J.K. Rowling Tops List of Hollywood's Most Powerful Authors

Posted on November 26, 2014

The Hollywood Reporter has named its picks for Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Authors. The publication heralds the power of authors and notes that the explosion in available content online, in theaters and on television has made finding good source material more important than ever.

At the top of the list is J.K. Rowling. She created Harry Potter, which still sells and the last book in the series, Deathly Hallows was published seven years ago. But more than one million Harry Potter books are still sold every year. And Rowling has found new success in other genres.

Her novel The Casual Vacancy sold nearl 2 million copies and will be a move from HBO and the BBC. She's got a bestselling mystery series under her pen name Robert Galbraith. Potter fans are very excited that she's currently writing the screenplay for the first of three films about Newt Scamander of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a classic textbook that students of Hogwarts must read. She says she's halfway through the script so far.

Second on the list is Stephen King, whose works are regularly adapted for both television and film projects. King's latest number one bestseller is Revival. He also wrote the screenplay for A Good Marriage which stars Joan Allen. CBS has renewed Under the Dome, based on King's novel, for a third season which will air next summer.

George R.R. Martin is third on the list. HBO's Game of Thrones has made Martin a mainstream celebrity, with fans reaching far beyond his loyal and patient readers. Game of Thrones just finished its fourth season and just became the most-watched series on TV with more than 18 million weekly viewers. Martin has been everywhere, from talk shows to conventions to red carpets. He's now working on the sixth book in the A Song of Fire and Ice series. Fans are worried that at this rate the show will end before the last book comes out. Luckily, the show's creators already know the planned ending.

The fourth author on the list is E.L. James, author of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. She started out writing Twilight fan fiction and turned into a multi-millionaire. The film version of the saucy books hits theaters February 13, 2015. It stars Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Dakota Fanning as Anastasia Steele. The trailer has been viewed 84 million times, which is mind-boggling. It's either going to be a hug hit or a Showgirls level bomb. James (whose real name is Erika Leonard ) is working on another novel which she says is a romance similar to 50 Shades.

John Green hits the list at number five for The Fault in our Stars which was turned into a hit film starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort about two teens who meet in a cancer ward. The teens love Green and his books sell like crazy. He also has a huge Youtube following.

Wrapping up the top ten are Nicholas sparks, Gillian Flynn, James Patterson, Michael Lewis and Laura Hillenbrand. You can see the full list here.