A New Fantasy and a 20th Anniversary for Christopher Paolini

Paolini, who holds the Guinness World Record for the youngest bestselling series author (an accolade he earned at 19), was homeschooled, and began writing Eragon at the age of 15. He self-published the novel in 2002 at 18. After Knopf picked up the novel and released it in August 2003, Eragon sold one million copies within six months, became a #1 bestseller, and paved the way for the similarly successful sales tracks of its Inheritance Cycle successors.

Published in 2005, Paolini's second novel, Eldest, sold more than 425,000 hardcover copies in its first week, making it the largest single-week sale ever recorded for a Random House Children's BooksClick for Random House Children's Books Publishers References listing title-hardcover or paperback-and the fastest-selling book in the publisher's history at the time of its release.