Special thanks to Kris Vetter for this insightful post! 

Lerner Digital recently began reviewing our print sales figures to create a list of bestsellers to make sure we offer them in various digital formats. Along the way, we discovered the top three bestselling Lerner books of all time. We hope you check them out!

All three titles are currently available digitally. Today as Part I of our two-part blog post, we will unveil Lerner Publishing’s third bestselling title of all time. Drumroll please…

#3 – The Girl Who Owned a City

Harry Lerner, owner of Lerner Publishing, received an unsolicited manuscript in 1974 from O.T. Nelson, a housepainter in Minneapolis at the time. Harry liked the manuscript, so he agreed to publish it—as simple as that! The book was originally published in 1975, reissued in 1995, and published a graphic novel edition in 2012.

The book is about a deadly plague that has devastated Earth, killing all the adults. Lisa and her younger brother Todd are struggling to stay alive in a world where no one is safe. Other children along Grand Avenue need help as well. They band together to find food, shelter, and protection from dangerous gangs invading their neighborhood.

O.T. Nelson has said that he wrote The Girl Who Owned a City because he wanted “children to realize that they are important and that they have the ability to think and make a difference.”

Digital records show that the book recently passed the 100,000 copies mark, but older, hand-written records show there are over 200,000 copies in print! It is digitally available in nine formats!

Purchase digital multi-user eBooks of The Girl Who Owned a City novel here and graphic novel here.

Check back next Tuesday when we unveil our #2 and #1 bestselling titles of all time, now available as eBooks!