Oprah Winfrey

Oprah's Book Club began on her talk show in 1996 and quickly showed that one television endorsement could put a literary novel on bestseller lists for months, an influence publishers nicknamed the Oprah effect. She revived it in later years through her magazine, streaming and social media. The club's real achievement is persuading millions of adults who did not think of themselves as readers to try serious fiction, and to talk about it.