Skip to footer

The 10 best-paid authors in the world

Does it matter if they're selling e-books or print books? The world's top-grossing authors are doing just fine.

|
Little, Brown and Co.
"Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer is the world's second best paid author, according to Forbes.
  • By Marjorie Kehe

They say that no one's reading these days but that can't possibly be true. At least, not if Forbes is right. According to Forbes, the combined earnings of the 10 best-compensated authors in the world total $270 million over the 12 months to June 1.

In order, here are the top-earning authors:

1. James Patterson ($70 million)
2. Stephenie Meyer ($40 million)
3. Stephen King ($34 million)
4. Danielle Steel ($32 million)
5. Ken Follett ($20 million)
6. Dean Koontz ($18 million)
7. Janet Evanovich ($16 million)
8. John Grisham ($15 million)
9. Nicholas Sparks ($14 million)
10. JK Rowling ($10 million)

You can see the whole Forbes article here.

Marjorie Kehe is the Monitor's book editor.

Join the Monitor's book discussion on Facebook and Twitter.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to The 10 best-paid authors in the world
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2010/0820/The-10-best-paid-authors-in-the-world
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe