Top 100 Authors of the last decade

By Brian MacArthur

Two fascinating stories are told within this list of the 100 authors who sold the most books between 2000 and 2009. At Number 2 is Mr Lucky, the late Roger Hargreaves, who created the Mr Men series of children’s books first published in 1971 and continued since his death in 1988 by his son Adam. And at Number 7 is Richard Parsons: Mr Who? Parsons is a former teacher who was so dissatisfied with the quality of textbooks he was using that since 1995 he has been the author of hundreds of study guides for subjects from primary levels to GCSEs. They have taken £49 million at the tills.

 Enid Blyton

Much of this list is unsurprising, but note the continuing popularity of Enid Blyton (10), Wilbert Awdry (the author of Thomas the Tank Engine, 53), Dr Seuss (63) and A A Milne (84). Ian McEwan is the sole Booker winner on the list, and Sebastian Faulks and Louis de Bernières are the only other representatives of the literary novel. Shakespeare is at 45 and Dickens at 78.

  Jeremy Clarkson

 Jamie Oliver

The few “celebrities” include Jeremy Clarkson, Katie Price (Jordan), Carol Vorderman and Jamie Oliver (who was second in earnings to Rowling, ahead of Dan Brown, with Jacqueline Wilson fourth).

The top 100 authors dominate sales. As The Bookseller has explained, some 100,000 titles are published every year, but these authors account for £1 in every £6 spent on books and a fifth of revenue. J K Rowling, who has seven of the decade’s top 10 bestsellers, sold 29 million books with a sales value of £215 million, but Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code was the bestselling book of the decade, selling 5.2 million copies to 4.4 million for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Top 100 – The author, number of units sold, money made

 J K Rowling 

  Dan Brown

   Jacqueline Wilson

1. J K Rowling 29,084,999 £225.9m
2. Roger Hargreaves 14,163,141 £26.6m
3. Dan Brown 13,372,007 £74.1m
4. Jacqueline Wilson 12,673,148 £69.9m

 Terry Pratchett

5. Terry Pratchett 10,455,397 £77.2m

 John Grisham

6. John Grisham 9,862,998 £65.9m
7. Richard Parsons 9,561,776 £49.2m

 Danielle Steele

8. Danielle Steel 9,119,149 £51m

 James Patterson

9. James Patterson 8,172,647 £53.8m
10. Enid Blyton 7,910,758 £31.2m

 Bill Bryson

11. Bill Bryson 7,409,656 £61.2m
12. Patricia Cornwell 7,355,180 £49.8m
13. Jamie Oliver 7,244,620 £89.5m
14. Daisy Meadows 7,149,788 £24.1m

 Ian Rankin

15. Ian Rankin 6,848,039 £44.3m
16. Julia Donaldson 6,621,594 £33.7m

 Alexander McCall Smith

17. Alexander McCall Smith 6,609,779 £40.6m
18. Francesca Simon 6,564,681 £31.6m
19. Bernard Cornwell 6,297,911 £45.5m

 Roald Dahl

20. Roald Dahl 6,169,406 £33.8m

21. Martina Cole 6,021,960 £41.7m
22. Philip Pullman 5,544,376 £35.8m

 Stephenie Meyer

23. Stephenie Meyer 5,487,313 £32m
24. Maeve Binchy 5,476,134 £37.6m
25. J R R Tolkien 5,280,406 £50.6m
26. Delia Smith 5,269,783 £58.7m

  Stephen King

27. Stephen King 5,268,577 £38m

  Marian Keyes

28. Marian Keyes 5,029,363 £31.7m
29. Jeremy Clarkson 4,913,989 £35.1m
30. Josephine Cox 4,651,166 £24m

 Sophie Kinsella

31. Sophie Kinsella 4,528,095 £27.7m

 Jodi Picoult

32. Jodi Picoult 4,514,620 £24.1m
33. Terry Deary 4,495,655 £21.6m
34. Anthony Horowitz 4,304,041 £23.6m
35. Lemony Snicket 4,220,508 £23.9m
36. Andy McNab 4,123,633 £30.4m
37. Ian McEwan 4,040,887 £27.7m
38. Wilbur Smith 3,871,484 £30.1m
39. Michael Connelly 3,785,330 £23.5m
40. Sebastian Faulks 3,782,665 £27.5m

 Kathy Reichs

41. Kathy Reichs 3,514,087 £22.2m
42. Helen Fielding 3,473,003 £22m
43. Cecelia Ahern 3,422,899 £19.5m
44. Joanne Harris 3,392,198 £21.2m

 William Shakespeare

45. William Shakespeare 3,333,670 £17.8m
46. Carol Vorderman 3,315,641 £11.2m
47. Chris Ryan 3,289,855 £21m
48. Lee Child 3,274,928 £20.2m
49. Dave Pelzer 3,217,905 £20.2m
50. R L Stine 3,096,584 £13.1m

 Catherine Cookson

51 Catherine Cookson 3,020,751 £16.8m
52 Dean Koontz 3,010,242 £17.5m
53 W Awdry 2,991,572 £9.9m
54 Michael Morpurgo 2,989,161 £15.1m
55 Jeffery Deaver 2,972,145 £16.9m
56 Khaled Hosseini 2,957,026 £21.1m
57 Nick Hornby 2,956,544 £19.6m
58 Ben Elton 2,907,294 £20m
59 Katie Price 2,856,697 £21.8m
60 Jill Mansell 2,798,518 £14.2m

 Mark Haddon

61 Mark Haddon 2,783,600 £16.8m
62 Lucy Daniels 2,768,332 £11.2m
63 Dr Seuss 2,760,156 £14.8m

 Tess Gerritsen

64 Tess Gerritsen 2,745,556 £14.7m
65 Tony Parsons 2,731,436 £17.3m
66 Alan Titchmarsh 2,707,834 £27.5m
67 Harlan Coben 2,672,713 £15.1m
68 Lauren Child 2,632,369 £13.4m
69 Darren Shan 2,617,959 £14.4m

 Nigella Lawson

70 Nigella Lawson 2,616,955 £39.2m
71 Robert C Atkins 2,591,073 £17.3m
72 Philippa Gregory 2,577,235 £17.4m
73 Jane Green 2,498,100 £14.8m
74 Clive Cussler 2,435,718 £16.5m

 Charles Dickens

75 Fiona Watt 2,431,376 £14.1m
76 Cathy Kelly 2,391,540 £13.2m
77 Penny Vincenzi 2,358,041 £14.6m
78 Charles Dickens 2,341,980 £9.3m
79 Eric Hill 2,334,612 £12.1m
80 Joanna Trollope 2,333,337 £14.5m
81 Meg Cabot 2,309,844 £12.1m
82 Jackie Collins 2,295,308 £14.4m
83 Lesley Pea*** 2,261,007 £12.6m
84 A A Milne 2,255,346 £14.5m

 Paulo Coelho

85 Paulo Coelho 2,229,564 £16.3m
86 Eric Carle 2,225,336 £12.1m
87 Louis de Bernières 2,221,481 £15.3m
88 Jack Higgins 2,207,100 £12.4m
89 Anita Shreve 2,198,899 £13.4m

 Karin Slaughter

90 Karin Slaughter 2,196,031 £12.6m
91 Louise Rennison 2,172,395 £11.9m
92 Sheila O’Flanagan 2,162,811 £10.8m
93 Robert Harris 2,150,818 £16m
94 Paul McKenna 2,114,476 £16.6m
95 Alice Sebold 2,106,630 £13.2m
96 Gordon Ramsay 2,094,376 £23.4m
97 Roderick Hunt 2,077,092 £7.3m
98 Frank McCourt 2,055,939 £14.9m
99 Dav Pilkey 2,051,622 £9.4m
100 Lyn Andrews 2,027,382 £9.2m

Nielsen has also charted the top 100 books of the decade. After Rowling and Brown, Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, two million copies) was the most successful author, followed by Bill Bryson (A Short History of Nearly Everything, 1.75 million), Robert Atkins, and Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, the highest book selected by Richard and Judy. Lynne Truss’s Eats, Shoots and Leaves was in the top 10 non-fiction bestsellers and Gillian McKeith’s You Are What You Eat outsold Jamie Oliver’s highest seller.

Nielsen has also charted the top 100 books of the decade. After Rowling and Brown, Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, two million copies) was the most successful author, followed by Bill Bryson (A Short History of Nearly Everything, 1.75 million), Robert Atkins, and Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, the highest book selected by Richard and Judy. Lynne Truss’s Eats, Shoots and Leaves was in the top 10 non-fiction bestsellers and Gillian McKeith’s You Are What You Eat outsold Jamie Oliver’s highest seller.

Data supplied by Nielsen Bookscan. Published: 3:42PM GMT 22 Dec 2009