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List of best-selling fiction authors

Home Page > Writing > List of best-selling fiction authors

Best-selling fiction authors in any language, based on approximate numbers. "Best-selling" refers to the estimated number of copies sold of all fiction books written or co-written by an author. only authors with estimated sales of at least 100 million books are included.

Author	Min. estimated sales	Max. estimated sales	Original language	Genre or title	Number of books	Nationality
Danielle Steel	500 million[6]	800 million[7]	English	Romance	120	American
Harold Robbins	750 million[8]	750 million[9]	English	Adventure	23	American
Georges Simenon	500 million[10]	700 million[11]	French	Detectives, Maigret	570	Belgian
Enid Blyton	300 million[14]	600 million[15]	English	Children's literature, Noddy, The Famous Five	800	British
Sidney Sheldon	370 million[12]	600 million[13]	English	Suspense	19	American
Gilbert Patten	125 million[18]	500 million[19]	English	Adolescent adventures	209	American
Dr. Seuss	100 million[16]	500 million[17]	English	Children's literature	44	American
J. K. Rowling	350 million[20]	450 million[21]	English	Harry Potter	7	British
Leo Tolstoy		413 million[22]	Russian	historical fiction, philosophy, Anna Karenina, War and Peace	48	Russian
Dean Koontz	325 million[31]	400 million[32]	English	Thriller	91	American
Corín Tellado	400 million[29]	400 million[30]	Spanish	Romance	4000	Spanish
R. L. Stine	100 million[27]	400 million[28]	English	Goosebumps series, Fear Street series, Horror, Comedy	430+	American
Horatio Alger, Jr.	200 million[25]	400 million[26]	English	Dime novels	135	American
Jackie Collins	250 million[23]	400 million[24]	English	Romance	25	British
Agatha Christie	2 billion[3]	4 billion[2]	English	Detectives, Marple, Poirot	85	British
William Shakespeare	2 billion[1]	4 billion[2]	English	Plays and poetry	44+	British
Alexander Pushkin		357 million[22]	Russian	Plays, poetry, prose, Eugene Onegin	17	Russian
Stephen King	300 million[33]	350 million[34]	English	Horror, Fantasy, It, The Shining, The Stand, Bag Of Bones	70	American
Louis L'Amour	230 million[35]	330 million[36]	English	Western	101	American
Erle Stanley Gardner	100 million[37]	325 million[38]	English	Mystery, Perry Mason	140	American