Authors · NYT Hardcover Fiction

John Grisham

Charting Mar 17, 1991 → Apr 19, 2026 · 905 weeks with chart power

Compare with other authors →

Image credits

Photo: PhilipRomano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Honours

Author of the Decade: 1990s
Author of the Year: 1991
1992
2002
2017
2022

Author of the Week

NYT Hardcover Fiction
193 crowns
19912026
Longest reign 9 weeks (Mar–May 1992) · First crown Mar 1992

Peak Power: 12.27%; week of Oct 11, 1992
Career Power: 8,538; share-weeks
Crowns: 193; weeks crowned Author of the Week

Peak Year: 530; February 1992 – February 1993
Peak Five Years: 1,855; January 1991 – January 1996
Top-five weeks: 575; weeks ranked 1–5
Longevity: 905; weeks with chart power
Dominance: 17.94%; week of Mar 10, 2002
Comebacks: 2; Nov 2007 · Nov 2025

Ranked by weekly Power Share, part of the ChartReign Power model — not the list's own positions. How it works →

Exponentially smoothed share of the week's total power (the primary metric).

Titles on the NYT Hardcover Fiction

42 books · 8,538 share-weeks of Career Power

Power contributed is what each book earned this author: their weekly Power Share, split across their books (a featured credit takes its reduced share). Book Power is the book's own figure, the same for every author on it. Bar length compares books within this list.

Title	Peak	Weeks	On chart	Power contributedPower	Book Power
The Pelican Brief	#1March 1992	49	March 1992 – February 1993	529.9	527.0
The Client	#1March 1993	48	March 1993 – February 1994	438.3	434.0
The Firm	#2April 1991	47	March 1991 – February 1992	392.5	392.5
The Partner	#1March 1997	30	March 1997 – October 1997	313.6	313.6
Skipping Christmas	#1December 2001	35	November 2001 – January 2004	291.7	303.7
The Brethren	#1February 2000	31	February 2000 – September 2000	280.4	262.9
The Runaway Jury	#1June 1996	23	June 1996 – January 1997	259.7	254.5
The Testament	#1February 1999	30	February 1999 – September 1999	254.2	252.1
The Rainmaker	#1April 1995	26	April 1995 – January 1996	253.9	249.7
The Chamber	#1June 1994	27	June 1994 – January 1995	240.2	239.8
The Street Lawyer	#1February 1998	27	February 1998 – September 1998	224.4	224.4
The Whistler	#1November 2016	22	November 2016 – April 2017	222.4	222.0
Sycamore Row	#1November 2013	22	November 2013 – May 2014	217.7	217.5
The Reckoning	#1November 2018	22	November 2018 – April 2019	210.6	210.4
The Widow	#1November 2025	23	November 2025 – April 2026	210.5	208.5
Gray Mountain	#1November 2014	20	November 2014 – March 2015	210.2	210.1
A Painted House	#1February 2001	22	February 2001 – July 2001	210.0	210.0
The King of Torts	#1February 2003	23	February 2003 – July 2003	194.9	194.9
The Judge's List	#1November 2021	20	November 2021 – March 2022	194.1	194.1
The Summons	#1February 2002	23	February 2002 – July 2002	194.0	193.0
The Boys from Biloxi	#1November 2022	20	November 2022 – March 2023	192.3	192.3
Rogue Lawyer	#1November 2015	19	November 2015 – March 2016	187.1	187.1
The Rooster Bar	#1November 2017	19	November 2017 – March 2018	186.1	186.1
Camino Island	#1June 2017	15	June 2017 – October 2017	174.5	174.5
A Time for Mercy	#1November 2020	19	November 2020 – March 2021	171.7	171.7
The Guardians	#1December 2019	18	November 2019 – March 2020	171.0	170.9
The Confession	#1November 2010	18	November 2010 – March 2011	167.8	167.8
The Racketeer	#1November 2012	18	November 2012 – March 2013	162.9	162.9
The Appeal	#1February 2008	15	February 2008 – May 2008	157.6	157.6
Camino Winds	#1May 2020	17	May 2020 – September 2020	146.9	146.9
The Associate	#1February 2009	14	February 2009 – May 2009	145.1	145.1
Bleachers	#1September 2003	18	September 2003 – January 2004	142.0	144.5
The Exchange	#1November 2023	16	November 2023 – February 2024	141.5	137.1
The Broker	#1January 2005	14	January 2005 – May 2005	137.9	137.9
The Last Juror	#1February 2004	14	February 2004 – May 2004	137.8	134.5
The Litigators	#1November 2011	16	November 2011 – February 2012	136.8	136.4
Playing for Pizza	#1October 2007	17	October 2007 – February 2008	133.8	133.8
Calico Joe	#1April 2012	15	April 2012 – August 2012	133.1	133.1
Sparring Partners	#1June 2022	13	June 2022 – September 2022	119.0	118.5
Sooley	#1May 2021	12	May 2021 – August 2021	107.2	107.2
Camino Ghosts	#1June 2024	10	June 2024 – August 2024	73.2	71.6
Ford County	#1November 2009	9	November 2009 – January 2010	69.8	69.8

At their peak

1992 in books →

John Grisham's best twelve months on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list ran from February 1992 to February 1993. The most powerful authors over those weeks:

Ranked by Era Power over the same weeks.

Their decades: the 1990s, the 2000s, the 2010s, the 2020s.