THREE Oxford authors have made it into the list of the top-selling books of the decade, alongside JK Rowling and Dan Brown.

Mark Haddon is at number 15 with his novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, which was one of the first books to be published simultaneously for adults and children.

Ian McEwan is 21st with Atonement, which he wrote while living in North Oxford, and which was turned into a film starring Keira Knightley. He has since moved to London.

Philip Pullman, who lives in Cumnor, is 42nd with the first in the His Dark Materials trilogy, Northern Lights. Like Mr Haddon’s book, it was published for children and in a separate edition for adults.

The next in Mr Pullman’s trilogy, The Subtle Knife, is 66th, while the third – The Amber Spyglass – scrapes in at 96th, just above I Know You Got Soul, a book by Jeremy Clarkson, presenter of TV’s Top Gear, who lives near Chipping Norton. The World According to Clarkson is 20th.

Mr Haddon, who lived in East Oxford when he wrote The Curious Incident and still lives in the city, also has his follow-up, A Spot of Bother, at 99th in the list.

The list was compiled by market research company Neilsen, which has its UK headquarters in Oxford.

Patrick Neale, co-owner of Jaffe & Neale bookshop in Chipping Norton and a former manager at Waterstone’s, said he was wary of the data, saying it reflected cheap prices rather than writing quality.

“A lot of these books sell in enormous numbers because they have been discounted, rather than because they are good. However, quality does count as well, as shown by the Oxford authors.”

He added: “Oxford is a magnet for learning and style and it’s a fantastic place, which is going to bring authors of creativity and intelligence. So it’s not surprising that they are successful.”

His views were echoed by Leslee Holderness, spokesman for the Oxford Literary Festival.

She said: “It’s a bonus to the festival that the city has been home to so many award-winning authors, many of whom still live here today or who enjoy returning as festival speakers.”

She added: “There’s plenty of up-and-coming talent. Philip Pullman, an ongoing presence, was one of the festival’s first speakers. William Boyd returns often and new author Julie Summers generates lots of interest.”

Angie Prysor-Jones, of charity Bookfeast, said: “Oxford has a worldwide reputation for inspiring truly great writers and as a small city is rightly proud of its connection with authors of international renown.”

But she warned that opportunities for children to be inspired by writing were being narrowed by spending cuts in libraries and school budgets. “With declining resources we are all going to have to our work cut out to find ways of encouraging children’s love of reading,” she said.