The Greatest Authors of All Time
Ever wondered who the greatest authors of all time are? We've analyzed 759 diverse book lists to create this comprehensive ranking of literary masters. Our algorithm considers several key factors to determine each author's position:
- Book Rankings: Each author's score starts with the sum of their books' rankings from our master list.
- Number of Great Books: Authors are rewarded for having multiple highly-ranked books. The more great books an author has, the higher their overall score.
- Age of Books: Older books receive a small bonus to their score, with the maximum bonus going to books over 100 years old.
This system ensures that authors with multiple enduring works are recognized, while still giving weight to the quality of individual books. The rankings are automatically calculated and updated as new lists are added to our database.
4051. Alice Feeney
British author of psychological-thriller novels, best known for her debut 'Sometimes I Lie' and subsequent twist-driven books featuring unreliable narrators.
4052. Sally Hepworth
Australian novelist known for domestic fiction and psychological thrillers, author of novels including The Good Sister, The Mother-in-Law and The Secrets of Midwives.
4053. Chris Whitaker
British novelist and crime/thriller writer, author of novels including 'Tall Oaks' and 'We Begin at the End'.
4054. Jeanine Cummins
American novelist best known for the 2020 novel "American Dirt." Born in 1974, Cummins has written several works of fiction and gained significant attention and controversy for American Dirt.
4055. Lily King
American novelist best known for the 2014 novel Euphoria; her work often engages with anthropological themes.
4056. Ruth Ware
British author of psychological thriller novels, best known for In a Dark, Dark Wood (2015) and The Woman in Cabin 10 (2016).
4057. Carol Ann Lee
British author and biographer best known for true-crime and biographical works, including books on Myra Hindley and the Moors murders.
4058. Claire Castillon
French novelist and short-story writer known for darkly comic, intimate explorations of domestic life, relationships, and psychological themes; author of multiple novels and story collections.
4059. Rosario Villajos
4060. Rebecca Wait
4061. Yair Lapid
Israeli politician, former journalist, author and television presenter; founder and leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, has served as a member of the Knesset, Minister of Finance and as Prime Minister (interim) of Israel.
4062. Monica Ali
British novelist and journalist, born in Dhaka in 1967 and raised in England, best known for her debut novel 'Brick Lane' (2003), which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
4063. Jonathan Coe
English novelist, essayist and critic known for satirical novels about contemporary British politics and society; notable works include What a Carve Up?, The Rotters' Club and Middle England.
4064. Chelomova Nadezhda Alekseevna
4065. Khjuitt Dzh. M.
4066. Anders de la Motte
Swedish author of crime and thriller novels, known for the novel Game and other contemporary thrillers.
4067. Оксана Васякина
4068. Elin Hilderbrand
American author of contemporary romance and women's fiction, best known for bestselling "beach read" novels set on Nantucket.
4069. Richard Osman
English television presenter, producer and novelist, best known for co-presenting Pointless, hosting quiz and panel shows, and authoring crime novels such as The Thursday Murder Club.
4070. Peter Boland
4071. Franck Thilliez
French author of crime fiction and psychological thrillers, known for police procedurals that incorporate forensic science and neuroscience. Notable works include La Chambre des morts and novels featuring investigators Franck Sharko and Lucie Henebelle.
4072. Federico Axat
Argentine novelist known for writing psychological thrillers and suspense fiction, primarily in Spanish.
4073. Vaseem Khan
British author of crime fiction, best known for novels set in India such as the Baby Ganesh Agency series, which pairs a detective with a baby elephant. Writes contemporary mystery novels blending humour and social observation.
4074. Valentin Musso
French novelist, author of crime fiction and psychological thrillers.
4075. Robert Bryndza
British author of crime and thriller novels, best known for the Detective Erika Foster series (including The Girl in the Ice).
4076. Diane Setterfield
British novelist best known for her debut novel The Thirteenth Tale (2006). Writes gothic and literary fiction; also author of Bellman & Black (2013) and Once Upon a River (2018).
4077. Сергей Каменков-Павлов
4078. Carmen Mola
Collective pseudonym used by a group of Spanish writers (revealed in 2021 to be Agustín Martínez, Antonio Mercero and Jorge Díaz). Presented publicly as a female author, Carmen Mola is known for noir/crime novels (including the Elena Blanco series) and, as a collective, won the 2021 Premio Planeta for La Bestia.
4079. Chelsea G. Summers
4080. Isabel Allende
Chilean novelist and writer known for works blending magical realism and historical fiction, notably The House of the Spirits; one of the best-known contemporary Spanish-language authors.
4081. Colleen Hoover
American author of contemporary romance and young-adult fiction, best known for bestselling novels such as 'Slammed' and 'It Ends with Us'. She self-published her debut and has become a major commercial success in commercial/romantic fiction.
4082. Tana French
Irish novelist and former actress, best known for her psychological crime novels and the Dublin Murder Squad series (including In the Woods, The Likeness, Faithful Place, Broken Harbor, The Secret Place) and standalone novels such as The Witch Elm.
4083. Jennifer Marie Thorne
American ophthalmologist and ocular epidemiologist, affiliated with Johns Hopkins University; researches uveitis and other ocular inflammatory diseases and their population-level impacts.
4084. Marie-Renée Lavoie
Québécoise novelist and writer from Quebec, known for contemporary fiction and work as a columnist. Writes in French.
4085. Megan Nolan
Irish novelist and journalist, author of the novel Acts of Desperation and of essays and cultural criticism exploring relationships, mental health and contemporary life.
4086. Tayari Jones
American novelist and professor, author of Leaving Atlanta (2002), Silver Sparrow (2011), and An American Marriage (2018); her work explores race, family, and social justice.
4087. A.J. Cronin
Scottish physician and novelist best known for novels such as The Citadel that critiqued the medical profession and helped influence public opinion leading toward healthcare reform; many of his works were widely read and adapted for stage and screen.
4088. Claire Fuller
English novelist and short-story writer, author of novels including Our Endless Numbered Days, Swimming Lessons, Bitter Orange, The Memory of Animals, and Unsettled Ground.
4090. Alexander, William
4091. David Berlinski
American author, educator, and freelance writer known for books and essays on mathematics, science, and critiques of evolutionary theory.
4092. Klein, Daniel
4093. Shakespeare
English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language; author of many plays (including Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet) and sonnets; active in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
4094. Jean Edward Smith
American historian and biographer best known for authoritative biographies of U.S. presidents and statesmen, including works on Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
4096. Neil Boortz
American talk radio host, author, and political commentator known for libertarian-leaning views; co-author of The FairTax Book and host of the nationally syndicated "The Neal Boortz Show."
4097. David M. Cutler
American economist and Harvard professor known for work in health economics and public policy.
4098. Mikel J. Harry
American engineer, management consultant and author; co-developer of the Six Sigma methodology; founder of the Six Sigma Academy and author of books on Six Sigma and process improvement.
4099. Steven Silbiger
American business author and commentator, best known for The Ten-Day MBA and other books that summarize and explain business school concepts for a general audience.
4100. Ram Charan
Indian business consultant, speaker, and author best known for books on corporate governance and business execution, including 'Execution' (co‑authored with Larry Bossidy) and 'What the CEO Wants You to Know'.