LITERATURE
Economics
Best-Selling Book Franchises Of All Time
This list features the book franchises that have sold the most copies in history.
Books that claim to have high sales including The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien have multiple editions and therefore there is too much uncertainty regarding sales figures. Thus, these books have been omitted from the list. Furthermore, e-books have not been included in this list as out of copyright texts are often available in this format.
RANK | FRANCHISE | AUTHOR | SALES | DEBUT | GENRE |
1 | Harry Potter | J. K. Rowling | 600 million | 1997 | Young Adult |
2 | Goosebumps | R. L. Stine | 400 million | 1992 | Young Adult |
3 | Perry Mason | Erle Stanley Gardner | 300 million | 1933 | Mystery/Thriller |
4 | Berenstain Bears | Stan and Jan Berenstain | 300 million | 1962 | Children’s |
5 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Jeff Kinney | 275 million | 2007 | Children’s |
6 | Choose Your Own Adventure | Various authors | 270 million | 1979 | Children’s |
7 | Sweet Valley High | Francine Pascal and ghostwriters | 250 million | 1983 | Young Adult |
8 | Mr. Men | Roger Hargreaves | 250 million | 1971 | Children’s |
9 | Robert Langdon | Dan Brown | 200 million | 2000 | Mystery/Thriller |
10 | Noddy | Enid Blyton | 200 million | 1949 | Children’s |
11 | The Railway Series | Rev. W. Awdry, Christopher Awdry | 200 million | 1945 | Children’s |
12 | Nancy Drew | Carolyn Keene (collective pseudonym) | 200 million | 1930 | Mystery/Thriller |
13 | Little Critter | Mercer Mayer | 200 million | 1975 | Children’s |
14 | San-Antonio | Frédéric Dard | 200 million | 1949 | Mystery/Thriller |
15 | Geronimo Stilton | Elisabetta Dami | 180 million | 1997 | Children’s |
16 | Percy Jackson & The Olympians | Rick Riordan | 180 million | 2005 | Young Adult |
17 | The Baby-Sitters Club | Ann Martin | 176 million | 1986 | Children’s |
18 | Fifty Shades | E. L. James | 165 million | 2011 | Erotic |
19 | Twilight | Stephenie Meyer | 160 million | 2005 | Young Adult |
References
