The Sourcebooks 2009 Barack Obama Wall Calendar: Words of Hope and Inspiration is the top-ranked calendar on Amazon and the No. 1 best-selling calendar at major retailers across the country.

Nielsen BookScan reports that the Obama calendar (ISBN 9781402219177; $12.99 US/$13.99 CAN; Aug. 1, 2008) sold 6,300 units last week. Jennifer Schubert, Vice President of Merchandising for Calendar Club (Calendars.com), said that since last week’s presidential election, the Obama calendar is their top-selling calendar.

“Customers are eager to look at the calendar and purchase it not only for its unique features, but as a piece of history and a souvenir,” Schubert says. “Our store managers are requesting more quantities every day, so we believe the demand will grow as more people become aware of the calendar.”

Barb Briel, Sourcebooks’ Vice President, Director of Administration and Finance, was the creative brains behind the project. Selling over 100,000 units to date, the calendar is now in its fifth printing. Sourcebooks Trade Sales Manager Sean Murray says that for many retailers, the Obama calendar is far outselling all other calendars by a significant margin.

“Some stores are tripling their initial orders for the season,” Murray said. “For many of our customers, this item is proving to be a huge bright spot in what is otherwise projected to be a soft holiday season.”

Sourcebooks Publisher and CEO Dominique Raccah said that the huge success of the Obama calendar is attributed to its message and what the calendar represents historically.

“The Obama calendar, like the election, reflects many historic firsts,” Raccah says. “This became a vision of hope and change, the message President-elect Barack Obama spread throughout his candidacy.”

Some of the special features of the Obama calendar include inspirational quotes from President-elect Obama and other national figures like Nelson Mandela and John F. Kennedy, Jr. Examples of the historic firsts highlighted in the calendar are Condoleezza Rice becoming the first Africa-American female Secretary of State and Sally Ride becoming the first female astronaut.

“Since the Obama calendar also includes inspirational words and historical facts, it has added perceived value, which we believe will allow sales to continue into the holidays,” Schubert said.

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