A few reasons to be grateful for James Patterson

The bestselling crime author James Patterson has published six books this year already, but they can't come fast enough.

James Patterson is the world's highest paid author, earnign £51million in one year Photo: Roger Taylor

By Florence Waters. The Telegraph,  19 Aug 2011

As the barely-audible debate over the closure of public libraries continues to be choked by apathy, the big noise in publishing this morning is the news that crime writer James Patterson has been named easily the world’s best paid author by Forbes Magazine.

He was also Best Paid last year, and most likely will be next year if he continues to write so prolifically. This year he has already published six novels – and since January 2010 he has published no fewer than 15. (Most of us probably can’t even metabolise so many murder plots that quickly, let alone write them.) Naturally, his earnings are growing with his bibliography. This year’s majestic sum of $84 million (£51 million) is quite a jump from last year’s $70 million, owing largely to a new publishing contract, his staggering e-book sales, and his successful initiation into teen lit.

There are many reasons to be grateful for James Patterson. While he probably won’t be in a hurry to spend his earnings on saving the world’s tumbling libraries, he already is – in a way. The New York Public library recently tweeted that he was their most read author last month. British libraries have reported similar statistics (1.5 million library loans in 2007).
Read the full piece at The Telegraph.