JAMES CLAVELL
PHOTO BY RICHARD MELLOUL/SYGMA/CORBIS

ALEXANDRA RIPLEY
PHOTO BY DAVID A. CANTOR/AP PHOTO

KATHERINE ANNE PORTER
PHOTO BY EUDORA WELTY.CORBIS

ELIA KAZAN
PHOTO: BETTMANN/CORBIS

JEAN M. AUEL
PHOTO BY ROGER RESSMEYER/CORBIS

JAMES A. MICHENER
PHOTO BY BRADLEY SMITH/CORBIS

ROBERT JAMES WALLER
PHOTO BY BARRY KING/LIAISON/GETTY IMAGES

LEON URIS
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

IRVING STONE
PHOTO: HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES

TIM LAHAYE
PHOTO BY MARIO VILLAFUERTE/GETTY IMAGES

JERRY B. JENKINS
PHOTO BY MARIO VILLAFUERTE/GETTY IMAGES

ROBERT LUDLUM
PHOTO BY BERNARD GOTFRYD/GETTY IMAGES

Animation/illustration: Mark Pinkston

Typewriter: Istockphoto