J.K. Rowling Is Still the Queen of Literature

by · January 12, 2017

With the dawn of the new year, USA Today has released its 2016 book sale rankings. Unsurprisingly, J.K. Rowling reigned supreme.

2016 saw three newly published books with Rowling’s name on it, namely Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One and Two, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them: The Original Screenplay, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: The Illustrated Edition.

All three of those books placed in the top 100, with Cursed Child coming in first, after spending six consecutive weeks at No. 1. This isn’t Cursed Child’s first time crushing the competition, however. It also won the Goodreads Choice Award and was Amazon’s bestselling book of 2016. The Fantastic Beasts screenplay also had a great year, notching the No. 14 spot for the year.

New arrivals weren’t all of what made Rowling’s sales in 2016 great. Three older books also made their way back onto people’s shelves. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which originally came out in 1998, made it to No. 22 on the list. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: The Illustrated Edition (2015) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1999) snuck into the mix at No. 67 and No. 91, respectively.

Heading up the rear is newly released Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: The Illustrated Edition (2016), eking out its No. 96 spot on the list.

This is undoubtedly a testament to how great an impact J.K. Rowling has made on the world of writing. The Harry Potter series has changed so many people’s lives and continues to change whoever picks up the books. So thank you, Jo, for changing our lives and for changing the world.