Forbes’ Top Earning Authors of 2014

Forbes has released it’s list of the highest-earning authors in the past year, and thriller writer James Patterson tops the list with $90 million. The author has written at least ten books each year since 2010.

The list features numerous authors who are no strangers to being one of the highest-earners, including Dan Brown with $28 million, Nora Roberts with $23 million, Janet Evanovich with $20 million, Stephen King with $17 million, and J.K. Rowling with $14 million.

However, there were some newcomers to the list, including ones whose novels hit the big screen this year. Veronica Roth, who penned the Divergent series, made $17 million. John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars, earned $9 million, and Gillian Flynn, whose book Gone Girl will be heading to the cinema this fall, also earned $9 million.

As for other authors whose books were adapted for television and and film, there was a bit of a decline. Sales for The Hunger Games series dropped 88 percent in the past year, leading Suzanne Collins to drop to $16 million this year. Fifty Shades of Grey, which sold 29 million copies in 2012, only sold 1.8 million last year. Author E.L. James topped the list last year with $95 million and slipped to $10 million this year. Meanwhile, A Song of Ice and Fire’s George R.R. Martin stayed constant with $12 million.

Check out the full list of the top earning authors below:

1. James Patterson: $90 million
2. Dan Brown: $28 million
3. Nora Roberts: $23 million
4. Danielle Steel: $22 million
5. Janet Evanovich: $20 million
6. Jeff Kinney: $17 million
7. Veronica Roth: $17 million
8. John Grisham: $17 million
9. Stephen King: $17 million
10. Suzanne Collins: $16 million
11. JK Rowling:$14 million
12. George RR Martin: $12 million
13. David Baldacci: $11 million
14. Rick Riordan: $10 million
15. EL James: $10 million
16. Gillian Flynn: $9 million
17. John Green: $9 million