This is a list of best-selling fiction authors to date, in any language. While finding precise sales numbers for any given author is nearly impossible, the list is based on approximate numbers provided or repeated by reliable sources. Numbers given are estimated copies sold of all fiction books written or co-written by an author. To keep the list manageable, only authors with estimated sales of at least 100 million are included. Authors of comic books are not included unless they have been published in book format (for example, comic albums, manga tankōbon volumes, trade paperbacks, or graphic novels).
Some authors, including Jane Austen, Miguel de Cervantes, Alexandre Dumas, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, Victor Hugo, Jules Verne, Ernest Hemingway, Jack Higgins, Isaac Asimov and Leon Uris have not been included in the table because no exact figures could be found, although it is possible that they too have more than 100 million copies of their work in print.
List
Estimates come from different years and are therefore not directly comparable.
Author Min. estimated sales Max. estimated sales Original language Genre and/or major works Number of books Nationality2 billion4 billionEnglishPlays and poetry, e.g. Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet42English2 billion4 billionEnglishWhodunits, including the Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot series86British500 millionThe Telegraph on Barbara Cartland: "Barbara Cartland, who, we are informed (on condor-sj.com), 'is the most widely read author in the world with more than 500 million books in print'?" (February 25, 2007)1 billionCBS News on Barbara Cartland: "Dame Barbara Cartland, 98. Considered the world's most prolific author and Britain's queen of romantic fiction, with total sales of 1 billion books." (December 20, 2000)EnglishRomance723British500 millionCBC on Danielle Steel: "The reclusive Steel, who lives in San Francisco and Paris, has published more than 70 bestselling romance novels, which have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide." (April 21, 2010)800 millionForbes on Danielle Steel: "Yes, you read that right, 800 MILLION copies sold. Best known for romance and drama, Danielle Steel's novels have spent over 390 consecutive weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list and 22 have been adapted for television." (June 6, 2011)EnglishGeneral fiction, romance179American50 million750 millionUSA Today on Harold Robbins: "Starting in 1948, he sold 750 million books, including megasellers such as The Carpetbaggers, A Stone for Danny Fisher and The Betsy." (October 9, 2007)EnglishAdventure23American500 millionThe Age on Georges Simenon: "With worldwide sales of 500 million, he was the most widely read living writer of his era." (September 14, 2003)700 millionThe Wall Street Journal on Georges Simenon: "In his lifetime Simenon published some 570 books, using 17 pen names, which have sold more than 700 million copies in 40 countries and were translated into 57 languages." (April 1, 2003)FrenchDetectives, Maigret, romans durs570Belgian600 million650 millionEnglishYoung adult fiction, Harry Potter among other works 22 BritishEiichiro Oda600 million600 millionJapaneseManga, One Piece115Japanese400 million600 millionThe Huddersfield DailyExaminer on Enid Blyton: "She has been translated into 90 languages, is the sixth most popular writer worldwide according to UNESCO and almost equal to Shakespeare, and has sold 600 million copies." (August 25, 2008)EnglishChildren's literature, Noddy, The Famous Five, The Secret Seven800British400 millionThe Guardian on Jackie Collins: "One of the world's bestselling writers with more than 400 million books sold in over 40 countries. " (June 27, 2004)500 millionEnglishRomance32British300 millionVariety on Sidney Sheldon: "A NEW MILESTONE FOR Sidney Sheldon, who has sold more than 370 million books" (October 6, 1995)500 millionSidney Sheldon | The Guardian Biblio Books by Sydney In addition to being a famous television writer, Sidney Sheldon is one of the best-selling fiction writers of all time.EnglishSuspense21AmericanRick Riordan190 millionEnglishFantasy30+American125 millionSusan Edgerton e.a. in Imagining the Academy: Higher Education and Popular Culture page 53, on Gilbert Patten: "It is estimated that at least 125 million copies of the Frank Merriwell series (which itself ran to at least 209 books) were sold." (2004)500 million LeRoy Ashby in With Amusement For All: A History of American Popular Culture Since 1830 page 145, on Gilbert Patten: "[...] the Merriwell brothers, the heroes of almost 250 children's books, whose total sales of 500 million copies surpassed those of the Bible between 1896 and 1918." (2006)EnglishAdolescent adventures209American100 millionThe Daily Utah Chronicle on Joshua Kagebein List of best-selling fiction authors: "The Pulitzer Prize-winning Seuss wrote and illustrated 47 books and sold more than 100 million copies in 18 languages." (March 5, 2001)500 millionThe New York Times on Dr. Seuss: "Today Dr. Seuss's 44 books have been translated into 21 languages, selling more than 500 million copies." (March 2, 2004)EnglishChildren's literature44AmericanJapaneseManga, Dr. Slump, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Super66Japanese413 million413 millionRussianWar and Peace, Anna Karenina48Russian400 millionThe Guardian Corin Tellado obituary on Corin Tellado: "In the course of her life she published more than 4,000 romance novels that sold 400 million copies, which earned her a place in the Guinness Book of Records where she has been a fixture since 1994." (April 11, 2009)400 millionCorín Tellado on Corin Tellado: "She published more than 5,000 titles and sold more than 400 million books which have been translated into several languages"SpanishRomance4,000Spanish400 million400 millionThe New Yorker "Patterson's books have sold more than four hundred million copies." (June 13, 2022)EnglishThriller, Alex Cross, Maximum Ride400+American500 million500 millionEnglishHorror, thriller, science fiction, fantasy91American300 millionThe New Yorker on Stephen King: "He is the world's best-selling novelist, with 300 million books sold [...]" (September 7, 1998)400 millionEnglishHorror, science fiction, fantasy, It, The Shining, The Stand, Pet Sematary, Salem's Lot, The Green Mile77American200 millionThe Chinook Observer on Horatio Alger, Jr.: "Americans bought 200 million copies of his dime novels -- with intriguing titles like Raggedy Dick and Sink or Swim. " (March 30, 2005)400 millionTime magazine on Horatio Alger: "[...] that have sold from 100 million to 400 million copies, depending on which literary historian you believe." (February 12, 1973)EnglishDime novels135American145 millionBBC on Nora Roberts: "Nora Roberts currently has 145 million books in print." (June 6, 2002)400 millionThe Washington Post on Nora Roberts: "Today, Roberts, 61, has published her 200th novel, "The Witness," and is at the helm of a cottage industry: about 400 million copies of her books in print..." (April 16, 2012)EnglishRomance200+American100 millionThe Hindu on R. L. Stine: "As R.L. Stine points out (and he should know, having sold over 100 million copies of over 160 different spooky stories)" (September 7, 2003)400 millionPittsburgh Post-Gazette on R. L. Stine: "Altogether, Stine has sold more than 400 million books." (April 8, 2007)EnglishGoosebumps series, Fear Street series, horror, comedy430+American357 million357 millionRussianPlays, poetry, prose, Eugene Onegin17Russian225 millionPenguin Random House on Paulo Coelho: "his books have sold more than 225 million copies in more than 170 countries (...)" (September 14, 2018)350 millionThe Washington Post on Paulo Coelho: "the writer has sold an estimated 350 million books." (December 20, 2016)PortugueseThe Alchemist28Brazilian300 millionNishi-Nippon Shinbun (Japanese Language, February 25, 2007)330 millionNikkei Cross Trend (Japanese, December 23, 2019)JapaneseMystery500+Japanese250 millionCurtis Brown "Novelist, short story writer and author of non-fiction" (2014)330 millionThe Daily Telegraph "Jeffrey Archer interview: the saga continues." (May 7, 2011)English Saga, thriller, short stories, Kane and Abel, The Clifton Chronicles33British230 millionRay Broadmus Browne and Pat Browne in The Guide to United States Popular Culture page 473, on Louis L'Amour: "His books have sold over 230 million copies, making him one of the best- selling authors in modern literary history. " (2001)330 millionThe Jamestown Sun on Louis L'Amour: "More than 330 million copies of his books have been sold, translated into 27 languages." (October 29, 2001)EnglishWestern101American325 million325millionFrenchFranco-Belgian comics, Asterix, Lucky Luke, Iznogoud108French100 millionThe New York Sun on Erle Stanley Gardner: "Erle Stanley Gardner (whose Perry Mason stories sold more than a 100 million books)" (July 20, 2005)325 millionThe New York Times on Erle Stanley Gardner: "Gardner's books continue to be reissued regularly both here and abroad. Sales to date exceed 325 million copies." (November 22, 1992)EnglishMystery, Perry Mason140American300 million300 millionThe "American mystery and detective novels: a reference guide" on Edgar Wallace: "Christie alone has sold 500 million copies; Edgar Wallace, 300 million; Georges Simenon, 300 million; and Mickey Spillane, 150 million." (1999)EnglishDetective175British300 millionBBC AudioBooks catalogue on Janet Dailey: "Janet Dailey has written more than 100 novels and is one of the world's topselling women writers, with more than 300 million copies of her books sold in nineteen languages in ninety-eight countries" (2007)300 millionPamela Regis in A Natural History of the Romance Novel page 159 on Janet Dailey: "There are 300 million copies of her books in print, making her the third best-selling author of all time" (2007)EnglishRomance93AmericanJin Yong100 millionI. B.Tauris & Company on Jin Yong: "Jin Yong (1924-) is China's bestselling living novelist. His 15 books have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide..."300 millionShue Yan Newsletter on Jin Yong: "Professor Cha adopted 'Jin Rong' as his pen-name for his 15 martial arts novels of which over 300 million copies have been sold to-date. Although Professor Cha stopped writing martial arts novels almost forty years ago, they remain in print and have been translated into English, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and other languages for his countless readers worldwide."ChineseWuxia15Chinese110 millionBBC on Robert Ludlum: "He has sold more than 110 million books in 40 countries and 32 languages." (March 13, 2001)290 millionBBC on Robert Ludlum: "The author, who died in 2001, has sold more than 290 million books worldwide." (August 11, 2005)EnglishEspionage, Jason Bourne40AmericanTakehiko Inoue283 million283 millionJapaneseSlam Dunk,