Top 101 Writers of All Time - Page 3

The list in the source is a meta-list compiled out of various lists that are based on the factors critical assessments of the writer's work, readers' assessments, and readers' voting by virtue of purchasing the writers' work. Longevity was also taken into account, so if an author is well known and read 300 years after his/her lifetime, it counts more than if he/she has been read much during a short period of time.
Plays and poetry were weighed less in the list than novels, which is the reason why Shakespeare isn't No. 1.