Working with a team of collaborators, James Patterson’s thrillers and children’s books have moved him to the top of Forbes’s list of the world’s 10 top-grossing authors, earning $70 million over the past year.

Forbes’s second-placed author is Stephenie Meyer – a new entrant to the list – who made $40 million over the same period, selling 40 million copies of her Twilight vampire series in the US and 100 million worldwide. Stephen King comes in third with earnings of $34 million, while Danielle Steel, who has four new books out this year, is fourth on the list with $32 million.

The top 10 in full is:

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

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