Bestselling books in India: The Authoritative Weekly Bestseller List

Welcome to the HWR bestseller list - the most authoritative list of bestselling books in India. 

Covering some 60% of Indian trade book sales (Bookstores + Online), this is the most authoritative bestseller list in India. The FAQs have details.

For enquiries, 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 17th July 2021

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 17th July 2021

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 17th July 2021

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?

Approximately 60% of Indian 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 including  Flipkart, 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.  

Below is an indicative list of booksellers (retail panel) from whom data is collected. This list is not comprehensive and can change from time to time.

BOOKSCAN PANEL: PARTICIPATING RETAILERS

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).

What are the various arrows and signs on this list?

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.

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. 

For enquiries please email us at namrata@himalayanwritingretreat.com or call/WA/Signal us at  +91 73035 16665 .