British writer E.L. James has shot to the top of the Forbes list of the world’s top-earning authors with her Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.
The 50-year-old London-based author netted £61.4 million through book sales over the past year.
That put her more than £2.5 million ahead of her nearest rival, prolific American thriller writer James Patterson.
Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins came a distant third with £35.5 million.
James, who lives in Ealing, West London with her husband and two teenage sons, also routed established authors like Stephen King, who was at number five, and J.K. Rowling, who dropped down into fifteenth place.
The list was determined by taking into account ‘sales data, published figures and information from industry sources’ gathered in the 12 month period from June last year, the magazine said.
The success of the Twilight inspired Fifty Shades trilogy was boosted by the 70 million copies sold during their first eight months on sale in the US.
“The e-book format was a key factor, giving readers an easy way to purchase sex-filled sequels – and a discreet way to read them in public,” according to Forbes.
A film adaptation of the first of the three tales is expected next year and James is understood to have pocketed about £2 million for the rights.
The top-ten highest earning authors of 2013:
1. EL James
2. James Patterson
3. Suzanne Collins
4. Bill O'Reilly
5. Danielle Steel
6. Jeff Kinney
7. Janet Evanovich
8. Nora Roberts
9. Dan Brown
10. Stephen King
