Jacqueline Wilson’s four-year reign as the most borrowed author in British libraries has come to an end.

The former Children’s Laureate has been usurped by the American thriller writer author James Patterson — one of two top authors whose works are in fact team efforts.

Figures published today for the year up to last June offer a fascinating glimpse into the nation’s reading habits. Patterson’s novels, which have sold more than 130 million copies worldwide, were borrowed from libraries more than 1.5 million times. A former advertising executive, he began writing in his spare time and he has published almost 50 novels. He now produces up to eight books each year with the help a team of co-writers.

In third place was the children’s writer Daisy Meadows. The name is in fact a pseudonym used by a collection of writers, including Sue Bentley and Sue Mongredien, whose seemingly endless sequence of Rainbow Magic fairy books have risen from 26th place the previous year.

Danielle Steel, queen of the gold-embossed romantic novel, was still at number six among the most borrowed authors but adult readers are said to be increasingly turning away from romance. Jim Parker, of Public Lending Right , said that there was a strong interest in crime thrillers. At Risk, by Patricia Cornwell, was the most borrowed single title. He said: “There is a lot of interest in gritty and realistic novels.”

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has been criticised for its decision to reduce funding to the PLR from £7.68 million to £7.4 million for 2008-09. Michael Holroyd, the biographer and a former chairman of the Royal Society of Literature, said the move was shameful.

The nation's most borrowed ...

Author
James Patterson

Children’s Author
Jacqueline Wilson

Book
At Risk, by Patricia Cornwell

Children’s Fiction Book
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J. K. Rowling

Biography
How to Change Your Life in 7 Steps, by John Bird

Travel Book
Notes from a Small Island, by Bill Bryson

Holiday Guide
The Rough Guide to Devon and Cornwall, by Robert Andrews

Gardening Book
How to be a Gardener: Book One, by Alan Titchmarsh

Poetry Book
The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking The Poet Within, by Stephen Fry

Popular Science Book
A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson

History Book
The Battle for Spain: the Spanish Civil War 1936-1936 by Antony Beevor

‘Green’ Book
The Revenge of Gaia by James Lovelock

Millionaires’ Club
Five authors clocked up more than a million loans in 2006-07:

1 James Patterson
2 Jacqueline Wilson
3 Daisy Meadows
4 Josephine Cox
5 Nora Roberts

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