James Patterson No Longer No.1 Borrowed Author In UK Libraries

James Patterson is no longer UK libraries’ most borrowed author.

The crime writer has long held the accolade of being the writer most sought after by British library cardholders. However, after 14 years of being the most borrowed author, children’s writer Julia Donaldson has surpassed him.

Data from the Public Lending Right (PLR) has shown that Gruffalo author, Donaldson, is now the most borrowed author. That also makes her the most borrowed children’s writer, while Patterson can take solace in the fact that he is the most borrowed adult author.

Despite their overwhelming popularity as writers, neither Patterson nor Donaldson has titles in the ‘most borrowed books’ top 50 list. Television host and author Richard Osman currently holds the top two spots on that list, with The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice as number one and two.

All of the top 10 most borrowed books are fiction, with The Thursday Murder Club sitting atop the list for the second year in a row. Ann Cleaves has three books in the top 10; The Darkest Evening at number five, The Long Call at six, and The Heron’s Cry at eight.

There were only two non-fiction books in the top 50 list, with Michelle Obama’s Becoming at 31 and Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt at 41.

The only children’s book in the top 10 was JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, at number seven. In the list of most borrowed children’s books, there were six titles from the Harry Potter series inside the top 10, with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the only book outside of it.

Author

  • Cian Murray is an experienced writer and editor, who graduated from Cardiff University’s esteemed School of Journalism, Media and Culture. His work has been featured in both local and national media, and he has also produced content for multinational brands and agencies.

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