1983 in books
Who ruled 1983? James A. Michener was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1983, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
Author of the Year 1983
20 crowns · 30 weeks among the top five authors · Era Power 461
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James A. Michener | 461 | 20 | 30 |
| 2 | Stephen King | 412 | 6 | 25 |
| 3 | John le Carré | 343 | 12 | 22 |
| 4 | Umberto Eco | 311 | 5 | 25 |
| 5 | Joan D. Vinge | 254 | 8 | 15 |
| 6 | Danielle Steel | 203 | 0 | 13 |
| 7 | Stephen R. Donaldson | 169 | 0 | 12 |
| 8 | Jackie Collins | 160 | 0 | 14 |
| 9 | Nora Ephron | 158 | 0 | 9 |
| 10 | Judith Krantz | 157 | 1 | 12 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2, 1983 | Space | James A. Michener | 10 |
| Feb 20, 1983 | Mistral's Daughter | Judith Krantz | 1 |
| Mar 20, 1983 | The Little Drummer Girl | John le Carré | 12 |
| Jun 12, 1983 | The Return of the Jedi | Joan D. Vinge | 1 |
| Jun 19, 1983 | Return of the Jedi | Joan D. Vinge | 7 |
| Aug 7, 1983 | The Name of the Rose | Umberto Eco | 5 |
| Sep 11, 1983 | Poland | James A. Michener | 10 |
| Nov 13, 1983 | Pet Sematary | Stephen King | 6 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Name of the Rose | Umberto Eco | #1 | 47 | 442.3 |
| 2 | Poland | James A. Michener | #1 | 38 | 404.0 |
| 3 | Pet Sematary | Stephen King | #1 | 32 | 349.2 |
| 4 | The Little Drummer Girl | John le Carré | #1 | 34 | 342.7 |
| 5 | Who Killed the Robins Family? | Bill Adler & Thomas Chastain | #1 | 35 | 285.5 |
| 6 | Christine | Stephen King | #2 | 32 | 263.0 |
| 7 | Return of the Jedi | Joan D. Vinge | #1 | 31 | 250.6 |
| 8 | Changes | Danielle Steel | #2 | 28 | 223.6 |
| 9 | Hollywood Wives | Jackie Collins | #4 | 28 | 180.2 |
| 10 | White Gold Wielder | Stephen R. Donaldson | #2 | 23 | 168.7 |
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