FANTASY NOVEL REMOVED FROM BESTSELLER LIST

A fantasy novel removed from a New York Times bestseller list because of suspicious sales has been pulled from a chart compiled by the American Booksellers Association.

The association announced on Tuesday that Lani Sarem’s Handbook For Mortals will not appear on its young adult list for the week ending Aug 27 and showed up in error the week before, when it reached No.2. Spokesman Dan Cullen cited “an unusual pattern of purchases”.

“The title should not have made it onto the Indie Bestsellers list, and it isn’t appearing this week,’’ the association, which represents thousands of independent stores, said in a statement. “We’re always reviewing our procedures to improve them, and, following this, we are refining the way we do things.

Last week, young adult author Phil Stamper and others were alarmed to see a little known book topping the Times’ young adult list that was scheduled to run Sept 3. Stamper helped launch a campaign on Twitter that raised questions over whether Handbook For Mortals had benefited from “bulk’’ sales, when a single buyer orders hundreds or even thousands of copies. The Times agreed that the novel, published Nov 15 through the Los Angeles-based website geeknation.com, did not meet the paper’s “criteria for inclusion”.

Placement on a bestseller list, especially a Times list, is highly desired by authors and publishers who value both the status and how the label “bestseller’’ can lead to further success. “Bulk’’ sales are not uncommon and some books have appeared on a Times list with a small dagger symbol, indicating “that some retailers report receiving bulk orders”.

Sarem, who has a background in acting and music management and has hoped to get a movie deal for Handbook For Mortals, has denied trying to manipulate sales in order to get her novel on bestseller lists.