# Red, White & Royal Blue

> McQuiston’s debut romance reached 716,000 print sales after Twitter and BookTok fandom.

- Owner: Casey McQuiston; St. Martin’s Griffin (publisher)
- Kind: Book
- Sector: Media & publishing
- Seed date: 2019-05-14
- Observed peak date: Week of Aug 17, 2023
- Date basis: Observed peak within the documented measurement window; not an all-time maximum. Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 43 (Notable), v1.2
- Mechanics: Identity badge, Platform jump, Press loop, Controversy

## Summary

Advance copies preceded publication. Reader discussion spread on Twitter and BookTok. Wikipedia attention peaked after the adaptation, and PW later reported 716,000 print copies sold.

## Timeline

- 2019-02-14 — Publishers Weekly (Press) — Publishers Weekly reviewed McQuiston’s debut before publication.
- 2019-03-16 — Flavia (Retail) — Flavia reported receiving the book in an Indigo influencer-event swag bag.
- 2019-04-10 — Amazon Studios / Berlanti Productions (Press) — Amazon won an auction for the novel’s film rights before the book was published.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/red-white-and-royal-blue

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Red, White & Royal Blue.” Case HIS-01374. Spread Score v1.2: 43/100. Updated 2026-10-22. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01374