Friday 12 January 2007

Forbes Releases List of Top-Earning Authors for 2006

NEW YORK, NY/12/12/06—
Old news but still of interest:
Forbes Magazine released its annual list of top-earning authors. Heading the group in sales this year is Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. With 20 million copies in print in the U.S. alone, the title is now the best-selling book of the decade. Brown banked $88 million last year, ranking him first among top-earning authors and 10th on the overall Forbes’s most influential entertainment list, the “Celebrity 100” (which also includes motion picture stars and celebrities). To be included among these most powerful names in business, however, takes more than a fat paycheck. It is also based on what Hollywood calls “sizzle.” So, not all top-earning authors are on the Celebrity list. All sales are for the 12 month period ending in July 2006.J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, earned $75 million last year from book sales, film royalties and merchandising, placing her as number two among authors and number 19 on the Celebrity list. Forbes says that Rowling is the world’s first author billionaire. Author James Patterson ranked number three among top authors and number 66 on the Celebrity, earning $28 million this year. His last 16 books have been bestsellers and he has grossed more than $1 billion in sales on all titles with more than 100 million books in print, according to Forbes. Several of his books have been adapted for film. Bestselling novelist John Grisham published his first ever non-fiction title this year, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, which has occupied nonfiction bestseller lists since its release in October. Film rights have already been optioned by George Clooney. Grisham’s books earned him $21 million this year.For a detailed list of authors, visit Forbes Magazine at www.forbes.com

1 comment:

Barbara's Journey Toward Justice said...

And If you enjoyed reading The Innocent Man as I did, may I suggest reading the companion book to it. Here is something I wrote about it: Who And Where Is Dennis Fritz, You say after reading John Grisham's Wonderful Book "The Innocent man", Grisham's First non-fiction book. The Other Innocent Man hardly mentioned in "The Innocent Man" has his own compelling and fascinating story to tell in "Journey Toward Justice". John Grisham endorsed Dennis Fritz's Book on the Front Cover. Dennis Fritz wrote his Book Published by Seven Locks Press, to bring awareness about False Convictions, and The Death Penalty. "Journey Toward Justice" is a testimony to the Triumph of the Human Spirit and is a Stunning and Shocking Memoir. Dennis Fritz was wrongfully convicted of murder after a swift trail. The only thing that saved him from the Death Penalty was a lone vote from a juror. "The Innocent Man" by John Grisham is all about Ronnie Williamson, Dennis Fritz's was his co-defendant. Ronnie Williamson was sentenced to the Death Penalty. Both were exonerated after spending 12 years in prison. Both Freed by a simple DNA test, The real killer was one of the Prosecution's Key Witness. John Grisham's "The Innocent Man" tells half the story. Dennis Fritz's Story needs to be heard. Read about how he wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense and immersed himself in an intense study of law. He was a school teacher and a ordinary man from Ada Oklahoma, whose wife was brutally murdered in 1975. On May 8, 1987 while raising his young daughter alone, he was put under arrest and on his way to jail on charges of rape and murder. Since then, it has been a long hard road filled with twist and turns. Dennis Fritz is now on his "Journey Toward Justice". He never blamed the Lord and soley relied on his faith in God to make it through. He waited for God's time and never gave up.