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List of Best-selling Fiction Authors of all time

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Created: Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Updated: Tuesday, 13 January 2009

LiteratureThis page provides a list of best-selling fiction authors to date and in any language. While a precise number for any given author is near impossible, the list is based on approximate numbers provided or repeated by reliable sources.

"Best-selling" refers to the estimated number of copies sold of all fiction books written or co-written by an author. To keep the length of the list manageable, only authors with estimated sales of at least 100 million books are included.

Authors of comic books are not included. For a few authors, including Miguel de Cervantes, Alexandre Dumas, p?re, Jack Higgins and Leon Uris, no exact figure could be found, although there are indications that they too have more than 100 million copies of their work in print. They have not been included in the below table.

Author    Min. estimated sales Max. estimated sales Original language Genre or title Number of books Nationality
Shakespeare, WilliamWilliam Shakespeare 2 billion  4 billion  English Plays and poetry   British
Christie, AgathaAgatha Christie 2 billion  4 billion  English Detectives , Marple , Poirot 85 British
Cartland, BarbaraBarbara Cartland 500 million  1 billion  English Romance 723 British
Robbins, HaroldHarold Robbins 750 million  750 million  English Adventure 23 American
Simenon, GeorgesGeorges Simenon 500 million  700 million  French Detectives, Maigret 570 Belgian
Blyton, EnidEnid Blyton 300 million  600 million  English Children's literature, Noddy 800 British
Steel, DanielleDanielle Steel 560 million  570 million  English Romance 72 American
Seuss, Dr.Dr. Seuss 100 million  500 million  English Children's literature 44 American
Patten, GilbertGilbert Patten 125 million  500 million  English Adolescent adventures 209 American
Tolstoy, LeoLeo Tolstoy   413 million  Russian     Russian
Rowling, J. K.J. K. Rowling 350 million  400 million  English Harry Potter 9 British
Collins, JackieJackie Collins 250 million  400 million  English Romance 25 British
Alger, Jr., HoratioHoratio Alger, Jr. 200 million  400 million  English Dime novels 135 American
Stine, R. L.R. L. Stine 100 million  400 million  English Goosebumps , Fear Street 160 American
Pushkin, Aleksandr SergeyevichAleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin   357 million  Russian     Russian
King, StephenStephen King 300 million  350 milion  English Horror , Fantasy 70 American
L'Amour, LouisLouis L'Amour 230 million  330 million  English Western 101 American
Koontz, DeanDean Koontz 200 million  325 million  English Thriller 60 American
Gardner, Erle StanleyErle Stanley Gardner 100 million  325 million  English Mystery , Perry Mason 140 American
Sheldon, SidneySidney Sheldon 200 million  300 million  English Suspense 19 American
Jin Yong 100 million  300 million  Chinese Wuxia 15 Hong Kong Chinese
Akagawa, JiroJiro Akagawa   300 million  Japanese Mystery 500+ Japanese
Dailey, JanetJanet Dailey 300 million  300 million  English Romance 93 American
Roberts, NoraNora Roberts 145 million  300 million  English Romance 145 American
Ludlum, RobertRobert Ludlum 110 million  290 million  English Espionage 40 American
Dard, Fr?d?ricFr?d?ric Dard 200 million  290 million  French Detective, San Antonio 300 Swiss
Berenstain, Stan and JanStan and Jan Berenstain 200 million  260 million  English Berenstain Bears 300+ American
Grisham, JohnJohn Grisham 100 million  250 million  English Legal thriller 22 American
Grey, ZaneZane Grey   250 million  English Western   American
Wallace, IrvingIrving Wallace   250 million  English Suspense   American
Tolkien, J. R. R.J. R. R. Tolkien 200 million  250 million  English The Lord of the Rings , The Hobbit , classical fantasy 36 British
May, KarlKarl May 100 million  200 million  German Western, Adventure 80 German
Spillane, MickeyMickey Spillane 100 million  200 million  English Detective, Mike Hammer   American
Lewis, C. S.C. S. Lewis 100 million  200 million  English The Chronicles of Narnia 38 British
Nishimura, KyotaroKyotaro Nishimura   200 million  Japanese Mystery 400+ Japanese
Dickens, CharlesCharles Dickens   200 million  English Literature   British
Martin, Ann M.Ann M. Martin 172 million  180 million  English The Baby-sitters Club 335 American
Shiba, RyotaroRyotaro Shiba   180 million  Japanese Historical 350 Japanese
Hailey, ArthurArthur Hailey 150 million  170 million  English Thriller 11 American
Villiers, G?rard deG?rard de Villiers   150 million  French Detectives, SAS 170 French
Potter, BeatrixBeatrix Potter 100 million  150 million  English Peter Rabbit 23 British
Crichton, MichaelMichael Crichton 150 million  150 million  English Techno Thriller 25 American
Scarry, RichardRichard Scarry 100 million  150 million  English Illustrated children's books 250 American
Patterson, JamesJames Patterson 100 million  150 million  English Thriller 48 American
Cussler, CliveClive Cussler 40 million  150 million  English Adventure, Dirk Pitt 37 American
McLean, AlistairAlistair McLean   150 million  English Adventure,Thriller Wartime stories 32 British
Lindgren, AstridAstrid Lindgren 100 million  145 million  Swedish Children's literature 100 Swedish
Archer, JeffreyJeffrey Archer 120 million  125 million  English Crime Thriller 30 British
Yoshikawa, EijiEiji Yoshikawa   120 million  Japanese Musashi 7 Japanese
Cookson, CatherineCatherine Cookson 100 million  120 million  English Romance 103 British
Bridwell, NormanNorman Bridwell 100 million  110 million  English Clifford the Big Red Dog 80 American
Coelho, PauloPaulo Coelho 92 million  100 million  Portuguese Literature, The Alchemist   Brazilian
Dahl, RoaldRoald Dahl 100 million  100 million  English Children's literature 50 British
Hunter, EvanEvan Hunter 100 million  100 million  English Detective (Ed McBain) 94 American
Neiderman, AndrewAndrew Neiderman 100 million  100 million  English V. C. Andrews , The Devil's Advocate 60 American
Hargreaves, RogerRoger Hargreaves 100 million  100 million  English Children's literature, Mr. Men   British
Rice, AnneAnne Rice 75 million  100 million  English Thriller, vampires 27 American
Cook, RobinRobin Cook 100 million  100 million  English Medical Thriller 27 American
Smith, WilburWilbur Smith 80 million  100 million  English African Adventure 32 Zambian
Caldwell, ErskineErskine Caldwell 80 million  100 million  English Literature 25 American
Hibbert, EleanorEleanor Hibbert 100 million  100 million  English Romance, historical, suspense 200 British
Carroll, LewisLewis Carroll   100 million  English Alice in Wonderland 5 British
Robins, DeniseDenise Robins   100 million  English Romance 200 British
Cao, XueqinXueqin Cao   100 million  Chinese Dream of the Red Chamber   Chinese
Fleming, IanIan Fleming 100 million  100 million  English James Bond 14 British
Hesse, HermannHermann Hesse 100 million  100 million  German Literature   German-Swiss
Stout, RexRex Stout 100 million  100 million  English Nero Wolfe 50 American
Golon, AnneAnne Golon 100 million  100 million  French Ang?lique 14 French
Follett, KenKen Follett 90 million  100 million  English Spy Thriller , Historical Thriller 30 British
Slaughter, Frank G.Frank G. Slaughter   100 million  English Medical 62 American
Burroughs, Edgar RiceEdgar Rice Burroughs   100 million  English Tarzan , Barsoom   American
Creasey, JohnJohn Creasey   100 million  English Crime thriller 600 British
Michener, JamesJames Michener   100 million  English Historical 47 American
Uchida, YasuoYasuo Uchida   100 million  Japanese Mystery 130+ Japanese
Morimura, SeiichiSeiichi Morimura   100 million  Japanese Mystery 350+ Japanese
Macomber, DebbieDebbie Macomber 60 million  100 million  English Romance   American

 

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