Forbes highest-earning authors of 2011 NEWS
James Patterson is the world's highest-earning author after earning over £50m in the past year, according to Forbes magazine.
64-year-old thriller writer James Patterson has released 10 books in the past year as part of a book deal with publisher Hachette, which is said to be worth £90.7m. The writer has 7 more books to be released as part of the agreement.
Best known for his Alex Cross series, Patterson has seen many of his novels turned into films including Along Came a Spider starring Morgan Freeman.
Ranked second is Danielle Steel, who has been named previously as the eighth best selling writer of all time. Earning £21.2m in the past year, Steel has found her earnings dwarfed in comparison to Pattersons.
Prolific horror writer Stephen King is ranked in third place with earnings of £16.9m, while Janet Evanovich is fourth with earnings of £13.3m for her mystery novels.
In joint fifth place are Twilight author Stephenie Meyer and Rick Riordan, who each earned £12.7m this year.
Forbes uses sales figures to compile its lists, as well as input from literary agents and managers.
Surprisingly JK Rowling has not found herself in the Top 10 placings, earning £3m. Forbes' Jeff Bercovici has estimated that Rowling will stand a better chance of entering the list once more with the digital releases on the new Pottermore website this year. Until recently, Rowling has declined to sell any electronic editions of her books which is likely to have have made an impact on her sales in the past year.
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