BOOKING IT

摘要

DO YOU BELIEVE in magic? For the first time in nearly a decade, J.K. Rowling (see "Magically Everlasting" at right) tops our ranking of the highest-earning wordsmiths, displacing the freakishly prolific James Patterson. Fans of the printed (or digital) word will be cheered to know that although five writers on our list had novels made into movies this past year, they nonetheless earned the bulk of their bucks from their books. Together these 11 writers sold nearly 30 million volumes in the United States over the past 12 months, logging $312.5 million in pretax income.