OpenBook shares insight into May 2026 book sales across fiction, nonfiction, and children’s titles, with insight into what books by foreign authors are also selling well.

By Erin L. Cox, Publisher | @erinlcox

This month, the Chinese market illustrates the power of book-to-screen adaptations to sell print editions of the books from which the stories were adapted.

The top three books on the fiction list remained the same (though in a different order), with a new entry coming in the Number 4 slot – Zhang Jiajia’s new book The Echo of Farewell.

Zhang has built a large and loyal readership through previous books, including I Belonged to You, as well as targeted marketing and livestream promotion and sales on Douyin (Chinese TikTok).

The popularity of the TV series “Leading Role,” which debuted on May 10th on primetime CCTV-1 and streaming on Tencent Video, prompted new sales of Chen Yan’s prize-winning novel from which it was adapted.

The top ten slots on the nonfiction list continue to be mostly dominated by Fei Zhi’s popular If Cats series, while further down the list (which is not shown below) self-help titles continue to sell well, particularly in e-commerce channels.

Another book that made it into the top 30 is historian Shi Zhan’s Rivers and Mountains which was released in March. The book uses China’s geography – its mountain ranges and rivers – to illustrate historical events and answers the fundamental question “what makes China China.” The book sparked widespread discussion upon its release.

On the children’s list, the release of the Bronze and Sunflower film on May 8th sparked sales of two different editions of Cao Wenxuan’s novel of the same name. Other titles on the list illustrate parents’ concern about screen addiction and an attempt to use books that combine comics-style illustrations to engage young people.

In April, we noted that books from the Demon Slayer manga series took five spots on the bestseller list likely due to the release of the film. This month, the series claims all but one spot in the Top Ten showing the power of film to drive book sales worldwide.

See the top ten of each list below:

Fiction Bestsellers

Nonfiction Bestsellers

Children’s Bestsellers

Fiction Bestsellers by an International Author

Nonfiction Bestsellers by an International Author

Notes on the Charts

OpenBook is a privately owned industry-data research firm based in Beijing. It functions somewhat as Nielsen and NDP do from the West, and Nielsen Book Research International has worked with OpenBook in Asian operations.

With authoritative data and information resources, OpenBook is able to deliver consulting service to partners who would like to explore the Chinese book market and identify suitable partners.

At last report, OpenBook monitored more than 26,000 online and off-line bookstores.

The online channel includes digital retailers such as large self-operated online stores, platform stores, and small- and medium-sized stores.

The off-line channels include more than 5,100 bookstores. Coverage includes most of the state-owned and influential privately owned bookstores in 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet are not included in OpenBook’s system. In 2024, OpenBook tracked around 82.66 billion RMB in sales (US$11.39 billion). Retail outlets include:

• Traditional bookstores;
• Supermarkets;
• Campus bookstores;
• “Professional” stores, said to be small stores with a specific industrial or trade focus; and
• Airport stores.

In addition, OpenBook is drawing data from online bookstores of three main types:

• The “Tmall” stores of Alibaba (Tmall is described as a marketplace of companies that create storefronts online to sell products including books)
• The “JingDong” Stores of JD.com (similar to Tmall as a marketplace of both individual companies and bookstores operated by JD.com)
• Ten independent online bookselling retailers

Mainland China has 500 or more publishers in operation today. Most of them are government-owned. Private publishers are required to generate ISBNs for their titles from a publishing company that is government-owned—which, in other words, creates a system in which all ISBNs are registered through government channels. The government approves each book published in China.