the new Murdle, and what's fuelling Australia's audiobook boom.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:

— Jamie Oliver's 20 Minute Meals
— Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's Gruffalo Granny
— Richard Osman's We Chase Shadows
— Charles Spencer's Swan Song
— Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor's End Times Fascism

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the presenters and not that of NIQ. For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on Instagram (@_bookdata) and Linkedin (@nielsen-book). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at [email protected].

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

In Episode 25 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Philip and Chris count down the UK's bestselling books of August (03.00), share their Beyond the Bestsellers picks (09.43), and, in Under the Spotlight (17.02), explore one of the most popular sectors of the book market: crime fiction. Tune in to discover which writer earns a spot in the monthly top 20 on a five-day sale alone, which prize-winning book is enjoying record sales, which sub-genres are propelling the current crime wave in the UK, and which writer accounts for 12p in every £1 spent on a crime novel.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:

— Freida McFadden's Brain Damage
— Annie Jacobsen's Biological War: A Scenario
— Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
— Patrice Karst's The Invisible String
— Seishi Yokomizo's Murder at the Black Cat Cafe

Link to Lee Child's bibliography on FantasticFiction.co.uk
Link to Psychology Today: Why are we so interested in crime stories?
Link to National Centre for Writing: The enduring allure of crime fiction
Link to JustWatch.co.uk page for Gone Girl
Link to The Home of Agatha Christie

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the presenters and not that of NIQ. For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on Instagram (@_bookdata) and Linkedin (@nielsen-book). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at [email protected].

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

In Episode 24 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Belle and Philip count down the UK's bestselling books of July (04.36), share their Beyond the Bestsellers picks (13.26), and, in Under the Spotlight (20.25), explore the resurgence of the religious books market. Tune in to discover which familiar face reaches number one in paperback for the first time in eight years, which TV spin-off, the first of its kind in more than 30 years, has become an instant bestseller, which children's title is the latest to surpass one million copies sold, and why bible sales are reaching record levels around the world.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:

— Bear Grylls' The Greatest Story Ever Told
— Alice Feeney's My Husband's Wife
— Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book
— Homer's The Odyssey
— The Bible

Link to The Bookseller article: "A Homer run: Poetry poised to hit its all-time UK high"
Link to Emily Wilson's review of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey in the London Review of Books
Link to The Guardian article: "‘It’s younger people seeking some sort of spirituality’ — UK Bible sales reach record high"
Link to The Bible Society's The Quiet Revival report
Link to BBC iPlayer's Red Dwarf S06 E03 episode, "Gunmen of the Apocalypse"

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the presenters and not that of NIQ. For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on Instagram (@_bookdata) and Linkedin (@nielsen-book). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at [email protected].

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

In Episode 23 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Belle and Philip count down the UK's bestselling books in the month of June (01.17), share their Beyond the Bestsellers picks (13.19), and, in Under the Spotlight (21.59), review the bestselling books of 2026 thus far and highlight forthcoming titles likely to make a big impact in the second half of the year. Tune in to discover the effect of Women's Prize wins on sales of Virginia Evans' The Correspondent and Lyse Doucet's The Finest Hotel in Kabul, which book is enjoying the latest big-screen sales boost, and which genres continue to go from strength to strength in the UK book market.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:

— The Secret Barrister's The Cut-Throat Trial
— Caro Claire Burke's Yesteryear
— Freida McFadden's The Divorce
— Jamie Oliver's 20 Minute Meals
— Trisha Paytas's Crying on the Kitchen Floor

Link to the Women's Prize impact study (.pdf)
Link to The Bookseller's new titles previews
Link to The Bookseller article on a rise in children's reading enjoyment
Link to The Odyssey trailers
Link to the Met Office's weather forecasts

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the presenters and not that of NIQ. For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on Instagram (@_bookdata) and Linkedin (@nielsen-book). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at [email protected].

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

In episode 22 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Belle and Philip count down the UK's bestselling books in the month of May (01.51), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (13.12), and put colouring books "Under the Spotlight" (21.40). Tune in to discover which writer returns to familiar territory and tops the chart, which series celebrates its 20th birthday in style, the latest book to get a small-screen boost, and what gems can be found in the colouring book long tail.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:

— Freida McFadden's The Divorce
— Keir Radnedge's FIFA World Cup 2026: The Official Guide
— The Disneyland Parks Colouring Book
— Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris's The Book of Birds
— Bobbie Goods' Do Dia Para a Noite 

Link to The Bookseller article on Usborne's Sticker Dolly Dressing range
Link to Springer Nature paper on anxiety reduction during adult colouring
Link to Healthline article on the benefits of adult colouring
Link to The Guardian article on the British birdwatching boom
Link to NHS/Rethink Mental Illness "Stress Bucket" resource (.pdf)

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the presenters and not that of NIQ. For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on Instagram (@_bookdata) and Linkedin (@nielsen-book). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at [email protected].

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

In episode 21 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Belle and Chris count down the top 20 bestselling books in the UK in the month of April (02.35), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (12.34), and put film and TV adaptations "Under the Spotlight" (26.28). Tune in to discover which books have benefitted from big and small-screen boosts, and the vital importance of books to the film and TV industries.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:

— Lena Dunham's Famesick
— Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah
— Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary
— Katie Kirby's The Seriously Epic Holiday of Lottie Brooks
— Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights

Link to the Publishers Association's "Books on Screen" study
Link to IMDB's "based on novel" title search 

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the presenters and not that of NIQ. For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on Instagram (@_bookdata) and Linkedin (@nielsen-book). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at [email protected].

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

In episode 20 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Belle and Philip count down the top 20 bestselling books in the UK in the month of March (02.03), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (13.52), and put the United States under the spotlight (24.31) — discussing trends Stateside and the impact of American fiction in the UK. Tune in to find out which former chart-topper returns to top spot, the huge value of Easter-themed books, and why the US and UK book markets might be more similar than you think.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:

— Freida McFadden's Want to Know a Secret?
— Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter's The Dinosaur That Pooped Easter!
— Chloe Walsh's Binding 13
— Mel and Sawyer Robbins' The Let Them Theory
— Herman Melville's Moby Dick

— Link to The Bookseller article on translation in the age of AI
— Link to The Bookseller article on simultaneous publication dates
— Freida McFadden reveals her true identity (USA Today)
— The Great American Novel (The Atlantic)

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the presenters and not that of NIQ. For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on Instagram (@_bookdata) and Linkedin (@nielsen-book). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at [email protected].

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

In episode 19 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Belle and Philip count down the top 20 bestselling books in the UK in the month of February (02.57), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (13.10), and put children's books under the spotlight (20.15). Tune in to find out how many World Book Day £1 exclusives scored top 20 status in February (spoiler alert: a lot), which popular children's author's sales have grown eight years in a row, and how many items The Very Hungry Caterpillar munches through in the book of the same name.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:

— Jamie Smart's Bunny vs Monkey
— Peekaboo Love
— Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's Zog and the Flying Doctors
— Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara's Little People, Big Dreams: Taylor Swift
— Dav Pilkey's Dog Man: The Scarlett Shedder

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the presenters and not that of NIQ. For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on Instagram (@_bookdata) and Linkedin (@nielsen-book). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at [email protected].

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

In episode 18 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Belle and Philip count down the top 20 bestselling books in the UK in the month of January (04.21), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (15.47), and put the latest tranche of New Year, New You hits under the spotlight (27.09). Tune in to find out how many Freida McFadden thrillers scored top 20 status in January (spoiler alert: a lot), which bestseller chart record McFadden broke, whether there's any truth to recent claims that bible sales are at an all-time high, and which authors went home very happy from the latest NielsenIQ BookData Bestseller Awards ceremony.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:

— Jennette McCurdy's Half His Age
— James Clear's Atomic Habits
— Dr Atkins' New Diet Revolution
— The Bible
— Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the presenters and not that of NIQ. For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on Instagram (@_bookdata) and Linkedin (@nielsen-book). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at [email protected].

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

In episode 17 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Belle and Philip count down the top 20 bestselling books in the UK in the month of December (05.40), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (15:57), and review 2025 in "Under the Spotlight" (26:44). Tune in to find out what book topped the charts on Christmas Day, who was 2025's bestselling writer, which genres hit all-time sales highs last year, and what books Belle and Philip received from Santa this Christmas.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:

— Richard Osman's The Impossible Fortune
— Joe Wicks' Protein in 15
— Dan Brown's The Secret of Secrets
— Jamie Oliver's Eat Yourself Healthy
— Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the presenters and not that of NIQ. For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on Instagram (@_bookdata) and Linkedin (@nielsen-book). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at [email protected].

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!