1989 in books
Who ruled 1989? Tom Clancy was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1989, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Clancy | 369 | 9 | 28 |
| 2 | Danielle Steel | 288 | 9 | 20 |
| 3 | Amy Tan | 253 | 0 | 19 |
| 4 | John le Carré | 235 | 10 | 15 |
| 5 | Salman Rushdie | 224 | 9 | 13 |
| 6 | Mary Higgins Clark | 187 | 2 | 14 |
| 7 | Frederick Forsyth | 158 | 0 | 12 |
| 8 | Sidney Sheldon | 157 | 5 | 9 |
| 9 | Martin Cruz Smith | 150 | 2 | 10 |
| 10 | John Irving | 126 | 0 | 7 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 1989 | The Sands of Time | Sidney Sheldon | 5 |
| Feb 5, 1989 | Midnight | Dean R. Koontz | 3 |
| Feb 26, 1989 | Star | Danielle Steel | 4 |
| Mar 26, 1989 | The Satanic Verses | Salman Rushdie | 9 |
| May 28, 1989 | While My Pretty One Sleeps | Mary Higgins Clark | 2 |
| Jun 11, 1989 | The Russia House | John le Carré | 10 |
| Aug 6, 1989 | Polar Star | Martin Cruz Smith | 2 |
| Sep 3, 1989 | Clear and Present Danger | Tom Clancy | 9 |
| Nov 5, 1989 | The Dark Half | Stephen King | 4 |
| Nov 26, 1989 | Daddy | Danielle Steel | 5 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clear and Present Danger | Tom Clancy | #1 | 45 | 414.1 |
| 2 | The Joy Luck Club | Amy Tan | #3 | 35 | 257.0 |
| 3 | The Russia House | John le Carré | #1 | 21 | 234.5 |
| 4 | The Satanic Verses | Salman Rushdie | #1 | 24 | 224.0 |
| 5 | Daddy | Danielle Steel | #1 | 22 | 208.6 |
| 6 | The Dark Half | Stephen King | #1 | 19 | 189.9 |
| 7 | While My Pretty One Sleeps | Mary Higgins Clark | #1 | 21 | 187.2 |
| 8 | Star | Danielle Steel | #1 | 17 | 183.6 |
| 9 | Caribbean | James A. Michener | #2 | 22 | 167.9 |
| 10 | The Negotiator | Frederick Forsyth | #2 | 18 | 158.2 |
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