frontlist

English

Etymology

From front +‎ list.

Noun

frontlist (plural frontlists)

1. (publishing) A list of the most recent books available from a publisher, as opposed to the backlist of older titles.

   Antonyms: back catalog, back catalogue, backlist

   Hypernyms: booklist, stocklist

   The frontlist is often the top revenue center, but a strong backlist provides another revenue stream that hedges risk.

2. (publishing, attributively, of books being planned) Intended to sell strongly while still recent, and to be profitable on that basis alone, even if predicted to sell poorly after that.

   Antonym: backlist

   Coordinate term: midlist

   The celebrity tell-all has been proposed as a frontlist title, whereas the cookbook has been proposed as a backlist title and the food history book as a midlist title.