# Where the Crawdads Sing

> Delia Owens’s debut novel reached publisher-reported sales of over 18 million copies.

- Owner: Delia Owens; G. P. Putnam’s Sons (US publisher)
- Kind: Book
- Sector: Media & publishing
- Seed date: 2018-08-14
- Observed peak date: Week of Jul 18, 2022
- 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: 47 (Notable), v1.2
- Mechanics: Underdog, Maker origin, Platform jump, Controversy

## Summary

Putnam published the debut in August 2018; Witherspoon chose it the next month. Reader recommendations sustained sales into 2019. The book article’s measured pageview peak came in July 2022, when film publicity renewed demand.

## Timeline

- 2018-06-18 — Publishers Weekly (Press) — Publishers Weekly reviewed the forthcoming novel and praised its North Carolina setting.
- 2018-08-14 — G. P. Putnam’s Sons / Delia Owens (Retail) — Putnam published Owens’s debut novel in hardcover, ebook and audio.
- 2018-08-17 — The New York Times / Marilyn Stasio (Press) — The New York Times reviewed the novel as a murder mystery, coming-of-age story and celebration of nature.

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/where-the-crawdads-sing

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Where the Crawdads Sing.” Case HIS-01226. Spread Score v1.2: 47/100. Updated 2026-10-22. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01226