sometimes you read a book that you just
can’t put down how do you like it and
other times you find an author whose
books you can’t stop reading
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
most popular fiction authors for this
list we’ve looked at a combination of
market performance and artistic merit in
order to determine the best popular
fiction authors ome thank you for the
flowers Peter hello for lists looking
more specifically at classic English or
international writers be sure to check
out our videos on those topics
I now want you to try my hand at writing
a ridet stupendously long narrative
number 10 george RR martin in today’s
winter school
in the modern world there seems to exist
two groups of people those who read Game
of Thrones before watching the TV series
and those who tuned into the show before
getting their hands on the original
inspiration I am the sword in the
darkness I am The Watcher on the walls I
am the shield that guards the realms of
men either way a lot of us have read
george RR martin my opinion has always
been that the battle between good and
evil is fought within the individual
human heart all of us have the capacity
for good all of us have the capacity for
evil writer of a Song of Ice and Fire
the fantasy novel series that inspired
the show Martin seen his fictional
imaginings translated to the screen
quite successfully when you play the
game of Thrones you win you die so
successfully in fact he’s been labeled
the American Tolkien it’s sex it’s
violence it’s a very good read a man
dies will likely solve
I’ll wave it kickoff
number nine philip pullman behavior of
these particles is quite unmistakable
dust is flowing into this man through
his demon from a city in another world a
world much like ours in a parallel
universe coexisting with our own to be a
popular writer you naturally have to
please a lot of people and there are few
with a demographic as wide reaching as
Philip Pullman’s there are all sorts of
reasons why fairytales are important and
interesting and valuable to us one is
that they engage with really deep human
themes the British word Smith employs
his own self explained brand of stark
realism most famously in the His Dark
Materials trilogy this trio of titles is
aimed predominantly at the young adult
market but it’s invariably picked up by
kids and grownups as well
his reimagining of reality with generous
helpings of unreality has many hooked
and hankering for a demon of their very
own just let them try to stop us
number eight Tom Clancy sir this bomb
was not never off I know this guy that’s
what you said after Grozny mr. Ryan put
it in your report
an author first and a political critic
second Tom Clancy saw his public profile
rise in parallel to the popularity of
his books I tell people the most
important talent in writing his
persistence that’s probably the most
important talent in anything his
persistence sticking with it seeing it
through not giving up
he’s more than 100 million books sold
attest to how strong that popularity is
the Russians will stop at nothing to
prevent Ray Mears from defecting they
are desperate they’ve invented the story
that he’s crazy because they need our
help to sink him before he can safely
contact us closely associated with
novels and stories tackling military
life the Cold War the post Cold War era
and espionage klancy appeals strongly to
a male audience
the author passed away in 2013 but his
books remain strong sellers as do his
video games that in addition to the film
versions featuring his Jack Ryan
character promised to keep that
popularity alive for years to come
anyway you can get that boy scout on a
field trip look off your face not a
chance
that’s what I like about you number 7
Dan Brown
one of the 21st century’s greatest
literary success stories Dan Brown has
had readers waiting on his every word
ever since Digital fortress was
published in 1998 I wasn’t under the
impression that episode had endeared me
to the Vatican oh it didn’t but he did
make you a sword for ma formidable a
formidable Browns books about Harvard
professor of religious I cannot sin
below G Robert Langdon including 2,000
angels and demons and 2003’s The Da
Vinci Code have propelled him to massive
success thank you
readers have been 2nd and 3rd guessing
the author and his creation as they
followed the intricate clues that form
the treasure hunts in these novels five
tiles each with 26 letters that’s 12
million possibilities I’ve never met a
girl who knew that much about a cryptic
Brown has brought highbrow topics to the
masses with healthy doses of conspiracy
theories and thrills and he’s built an
impressive and loyal fan base as a
result when you’re a creative person
whether you’re a writer and artist a
musician all you have is your own taste
and you write to that taste and then you
just hope people share your tastes
number six
Robert Ludlum what’s your name what’s
your name I don’t know all four of our
writers leading up to this point have
seen their works adapted for film and TV
but few books have been brought to the
screen as successfully as those of
Robert Ludlum
The Bourne Identity The Bourne Supremacy
and the Bourne Ultimatum have all been
brought to life with Matt Damon as the
main man Jason Bourne is dead you hear
me
he drowned two weeks ago the films did
awesomely well but there’s no smoke
without fire Ludlum unfortunately passed
away before the first film was made but
his legacy lives on look at us look at
what they make you give with an
estimated 292 500 million books in print
that’s quite a legacy
number five michael crichton
another author who sadly no longer with
us Michael Crichton’s crowning glory in
terms of his career as a writer was
surely Jurassic Park can it happen
because I know you’ve done a lot of
research on this I wouldn’t worry about
it
I think dinosaurs have been dead for a
long time in there and they’ll stay that
way for quite a while the 1990 novel
became a 93 Steven Spielberg super film
and crichton’s 95 follow-up heaped more
Hollywood royalties at the authors door
with an impressive educational
background in medicine which allowed him
to create the massively popular TV
hospital drama ER Crichton’s works would
often carry a scientific and
technological theme running alongside
mankind’s struggle to advance further oh
pretty yes you are this is a talking
gorilla Moira he was brilliant at
outside-of-the-box thinking we leave him
alone he leaves us alone maybe he does
one left alone we’ve been down here
isolation for 300 years
maybe Jerry’s only number 4 John Grisham
an old adage says that you should write
about what you know and John Grisham
knows a lot about law Sam gave a point
that Bob you’ve got to kill those kids
for 10 years before becoming an author
he worked within the courtroom when I
wrote a time to kill 30 years ago was
very autobiographical I was that
small-town lawyer trying to survive and
dreaming of the big trial ever since his
authorial debut in 1989 with a time to
kill
he has been relying his experiences back
to us in books like the firm the Pelican
brief the client and the Rainmaker we’ve
responded by buying 275 million copies
of his books this is Jack Elam antics
actual senior claims manual and within
it there is an executive memorandum
entitled section you Grisham is one of
only three authors to sell 2 million
copies on a first printing the other two
Tom Clancy and our next lady of modern
literature you take my breath away
number 3 JK Rowling
if you’ve never heard of Harry Potter
then you’ve had your head in some
seriously dense sand thing to say the
boy wizard is world-famous and his
creator is heralded by many as one of
the great authors of the 21st century
I don’t think I had ever felt so excited
I thought I’d love to write that I did
never thought about writing for children
I’d never thought about aiming anything
at that age group and yet it was the
thing I was meant to write JK Rowling
has seen her seven strong book series
translate into eight box-office smashing
blockbuster movies wielding its magic
all over the globe
from Transfiguration class to professor
Trelawney from Bertie bot to Matilda
Bagshot rawlings magical world has
become as familiar as our own recipe
Gryffindor
as a result she’s had muggles of all
ages transfixed for years you’re a
wizard Harry I’m a lot a wizard and
that’s something good and I’d wager once
you trade up a little number to j.r.r
tolkien one page of this particular
paper was left blank glorious nothing to
read so I scribble re-dye counting but
in a hole in the ground there lived a
hobbit while Harry Potter is an
undoubted hero within the fantasy genre
his story is but one in a long list of
fantastical epics a list topped and
trail blazed by Tolkien one two
the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit the
two most well-known adventures set
within the English writers magical realm
of middle-earth set the standard for all
fantasy based novels which have followed
what has most captured the imagination
for generations is the phenomenal
attention to detail Tolkien leaves no
stone unturned no Hobbit whole
unexplored and no reader unimpressed
the immensely popular film series based
on his work have only added to Tolkien’s
popularity in recent years before we
unveil our top pick here are a few
honorable mentions would you kill
another partner you’re not my partner
here’s what I’ll offer you I will design
Cortlandt you’ll put your name on it you
will keep all the fees but you will
guarantee that it will be built exactly
as I design was actually worn by Queen
Victoria when she was a little girl
you should have my eyes I’m blessing
blood but not human I haven’t been human
for 200 years
number 1 Stephen King here’s Johnny
thrilling his way into first place
Stephen King is about as prolific a
writer as the world has ever seen
and he’s maintained his popularity
throughout his lengthy publishing career
daddy
and opening his authorial account with
Kerry in 1974 before following up with
Salem’s Lot and The Shining King very
much started as he meant to go on so
continually reinventing the contemporary
horror genre his books have often been
made into movies helping to keep his
name constantly before the public please
both don’t put me to talk the result an
estimated 300 to 350 million books sold
in a variety of genres King is King
today I’ve written some pretty awful
things in my time if they can’t
differentiate I mean hey guys I’m
alright
you know I’m but of course I’d say that
one night
do you agree with our list which author
do you like to read for more fashionably
fictional top 10s published every day be
sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com
remember your trade crafting you’ll be
fine
can’t put down how do you like it and
other times you find an author whose
books you can’t stop reading
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
most popular fiction authors for this
list we’ve looked at a combination of
market performance and artistic merit in
order to determine the best popular
fiction authors ome thank you for the
flowers Peter hello for lists looking
more specifically at classic English or
international writers be sure to check
out our videos on those topics
I now want you to try my hand at writing
a ridet stupendously long narrative
number 10 george RR martin in today’s
winter school
in the modern world there seems to exist
two groups of people those who read Game
of Thrones before watching the TV series
and those who tuned into the show before
getting their hands on the original
inspiration I am the sword in the
darkness I am The Watcher on the walls I
am the shield that guards the realms of
men either way a lot of us have read
george RR martin my opinion has always
been that the battle between good and
evil is fought within the individual
human heart all of us have the capacity
for good all of us have the capacity for
evil writer of a Song of Ice and Fire
the fantasy novel series that inspired
the show Martin seen his fictional
imaginings translated to the screen
quite successfully when you play the
game of Thrones you win you die so
successfully in fact he’s been labeled
the American Tolkien it’s sex it’s
violence it’s a very good read a man
dies will likely solve
I’ll wave it kickoff
number nine philip pullman behavior of
these particles is quite unmistakable
dust is flowing into this man through
his demon from a city in another world a
world much like ours in a parallel
universe coexisting with our own to be a
popular writer you naturally have to
please a lot of people and there are few
with a demographic as wide reaching as
Philip Pullman’s there are all sorts of
reasons why fairytales are important and
interesting and valuable to us one is
that they engage with really deep human
themes the British word Smith employs
his own self explained brand of stark
realism most famously in the His Dark
Materials trilogy this trio of titles is
aimed predominantly at the young adult
market but it’s invariably picked up by
kids and grownups as well
his reimagining of reality with generous
helpings of unreality has many hooked
and hankering for a demon of their very
own just let them try to stop us
number eight Tom Clancy sir this bomb
was not never off I know this guy that’s
what you said after Grozny mr. Ryan put
it in your report
an author first and a political critic
second Tom Clancy saw his public profile
rise in parallel to the popularity of
his books I tell people the most
important talent in writing his
persistence that’s probably the most
important talent in anything his
persistence sticking with it seeing it
through not giving up
he’s more than 100 million books sold
attest to how strong that popularity is
the Russians will stop at nothing to
prevent Ray Mears from defecting they
are desperate they’ve invented the story
that he’s crazy because they need our
help to sink him before he can safely
contact us closely associated with
novels and stories tackling military
life the Cold War the post Cold War era
and espionage klancy appeals strongly to
a male audience
the author passed away in 2013 but his
books remain strong sellers as do his
video games that in addition to the film
versions featuring his Jack Ryan
character promised to keep that
popularity alive for years to come
anyway you can get that boy scout on a
field trip look off your face not a
chance
that’s what I like about you number 7
Dan Brown
one of the 21st century’s greatest
literary success stories Dan Brown has
had readers waiting on his every word
ever since Digital fortress was
published in 1998 I wasn’t under the
impression that episode had endeared me
to the Vatican oh it didn’t but he did
make you a sword for ma formidable a
formidable Browns books about Harvard
professor of religious I cannot sin
below G Robert Langdon including 2,000
angels and demons and 2003’s The Da
Vinci Code have propelled him to massive
success thank you
readers have been 2nd and 3rd guessing
the author and his creation as they
followed the intricate clues that form
the treasure hunts in these novels five
tiles each with 26 letters that’s 12
million possibilities I’ve never met a
girl who knew that much about a cryptic
Brown has brought highbrow topics to the
masses with healthy doses of conspiracy
theories and thrills and he’s built an
impressive and loyal fan base as a
result when you’re a creative person
whether you’re a writer and artist a
musician all you have is your own taste
and you write to that taste and then you
just hope people share your tastes
number six
Robert Ludlum what’s your name what’s
your name I don’t know all four of our
writers leading up to this point have
seen their works adapted for film and TV
but few books have been brought to the
screen as successfully as those of
Robert Ludlum
The Bourne Identity The Bourne Supremacy
and the Bourne Ultimatum have all been
brought to life with Matt Damon as the
main man Jason Bourne is dead you hear
me
he drowned two weeks ago the films did
awesomely well but there’s no smoke
without fire Ludlum unfortunately passed
away before the first film was made but
his legacy lives on look at us look at
what they make you give with an
estimated 292 500 million books in print
that’s quite a legacy
number five michael crichton
another author who sadly no longer with
us Michael Crichton’s crowning glory in
terms of his career as a writer was
surely Jurassic Park can it happen
because I know you’ve done a lot of
research on this I wouldn’t worry about
it
I think dinosaurs have been dead for a
long time in there and they’ll stay that
way for quite a while the 1990 novel
became a 93 Steven Spielberg super film
and crichton’s 95 follow-up heaped more
Hollywood royalties at the authors door
with an impressive educational
background in medicine which allowed him
to create the massively popular TV
hospital drama ER Crichton’s works would
often carry a scientific and
technological theme running alongside
mankind’s struggle to advance further oh
pretty yes you are this is a talking
gorilla Moira he was brilliant at
outside-of-the-box thinking we leave him
alone he leaves us alone maybe he does
one left alone we’ve been down here
isolation for 300 years
maybe Jerry’s only number 4 John Grisham
an old adage says that you should write
about what you know and John Grisham
knows a lot about law Sam gave a point
that Bob you’ve got to kill those kids
for 10 years before becoming an author
he worked within the courtroom when I
wrote a time to kill 30 years ago was
very autobiographical I was that
small-town lawyer trying to survive and
dreaming of the big trial ever since his
authorial debut in 1989 with a time to
kill
he has been relying his experiences back
to us in books like the firm the Pelican
brief the client and the Rainmaker we’ve
responded by buying 275 million copies
of his books this is Jack Elam antics
actual senior claims manual and within
it there is an executive memorandum
entitled section you Grisham is one of
only three authors to sell 2 million
copies on a first printing the other two
Tom Clancy and our next lady of modern
literature you take my breath away
number 3 JK Rowling
if you’ve never heard of Harry Potter
then you’ve had your head in some
seriously dense sand thing to say the
boy wizard is world-famous and his
creator is heralded by many as one of
the great authors of the 21st century
I don’t think I had ever felt so excited
I thought I’d love to write that I did
never thought about writing for children
I’d never thought about aiming anything
at that age group and yet it was the
thing I was meant to write JK Rowling
has seen her seven strong book series
translate into eight box-office smashing
blockbuster movies wielding its magic
all over the globe
from Transfiguration class to professor
Trelawney from Bertie bot to Matilda
Bagshot rawlings magical world has
become as familiar as our own recipe
Gryffindor
as a result she’s had muggles of all
ages transfixed for years you’re a
wizard Harry I’m a lot a wizard and
that’s something good and I’d wager once
you trade up a little number to j.r.r
tolkien one page of this particular
paper was left blank glorious nothing to
read so I scribble re-dye counting but
in a hole in the ground there lived a
hobbit while Harry Potter is an
undoubted hero within the fantasy genre
his story is but one in a long list of
fantastical epics a list topped and
trail blazed by Tolkien one two
the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit the
two most well-known adventures set
within the English writers magical realm
of middle-earth set the standard for all
fantasy based novels which have followed
what has most captured the imagination
for generations is the phenomenal
attention to detail Tolkien leaves no
stone unturned no Hobbit whole
unexplored and no reader unimpressed
the immensely popular film series based
on his work have only added to Tolkien’s
popularity in recent years before we
unveil our top pick here are a few
honorable mentions would you kill
another partner you’re not my partner
here’s what I’ll offer you I will design
Cortlandt you’ll put your name on it you
will keep all the fees but you will
guarantee that it will be built exactly
as I design was actually worn by Queen
Victoria when she was a little girl
you should have my eyes I’m blessing
blood but not human I haven’t been human
for 200 years
number 1 Stephen King here’s Johnny
thrilling his way into first place
Stephen King is about as prolific a
writer as the world has ever seen
and he’s maintained his popularity
throughout his lengthy publishing career
daddy
and opening his authorial account with
Kerry in 1974 before following up with
Salem’s Lot and The Shining King very
much started as he meant to go on so
continually reinventing the contemporary
horror genre his books have often been
made into movies helping to keep his
name constantly before the public please
both don’t put me to talk the result an
estimated 300 to 350 million books sold
in a variety of genres King is King
today I’ve written some pretty awful
things in my time if they can’t
differentiate I mean hey guys I’m
alright
you know I’m but of course I’d say that
one night
do you agree with our list which author
do you like to read for more fashionably
fictional top 10s published every day be
sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com
remember your trade crafting you’ll be
fine
Please follow and like us: