Colleen Hoover is a publishing phenomenon. She is one of the best-selling authors in the world and the top-selling author in the United States. And while she says she didn't set out for fame, she's achieved literary superstardom.

In 2022, she sold more than 16 million books, selling more than J.K. Rolling, Stephen King,

James Patterson, and John Grisham combined.

And even outselling the Bible.

She dominates the New York Times bestseller list, once

claiming eight of the top ten paperback spots simultaneously, thanks to her passionate and

dedicated following of fans, known as cohorts. Hoover has 25 books to her name, including

Verity and Ugly Love, with more than 20 million copies in

circulation. Her romances and psychological thrillers are emotionally gripping. And now her

stories are coming to the big screen. Her most popular novel, It Ends With Us, centered on

domestic violence, loosely based on her mother's life as being adapted into a movie starring Blake lively.

Hoover has inspired an entire new generation of readers back to bookstores.

And thanks to her love of writing, her ability to address intimate topics and her very loyal fan following,

it's no surprise that Hoover was named one of Time

Magazine's most influential people of 2023. I sat down with her this summer at her Book

Bonanza charity event in Texas for an exclusive interview to talk about her unexpected rise to

literary fame. I'm Jenna Bush-Hager.

Welcome to the first episode of my podcast, Read with Jenna. Thank you. Colleen, I have the New York Times bestseller list from this week. Your books are highlighted.

If you notice you kind of dominate it, do you ever feel bad for the other authors?

Well, honestly, I was relieved to see there were five on there this week, but kind of served

in like six and seven, and I'm like, okay, okay.

No, it's such an amazing feeling and a little confusing.

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