On March 8th, we celebrate International Women’s Day.
And with that in mind, who run the world? (Girls.)
Or in this case, the New York Times Bestsellers List 2025.
Congratulations to these authors who scored number one sales with their sensational books. Here are just a few of the many, many women who outsold everyone else this year over any given week.
Rebecca Yarros has all but dominated the New York Times Bestsellers list since the inception of her “Empyrean” series and its debut of Fourth Wing (April 2023). By August of 2024, it had spent more than sixty weeks on the list, including the top position, and returned for an encore in 2025 by reigning supreme for the weeks of January 26th and February 2nd. Her sequel Iron Flame (November 2023) was hailed by Waterstones as their fastest selling pre-order on the website, and 2025’s follow-up Onyx Storm rounded out Yarros’ sensational streak by selling 2.7 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling adult title in twenty years. Fourth Wing is now in development at Amazon MGM studios through Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society behind the adaptation, with Yarros serving as a non-writing executive producer. Onyx Storm would helm the bestseller chart for eight additional weeks in 2025.
It was the year of Freida McFadden! The thriller author not only released four new novels in 2025, The Housemaid hit the silver screen in December of 2025 starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. McFadden released The Tenant in May, which would go on to take the top spot on the New York Times Bestseller List during the week of May 6th. Her releases in 2025 included July’s Do Not Disturb, The Intruder in October and The Crash last November. Fans are gearing up The Divorce set to hit shelves on May 26th and this fall’s The Witch.
Readers and critics alike were over the moon for Atmosphere (June 2025) by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The author of Daisy Jones and the Six (March 2019), physically relocated for several months to Houston, Texas, to immerse herself in the environment as she wrote her 1980’s Nasa space program-inspired novel. The book explores LGTBQ themes and family dynamics with the backdrop of the Space Shuttle Program. It debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List during the week of June 22nd and earned raved reviews, as well as awards.
Last year was an exciting moment for Oscar-winning actor, director, producer and Book Club host, Reese Witherspoon as she made her fiction debut alongside New York Times Bestselling author, Harlan Coben for Gone Before Goodbye (October 2025). The suspense thriller follows disgraced army surgeon Maggie McCabe, and showcases Witherspoon’s chops as a storyteller. The book shot to the top of the New York Times bestseller list on November 2nd.
Callie Hart ate and left no crumbs in 2025. The romantasy author hit the New York Times list with two entries on last year’s charts. Quicksilver was originally released independently in June of 2024, but re-released in paperback by December of that year and served as the first book in her Fae & Alchemy series. It would take the top of the chart in September of 2025, with its sequel, Brimstone, taking over the lead place for the weeks of December 7th and December 14th.
To all the incredible women writing books, poetry, short stories, biographies, novellas, graphic novels, and so much more, today, we salute you.
Remember – there is a little girl out there who just picked up her first Babysitters Club book.
She’s inspired by all of you.
“God grant me:
Buttercup’s serenity to accept the things I cannot change …
Katniss’ courage to change the things I can …
And Hermione’s wisdom to know the difference.”
New York Times Bestselling Female Authors – 2025
| Week of 2025 | Author(s) | Title |
| January 26 | Rebecca Yarros | Fourth Wing |
| March 23 | Rebecca Yarros | Onyx Storm |
| April 20 | Abby Jimenez | Say You’ll Remember Me |
| April 27 | Kaylie Smith | Enchantra |
| May 4 | Jeneva Rose | The Perfect Divorce |
| May 11 | Emily Henry | Great Big Beautiful Life |
| May 18 | James Patterson & Maxine Paetro | 25 Alive |
| May 25 | Freida McFadden | The Tenant |
| June 1 | Danielle L. Jensen | A Curse Carved in Bone |
| June 22 | Taylor Jenkins Reid | Atmosphere |
| June 29 | Navessa Allen | Caught Up |
| July 6 | Taylor Jenkins Reid | Atmosphere |
| July 13 | Lisa Jewell | Don’t Let Him In |
| July 27 | Julie Soto | Rose in Chains |
| August 24 | Hannah Nicole Maehrer | Accomplice to the Villain |
| August 31 | Karin Slaughter | We Are All Guilty Here |
| September 7 | Callie Hart | Quicksilver |
| September 14 | R. F. Kuang | Katabasis |
| September 21 | J. D. Robb | Framed in Death |
| October 12 | SenLinYu | Alchemised |
| October 26 | Ali Hazelwood | Mate |
| November 2 | Reese Witherspoon & Harlan Coben | Gone Before Goodbye |
| November 16 | Louise Penny | The Black Wolf |
| December 7 | Callie Hart | Brimstone |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Care is the Social Media Manager at Book Notification. She is an avid reader/writer, Mama to 3 adult kids, a wedding DJ, and a snob for coffee and pop culture. Her favourite book is Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. She lives in Canada with her husband and record collection.