Lists of The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers


This is a list of lists by year of The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers.
The New York Times Best Seller list was first published without fanfare on October 12, 1931. It consisted of five fiction and four non-fiction for the New York City region only.
The following month the list was expanded to eight cities, with a separate list for each city. By the early 1940s, fourteen cities were included. This list of lists only cover the New York list before 1942.
A national list was created April 9, 1942, in The New York Times Book Review as a supplement to the regular paper's city lists. The national list ranked by weighting how many times the book appeared in each city list.
A few years later, the city lists were eliminated leaving only the national rankings, which was compiled according to "reports from leading booksellers in 22 cities," a system which remains, although the specifics have changed.

''The New York Times'' Fiction Best Sellers by year