Indigo says sales of Anne Carson titles rose 10,325 per cent on Thursday, the day she was named the Nobel Prize winner in literature, compared with the previous day.
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Indigo says its sales of Anne Carson titles jumped 10,325 per cent on Thursday, compared with the previous day, after the Toronto-born poet was named the winner of the Nobel Prize in literature. The bookseller also reported online searches for Carson’s books climbed 20,809 per cent day over day, and said it sold 18 different Carson titles on Thursday, including “Autobiography of Red,” “The Beauty of the Husband” and “Red Doc.” Indigo added that it could not share how many copies were sold because the information is proprietary and commercially sensitive.
The spike has also hit libraries across the country. Calgary Public Library said it recorded 435 holds placed on Carson’s print titles since Thursday’s announcement, compared with 447 total holds currently placed on her print books, including 131 readers waiting for “Autobiography of Red.” “That is an unprecedented rate of holds placement for poetry in one day, let alone any title,” said library selector Kari Brawn in a statement. The library said it is ordering additional print copies to keep up with demand.
Halifax Public Libraries reported 152 new holds across five Carson print titles since Thursday, attributing the increase to her Nobel win. In Calgary, the library also purchased 10 Carson titles for its Libby digital collection on Thursday and has since recorded 170 checkouts and 180 holds; it said the audiobook edition of “Autobiography of Red” had 73 checkouts and the e-book edition of “The Beauty of the Husband” drew 43 holds.
Carson’s Nobel win comes ahead of a new book titled “Beware the Man Whose Handwriting Sways Like a Reed in the Wind,” which is slated for release in February 2027. Her genre-defying work blends poetry, prose, classical mythology and literary criticism.
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