World Book Day 2024: who is UK and world’s richest author, and what novel are they working on next?

It’s World Book Day 2024 and readers globally will be picking up a favourite book to celebrate.

The UK is home to some of the world’s greatest authors, both living and dead - from classic writers like Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters, and Jane Austen, to dystopian socialist George Orwell, to modern favourites like Hilary Mantel, Neil Gaiman, and Zadie Smith.

But who is the most successful British writer? Only one modern day author has managed to become a billionaire off the back of their works, which have become a global phenomenon and created a multi-media franchise at the heart of popular culture. 

Who is the UK’s richest author?

It’s likely a surprise to no-one that Harry Potter and Strike scribe JK Rowling is not only the richest author in the UK, but also the world.

She beats out the likes of American crime writer James Patterson, horror author Stephen King, and romance regular Danielle Steel by quite a margin. Rowling has an estimated net worth of $1 billion (£800 million) making her a billionaire in American currency at least.

Rowling is best known for penning the seven volume fantasy series Harry Potter - it is the best selling book series of all time, with over 600 million copies sold globally in 84 different languages, including Latin.

The vast majority of Rowling’s wealth stems from the Harry Potter franchise, including book sales, film rights (including for the Fantastic Beasts spinoffs), and theme park park royalties.

Rowling was ranked at the 196th richest person in the UK in 2021, although she has insisted on several occasions that she is not a billionaire.

Another solid moneyspinner for the author is her Cormoran Strike detective novel series, which she publishes under the pen name Robert Galbraith. The first book in the series, The Cuckoo’s Calling, sold more than 380,000 physical copies - a fraction of the success of her first Harry Potter novel, which has sold more than 120 million copies, but a huge success by normal standards.

Rowling has published seven Strike novels so far, the latest The Running Grave, was released last year, and has stated that she plans to write at least 10 in total. The books have also been adapted into a BBC series starring Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger, with the sixth novel, The Ink Black Heart, currently in production.

What is JK Rowling's next book?

JK Rowling is currently working on the next instalment of her Strike series. The title and plot of the eighth novel in the series has not yet been revealed, and we don't know when the release date will be. Rowling plans to write at least two more Strike novels after the eighth is published.