List of prolific writers - wikipedia List of prolific writers Some writers have had prolific careers with hundreds of their works being published. While some best - selling authors have written a small number of books that have sold millions of copies, others have had lengthy careers and maintained a high level of output year after year. Dame Agatha Christie, the most - published novelist in history, is estimated to have sold 4 billion books, having written 69 novels and 19 plays. Her works were published between 1920 and 1976, equating to around three publications every two years. Dame Barbara Cartland has also sold millions of copies of her books but wrote many more than Christie. She spent 80 years as a novelist with 722 books published, averaging one book released every 40 days of her career. While Cartland wrote a significant number of full - length novels, other authors have been published many more times but have specialised in short stories. Spanish author Corín Tellado wrote over 4,000 novellas, selling 400 million copies of her books. Not all authors work alone. Groups of writers, sometimes led by one central figure, have published under shared pseudonyms. The Stratemeyer Syndicate, started by Edward Stratemeyer in 1905, created numerous book series including 190 volumes of The Hardy Boys and 175 volumes of Nancy Drew. More than 1,300 books were published by the group, and although Edward L. Stratemeyer wrote several hundred, he also employed ghostwriters to keep up with the demand. These writers were given storylines and strict guidelines to follow to ensure a level of consistency within each series. Amongst the writing team was Howard R. Garis, who contributed several hundred books to the collection, one of the most active authors. Sales were estimated at over two hundred million copies before the syndicate was sold to Simon & Schuster in 1984. Most authors carefully craft their work, writing and rewriting several times before publication. Some authors simply use pen and paper, while others such as Isaac Asimov spent hours at a stretch working at a typewriter. Philip M. Parker, by one measure the world 's most prolific author, has an entirely different approach. Parker has over 200,000 titles listed on Amazon.com, having developed an algorithm to gather publicly available data and compile it into book form. The computer - generated nature of the books is not detailed on the sales page and the books are printed only when ordered. Contents 1 Prolific writers 2 Other notable writers 3 See also 4 References Prolific writers This list is incomplete ; you can help by expanding it. Name Language Birth Death First publication Last publication Published works Notes Tellado, Corín Corín Tellado Spanish 000000001927 - 04 - 25 - 0000 25 April 1927 000000002009 - 04 - 11 - 0000 11 April 2009 1946 2006 7003400000000000000 ♠ 4000 + She wrote over 5000 novellas and magazine 's short stories. She was listed in the 1994 Guinness World Records as having sold the most books written in Spanish, and earlier in 1962 UNESCO declared her the most read Spanish writer after Miguel de Cervantes. Kalmuczak, Rolf Rolf Kalmuczak German 000000001938 - 04 - 17 - 0000 17 April 1938 000000002007 - 03 - 10 - 0000 10 March 2007 7003290000000000000 ♠ 2900 + More than 100 pseudonyms Vega, Lope de Lope de Vega Spanish 000000001562 - 11 - 25 - 0000 25 November 1562 000000001635 - 08 - 27 - 0000 27 August 1635 7003220000000000000 ♠ 2200 ~ Playwright Ahmed, Ishtiaq Ishtiaq Ahmed Urdu 000000001944 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1944 000000002015 - 11 - 17 - 0000 17 November 2015 1972 Continuous 7002800000000000000 ♠ 800 + Spy Thriller Crime Series Hubbard, L. Ron L. Ron Hubbard English 000000001911 - 03 - 13 - 0000 13 March 1911 000000001986 - 01 - 24 - 0000 24 January 1986 1934 7003108400000000000 ♠ 1,084 Science fiction, adventure, westerns, mystery, religion. Blyton, Enid Enid Blyton English 000000001897 - 08 - 11 - 0000 11 August 1897 000000001968 - 11 - 28 - 0000 28 November 1968 1922 1968 7002762000000000000 ♠ 762 Children 's literature, adventure, mystery, fantasy. Murray, Andrew Andrew Murray English 000000001828 - 05 - 09 - 0000 9 May 1828 000000001917 - 01 - 18 - 0000 18 January 1917 1907 1966 7002240000000000000 ♠ 240 Mostly Christian devotional books. Ibn ul Arabi, Muhammad Muhiyyudin Muhammad Muhiyyudin Ibn ul Arabi Arabic 000000001165 - 07 - 26 - 0000 26 July 1165 000000001240 - 11 - 08 - 0000 8 November 1240 7002240000000000000 ♠ 240 Mystical Islamic Books e.g. A 7 volume Futuhat e Makkiya Suyuti, Jallaludin Jallaludin Suyuti Arabic 000000001445 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1445 000000001505 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1505 7002700000000000000 ♠ 700 Islamic Ideological Books, Fiqh, Sufism and Tafseer Works including a six volume Tafseer and a three volume tafseer Hamid Al Ghazali, Abu Abu Hamid Al Ghazali Arabic 000000001058 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1058 000000001111 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1111 7002200000000000000 ♠ 200 Fiqh, Sufism and Tafseer Brooks, Edwy S. Edwy S. Brooks English 000000001889 - 11 - 11 - 0000 11 November 1889 000000001965 - 12 - 02 - 0000 2 December 1965 1907 1966 7002800000000000000 ♠ 800 + Brooks published his first short story, in July 1907, when he was seventeen. Asimov, Isaac Isaac Asimov English 000000001920 - 01 - 02 - 0000 2 January 1920 000000001992 - 04 - 06 - 0000 6 April 1992 7002506000000000000 ♠ 506 Published in 9 of the 10 Dewey Decimal System categories Appel, Jacob M. Jacob M. Appel English 000000001973 - 02 - 21 - 0000 21 February 1973 Living 1998 7002200000000000000 ♠ 200 + Has also received 21,000 rejection letters. Goldish, Meish Meish Goldish English Unknown Living 1989 ? 7002300000000000000 ♠ 300 + Mostly books for schoolchildren Bakin, Kyokutei Kyokutei Bakin Japanese 000000001767 - 07 - 04 - 0000 4 July 1767 000000001848 - 12 - 01 - 0000 1 December 1848 7002470000000000000 ♠ 470 Bloom, Ursula Ursula Bloom English 000000001892 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1892 000000001984 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1984 1922 7002500000000000000 ♠ 500 + Cartland, Barbara Barbara Cartland English 000000001901 - 07 - 09 - 0000 9 July 1901 000000002000 - 05 - 21 - 0000 21 May 2000 1923 7002722000000000000 ♠ 722 Holds the Guinness World Record for the most novels ( 23 ) written in a single year Creasey, John John Creasey English 000000001908 - 09 - 17 - 0000 17 September 1908 000000001973 - 06 - 09 - 0000 9 June 1973 7002600000000000000 ♠ 600 + More than 10 pseudonyms Dicks, Terrance Terrance Dicks English 000000001935 - 05 - 10 - 0000 10 May 1935 Living 7002223000000000000 ♠ 223 Mainly children 's books. Includes 75 + based on the television series Doctor Who, for which he was a former script editor. Dontsova, Darya Darya Dontsova Russian 000000001952 - 06 - 07 - 0000 7 June 1952 Living 7002140000000000000 ♠ 140 + A bestselling Russian author of detective novels and kitchen books. Dumas, Alexandre Alexandre Dumas French 000000001802 - 07 - 24 - 0000 24 July 1802 000000001870 - 12 - 05 - 0000 5 December 1870 7002277000000000000 ♠ 277 Garis, Howard R. Howard R. Garis English 000000001873 - 04 - 25 - 0000 25 April 1873 000000001962 - 11 - 06 - 0000 6 November 1962 7002500000000000000 ♠ 500 + Member of the Stratemeyer Syndicate Garvice, Charles Charles Garvice English 000000001850 - 08 - 24 - 0000 24 August 1850 000000001920 - 03 - 01 - 0000 1 March 1920 7002150000000000000 ♠ 150 + Hamilton, Charles Charles Hamilton English 000000001876 - 08 - 08 - 0000 8 August 1876 000000001961 - 12 - 24 - 0000 24 December 1961 1894 1961 7003120000000000000 ♠ 1,200 Estimated to have written 100,000,000 words using around 20 pseudonyms, primarily for boys ' weekly magazines, including public - school stories Ingraham, Prentiss Prentiss Ingraham English 000000001843 - 12 - 28 - 0000 28 December 1843 000000001904 - 08 - 16 - 0000 16 August 1904 7003100000000000000 ♠ 1,000 Wrote around 600 novels and 400 novelettes Iorga, Nicolae Nicolae Iorga Romanian etc. 000000001871 - 01 - 17 - 0000 17 January 1871 000000001940 - 11 - 27 - 0000 27 November 1940 1886 ~ 1940 7003135900000000000 ♠ 1,359 Another count has `` 1300 volumes and 25000 articles '' Kraszewski, Józef Ignacy Józef Ignacy Kraszewski Polish 000000001812 - 02 - 28 - 0000 28 February 1812 1887 7002350000000000000 ♠ 350 + 200 + novels and 150 novellas, short stories, and art reviews Lindsay, Kathleen Kathleen Lindsay English 000000001903 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1903 000000001973 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1973 7002900000000000000 ♠ 900 + 11 pseudonyms Little, Paul Paul Little English 000000001915 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1915 000000001987 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1987 7002700000000000000 ♠ 700 + Many pseudonyms Meade, L.T. L.T. Meade English 000000001854 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1854 000000001914 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1914 7002300000000000000 ♠ 300 + Neusner, Jacob Jacob Neusner English 000000001932 - 07 - 28 - 0000 28 July 1932 Living 1962 7002950000000000000 ♠ 950 + Paine, Lauran Lauran Paine English 000000001916 - 02 - 25 - 0000 25 February 1916 2003 7002900000000000000 ♠ 900 + Roberts, Nora Nora Roberts English 000000001950 - 10 - 10 - 0000 10 October 1950 Living 1981 ( Active ) 7002200000000000000 ♠ 200 + Romance novels, published under at least four different names Sadoveanu, Mihail Mihail Sadoveanu Romanian 000000001880 - 11 - 05 - 0000 5 November 1880 000000001961 - 10 - 19 - 0000 19 October 1961 1904 1952 7002120000000000000 ♠ 120 The count covers novels and short story collections Shirazi, Mohammad Mohammad Shirazi Arabic and Persian 000000001928 - 01 - 01 - 0000 1928 000000002001 - 01 - 01 - 0000 2001 1953 ~ 2001 7003106100000000000 ♠ 1,061 He made contributions in various fields ranging from jurisprudence and theology to politics, economics, law, sociology and human rights. Simenon, Georges Georges Simenon French 000000001903 - 02 - 13 - 0000 13 February 1903 000000001989 - 09 - 04 - 0000 4 September 1989 1921 7002500000000000000 ♠ 500 + Stine, R.L. R.L. Stine English 000000001943 - 10 - 08 - 0000 8 October 1943 Living 7002500000000000000 ♠ Hundreds The best - selling children 's author of all time as of 2004, Stine has written hundreds of children 's books, including the Goosebumps and Fear Street series. At one time he produced one book a month for each of those series. Swan, Annie Shepherd Annie Shepherd Swan English 000000001859 - 07 - 08 - 0000 8 July 1859 000000001943 - 06 - 17 - 0000 17 June 1943 1878 1943 7002200000000000000 ♠ 200 + Wrote novels, serials, short stories and other works of fiction Pathak, Surender Mohan Surender Mohan Pathak Hindi 000000001940 - 02 - 19 - 0000 19 February 1940 Living 1959 7002250000000000000 ♠ 250 + Wrote over 250 novellas in crime fiction in India. He is known as a Grand Master of Hindi crime fiction. He has been writing for almost 50 years ; his first short story was published in 1959 at the age of 19. Inoue, Ryoki Ryoki Inoue Portuguese 000000001946 - 07 - 22 - 0000 22 July 1946 Living 1986 7003100000000000000 ♠ 1000 + Brazilian surgeon turned pulp novel author, acknowledged by Guinness as world 's most prolific writer. Wrote almost a thousand novels in 6 years, under his own name or 39 pseudonyms. N. Sharma, Dr. Krishna Dr. Krishna N. Sharma English and Hindi 000000001984 - 12 - 24 - 0000 24 December 1984 Living 2005 ( Active ) 7002132000000000000 ♠ 132 as of 2017 He writes books on health, medical, music and literature. Xavier, Chico Chico Xavier Portuguese 000000001910 - 04 - 02 - 0000 2 April 1910 000000002002 - 06 - 30 - 0000 30 June 2002 1932 7002450000000000000 ♠ 450 + Brazilian spiritist medium whose works are attributed to be psycographies written by spirits. Coelho, Manuel Jacinto Manuel Jacinto Coelho Portuguese 000000001903 - 12 - 30 - 0000 30 December 1903 000000001991 - 01 - 13 - 0000 13 January 1991 1935 1991 7003100000000000000 ♠ 1,000 Brazilian leader of a religion called Cultura Racional ( `` Rational Culture '' ). For 56 years, he wrote a one - thousand - volume encyclopedia called Universo em Desencanto ( `` Disenchanting Universe '' ), which covers a very wide range of subjects. Lozano Rico, Juan Juan Lozano Rico Spanish 1943 7002800000000000000 ♠ 800 + He wrote over 800 novellas mainly under the pseudonym of Carlos de Santander. Notes Authors with more than 100 books are considered for inclusion. Asimov celebrated his birthday on 2 January but his true date of birth is unclear. Other notable writers Al - Suyuti Ned Buntline Evelyn Everett - Green Sophocles -- wrote 123 plays of which only 7 survive today Leibniz about 15,000 letters to more than 1000 recipients plus more than 40,000 other items Bertrand Russell over 30,000 letters, thousands of articles published in nearly 100 books Robert Boyle no complete count, but an incomplete subset filled a huge 14 volume hardback bound compilation set in 2000 Elizabeth Linington at 80 books under 4 names, also considered a prolific writer Maximiliano Korstanje published 800 pieces and 40 books and books chapters in less than 10 years. H.P. Lovecraft over 100,000 letters, some of them up to 70 pages in length. See also Book series List of best - selling fiction authors References Jump up ^ Fleming, Michael. Agatha Christie gets a clue for filmmakers. Variety. 14 February 2000. Accessed 23 September 2011. ^ Jump up to : Womack, Philip. Being a prolific author is n't a bad thing. The Telegraph. 25 October 2010. Accessed 22 September 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` Corín Tellado : Spanish romantic writer ''. The Sunday Times. 18 April 2009. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2017. ( subscription required ) Jump up ^ Woodmansee, Martha. Osteen, Mark. The new economic criticism : studies at the intersection of literature and economics. Routledge. 1999. p. 11. Jump up ^ Nichols, Lewis. Isaac Asimov : Man of 7,560,000 Words. The New York Times. 3 August 1969. Accessed 22 September 2011. ^ Jump up to : Cohen, Noam. He Wrote 200,000 Books ( but Computers Did Some of the Work ). The New York Times. 14 April 2008. Accessed 22 September 2011. ^ Jump up to : Rosen, Judith. David Slavitt Joins the 100 Club at 76. 29 August 2011. Accessed 23 September 2011. Jump up ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muneer_Ahmed_Badini http://www.thenews.com.pk/print.asp?id=72382 http://www.geo.tv/3-23-2009/38013.htm Jump up ^ Obituary by Kalmuczak 's German publisher : `` Wir trauern um Rolf Kalmuczak '' ( in German ). Random House / cbj. 13 March 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2012. Jump up ^ `` Rolf Kalmuczak ''. German National Library catalogue ( in German ). Retrieved 27 February 2012. Jump up ^ Warner, Charles Dudley ( 2008 ). A Library of the World 's Best Literature -- Ancient and Modern, Volume XXXVIII : Vazoff - Wesley. Cosimo, Inc. Jump up ^ Ross, Thomas D. ( 2014 ), `` Andrew Murray, Keswick / Higher Life Leader : a Biographical Sketch '', The Doctrine of Sanctification : An Exegetical Examination, with Application, in Historic Baptist Perspective, to which is Appended a Historical, Exegetical, and Elenctic Evaluation of Influential Errors, Particularly the Keswick Theology, Great Plains Baptist Divinity School Jump up ^ Caldicott, Mark ( 1995 ). `` Edwy Searles Brooks - Biographical Outline ''. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Jump up ^ Seiler, Edward. `` A List of Isaac Asimov 's Books ''. Retrieved 22 September 2011. Jump up ^ Seiler, Edward ( 11 July 2014 ). `` Frequently Asked Questions about Isaac Asimov : Did you know that Asimov is the only author to have published books in all ten categories of the Dewey Decimal System ? ''. Retrieved 9 July 2017. Jump up ^ Schultze, Emily ( 19 December 2013 ), `` Sitting on Nails and Staring at the Wall : An Interview with Jacob M. Appel '', Fiction Writers Review Jump up ^ `` Kyokutei Bakin, 1767 to 1848 : Japan 's first professional writer ''. National Diet Library. 2003. Retrieved 22 September 2011. Jump up ^ `` Ursula Bloom, 1892 - 1984 ''. Literary Heritage - West Midlands. Shropshire Council. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2011. Jump up ^ `` John Creasey ''. Owantonna Media. Retrieved 22 September 2011. Jump up ^ Official bibliography ( in Russian ) Jump up ^ Matter, Laura Sewell ( Fall 2007 ). `` Pursuing The Great Bad Novelist ''. Georgia Review. Jump up ^ Lofts, W.O. ; Adley, D.J. ( 1970 ). The Men behind Boys ' Fiction. London : Howard Baker. p. 170. Jump up ^ Hill, Charlie. `` Colonel Prentiss Ingraham ''. Mississippi Writers and Musicians. Retrieved 23 September 2011. Jump up ^ Iova, Victor. N. Iorga : Istoria lui Mihai Viteazul ( I ) : `` Tabel cronologic ''. Bucharest : Editura Minerva. 1979 ( pg. xxxiv ). Jump up ^ Veiga, Francisco. Istoria Gărzii de Fier, 1919 -- 1941 : Mistica ultranaţionalismului. Bucharest : Humanitas. 1993 ( pg. 69 ). Jump up ^ Heise, Kenan ( 23 June 1987 ). `` Paul Little, 72, Author of More Than 700 Novels ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 April 2012. Jump up ^ Varner, Paul ( 2010 ). Historical Dictionary of Westerns in Literature. Scarecrow Press. Jump up ^ Clark, Blanche ( 30 November 2010 ), `` The $60 million woman '', Herald Sun, retrieved 6 December 2010 Jump up ^ `` Books : Rural Life in Ruritania ''. Time. 22 June 1962. Retrieved 25 September 2011. Jump up ^ Full List of Mohammad Shirazi 's books. Jump up ^ `` R.L. Stine ''. Ohio Reading Road Trip. Greater Dayton Public Television. 2004. Retrieved 25 September 2011. Jump up ^ Aitken, William Russell. Scottish Literature in English and Scots : A Guide to Information Sources. Detroit : Gale Research, 1982. ( pg. 170 ) ISBN 0 - 8103 - 1249 - 2 Jump up ^ Sutherland, John. The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction. Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 1990. ISBN 0 - 8047 - 1842 - 3 ( pg. 200 -- 201 ) Jump up ^ Varty, Anne, ed. Eve 's Century : A Sourcebook of Writings on Women and Journalism, 1895 -- 1918. London and New York : Routledge, 2000. ( pg. 254 ) ISBN 0 - 415 - 19544 - 6 Jump up ^ Anderson, Carol and Aileen Christianson. Scottish Women 's Fiction, 1920s to 1960s : Journeys Into Being. East Linton, Scotland : Tuckwell Press, 2000. ( pg. 165 ) ISBN 1 - 86232 - 082 - 9 Jump up ^ Kaul, Vivek ( 22 May 2010 ). `` Bollywood 's functioning is authoritarian : Surendra Mohan Pathak ''. Daily News and Analysis ( DNA ). Mumbai. Retrieved 4 January 2015. Jump up ^ Bahé, Vanessa ( 14 November 2011 ). `` Erro pode ter dado recorde a escritor Ryoki, que lança livro em Olinda : Médico brasileiro conta que correu para não perder prazo de contratos. Atualmente, ele contabiliza 1.104 livros publicados '' ( Error may have given record the writer Ryoki, who launches a book in Olinda : Brazilian doctor tells that he ran not to lose contract deadline. He currently counts 1,104 published books. ). G1 ( in Portuguese ). Globo Comunicação e Participações S.A. Jump up ^ `` Perfil '' ( Profile ). Ryoki Inoue ( in Portuguese ). 2013. Jump up ^ `` Dr. Krishna N. Sharma ''. Amazon. Amazon.com, Inc. Jump up ^ `` Books ''. http://DrKrishna.co.in. Retrieved 9 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Victoria University Dean of Health Sciences releases his 125th book ''. Xpress Times Uganda. Retrieved 2017 - 05 - 14. 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Question: who has written the most books in the world
Answer: . Dame Agatha Christie