Publishing is an industry dominated by women – over 74% of all publishing industry employees are declaring as cis women. Even though this is a drop from the 78% recorded in 2015, women remain dominant in the industry.

But what do the numbers say for authors? In this report, we analyzed how many female authors are in the United States, how their number changed over the years, and how present women are among the most successful authors in the history of publishing.

How many female authors are in the US?

• The most recent records show that there are 103,693 female authors in the United States as of 2020.
• This is a slight increase compared to 2019 when there were around 102,692 of US authors declared as women.
• The number of female authors in the US has been growing every year since 2014, going from 85,105 to 103,693 over the past 6 years.
• This means that the number of female authors has risen by 21.84% since 2014, but the growth has been slower over the last 2 years.
• Since 2018, there have been over 100,000 female writers in the US.

Year	Number of female authors	Change
2020	103,693	0.97%
2019	102,692	1.54%
2018	101,130	4.55%
2017	96,729	3.09%
2016	93,829	5.77%
2015	88,709	4.23%
2014	85,105
Since 2014		21.84%

• Female authors account for 60.72% of all registered authors in the United States as of 2020.
• Women have been accounting for over 60% of all US authors and writers since 2018.
• The share of women among US writers has been growing slowly but steadily over the past 6 years.
• In 2014, around 58.69% of all authors in the US were women, meaning that the share of female authors jumped by 3.45% over 6 years.

Year	Share of female authors	Change
2020	60.72%	0.06%
2019	60.68%	0.75%
2018	60.23%	0.53%
2017	59.91%	0.58%
2016	59.57%	1.24%
2015	58.83%	0.24%
2014	58.69%
Since 2014		3.45%

• Women account for 46.97% of the American workforce while accounting for 60.72% of the American authors.
• This means that women are 29% more likely to become authors compared to the “average” occupation in the US.
• In 2014, women were 25% more likely to become authors compared to other occupations.
• The growth of female authors is also faster than the growth of women in the American workforce – since 2014, the share of females in the US workforce grew by 0.22% while the share of females among the US authors grew by 3.45%.
• One in every 667 women in the United States is a writer or an author as of 2020.

Year	Share of female workforce	Change	Share of female authors	Change
2020	46.97%	-0.35%	60.72%	0.06%
2019	47.14%	0.20%	60.68%	0.75%
2018	47.04%	0.38%	60.23%	0.53%
2017	46.87%	0.15%	59.91%	0.58%
2016	46.79%	-0.29%	59.57%	1.24%
2015	46.93%	0.13%	58.83%	0.24%
2014	46.87%		58.69%
Since 2014		0.22%		3.45%

Best-selling female authors of all time

Even though women dominate the publishing industry and outnumber men as writers and authors, men are still selling more books. There are at least 26 female authors who sold over 100 million copies of their books worldwide, compared to the 74 male authors with over 100 million copies sold.

• With estimated sales of as high as 4 billion copies, Agatha Christie is the best-selling female author of all time. She is also, along with William Shakespeare, the best-selling author of all time.
• Barbara Cartland sold up to 1 billion books worldwide, making her the second best-selling female author of all time and third best-selling author overall.
• Danielle Steel ranks as the third best-selling female writer of all time with estimated sales of 800 million copies.
• J. K. Rowling and Enid Blyton are tied at the fourth spot of the best-selling female writers of all time, all reportedly selling around 600 million copies of their books worldwide.
• Among 26 female authors who sold over 100 million copies, 22 come from the United States (11) and Great Britain (11).
• The other 4 authors come from Japan, France, Spain, and Sweden.

Below is the list of the best-selling female authors of all time.

Rank	Author	Copies sold (largest estimate)	Books published	Nationality
1	Agatha Christie	4 billion	85	British
2	Barbara Cartland	1 billion	723	British
3	Danielle Steel	800 million	179	American
4	J. K. Rowling	600 million	22	British
5	Enid Blyton	600 million	800	British
6	Corín Tellado	400 million	4,000	Spanish
7	Jackie Collins	400 million	25	British
8	Nora Roberts	400 million	200	American
9	Janet Dailey	300 million	93	American
10	Jan Berenstain	260 million	300	American
11	Rumiko Takahashi	200 million	/	Japanese
12	Ann M. Martin	180 million	335	American
13	Astrid Lindgren	165 million	100	Swedish
14	Anne Rice	150 million	40	American
15	Beatrix Potter	150 million	23	British
16	Debbie Macomber	140 million	/	American
17	EL James	125 million	7	British
18	Catherine Cookson	120 million	103	British
19	Stephenie Meyer	116 million	6	American
20	Judith Krantz	100 million	12	American
21	Eleanor Hibbert	100 million	200	British
22	Denise Robins	100 million	200	British
23	Anne Golon	100 million	14	French
24	Mary Higgins Clark	100 million	/	American
25	Penny Jordan	100 million	200	British
26	Patricia Cornwell	100 million	34	American

Who are the wealthiest female authors of all time?

There are two female writers whose estimated wealth exceeds $1 billion and 4 others with over $100 million in net worth.

• Élisabeth Badinter is the wealthiest female author of all time, with an estimated net worth of over $1.3 billion.
• J.K. Rowling is the only other female author billionaire whose wealth exceeds $1 billion as of 2023.
• Nora Roberts currently has over $420 in net worth, making her the third wealthiest female author of all time.
• Another American author, Danielle Steel, made over $310 as an author and ranks no. 4 on the all-time list of the richest female writers.
• Barbara Taylor Bradford’s net worth is estimated at $300 million, making her the fifth wealthiest female writer of all time.

Rank	Name	Nationality	Genre	Net worth
1	Élisabeth Badinter	French	Nonfiction	$1.3 billion
2	J.K. Rowling	British	Fantasy	$1 billion
3	Nora Roberts	American	Romance	$420 million
4	Danielle Steel	American	Romance	$310 million
5	Barbara Taylor Bradford	British	Romance	$300 million
6	Stephenie Meyer	American	Fantasy	$125 million
7	Suzanne Collins	American	Fantasy	$90 million
8	Janet Evanovich	American	Mystery/Thriller	$80 million
9	Meg Cabot	American	Romance	$80 million