1980 in books
Who ruled 1980? Robert Ludlum was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1980, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Ludlum | 367 | 16 | 26 |
| 2 | Judith Krantz | 358 | 5 | 25 |
| 3 | Ken Follett | 300 | 2 | 22 |
| 4 | Sidney Sheldon | 285 | 11 | 21 |
| 5 | Stephen King | 278 | 3 | 19 |
| 6 | Frederick Forsyth | 252 | 0 | 20 |
| 7 | Belva Plain | 244 | 0 | 19 |
| 8 | Cynthia Freeman | 234 | 0 | 17 |
| 9 | John le Carré | 226 | 4 | 17 |
| 10 | Jeffrey Archer | 167 | 0 | 5 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 6, 1980 | Jailbird | Kurt Vonnegut | 2 |
| Jan 20, 1980 | Smiley's People | John le Carré | 4 |
| Feb 17, 1980 | Princess Daisy | Judith Krantz | 5 |
| Mar 23, 1980 | The Bourne Identity | Robert Ludlum | 16 |
| Jul 13, 1980 | Rage of Angels | Sidney Sheldon | 11 |
| Sep 28, 1980 | Firestarter | Stephen King | 3 |
| Oct 19, 1980 | The Key to Rebecca | Ken Follett | 2 |
| Nov 2, 1980 | The Covenant | James A. Michener | 9 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Covenant | James A. Michener | #1 | 41 | 464.8 |
| 2 | The Bourne Identity | Robert Ludlum | #1 | 33 | 367.3 |
| 3 | Princess Daisy | Judith Krantz | #1 | 36 | 358.4 |
| 4 | Rage of Angels | Sidney Sheldon | #1 | 42 | 353.1 |
| 5 | Firestarter | Stephen King | #1 | 35 | 339.7 |
| 6 | The Key to Rebecca | Ken Follett | #1 | 30 | 312.6 |
| 7 | The Devil's Alternative | Frederick Forsyth | #2 | 29 | 252.5 |
| 8 | Random Winds | Belva Plain | #2 | 28 | 243.8 |
| 9 | The Fifth Horseman | Larry Collins & Dominique Lapierre | #3 | 28 | 189.9 |
| 10 | Come Pour the Wine | Cynthia Freeman | #3 | 27 | 186.7 |
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