JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy Sales Soar 13,000% After VP Nomination

Sales of JD Vance’s 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, saw a phenomenal increase of 13,000% following his announcement as Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate. This dramatic rise in print book sales, as reported by Circana, was so significant that HarperCollins was compelled to initiate a new print run to meet the unprecedented demand. During the week ending July 20—only a week after Vance’s candidacy was publicly announced on July 15—Hillbilly Elegy surged to the top of the charts, becoming the number one bestselling print book across all genres. The memoir’s sales skyrocketed to 197,000 copies during this period, a striking increase from the 1,500 copies sold the previous week.

The surge in interest extended beyond print copies, with e-books and audiobooks also contributing to the overall sales spike. Between July 15 and July 25, Hillbilly Elegy sold a total of 600,000 copies across all formats, according to HarperCollins. This massive boost in sales reflects the considerable impact of Vance’s political nomination on the book’s visibility and consumer interest. In response to the surge, HarperCollins has ordered a new print run involving “hundreds of thousands of copies” to ensure that retail stores can adequately supply the influx of demand from readers eager to purchase the memoir.

Released in 2016, Hillbilly Elegy initially catapulted JD Vance into the national spotlight, gaining widespread acclaim for its exploration of the struggles faced by the rural poor and their support for the Republican Party. The memoir, while providing valuable insights into the social issues affecting Appalachia, did not delve deeply into Vance’s political ambitions. However, it sparked significant public and academic debate about the socioeconomic challenges in rural America. In 2020, the memoir was adapted into a Netflix film. Although the film received mixed reviews from critics, it earned Glenn Close an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, further amplifying the book’s profile. Vance’s successful run for the U.S. Senate followed, leading to his election as Ohio’s junior senator.

In a related development, Kamala Harris’s 2020 book, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, has also seen a notable uptick in sales following her announcement to run for president. Despite this increase, Harris’s book has not achieved the same level of sales surge as Hillbilly Elegy. As of Thursday morning, The Truths We Hold was ranked No. 97 on Amazon’s bestseller list, reflecting a climb from No. 153 earlier in the week and No. 33,154 prior to her candidacy announcement. This comparison highlights the exceptional impact that Vance’s vice presidential nomination had on the sales of his memoir, setting it apart from other political books in terms of immediate and dramatic sales growth.

The sharp increase in Hillbilly Elegy’s sales underscores the powerful effect that political endorsements and high-profile candidacies can have on book sales, illustrating how political events can drive significant spikes in public interest and consumer behavior. As HarperCollins ramps up production to meet the demand, the memoir’s unexpected resurgence highlights the continuing relevance of Vance’s narrative in the current political landscape.