1962 in books
Who ruled 1962? Katherine Anne Porter was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1962, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
Author of the Year 1962
26 crowns · 33 weeks among the top five authors · Era Power 468
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katherine Anne Porter | 468 | 26 | 33 |
| 2 | J.D. Salinger | 413 | 16 | 29 |
| 3 | Irving Stone | 354 | 0 | 25 |
| 4 | Anne Morrow Lindbergh | 272 | 0 | 22 |
| 5 | Herman Wouk | 250 | 0 | 20 |
| 6 | Irving Wallace | 203 | 0 | 16 |
| 7 | Mary Renault | 197 | 0 | 15 |
| 8 | Taylor Caldwell | 184 | 0 | 11 |
| 9 | Harper Lee | 173 | 0 | 11 |
| 10 | William Faulkner | 165 | 0 | 11 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 7, 1962 | Franny and Zooey | J.D. Salinger | 16 |
| Apr 29, 1962 | Ship of Fools | Katherine Anne Porter | 26 |
| Oct 28, 1962 | A Shade of Difference | Allen Drury | 4 |
| Nov 18, 1962 | Seven Days in May | Fletcher Knebel & Charles W. Bailey II | 5 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seven Days in May | Fletcher Knebel & Charles W. Bailey II | #1 | 48 | 553.8 |
| 2 | Ship of Fools | Katherine Anne Porter | #1 | 44 | 505.8 |
| 3 | Dearly Beloved | Anne Morrow Lindbergh | #2 | 32 | 291.3 |
| 4 | Fail-Safe | Eugene Burdick & Harvey Wheeler | #2 | 30 | 283.4 |
| 5 | A Shade of Difference | Allen Drury | #1 | 25 | 258.5 |
| 6 | Youngblood Hawke | Herman Wouk | #2 | 26 | 250.3 |
| 7 | The Prize | Irving Wallace | #3 | 32 | 220.7 |
| 8 | The Bull from the Sea | Mary Renault | #2 | 25 | 197.4 |
| 9 | The Reivers | William Faulkner | #4 | 26 | 165.4 |
| 10 | The Fox in the Attic | Richard Hughes | #2 | 20 | 158.9 |
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