List of best-selling fiction authors

Author	Min. estimated sales	Max. estimated sales	Original language	Genre or title	Number of books	Nationality
Shakespeare, WilliamWilliam Shakespeare	2 billion[1]	4 billion[2]	English	Plays and poetry	44+	English
Christie, AgathaAgatha Christie	2 billion[3]	4 billion[2]	English	Detectives, Marple, Poirot	85	British
Cartland, BarbaraBarbara Cartland	500 million[4]	1 billion[5]	English	Romance	723	British
Robbins, HaroldHarold Robbins	750 million[6]	750 million[7]	English	Adventure	23	American
Simenon, GeorgesGeorges Simenon	500 million[8]	700 million[9]	French	Detectives, Maigret	570	Belgian
Sheldon, SidneySidney Sheldon	370 million[10]	600 million[11]	English	Suspense	19	American
Blyton, EnidEnid Blyton	300 million[12]	600 million[13]	English	Children's literature, Noddy	800	British
Steel, DanielleDanielle Steel	500 million[14]	600 million[15]	English	Romance	72	American
Seuss, Dr.Dr. Seuss	100 million[16]	500 million[17]	English	Children's literature	44	American
Patten, GilbertGilbert Patten	125 million[18]	500 million[19]	English	Adolescent adventures	209	American
Rowling, J. K.J. K. Rowling	350 million[20]	450 million[21]	English	Harry Potter	7	British
Tolstoy, LeoLeo Tolstoy		413 million[22]	Russian	historical fiction, philosophy, Anna Karenina, War and Peace	48	Russian
Collins, JackieJackie Collins	250 million[23]	400 million[24]	English	Romance	25	British
Alger, Jr., HoratioHoratio Alger, Jr.	200 million[25]	400 million[26]	English	Dime novels	135	American
Stine, R. L.R. L. Stine	100 million[27]	400 million[28]	English	Goosebumps series, Fear Street series, Horror, Comedy	430+	American
Tellado, CorínCorín Tellado	400 million[29]	400 million[30]	Spanish	Romance	4,000	Spanish
Koontz, DeanDean Koontz	325 million[31]	400 million[32]	English	Thriller	91	American
Pushkin, Aleksandr SergeyevichAleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin		357 million[22]	Russian			Russian
King, StephenStephen King	300 million[33]	350 milion[34]	English	Horror, Fantasy	70	American
L'Amour, LouisLouis L'Amour	230 million[35]	330 million[36]	English	Western	101	American
Gardner, Erle StanleyErle Stanley Gardner	100 million[37]	325 million[38]	English	Mystery, Perry Mason	140	American
Jin Yong	100 million[39]	300 million[40]	Chinese	Wuxia	15	Hong Kong Chinese
Akagawa, JirōJirō Akagawa		300 million[41]	Japanese	Mystery	500+	Japanese
Dailey, JanetJanet Dailey	300 million[42]	300 million[43]	English	Romance	93	American
Roberts, NoraNora Roberts	145 million[44]	300 million[45]	English	Romance	145	American
Wallace, EdgarEdgar Wallace		300 million[46]	English	Detective	175	British
Ludlum, RobertRobert Ludlum	110 million[47]	290 million[48]	English	Espionage	40	American
Dard, FrédéricFrédéric Dard	200 million[49]	290 million[50]	French	Detective, San Antonio	300	Swiss
Berenstain, Stan and JanStan and Jan Berenstain	200 million[51]	260 million[52]	English	Berenstain Bears	300+	American
Grisham, JohnJohn Grisham	100 million[53]	250 million[54]	English	Legal thriller	22	American
Grey, ZaneZane Grey		250 million[55]	English	Western		American
Wallace, IrvingIrving Wallace		250 million[56]	English	Suspense		American
Tolkien, J. R. R.J. R. R. Tolkien	200 million[57]	250 million[58]	English	The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, classical fantasy	36	British
Archer, JeffreyJeffrey Archer	120 million[59]	250 million[60]	English	Crime thriller	30	British
May, KarlKarl May	100 million[61]	200 million[62]	German	Western, Adventure	80	German
Spillane, MickeyMickey Spillane	100 million[63]	200 million[64]	English	Detective, Mike Hammer		American
Lewis, C. S.C. S. Lewis	100 million[65]	200 million[66]	English	The Chronicles of Narnia, fantasy, popular theology	38	British
Nishimura, KyotaroKyotaro Nishimura		200 million[67]	Japanese	Mystery	400+	Japanese
Dickens, CharlesCharles Dickens		200 million[68]	English	Literature		British
Martin, Ann M.Ann M. Martin	172 million[69]	180 million[70]	English	The Baby-sitters Club	335	American
Shiba, RyōtarōRyōtarō Shiba		180 million[71]	Japanese	Historical	350	Japanese
Hailey, ArthurArthur Hailey	150 million[72]	170 million[73]	English	Thriller	11	British/Canadian
Villiers, Gérard deGérard de Villiers		150 million[74]	French	Detectives, SAS	170	French
Potter, BeatrixBeatrix Potter	100 million[75]	150 million[76]	English	Peter Rabbit	23	British
Crichton, MichaelMichael Crichton	150 million[77]	150 million[78]	English	Techno Thriller	25	American
Scarry, RichardRichard Scarry	100 million[79]	150 million[80]	English	Illustrated children's books	250	American
Patterson, JamesJames Patterson	100 million[81]	150 million[82]	English	Thriller	48	American
Cussler, CliveClive Cussler	40 million[83]	150 million[84]	English	Adventure, Dirk Pitt	37	American
McLean, AlistairAlistair McLean		150 million[85]	English	Adventure,Thriller Wartime stories	32	British
Lindgren, AstridAstrid Lindgren	100 million[86]	145 million[87]	Swedish	Children's literature	100	Swedish
Macomber, DebbieDebbie Macomber	60 million[88]	140 million[89]	English	Romance		American
Brown, DanDan Brown		120 million[90]	English	Thriller	5	American
Yoshikawa, EijiEiji Yoshikawa		120 million[91]	Japanese	Musashi	7	Japanese
Cookson, CatherineCatherine Cookson	100 million[92]	120 million[93]	English	Romance	103	British
Bridwell, NormanNorman Bridwell	100 million[94]	110 million[95]	English	Clifford the Big Red Dog	80	American
Coelho, PauloPaulo Coelho	92 million[96]	100 million[97]	Portuguese	Literature, The Alchemist		Brazilian
Dahl, RoaldRoald Dahl	100 million[98]	100 million[99]	English	Children's literature	50	British
Hunter, EvanEvan Hunter	100 million[100]	100 million[101]	English	Detective (Ed McBain)	94	American
Neiderman, AndrewAndrew Neiderman	100 million[102]	100 million[103]	English	V. C. Andrews, The Devil's Advocate	60	American
Hargreaves, RogerRoger Hargreaves	100 million[104]	100 million[105]	English	Children's literature, Mr. Men		British
Rice, AnneAnne Rice	75 million[106]	100 million[107]	English	Thriller, vampires	27	American
Cook, RobinRobin Cook	100 million[108]	100 million[109]	English	Medical Thriller	27	American
Smith, WilburWilbur Smith	80 million[110]	100 million[111]	English	African Adventure	32	Zambian
Caldwell, ErskineErskine Caldwell	80 million[112]	100 million[113]	English	Literature	25	American
Hibbert, EleanorEleanor Hibbert	100 million[114]	100 million[115]	English	Romance, historical, suspense	200	British
Carroll, LewisLewis Carroll		100 million[116]	English	Alice in Wonderland, nonsense literature	5	British
Robins, DeniseDenise Robins		100 million[117]	English	Romance	200	British
Cao, XueqinXueqin Cao		100 million[118]	Chinese	Dream of the Red Chamber		Chinese
Fleming, IanIan Fleming	100 million[119]	100 million[120]	English	James Bond	14	British
Hesse, HermannHermann Hesse	100 million[121]	100 million[122]	German	Literature		German-Swiss
Stout, RexRex Stout	100 million[123]	100 million[124]	English	Nero Wolfe	50	American
Golon, AnneAnne Golon	100 million[125]	100 million[126]	French	Angélique	14	French
Follett, KenKen Follett	90 million[127]	100 million[128]	English	Spy Thriller, Historical Thriller	30	British
Slaughter, Frank G.Frank G. Slaughter		100 million[129]	English	Medical	62	American
Burroughs, Edgar RiceEdgar Rice Burroughs	100 million[130]	100 million[131]	English	Tarzan, Barsoom		American
Creasey, JohnJohn Creasey		100 million[132]	English	Crime thriller	600	British
Michener, JamesJames Michener		100 million[133]	English	Historical	47	American
Uchida, YasuoYasuo Uchida		100 million[134]	Japanese	Mystery	130+	Japanese
Morimura, SeiichiSeiichi Morimura		100 million[134]	Japanese	Mystery	350+	Japanese
Higgins Clark, MaryMary Higgins Clark		100 million[135]	English	Thriller		American
Meyer, StephenieStephenie Meyer		100 million[136]	English	The Twilight Saga The Host, Romance	6	American