1981 in books
Who ruled 1981? James Clavell was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1981, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Clavell | 410 | 15 | 33 |
| 2 | Stephen King | 353 | 5 | 28 |
| 3 | Martin Cruz Smith | 352 | 2 | 24 |
| 4 | James A. Michener | 329 | 16 | 21 |
| 5 | Kit Williams | 246 | 0 | 12 |
| 6 | John Irving | 199 | 7 | 15 |
| 7 | Lawrence Sanders | 171 | 0 | 12 |
| 8 | Cynthia Freeman | 167 | 0 | 13 |
| 9 | Taylor Caldwell | 156 | 0 | 9 |
| 10 | Frank Herbert | 147 | 0 | 10 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 4, 1981 | The Covenant | James A. Michener | 16 |
| Apr 26, 1981 | Gorky Park | Martin Cruz Smith | 2 |
| May 10, 1981 | Noble House | James Clavell | 15 |
| Aug 23, 1981 | Cujo | Stephen King | 5 |
| Sep 27, 1981 | The Hotel New Hampshire | John Irving | 7 |
| Nov 15, 1981 | An Indecent Obsession | Colleen McCullough | 7 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noble House | James Clavell | #1 | 47 | 497.2 |
| 2 | Gorky Park | Martin Cruz Smith | #1 | 45 | 383.0 |
| 3 | The Hotel New Hampshire | John Irving | #1 | 40 | 368.1 |
| 4 | An Indecent Obsession | Colleen McCullough | #1 | 33 | 359.5 |
| 5 | Cujo | Stephen King | #1 | 33 | 302.1 |
| 6 | Masquerade | Kit Williams | #2 | 43 | 279.9 |
| 7 | Spring Moon | Bette Bao Lord | #2 | 29 | 209.9 |
| 8 | The Third Deadly Sin | Lawrence Sanders | #2 | 24 | 171.2 |
| 9 | The Cardinal Sins | Andrew M. Greeley | #3 | 32 | 160.0 |
| 10 | God Emperor of Dune | Frank Herbert | #3 | 25 | 151.8 |
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