1982 in books
Who ruled 1982? Robert Ludlum was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1982, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Ludlum | 392 | 16 | 25 |
| 2 | John Jakes | 284 | 3 | 17 |
| 3 | Stephen King | 243 | 3 | 13 |
| 4 | Colleen McCullough | 222 | 7 | 15 |
| 5 | Jeffrey Archer | 208 | 5 | 14 |
| 6 | Ken Follett | 206 | 1 | 15 |
| 7 | Sidney Sheldon | 191 | 4 | 12 |
| 8 | James A. Michener | 183 | 12 | 13 |
| 9 | Bette Bao Lord | 176 | 0 | 11 |
| 10 | Jean M. Auel | 173 | 0 | 16 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 3, 1982 | An Indecent Obsession | Colleen McCullough | 7 |
| Feb 14, 1982 | The Hotel New Hampshire | John Irving | 1 |
| Feb 28, 1982 | North and South | John Jakes | 3 |
| Mar 21, 1982 | The Parsifal Mosaic | Robert Ludlum | 16 |
| Jun 6, 1982 | The Man from St. Petersburg | Ken Follett | 1 |
| Jul 4, 1982 | The Prodigal Daughter | Jeffrey Archer | 5 |
| Aug 15, 1982 | Different Seasons | Stephen King | 3 |
| Sep 12, 1982 | Master of the Game | Sidney Sheldon | 4 |
| Oct 10, 1982 | Space | James A. Michener | 12 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Space | James A. Michener | #1 | 39 | 409.2 |
| 2 | The Parsifal Mosaic | Robert Ludlum | #1 | 44 | 404.8 |
| 3 | Master of the Game | Sidney Sheldon | #1 | 38 | 341.3 |
| 4 | The Valley of Horses | Jean M. Auel | #2 | 47 | 330.2 |
| 5 | North and South | John Jakes | #1 | 33 | 284.3 |
| 6 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Storybook | William Kotzwinkle | #2 | 32 | 235.3 |
| 7 | 2010: Odyssey Two | Arthur C. Clarke | #2 | 24 | 221.9 |
| 8 | Different Seasons | Stephen King | #1 | 32 | 220.5 |
| 9 | Mistral's Daughter | Judith Krantz | #1 | 23 | 212.3 |
| 10 | The Prodigal Daughter | Jeffrey Archer | #1 | 22 | 207.9 |
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