Love Story is a 1970 novel by American writer Erich Segal. Segal wrote a screenplay that was subsequently approved for production by Paramount Pictures. Paramount requested that Segal adapt the story into a novel as part of the film's marketing campaign. The novel was released on February 14, 1970 (Valentine's Day).[1] Portions of the story originally appeared in The Ladies' Home Journal.[2] Love Story became the top-selling work of fiction for all of 1970 in the United States and was translated into more than 20 languages.[3] The novel stayed on The New York Times Best Seller list for 41 weeks, peaking at number one. The film was released on December 16, 1970.[4]