1978 in books
Who ruled 1978? J.R.R. Tolkien was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1978, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
Author of the Year 1978
10 crowns · 22 weeks among the top five authors · Era Power 354
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J.R.R. Tolkien | 354 | 10 | 22 |
| 2 | Sidney Sheldon | 336 | 13 | 26 |
| 3 | Colleen McCullough | 298 | 1 | 24 |
| 4 | Judith Krantz | 252 | 4 | 20 |
| 5 | Richard Bach | 221 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | Robert Ludlum | 189 | 1 | 15 |
| 7 | Marilyn French | 156 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | James A. Michener | 149 | 5 | 11 |
| 9 | John le Carré | 148 | 0 | 11 |
| 10 | Graham Greene | 140 | 0 | 9 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 1978 | The Silmarillion | J.R.R. Tolkien | 10 |
| Mar 12, 1978 | Bloodline | Sidney Sheldon | 13 |
| Jun 4, 1978 | The Thorn Birds | Colleen McCullough | 1 |
| Jun 18, 1978 | Scruples | Judith Krantz | 4 |
| Jul 9, 1978 | The Holcroft Covenant | Robert Ludlum | 1 |
| Jul 23, 1978 | Chesapeake | James A. Michener | 5 |
| Nov 12, 1978 | War and Remembrance | Herman Wouk | 6 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | War and Remembrance | Herman Wouk | #1 | 61 | 511.1 |
| 2 | Chesapeake | James A. Michener | #1 | 47 | 470.5 |
| 3 | Bloodline | Sidney Sheldon | #1 | 26 | 335.8 |
| 4 | Scruples | Judith Krantz | #1 | 29 | 251.8 |
| 5 | The Holcroft Covenant | Robert Ludlum | #1 | 18 | 189.0 |
| 6 | The Stories of John Cheever | John Cheever | #3 | 26 | 159.0 |
| 7 | Evergreen | Belva Plain | #5 | 34 | 158.9 |
| 8 | Fools Die | Mario Puzo | #3 | 19 | 152.6 |
| 9 | The Honorable Schoolboy | John le Carré | #3 | 21 | 148.3 |
| 10 | Second Generation | Howard Fast | #3 | 20 | 146.2 |
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