James Patterson

The world’s bestselling author, James Patterson is the American writer and co-writer of some of the biggest franchises in crime and children’s publishing, including Alex Cross, The Women’s Murder Club and Middle School. Since his debut novel, The Thomas Berryman Number, in 1976, Patterson has written or co-written over 140 books. These are primarily in the crime fiction genre, – with the Alex Cross novels proving the most popular US detective series of the last decade – although in more recent years Patterson has turned his hand to children’s fiction as well, where his Middle School and Maximum Ride series are hugely popular. In addition to his phenomenally prolific writing career, Patterson is also a literary philanthropist, donating many millions of books to schools and funding teaching scholarships and other education initiatives throughout the United States.