When Amazon last week listed its 10 top-selling electronic books in South Africa for the past year, South African book titles were absent and some on the local literary scene struggled to understand why.
The digital publisher at NB Publishers, Nèlleke de Jager, said she doubted the accuracy of Amazon's list because the online retailer did not release numbers to back its findings.
De Jager said books that sell well on paper usually do well electronically too and over the past year a number of local authors have sold more printed books than some of the titles listed by Amazon.
Jessica Faircliff, editor of Bookmark, the South African Booksellers' Association magazine, also found Amazon's list surprising based on the success South African authors have had on paper.
According to Nielsen Bookscan statistics, the second-best-selling book in South Africa last year in the adult fiction category was Kobra, by Deon Meyer, which sold 24474 copies. In the non-fiction category Mark Boucher's autobiography, Bouch, came out on top with 10821 sales.
The best-selling e-book in South Africa on Amazon's list for June 1 2013 to May 31 2014 is Inferno, by Dan Brown.
The list:
1.Inferno by Dan Brown;
2.And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini;
3.Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn;
4.Never Go Back (Jack Reacher 18) by Lee Child;
5.The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt;
6.Sycamore Row by John Grish-am;
7.The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty;
8.The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike) by Robert Galbraith, JK Rowling;
9.The Hit (Will Robie 2) by David Baldacci; and
10.The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult.
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