Whitcoulls reveal that 26 New Zealand writers have made this year’s Top 100 – the highest level of local representation in the list’s nearly 30-year history.
The results also point to a major shift in readers’ tastes, with an unusually high number of new titles entering the list for the first time, suggesting Kiwi readers are actively embracing fresh voices and new releases.
Highlights include:
- Record voting participation in the annual Top 100 Books List.
- 26 New Zealand authors featured – the strongest local result to date.
- Dr Lucy Hone is the highest-ranked New Zealand author, with How Will I Ever Get Through This? at #6. Nigel Latta’s, Lessons on Living is at #19 and Dame Jacinda Ardern’s, A Different Kind of Power is at #60.
- New local books making a strong debut include Just a Mum’s Kitchen, Māori Ora, Habits of High Performers, Surviving White Island and The Book of Guilt.
- Fantasy continues to dominate, while romance, classics, self-help and inspirational titles remain popular.
Whitcoulls Book Manager Joan Mackenzie says the results reflect New Zealanders’ growing appetite for stories and voices they can relate to, alongside a willingness to discover new books and authors. She says, ‘This year, we not only received a record number of votes, but the popularity of local authors is at an all-time high compared to previous years.’ She puts this down to our appetite for voices and stories which we can relate to. Mackenzie has also never known so many newcomers to make it into the Top 100, saying, ‘this major refresh suggests readers’ dynamic engagement with books and reading.’
Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean series of novels received the most votes for the second year in a row. Fantasy writer Sarah J. Maas claimed the number two and three spots with novels, A Court of Thorns & Roses and Throne of Glass series,’ respectively. Dr Lucy Hone got the most votes of any New Zealand author, with her bestselling book, How Will I Ever Get Through This?, claiming sixth place.
Significant placings by new, local books voted into the Top 100 include Just a Mum’s Kitchen by Anna Cameron (number 7); Māori Ora (number 13); Habits of High Performers by James Laughlin (number 23); Surviving White Island by Kelsey Waghorn (number 28); and The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (number 50).
High-profile New Zealanders to appear in the Top 100 are Nigel Latta with Lessons on Living (number 19); Dame Jacinda Ardern with A Different Kind of Power (number 60); Barbara Dreaver with Be Brave (number 90); and Charlotte Glennie with Every Second Counts (number 97).
Fiction dominates the List with a total of 78 titles and of those, 30 are books in a series. Another notable aspect of the Top 100 is the popularity of the fantasy genre with Kiwi readers – 26 books find favour with them, including three novels by Sarah J. Maas. Romance, classics, inspiring stories, self-help and motivational titles also feature strongly.
Joan Mackenzie believes our love of books and reading is enduring, saying, ‘The 2026 Whitcoulls Top 100 Books List is an opportunity to celebrate homegrown talent, books which encourage, inform and capture our imaginations.’ Whitcoulls have been asking readers to vote for their favourite books for nearly 30 years, and the 2026 Top 100 Books List is a barometer of the nation’s reading habits.
RANK TITLE AUTHOR NEW KIWI
1 Empyrean Series Rebecca Yarros
2 A Court of Thorns and Roses Series Sarah J. Maas
3 Throne of Glass Series Sarah J. Maas
4 Project Hail Mary Andy Weir
5 The Hunger Games Series Suzanne Collins
6 How Will I Ever Get Through This? Dr Lucy Hone NEW KIWI
7 Just a Mum’s Kitchen Anna Cameron NEW KIWI
8 The Boys of Tommen Series Chloe Walsh
9 The Nightingale Kristin Hannah
10 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
11 The Women Kristin Hannah
12 The Lord of the Rings J.R.R.Tolkien
13 Māori Ora Hira Nathan NEW KIWI
14 Fungi of Aotearoa Liv Sisson KIWI
15 The Seven Sisters Series Lucinda Riley
16 Dungeon Crawler Carl Series Matt Dinniman NEW
17 Harry Potter Series J.K. Rowling
18 Red Rising Series Pierce Brown
19 Lessons on Living Nigel Latta NEW KIWI
20 The Housemaid Series Freida McFadden
21 Everyday Comfort Food Vanya Insull KIWI
22 Alchemised SenYin Lu NEW
23 Habits of High Performers James Laughlin NEW KIWI
24 A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder Series Holly Jackson
25 Once Upon a Broken Heart Series Stephanie Garber
26 Mad Mabel Sally Hepworth NEW
27 Fae & Alchemy Series Callie Hart NEW
28 Surviving White Island Kelsey Waghorn NEW KIWI
29 Yesteryear Caro Claire Burke NEW
30 Off Campus Series Elle Kennedy NEW
31 Wild Dark Shore Charlotte McConaghy NEW
32 The Bible
33 The Correspondent Virginia Evans NEW
34 The Great Alone Kristin Hannah
35 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
36 Atmosphere Taylor Jenkins Reid NEW
37 Verity Colleen Hoover
38 The Book Thief Markus Zusak
39 Māori Millionaire Te Kahukura Boynton NEW KIWI
40 Theo of Golden Allen Levi NEW
41 Remarkably Bright Creatures Shelby van Pelt
42 Hierarchy Series James Islington NEW
43 Lessons in Chemistry Bonnie Garmus
44 Moonfall Series Sarah A. Parker KIWI
45 Other People’s Bodies Megan Nicol Reed NEW KIWI
46 A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara
47 The God of the Woods Liz Moore NEW
48 Whakawhetai Hira Nathan KIWI
49 The Thursday Murder Club Series Richard Osman
50 The Book of Guilt Catherine Chidgey NEW KIWI
51 The Let Them Theory Mel Robbins
52 Shatter Me Series Tahereh Mafi
53 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens
54 The Folk of the Air Series Holly Black
55 Twisted Series Ana Huang
56 The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller
57 The Frozen River Ariel Lawhon
58 Chains of the Seven Series Devney Perry NEW
59 The Secret History Donna Tartt
60 A Different Kind of Power Jacinda Ardern NEW KIWI
61 East of Eden John Steinbeck NEW
62 The Hobbit J.R.R.Tolkien
63 The Stormlight Archive Brandon Sanderson
64 The Silent Patient Alex Michaelidis
65 Windy City Series Liz Tomforde NEW
66 Shepherd King Series Rachel Gillig
67 Become Unstoppable Gilbert Enoka NEW KIWI
68 Game Changer Series Rachel Reid NEW
69 All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr
70 The Dead Speak Thomas Coyle NEW KIWI
71 I Am Pilgrim Terry Hayes
72 Atomic Habits James Clear
73 Angel’s Blood Nalini Singh NEW KIWI
74 Crescent City Series Sarah J.Maas
75 The Names Florence Knapp NEW
76 The Twilight Saga Stephenie Meyer
77 The Vanishing Place Zoe Rankin NEW KIWI
78 Six of Crows Duology Leigh Bardugo
79 Malachite Ashley Andersen NEW KIWI
80 Chestnut Springs Series Elsie Silver
81 Kings of Sin Series Ana Huang
82 The Poppy War Series R.F. Kuang
83 Violent Ends Duology Chloe Gong KIWI
84 The Alchemist Paulo Coelho
85 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Taylor Jenkins Reid
86 Caraval Series Stephanie Garber
87 The Blood Says Otherwise Ruben Miller NEW KIWI
88 The River Is Waiting Wally Lamb NEW
89 Better than the Movies Lynn Painter
90 Be Brave Barbara Dreaver NEW KIWI
91 Babel R.F. Kuang
92 Edmonds Cookery Book Edmonds KIWI
93 Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte NEW
94 The Last Secret Agent Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson KIWI
95 The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood
96 The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini
97 Every Second Counts Charlotte Glennie NEW KIWI
98 The Courage to be Disliked Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga
99 See How They Fall Rachel Paris KIWI
100 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue V.E. Schwab
