Cranbrook crowned, but Rommel takes tops fiction among Sunbury Press bestsellers

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. - June 10, 2015 - PRLog -- Sunbury Press has released the bestsellers list for May, 2015. The Cranbrook Schools took the top spot with their Women of the World anthology. Chris Papst's Capital Murder held strong at #2. Along the Bethel Trail, by the Friends of Bethel, showed at #3. Keith Rommel's newly released The Devil Tree led Fiction from the 4 spot.

SUNBURY PRESS - Bestsellers for May, 2015 (by Revenue)
Rank  Last Month  Title  Author  Category
1  NEW  Women Who Changed the World  Cranbrook Schools  YA Biography
2  1  Capital Murder  Chris Papst  Investigation
3  2  Along the Bethel Trail  Friends of Bethel AME  History
4  NEW  The Devil Tree  Keith Rommel  Thriller Fiction
5  16  The Complete Story of the Worldwide Invasion of the Orange Orbs  Terry Ray  Paranormal
6  7  The B Team  Alan Mindell  Sports Fiction
7  --  Rockabilly Rebel  Mack Allen Smith  Music History
8  --  At the End of the Day  Madelyn Killion  Literary Fiction
9  --  Visions of Teaoga  Jim Remsen  Historical Fiction
10  24  The Fossils of Blackberry Hill  Kenneth Gass  Paleontology
11  --  The Closer  Alan Mindell  Sports Fiction
12  6  Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last  Mike Campbell  History
13  21  H Is for Hershey  Heather Paterno  Childrens
14  22  Winter of the Metal People  Dennis Herrick  Historical Fiction
15  --  Keystone Tombstones Philadelphia Region  Farrell and Farley  Biography
16  NEW  Where Elephants Fought  Bridget Smith  Historical Fiction
17  13  Pit Bulls  Anthony Julian  History
18  --  Head Over Wheels  Ken Mercurio  Medical Memoir
19  --  The Oxygen Factory  Renee des Lauriers  YA Thriller
20  --  Ambush at Dry Bone Gulch  Sid Davis  Western
21  --  The View from Four Foot Two  Judi Markowitz  Medical Memoir
22  5  Call Sign Dracula  Joe Fair  War Memoir
23  --  Well I'll Be Hanged  Tim Dempsey  History
24  23  That Night at Surigao  M Ernest Marshall  History
25  27  Forts, Forests, and Flintlocks  John L. Moore  History
26  --  Hour 30  Brandon Musgrave  Medical Memoir
27  30  Rivers, Raiders, and Renegades  John L. Moore  History
28  17  The Sign of the Eagle  Jess Steven Hughes  Historical Fiction
29  25  Bows, Bullets, and Bears  John L. Moore  History
30  29  Traders, Travelers, and Tomahawks  John L. Moore  History

What a month! The company had its best month ever, topping March's record. Compared to last May, sales more than doubled. YTD Sales are up 82% from last year. Hardcover books have grown to a 43% share of sales. EBooks recovered a bit this month, tracking at 4.2% of sales. Trade paperbacks slipped to 45%.

Women Who Changed the World, by the Cranbrook Schools, grabbed the top spot thanks to a promotion at the end of the school year. Chris Papst's Capital Murder held strong due to author activity and breaking news about the Harrisburg financial scandal. Along the Bethel Trail, by the Friends of the Bethel AME, was helped by its release party at the Simon Cameron Mansion in Harrisburg. Keith Rommel's The Devil Tree debuted at #4 thanks to author appearances in Florida. Terry Ray's popular The Complete Story of the Worldwide Invasion of the Orange Orbs vaulted to #5 thanks to MUFON activities. Alan Mindell's sports novels The B Team (#6) and The Closer (#11) were bolstered by author appearances and interest in The Kentucky Derby. Mack Allen Smith's Rockabilly Rebel returned to the charts at #7 thanks to author activities. Madelyn Killion's At the End of the Day took #8 thanks to author activities. Jim Remsen's Visions of Teaoga returned to the chart at #9 due to author appearances. Kenneth Gass's The Fossils of Blackberry Hill was climbing the charts to #10 before it was withdrawn from publication. Mike Campbell's Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, held at #12, thanks to ongoing interest in the lost aviatrix. Heather Paterno's H Is for Hershey rose to #13 due to sales in the Hershey region. Dennis Herrick moved up to #14 with his Winter of the Metal People. The book is popular in New Mexico. The Joes, Farrell and Farley, grabbed #15 due to regional interest in with their recently-released Keystone Tombstones Philadelphia Region. Bridget Smith's new historical novel Where Elephants Fought charted at #16 thanks to sales in Mississippi. Anthony Julian's ever-present Pit Bulls charted again at #17 because of ongoing interest in the subject matter. Ken Mercurio's Head Over Wheels returned to the rankings at #18 thanks to author activities. YA Thriller, The Oxygen Factory, by Renee des Lauriers found #19 thanks to author events. Sid Davis's western, Ambush at Dry Bone Gulch, took #20 due to author interest. The View from Four Foot Two, by Judi Markowitz, returned to the rankings at #21 thanks to author activity. Call Sign Dracula, the Vietnam memoir by Joe Fair, continued to chart at #22 thanks to steady sales in bookstores. Tim Dempsey's Well I'll Be Hanged charted at #23 thanks to author activities.  Ernie Marshall's That Night at Surigao maintained #24 thanks to interest in the last fight between battleships in WW2. John L. Moore grabbed the four spots #'s 25, 27, 29 & 30 with 4 of the 8 books in his Frontier Pennsylvania Series. Interest remains strong from local bookstores and retailers. Brandon Musgrave's medical school memoir Hour 30 took #26 thanks to steady ebook sales. Jess Steven Hughes was at #28 with The Sign of the Eagle. Hughes continues to benefit from his regular bookstore events.

The company released four new titles during the month of May.

SUNBURY PRESS – New Releases for May, 2015
Women Who Changed the World  Cranbrook Schools  YA Biography
Where Elephants Fought  Bridget Smith  Historical Fiction
Plain and Deadly  Barbara Workinger  Murder Mystery
The Devil Tree  Keith Rommel  Thriller Fiction

For a list of Sunbury's best-sellers, please see the Sunbury Press web site:
http://www.sunburypressstore.com/BESTSELLERS_c3.htm
For a complete list of recent and upcoming releases, please see:
http://www.sunburypressstore.com/COMING-SOON_c47.htm