Reporting Methodology & The Saturday Anchor Rule
The BLK Bestsellers List compiles point-of-sale retail book sales data in 7-day cycles starting on Sunday morning and ending at Saturday midnight.
The Saturday Anchor Rule
Because sales figures are aggregated in weekly chunks, a single week's sales are never split across calendar months. An entire week's sales volume is assigned to the reporting month anchored by the ending Saturday. For example, the July 2026 BLK list reflects sales tracked from June 07, 2026 through July 04, 2026, while the August 2026 list covers July 05, 2026 through August 01, 2026.
Key Calendar Rules for Publishers & Authors:
- 4-Week vs. 5-Week Months: Depending on how Saturdays land in the calendar, a BLK Bestseller reporting period consists of either 4 weeks (28 days) or 5 weeks (35 days).
- Cross-Month Weeks: A sales week running from June 28 to July 04 is counted in the July reporting period because July 4th is the Saturday anchor date.
- Standardization: AALBC's monthly BLK Bestsellers list aligns strictly with these periods to guarantee complete data fidelity across point-of-sale reports.
BLK Reporting Periods (February 2024 – December 2028)
Select a year to view exact sales tracking date ranges and weekly counts:
| BLK Bestseller Month | Sales Tracking Period (Sun – Sat) | Reporting Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| February 2024 | Jan 07, 2024 – Feb 03, 2024 | 4 Weeks |
| March 2024 | Feb 04, 2024 – Mar 02, 2024 | 4 Weeks |
| April 2024 | Mar 03, 2024 – Apr 06, 2024 | 5 Weeks |
| May 2024 | Apr 07, 2024 – May 04, 2024 | 4 Weeks |
| June 2024 | May 05, 2024 – Jun 01, 2024 | 4 Weeks |
| July 2024 | Jun 02, 2024 – Jul 06, 2024 | 5 Weeks |
| August 2024 | Jul 07, 2024 – Aug 03, 2024 | 4 Weeks |
| September 2024 | Aug 04, 2024 – Sep 07, 2024 | 5 Weeks |
| October 2024 | Sep 08, 2024 – Oct 05, 2024 | 4 Weeks |
| November 2024 | Oct 06, 2024 – Nov 02, 2024 | 4 Weeks |
| December 2024 | Nov 03, 2024 – Dec 07, 2024 | 5 Weeks |
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