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2024's bestselling authors so far: Julia Donaldson remains tops
Julia Donaldson is on course to claim an unprecedented fifth straight year as the UK’s bestselling author, as she easily topped the writers’ league table at 2024’s halfway mark, while Sarah J Maas bagged a personal best.
Tom Tivnan is the managing editor of The Bookseller.
Tom Tivnan is the managing editor of The Bookseller.
Julia Donaldson is on course to claim an unprecedented fifth straight year as the UK’s bestselling author, as she easily topped the writers’ league table at 2024’s halfway mark—and in the process became just the second person to cross the £225m mark through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market.
The Gruffalo co-creator sold £6.7m through the TCM in the first 26 weeks of this year, £800,000 greater than second-placed Sarah J Maas. Donaldson’s half-year is even more impressive in volume terms—she has sold just over 1.2 million copies, an incredible 725,000 units more than the next bestselling author (Fiona Watt). Her all-time sales now sit at £229.7m, second (a distant second, mind) to J K Rowling (£385.3m).
As has consistently been the case with Donaldson, rock-solid backlist and not bombastic bestsellers are key. Her top title of 2024 is The Baddies (Alison Green, illustrated by Axel Scheffler) on nearly 56,000 copies, 81st in the overall chart. Her and Scheffler’s latest Tales from Acorn Wood title, Frog’s Day Out (Macmillan Children’s)—is her only number one of the year on the major charts; it held the Children’s top spot for one week in May when it shifted 4,149 units. (The second bestselling author of all-time, incredibly, has never had an overall UK number one). Yet Donaldson had 713 different editions record sales through BookScan this year. The only author with more is William Shakespeare (886), the closest living writer is James Patterson on 349. Thirty-nine of her titles have sold more than 10,000 copies in 2024; the runner-up is Dav Pilkey on 16.
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At this halfway point Maas has already shattered her personal best for full-year TCM sales, as her £5.8m in the first 26 weeks is 18% up her entire 2023. Maas’ eagerly awaited third book in the Crescent City series, House of Flame and Shadow (Bloomsbury), shifted 44,761 copies in its launch week—by far the best week for an adult hardback fiction of 2024, and the third-fastest-selling Science Fiction & Fantasy title since records began.
Pilkey also bags a personal halfway best in nabbing fifth place. His latest Dog Man comic, The Scarlet Shredder (Scholastic), shifted 103,000 units, the top kids’ title that was not on the 2024 World Book Day tranche. Fellow children’s graphic novelist Jamie Smart was also in the top 10 on £2.8m; Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman is just outside this chart at 31st (£1.1m).
It’s been a tough year for non-fiction—BookScan’s Adult Non-Fiction: Trade and Specialist categories combined for £351.1m, a 6.8% year-on-year slump. That is reflected in Nathan Anthony and Kay and Kate Allinson being the only authors in the top 20 who do not write children’s or adult fiction. Fourth-placed Anthony’s Bored of Lunch Healthy Slow Cooker: Even Easier and Bored of Lunch Healthy Air Fryer: 30 Minute Meals (both Ebury) notched a brace of overall number ones apiece this year, but the Northern Irishman’s £3.5m was 34% off his breakout first half of 2023.
