Sarah J. Maas is the bestselling author of 2024 so far — and other romance and fantasy authors are right behind her
Between "House of Flame and Shadow" and her backlog, romantasy author Sarah J. Maas has sold more books than any other writer in 2024 so far.
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tory Burch
- Sarah J. Maas has become the bestselling author of 2024 so far.
- Her success follows a spike in romantasy sales in 2023, led by Rebecca Yarros' "Fourth Wing" series.
- Both romance and fantasy dominated sales charts in March 2024, too.
Four months into 2024, Sarah J. Maas is having quite the year.
The prolific romantasy author has written three series — "Throne of Glass," "A Court of Thorns and Roses," and "Crescent City" — all of which feature fae, magical adventures, and steamy romance. She released the third book in the "Crescent City" series, "House of Flame and Shadow," in January.
The title shot to No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list after its release. According to Publisher's Weekly, it was so successful that Bloomsbury increased its sales and earnings estimations for its fiscal year that ended on February 29 after "HOFAS" came out. Circana, which tracks book sales, also reported that it's currently the bestselling novel of 2024.
Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Forbes reported on Wednesday that Maas has sold 3.1 million copies of her books in 2024, making her the bestselling author of the year so far.
Maas' success stems not just from "HOFAS" but also from her backlist. According to Circana, "A Court of Thorns and Roses" is the third bestselling book of 2024 to date, and the second book in the series, "A Court of Mist and Fury," is ninth on the list.
The romantasy genre is transforming the publishing industry
Maas' success in the first quarter of 2024 comes on the heels of a banner year for romantasy sales in 2023.
Rebecca Yarros dominated bestseller lists with her books about dragons — "Fourth Wing," and its sequel, "Iron Flame" — in 2023. According to Publisher's Weekly, Yarros sold almost 550,000 copies of "Iron Flame" in its first week of publication when it came out in November. The titles sat at three and four on The New York Times bestseller list as of Wednesday, meaning "Fourth Wing" has been on the list for nearly the entire year since it was published in May 2023.
Other romantasy titles, such as "The Serpent and the Wings of Night" by Carissa Broadbent and "Fall of Ruin and Wrath" by Jennifer L. Armentrout, were New York Times bestsellers in 2023, too. Likewise, Forbes reported that Circana data shows nine of the 10 bestselling books sold in March fell into either the romance or fantasy genres.
Bloomsbury
TikTok played a large role in romantasy's boom. As BI reported in February, readers have formed organic communities on "BookTok," recommending books to each other and building fandoms around specific texts. Publisher's Weekly reported sales of Maas' books increased 86% in the 2022 fiscal year — the same period TikTok experienced massive growth.
In recent years, several publishers have also opened imprints dedicated to romance and fantasy titles, like Entangled's Red Tower imprint, which publishes "Fourth Wing," and the romance-centric imprint Bramble from Tor.
Circana even dubbed 2023 "the year of romantasy." However, it cautioned people against counting on the genre's growth for years to come, saying it's unclear "whether influencer culture in places like TikTok will remain steadfast enough for the market to size the curve."
Maas has yet to announce when her next book will be released — though she did hint she was writing the next "ACOTAR" book in a recent Instagram post — but based on her recent sales, it's safe to assume her popularity won't be waning anytime soon.