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Eras · The 1960s

1960 in books

Who ruled 1960? James A. Michener was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1960, the biggest books and the top authors.

NYT Hardcover Fiction

James A. Michener portrait

Author of the Year 1960

James A. Michener

37 crowns · 52 weeks among the top five authors · Era Power 725

Top authors of 1960
#AuthorEra PowerCrownsTop-five weeks
1James A. Michener7253752
2Allen Drury6861552
3Guiseppe di Lampedusa327027
4Marcia Davenport230019
5Irving Wallace213019
6Taylor Caldwell21209
7Harper Lee174014
8Mary Ellen Chase17004
9John O'Hara144010
10Cameron Hawley14209
Every #1 bestseller of 19602 books reached #1 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list
First week at #1TitleAuthorWeeks at #1
Jan 3, 1960Advise and ConsentAllen Drury15
Jan 17, 1960HawaiiJames A. Michener37

Author of the Year and the rankings are the ChartReign Power model: the author with the most chart power over the year, not the most #1s. Crowns are weeks crowned Author of the Week. How it works