Eclipse Sells Its Millionth Copy in the UK

Eclipse, the third book in Stephenie Meyer’s global phenomenon, The Twilight Saga, has sold its millionth copy in the UK this week.

First published in 2006, it is set to join the first two books in the series, Twilight and New Moon, to receive the Nielsen BookScan Platinum Award for books that have sold over one million copies. The fourth book in the series, Breaking Dawn, follows closely behind. Though not yet available in paperback, Breaking Dawn has now sold over 750,000 copies.

Ursula Mackenzie, Chief Executive of Little, Brown, comments, ‘Three out of Stephenie Meyer’s four tremendous Twilight novels have now sold a million copies or more. This is an incredible milestone and we are grateful to Stephenie Meyer for her wonderful books and to the fans for their continued appreciation.’

In June it was revealed that 10 pence in every pound spent on a children’s book in Britain was on a title in The Twilight Saga. In the UK alone, 4.1 million copies of the entire Twilight Saga have been sold to date. So far this year a copy of The Twilight Saga has been sold in the UK every 2 seconds and a copy of Eclipse every 9 seconds.

A global hit, the series has sold over 70 million copies worldwide. The Twilight Saga’s reputation has even reached the academic world: it has recently been reported that The Twilight Saga features in Oxbridge’s prestigious undergraduate assessment.

Eclipse continues the story of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. Their relationship isn’t easy; Edward Cullen is a vampire. In Eclipse, a string of mysterious killings are ravaging Seattle and Bella finds herself surrounded by danger. On top of this, Bella is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob, a werewolf.

Twilight, the movie, hit the big screen in November 2008 grossing over £10 million in the UK alone, making it the second highest grossing independent film of 2008. The second film, New Moon, is due to be released in the UK next month.

The Host, Stephenie Meyer’s stand-alone adult novel, was a run away success of the summer, selling over 200,000 copies in paperback since it’s publication in July this year.