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 |
|---|---|---|
| January 2028 | Dec 05, 2027 – Jan 01, 2028 | 4 Weeks |
| February 2028 | Jan 02, 2028 – Feb 05, 2028 | 5 Weeks |
| March 2028 | Feb 06, 2028 – Mar 04, 2028 | 4 Weeks |
| April 2028 | Mar 05, 2028 – Apr 01, 2028 | 4 Weeks |
| May 2028 | Apr 02, 2028 – May 06, 2028 | 5 Weeks |
| June 2028 | May 07, 2028 – Jun 03, 2028 | 4 Weeks |
| July 2028 | Jun 04, 2028 – Jul 01, 2028 | 4 Weeks |
| August 2028 | Jul 02, 2028 – Aug 05, 2028 | 5 Weeks |
| September 2028 | Aug 06, 2028 – Sep 02, 2028 | 4 Weeks |
| October 2028 | Sep 03, 2028 – Oct 07, 2028 | 5 Weeks |
| November 2028 | Oct 08, 2028 – Nov 04, 2028 | 4 Weeks |
| December 2028 | Nov 05, 2028 – Dec 02, 2028 | 4 Weeks |
Explore BLK Bestsellers
Discover monthly top-selling books curated directly from point-of-sale data.
View BLK Bestsellers →