10 of the Most Prolific Authors of All Time
Before computers, authors could publish up to 500 novels, novellas, short stories, and other pieces of writing, putting their creative minds to the test. Keep reading to find out which authors have written the most books in history.
Stephen King
Stephen King is one of the most widely published authors, with 60 full-length works and over 200 short stories under his belt. He once said that he writes 2,000 words a day, which explains how quickly his books appear on store shelves.
Isaac Asimov
Asimov wrote or edited over 500 books and hundreds of short stories, the majority of which explain the history of science in great detail, with reference guides accompanying his books to explain the terminology. Books about books, who knew?
Kathleen Mary Lindsay
For many years, Mary Lindsay held the world record for the most published books, with 904 according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Lindsay wrote under 11 pseudonyms, including Margaret Cameron, Mary Richmond, Molly Waring, and Betty Manvers.
Jozef Ignacy Kraszewski
Jozef Ignacy Kraszewski, also known as Kleofas Fakund Pasternak, first published a book in 1830 and is best known for his historical Poland series, which consists of 29 novels in 79 parts.
Ursula Bloom
Ursula Bloom was a British romance novelist who wrote over 500 books, influenced by Charles Dickens. Female journalists were uncommon in the 1920s and 1930s, so Bloom fought back by writing for various newspapers and magazines.
Charles Hamilton
The Billy Bunter series is a humorous children’s fiction novel written by Charles Hamilton’s pseudonym, Frank Richards, and first published in a boy’s weekly story paper. He wrote over 100 million words before his death at the age of 85, making him one of the most prolific authors in history.
Barbara Cartland
Barbara Cartland holds the Guinness Book of World Records for writing the most novels in a single year, with an average of 23 novels per year and a total of 723 published works. After her death, her manuscripts for a book were discovered and released as the Barbara Cartland Pink Collection.
Ryoki Inoue
Ryoki Inoue, a Brazilian author, holds the Guinness World Record for being the most prolific author, having written 1,075 books under various pseudonyms. Discipline and application are the driving forces behind his refusal to leave his computer.
R.L. Stine
R.L. Stine is the author of the Goosebumps and Fear Street series, and he has 157 books listed on his website, with one book being published every two weeks at one point. Visit his website for more information about aspiring young authors.
Corín Tellado
Here are some books to add to your 2020 reading goal, in case you missed them. Spanish romance author Coru00edn Tellado holds the world record for selling the most books written in Spanish. Learning to speed read can also improve your productivity skills.
Who Wrote highest number of novels?
Mary Faulkner (1903-1973) is the most prolific novelist, having written 904 books under six pen names, including Kathleen Lindsay, Margaret Cameron, Mary Richmond, and Hugh Desmond, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
What author has sold the most books?
James Patterson is by far the highest-paid author in the world, and has been the best-selling author in the world since 2001, with over 350 million books sold worldwide. He is best known for the “Alex Cross” crime novel series.
What is the most read fictional book in the world?
The 30 All-Time Best-Selling Novels
- Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Antoine de Saint-Exupu00e9ry’s The Little Prince. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
What is the most sold book in the world?
The Bible is the most widely read book in the world, according to writer James Chapman, who compiled a list of the most widely read books in the world based on the number of copies each book sold over the previous 50 years and discovered that the Bible far outsold all other books, with 3.9 billion copies sold.
Who is the best author ever?
Authors in the Top 10 by Number of Books Selected
- William Shakespeare u2013 11, William Faulkner u2013 6, Henry James u2013 6, Jane Austen u2013 5, Charles Dickens u2013 5, Fyodor Dostoevsky u2013 5, Ernest Hemingway u2013 5, Franz Kafka u2013 5, William Shakespeare, William Faulkner, William Faulkner, William Faulkner, William Faulkner, William Faulkner, William Faulkner, William Faulkner, William Faulkner, William Faulk
What are the top 10 best-selling books right now?
WORK OF FICTION
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
- The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell.
- The Noise by James Patterson
- J. D. Barker.
- Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
- L. A. Weather by Mara Amparo Escandu00f3n.
- The Heron’s Cry by Ann Cleeves.
Who is the highest paid author of all time?
Dan Brown is an American author best known for his novel “The Da Vinci Code.” He is the world’s highest-paid author, and his bestselling books “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels and Demons” are considered two of the most popular movies in the world.
Who’s the best-selling author of all time?
According to Guinness World Records, Agatha Christie is the “world’s best-selling fiction writer,” with estimated sales of over 2 billion copies, and she is also the most translated author in history, according to UNESCO.
Who is the richest writer in the world?
The richest authors of all time are listed below. According to Most Expensive Thing, Elisabeth Badinter is the most valuable author in the world, with a net worth of $1.3 billion.
Who is the most famous female author?
10 Famous Female Authors
- Enheduanna was born in 2285 BCE in Egypt.
- Maya Angelou was born in Missouri in 1928.
- Beverly Cleary grew up on a farm in Oregon before moving to Portland.
- Willa Cather.
- Sandra Cisneros.
- Virginia Woolf.
- Louisa May Alcott.
- Toni Morrison.
What is Stephen King’s most sold book?
The Shining, Stephen King’s best-selling novel, was first published in 1977, making it 44 years old (as of 2021). Multiply 44 by the annual book sales (15,732) to get 692,208 copies sold.
What are the top 5 most read books in the world?
We’ve compiled a list of the most widely read books in history.
- The Holy Bible.
- The Holy Quran.
- J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series.
- Chairman Mao Tse Tung’s Quotations.
- The Lord of the Rings.
- The Alchemist.
- Anne Frank’s Diary.
- Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga.
What is the best religion book in the world?
Religions based on Abraham
- The Hidden Words.
- Days of Remembrance.
- Epistle to the Son of the Wolf.
- The Four Valleys.
- Gems of Divine Mysteries.
- Gleanings.
What book took the longest to write?
5 Books That Took The Most Time To Finish
- Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind (10 years)
- Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (10 years)
- Alistair MacLeod’s No Great Mischief (13 years)
- J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (12-17 years)
- Michael Crichton’s Sphere (20 years)