John Green Statistics

  • Over 50 million John Green books are available in print worldwide.
  • His most popular title, The Fault in Our Stars (2012), has sold more than 23 million copies.
  • Barnes & Noble accidentally shipped 1,500 copies of the title in December 2011 (prior to its release date) to customers that had pre-ordered the book.
  • Due to this, many recipients pledged not to begin reading the book until its release date and not to discuss it until the day after.
  • John Green promised to hand-sign every pre-order, which resulted in him signing each copy from the first printing (150,000 books).
  • Between 2010 and 2019, John Green’s first novel, Looking for Alaska (2005), was the fourth-most banned, challenged, and/or removed book in the US.
  • After a long period of steadily increasing sales, the title officially became a bestseller in 2012 (7 years after its initial publication).
  • In 2012, Fox 2000 Pictures purchased the film option rights to The Fault in Our Stars. 
  • Two years later, the film was released, grossing over $307 million worldwide from a budget of $12 million.
  • Paper Towns (2008) by John Green, was also adapted into a movie in 2015, grossing $85.5 million from a $12 million budget.

John Green books in order

  • As of 2023, there are 16 John Green book titles.
  • This includes
    • 7 novels
    • 6 short stories
    • 1 short story collection
    • 1 nonfiction title
    • 1 interactive novel
  • John Green has also released multiple gift books in collaboration with other authors and written several book forewords for other authors.
  • Looking for Alaska was John Green’s first title, released in 2005.
  • The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet was John Green’s most recent title, released in 2021.
#Date publishedTitleTypePage countAudiobook length
1March 3, 2005Looking for AlaskaNovel2216h40m
2January 1, 2006**The Approximate Cost of Loving CarolineShort story*N/AN/A
3September 21, 2006An Abundance of KatherinesNovel2296h47m
4March 1, 2007The Great American MorpShort story*N/AN/A
5October 2, 2008Let It Snow: Three Holiday RomancesNovel3528h9m
6October 16, 2008Paper TownsNovel3058h
7January 1, 2009**ThisisnottomInteractive novel58N/A
8August 1, 2009**Freak the GeekShort story*N/AN/A
9April 6, 2010Will Grayson, Will GraysonNovel3107h51m
10January 19, 2011ZombicornsShort story72N/A
11September 15, 2011ReasonsShort story*N/AN/A
12January 10, 2012The Fault in Our StarsNovel3137h11m
13August 20, 2012The War for Banks IslandShort story48N/A
14January 1, 2014**The Space & The Cat and the MouseShort story collectionN/AN/A
15October 10, 2017Turtles All the Way DownNovel2907h12m
16May 18, 2021The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered PlanetNonfiction30410h42m
(*part of multi-author collection)(**approximate date)

John Green YouTube projects

  • John Green and his brother Hank Green started Vlogbrothers in 2007 as a video blog YouTube channel.
  • As of 2023, the channel has 3.74 million subscribers and 2.1 thousand videos.
  • Through the channel, they started a charitable movement in 2007 named Project for Awesome, an annual 48-hour event allowing YouTubers to create content and vote for their favorite charities. 
  • In total, the project has raised over $20 million through 13 annual events ($1.54 million on average per event).
  • In 2023 alone, Project for Awesome raised $3.07 million to be shared between 32 different charitable organizations.
  • Crash Course was also started by the two brothers in 2012 to be an educational YouTube channel.
  • The previous year, it was selected to be funded as part of YouTube’s original $100 million channel initiative.
  • In 2018, Crash Course received additional funding through YouTube’s Learning initiative.
  • As of 2023, the channel has 14.9 million subscribers and 1.4 thousand videos.
  • John Green’s popularity on YouTube has greatly contributed towards the success of his book titles.

John Green FAQ

Who is John Green?

  • John Green is a widely recognized author, mainly due to his successful young adult novels.
  • The popularity of his novels has been attributed to the relativity and emotional depth of his characters, in addition to creating thought-provoking storylines.
  • In addition to writing, he is also a leading YouTuber due to his channels Vlogbrothers and Crash Course, which he runs alongside his brother Hank Green.

What genre does John Green write?

  • Primarily, John Green writes books within the young adult fiction genre.
  • His writing style resonates with both young adults and adult readers alike, by including themes such as identity, relationships and mental health.
  • In particular, his bestsellers Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars have had a tremendous influence on the young adult book genre.

Why did John Green write The Fault in Our Stars?

  • John Green was compelled to write The Fault in Our Stars over a period of about 10 years following his younger experiences working at a children’s hospital.
  • Although he produced multiple versions of the story, he did not consider any of the versions to be serious until a close friend of his, Esther Erle, passed away due to cancer in 2010.
  • Returning to the story in a state of loss, he was motivated to finish the project. The book was later dedicated to Esther.