2026 in books
Who ruled 2026? Virginia Evans was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 2026, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
Author of the Year so far 2026
8 crowns · 23 weeks among the top five authors · Era Power 392
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virginia Evans | 392 | 8 | 23 |
| 2 | Matt Dinniman | 358 | 6 | 21 |
| 3 | Caro Claire Burke | 293 | 5 | 22 |
| 4 | Kathryn Stockett | 205 | 2 | 14 |
| 5 | Ann Patchett | 163 | 1 | 13 |
| 6 | James Patterson | 129 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | John Grisham | 105 | 1 | 5 |
| 8 | SenLinYu | 97 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | Carley Fortune | 68 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Dan Brown | 66 | 0 | 4 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yesteryear | Caro Claire Burke | #1 | 22 | 276.8 |
| 2 | The Calamity Club | Kathryn Stockett | #1 | 18 | 191.7 |
| 3 | Whistler | Ann Patchett | #1 | 14 | 152.1 |
| 4 | Carl's Doomsday Scenario | Matt Dinniman | #4 | 32 | 148.5 |
| 5 | The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook | Matt Dinniman | #6 | 27 | 113.5 |
| 6 | Judge Stone | Viola Davis & James Patterson | #1 | 8 | 68.3 |
| 7 | Our Perfect Storm | Carley Fortune | #1 | 9 | 64.1 |
| 8 | My Husband's Wife | Alice Feeney | #3 | 11 | 63.3 |
| 9 | Starside | Alex Aster | #1 | 8 | 55.2 |
| 10 | The Night We Met | Abby Jimenez | #1 | 7 | 45.7 |
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