Welcome to the HWR bestseller list - the most comprehensive and trusted list of bestselling books in India.
Explore the bestselling titles in India. Discover what India is reading. Pick your next read. #HWRBestsellersList
The HWR-Nielsen bestseller list the most authoritative bestseller list in India. It is the only list which covers both online and physical bookstores, and is put together by Nielsen bookscan, the world leader in measuring book sales data including in the US and the UK. The FAQs have details.
Questions? Please email namrata@himalayanwritingretreat.com or Call / WA / Signal us on +91 73035 16665 .
HWR Bestselling Books in India: Top 50 Fiction books
Data for the week ending 11th September 2021
Rank | Status | Name of the Book | Author | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |  | Alchemist,The | Paulo Coelho | General & Literary Fiction |
2 | | One Arranged Murder | Bhagat, Chetan | Crime, Thriller & Adventure |
3 |  | Pride & Prejudice | Austen, Jane | General & Literary Fiction |
4 |  | Silent Patient, The | Michaelides, Alex | Crime, Thriller & Adventure |
5 |  |
Girl in Room 105,The |
Bhagat, Chetan |
Crime, Thriller & Adventure |
6 | | Complete Novel of Sherlock Holmes, The | Doyle, Arthur Conan | General & Literary Fiction |
7 | |
Man Called Ove, A |
Backman, Fredrik |
General & Literary Fiction |
8 | |
And Then There Were None |
Christie, Agatha |
Crime, Thriller & Adventure |
9 | |
It Ends with Us |
Hoover, Colleen |
Romance & Sagas |
10 | |
Forty Rules of Love, The |
Shafak, Elif |
General & Literary Fiction |
11 | |
To Kill A Mockingbird:60th Anniversary Edition |
Lee, Harper |
General & Literary Fiction |
12 | |
Life is What You Make it |
Shenoy, Preeti | General & Literary Fiction |
13 |  |
Beautiful World, Where Are You |
Rooney, Sally |
General & Literary Fiction |
14 | |
Midnight Library, The | Haig, Matt | General & Literary Fiction |
15 | |
Time Machine, The |
Wells, H. G. |
General & Literary Fiction |
16 | |
Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The: Poirot |
Christie, Agatha |
Crime, Thriller & Adventure |
17 | |
Immortals of Meluha, The: The Shiva Trilogy |
Tripathi, Amish | Historical & Mythological Fiction |
18 | |
Palace of Illusions, The |
Banerjee Divakaruni, Chitra |
General & Literary Fiction |
19 | |
Girl in the Red Lipstick, The |
K.Pandey, Ajay |
Romance & Sagas |
20 | |
Prophet, The |
Gibran, Kahlil |
General & Literary Fiction |
21 | |
One Indian Girl | Bhagat, Chetan | General & Literary Fiction |
22 | |
Alchemist |
Coelho, Paulo & Soni, Madan |
General & Literary Fiction |
23 | |
Song of Achilles, The |
Miller, Madeline |
General & Literary Fiction |
24 | | One Day, Life Will Change: A Story of Love and Inspiration to Win Life | Umakanthan, Saranya | Romance & Sagas |
25 | | Kite Runner, The: Tenth anniversary edition | Hosseini, Khaled | General & Literary Fiction |
26 | | God of Small Things, The | Roy, Arundhati | General & Literary Fiction |
27 | | Wake Up, Life is Calling | Shenoy, Preeti | General & Literary Fiction |
28 | | 1984 | Orwell, George | General & Literary Fiction |
29 | | Kafka on the Shore | Murakami, Haruki | General & Literary Fiction |
30 | | Secret Garden, The | Burnett, Frances Hodgson | General & Literary Fiction |
31 | | Little Life, A: Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015 | Yanagihara, Hanya | General & Literary Fiction |
32 | | Dark Matter | Crouch, Blake | Crime, Thriller & Adventure |
33 | | Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta: Ram Chandra | Tripathi, Amish | Historical & Mythological Fiction |
34 | | Touch of Eternity, A | Durjoy, Datta, | Romance & Sagas |
35 | | Ram: Scion of Ikshvaku: Ram Chandra | Tripathi, Amish | Historical & Mythological Fiction |
36 | | Bird With Golden Wings, The | Murty, Sudha | General & Literary Fiction |
37 | | Bookshelf Whispers: A Tale of Love, Life and Legacy | Ranade, Bhagyashree | Romance & Sagas |
38 | | Norwegian Wood | Murakami, Haruki | General & Literary Fiction |
39 | | Room On The Roof, The | Bond, Ruskin | Short Stories & Fiction Anthologies |
40 | | Secret of the Nagas, The: The Shiva Trilogy | Tripathi, Amish | Historical & Mythological Fiction |
41 | | Murder on the Orient Express: Poirot | Christie, Agatha | Crime, Thriller & Adventure |
42 | | Wish I Could Tell You | Datta, Durjoy | General & Literary Fiction |
43 | | All the Light We Cannot See | Doerr, Anthony | General & Literary Fiction |
44 | | Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The: A Novel | Reid, Taylor Jenkins | General & Literary Fiction |
45 | | Everything I Never Told You | Pandey, Ajay K. | Romance & Sagas |
46 | | You Only Live Once: One for Passion Two for Love Three for Friendship | Changle, Stuti | General & Literary Fiction |
47 | | Da Vinci Code, The | Brown, Dan | Crime, Thriller & Adventure |
48 | | Metamorphosis | Kafka, Franz | General & Literary Fiction |
49 | | Whereabouts: A Novel | Lahiri, Jhumpa | General & Literary Fiction |
50 | | Something I Never Told You | Bhinder, Shravya | General & Literary Fiction |
Note : The top 50 bestselling Fiction titles provided by Nielsen BookScan India
HWR Bestselling Books in India: Top 50 Non-Fiction books
Data for the week ending 11th September 2021
Rank | Status | Name of the Book | Author | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | | Broke to Breakthrough: The Rise of India's Largest Private Dairy Company | Damodaran, Harish | Biography: Business |
2 | | Psychology of Money, The | Housel, Morgan | Money & Consumer Issues |
3 | | Atomic Habits: the life-changing million-copy #1 bestseller | Clear, James | Popular Psychology |
4 | | Ikigai: The Japanese secret to a long and happy life | García, Héctor & Miralles, Francesc | Mind, Body & Spirit: General |
5 | | Rich Dad Poor Dad | Kiyosaki, Robert T. | Money & Consumer Issues |
6 | |
Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*Ck,The | Das, Gaur Gopal | Self Improvement: General |
7 | |
World's Greatest Books for Personal Growth & Wealth | N.A | Self Improvement: General |
8 | |
Life's Amazing Secrets: How to Find Balance and Purpose in Your Life |
Das, Gaur Gopal |
Self Improvement: General |
9 | |
Business Unusual: The story of Tata |
Casey, Peter |
Biography: General |
10 | |
Time Management |
Dixit, Sudhir |
Self Improvement: General |
11 | |
Diamonds in the Dust: Consistent Compounding for Extraordinary Wealth Creation | Mukherjea, Saurabh & Ranjan, Rakshit & D | Finance & Accounting |
12 | |
Attitude is Everything: Change Your Attitude ... Change Your Life! |
Keller, Jeff |
Self Improvement: General |
13 | |
Bhagavad Gita: Yatharoop |
Prabhupada, A.C. Bhaktivendanta Swami |
Non-Christian Religions |
14 | |
Karma:A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODA |
Sadhguru |
Religion: Comparative, General & Reference |
15 | |
Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, The |
Sharma, Robin S. |
Popular Psychology |
16 | |
Think Like a Monk: The Secret of How to Harness the Power of Positivity |
Shetty, Jay |
Popular Psychology |
17 | |
Wings of Fire: An Autobiography | Tiwari, Arun & Abul Kalam | Autobiography: General |
18 | |
Man's Search For Meaning: The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust | Frankl, Viktor E | Popular Psychology |
19 | |
Intelligent Investor, The |
Graham, Benjamin |
Finance & Accounting |
20 | | Richest Man in Babylon, The |
Clason, George S. |
Money & Consumer Issues |
21 | |
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind |
Harari, Yuval Noah |
Popular Science |
22 | | Aapke Avchetan Mann Ki Shakti | Murphy, Joseph | Mind, Body & Spirit: General |
23 | |
5 AM Club, The |
Sharma, Robin |
Self Improvement: General |
24 | | How to Win Friends and Influence People | Carnegie, Dale | Self Improvement: General |
25 | | Who Will Cry When You Die? | Sharma, Robin S. | Popular Psychology |
26 | | Story of My Experiments with Truth, The: An Autobiography | Gandhi, M. K. | Autobiography: Historical, Political & Military |
27 | | Wuthering Heights | Bronte, Emily | Anthologies, Essays, Letters & Miscellaneous |
28 | | Death; An Inside Story: A book for all those who shall die | Sadhguru | Self Improvement: General |
29 | | Sawal Hi Jawab Hain | Pease, Allan | Self Improvement: General |
30 | | Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy | Sadhguru | Alternative Belief Systems |
31 | | Autobiography of a Yogi | Yogananda, Paramahansa | Biography: General |
32 | | How to Talk to Anyone | Lowndes, Leil | Popular Psychology |
33 | | Believe in Yourself | Murphy, Joseph | Self Improvement: General |
34 | | Zero to One: Notes on Start Ups, or How to Build the Future | Masters, Blake & Thiel, Peter | Management & Business: General |
35 | | Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World | Newport, Cal | Careers & Success |
36 | | How to Stop Worrying and Start Living | Carnegie, Dale | Coping with Problems & Illness |
37 | | Thinking, Fast and Slow | Kahneman, Daniel | Popular Psychology |
38 | | Because Life is a Gift: Stories of Hope, Courage and Perseverance | Chabbra, MS Disha | Mind, Body & Spirit: General |
39 | | Theory of Everything, The: The Origin and Fate of the Universe | Hawking, Stephen | Encyclopedias & General Reference |
40 | | Coffee Can Investing: The Low Risk Road to Stupendous Wealth | Mukherjea, Saurabh | Economics: Professional & General |
41 | | Three Thousand Stitches -:Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives | Murty, Sudha | Biography: General |
42 | | Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, The | Mackesy, Charlie | History of Ideas & Popular Philosophy |
43 | | Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done | Tracy, Brian | Self Improvement: General |
44 | | Why I am an Atheist and Other Works | Singh, Bhagat | Autobiography: General |
45 | | Mindset: Changing The Way You think To Fulfil Your Potential | Dweck, Dr Carol | Popular Psychology |
46 | | Memory: How to develop, train, and use it | Atkinson, William Walker | Mind, Body & Spirit: General |
47 | | Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action | Sinek, Simon | Careers & Success |
48 | | Ignited Minds: Unleashing the power within India | Kalam, A P J Abdul | Social Studies: General |
49 | | Spy Stories: Inside the Secret World of the R.A.W. and the I.S.I. | Levy, Adrian & Scott-Clark, Cathy | True Stories |
50 | | You Can | Adams, George Matthew | Self Improvement: General |
Note: The top 50 bestselling Adult Non-Fiction titles provided by Nielsen BookScan India
HWR Bestselling Books in India: Top 25 Children and Young Adult
Data for the week ending 11th September 2021
Rank | Status | Name of the Book | Author | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | | Grandma's Bag Of Stories | Murty, Sudha | Children's Fiction |
2 | | Great Stories for Children | Bond, Ruskin | Children's Fiction |
3 | | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Rowling, J.K. | Children's Fiction |
4 | | Magic Of The Lost Temple, The | Murty, Sudha | Children's Fiction |
5 | | Blue Umbrella, The | Bond, Ruskin | Children's Fiction |
6 | | Peppa Pig: Little Library:Peppa Pig | N.A | Picture Books |
7 | | Grandparents' Bag of Stories | Murty, Sudha | Children's Fiction |
8 | | 101 Panchatantra Stories | N.A. | Children's Fiction |
9 | | 1001 Activities Book | N.A. | Novelty & Activity Books |
10 | | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Rowling, J.K. | Children's Fiction |
11 | | Very Hungry Caterpillar, The | Carle, Eric | Picture Books |
12 | | Harry Potter Box Set: The Complete Collection (Children’s Paperback) | Rowling, J.K. | Children's Fiction |
13 | | World's Greatest Leaders | N.A | Reference & Home Learning |
14 | | Book Thief, The | Zusak, Markus | Young Adult Fiction |
15 | | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Rowling, J.K. | Children's Fiction |
16 | | One Of Us Is Lying | McManus, Karen M. | Young Adult Fiction |
17 | | Girl Who Drank the Moon, The | Barnhill, Kelly | Children's Fiction |
18 | | My Little Book of Ganesha: Illustrated board books on Hindu mythology | India, Penguin | Picture Books |
19 | | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Rowling, J.K. | Children's Fiction |
20 | | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End | Kinney, Jeff | Children's Fiction |
21 | | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Rowling, J.K. | Children's Fiction |
22 | | Magic Drum And Other Favourite Stories | Murty, Sudha | Children's Fiction |
23 | | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Rowling, J.K. | Children's Fiction |
24 | | Kid Who Came From Space, The | Welford, Ross | Children Fiction |
25 | | How I Taught My Grand Mother To Read: And Other Stories | Sudha, Murthy, | Young Adult Fiction |
Note : The top 50 Fiction, Top 50 Non-fiction and the Top 25 bestselling Children & YA titles are provided by Nielsen BookScan India .
For enquiries please email namrata@himalayanwritingretreat.com or Call / WA / Signal us at +91 73035 16665.
FAQs for Bestselling Books in India
What is HWR?
HWR stands for the Himalayan Writing Retreat. A small business based in the Uttarakhand Himalayas, our mission is to help writers & readers. In our ideal world, everyone reads and all writing is beautiful. We are India's leader in writing courses & workshops. We host our courses both online and in the Himalayas. You can check our Writing Workshops & Courses to know more about them.
We also host many free / Charitable events to help you get your writing going. You can check these out here.
What is the HWR Bestseller List?
It is the list of the highest selling (bestselling) books in India. The list is updated every week. It includes Top 50 Fiction and Top 50 Non-Fiction titles along with Top 25 Children's books and Young Adult (Y.A.) titles in India.
Why does this list matter?
With this list, we finally know what India is reading.
Unlike the US which has the New York Times, The USA Today and other bestseller lists, India has not had a definitive Bestseller list. This is the only comprehensive list of book sales across India's online and physical bookstores.
What are the benefits of featuring in this list for an author?
It is recognition that your book is selling very well, and is popular.
Can I call my book a bestseller if it features in this list of bestselling books in India and quote it as source?
Yes, you can. In fact, we would be happy to give you a badge, or simply use #HWRbestsellers .
Is this the only list of bestselling books in India?
No. Other lists exist, but the HWR Bestseller list is the most comprehensive. The Amazon bestseller list only includes sales on Amazon. Further, it is updated hourly, which is too small a window. Crossword has a bestseller list, but again only of it's own store sales, and does not give a rank or time-frame.
The HWR Bestseller list is the only public list of bestselling books in India released every week which covers both online and physical retail sales in such a comprehensive way.
Does this list include Indian languages too, or is it only English books?
This is the list of the top selling books in India, irrespective of language. So if a Kannada / Bengali / any other language book sells enough to be in the top 50 fiction or non-fiction book (Top 25 for kids and Young Adult), it will show up on this list.
How is the HWR Bestseller list different from the bestseller list Hindustan Times used to publish till recently?
HWR's list of Bestselling Books in India is longer and much more detailed than the Hindustan Times (HT) list. The HWR Bestseller list goes up to top 50 fiction and top 50 non-fiction books. The HT Bestseller list used to cover only the top 10 of each. The HWR list covers the top 25 Children's and Young Adult books. The HT bestseller list only covered the top 5. The HWR Bestseller is based on the same data source that the HT Bestseller list was based on - Bookscan from Nielsen (Nielsen is a world leader in Audience measurement) .
Note : HT Does not carry the bestseller list anymore.
What % of book sales in India are covered in the HWR Bestsellers list?
The exact number can vary from one publisher to the next, but roughly half of Indian trade book sales is covered in the HWR Bestseller list.
What is the basis/source of this list of bestselling books in India?
Data is collected on a daily basis from tens of physical books stores, and from online sellers. These include Crossword, Flipkart,Om Books, Amazon sellers like Cloudtail etc. These are collated on a weekly basis and shared here. HWR will further analyze and present monthly and quarterly trends and insights as well.
These above names are indicative and the full retail panel can change from time to time.
How is this list of bestselling books in India different from the Amazon Bestseller list?
These two lists are different in many ways:
- The Amazon Bestseller list only has Amazon data. The HWR Bestseller list includes all major book stores across Indian cities in addition to most Amazon and Flipkart resellers. So, the HWR Bestseller list is a more comprehensive list.
- The HWR Bestseller list is updated every week, so one gets a real, long-term sense for book sales. Amazon updates it's list every hour, so it is a bit of a blur. It can be hard to keep track and get an accurate, longer-term picture of the most popular books.
- The HWR Bestseller list will include deep analysis of the available data to track trends, identify long-term bestsellers and so on. Amazon does not do that.
- Amazon has a bestseller book list is dependent on category and subcategory, which can sometimes give a reader the wrong impression (see this article).
When is the HWR Bestseller list updated?
Every Saturday. On weeks where Friday / Saturday is off, there maybe a delay.
What are the various arrows and signs on this list?
This sign denotes the book is a new entrant in this list of bestselling books in India.
This arrow denotes the book has been consistent on this rank since last week.
This arrow denotes the book has fallen from its previous rank since last week.
This arrow denotes the book has ranked better from its previous rank since last week.
This arrow denotes the book has re-entered the list after a small gap of 1-2 weeks.
Are free e-book downloads included in this list?
No. This list only covers sales of print books and does not include kindle / other eBook data. But you can join our Book Club for free e-book downloads of other books.
Are free author copies included in this list?
No. This list only covers sales of print books and does not include kindle / other eBook data.
Are e-book sales included in this list?
No. This list only covers sales of print books and does not include kindle / other eBook data.
Note: Some publishers like Juggernaut Books sell their print books through their own app apart from other platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and physical stores. This list does not include the books sold through their app. It only includes titles sold through Amazon, Flipkart and other physical stories.
I am a writer/publisher and I feel my book deserves to be on this list. My book has sold more than X copies till now, but does not show up on this list. Whom do we approach to get it rectified?
This list includes data till the previous week. So, if your book has qualified to be a part of this in this week, it might take time to reflect in the list.
Are self publishing company sales included in this list? i.e. If I have published my book through Notion press, and have sold 500 copies from their website, is that counted for this bestseller list?
No. This list does not consider the website sales of self-publishing companies in it's retail panel. The retail panel is shared above.
Can I pay to be included in this list of bestselling books in India?
No. This list is based on hard data of daily book sales across India. You cannot buy your way into this list, or manipulate this list by any way except by increasing sales of your print book in stores and online.
I have paid to get the "bestseller tag" for my book on Amazon. Why not here?
The Amazon bestseller tag is not just for books, but for any bestseller product of Amazon. Even a very low-selling product can become an Amazon bestseller if it is in a narrow category or subcategory. Thus, that bestseller list can be gamed, as explained here.
However, for the HWR list this option does not exist.
What does a bestseller book in India mean?
A bestseller is a book which sells well. Now, the immediate question that comes to mind is - how much is enough to be considered 'selling well'? India does not have any specific "minimum sales" number for a book to qualify as a bestseller.
We recommend you read these articles to understand how books become bestsellers in India:
- How many copies must a book sell to be a bestseller in India (and why are there so many lists?)
- What Makes A Bestseller In India: Why Chetan Bhagat, Durjoy Dutta Sell
- How author Savi Sharma's self-published book went on to become a bestseller
If you are wondering how to sell your book in India to become a bestseller, you might find some answers on our blogpost How to sell your book in India.
Does HWR make any money if I buy a book from this page?
Yes, some of the book sales links are affiliate links. We earn a small percentage of such sales.