For over a decade, David Baldacci’s novels have thrilled readers, taking them to the heights of government power, into the minds of those who pull the strings, and to the wonders of small-town America. Mr. Baldacci practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C., as both a trial and corporate attorney, before becoming a full-time writer. His first novel, “Absolute Power,” was made into a motion picture starring Clint Eastwood. Mr. Baldacci’s books have all become national and international best sellers, translated into more than 40 languages, sold in more than 85 countries and with over 100 million copies in print. His latest thriller, “Deliver Us From Evil,” was published in April and will be available on site for purchase and signing. His new book, “Hell’s Corner” will be published in November and will not be available. In addition to his thrillers, Mr. Baldacci has written the “Freddy and the French Fries” series for young readers. PHOTO: Yvonne Taylor                 Janet Evanovich has been a full-time writer since 1986, when she sold her first romance novel. She continued writing romances for the next five years, then decided it was time to go in a different direction. After spending two years researching mysteries, she created her most popular character, Stephanie Plum, a thirty something New Jersey woman turned bounty hunter, with an eccentric family and man troubles. So far, Ms. Evanovich has written 16 novels in the Stephanie Plum series and four novels featuring some of the same characters. All of them have been bestsellers, and every one since “Hot Six,” her sixth in the Plum series, has debuted at the top of The New York Times best-seller list. Ms. Evanovich’s newest book is “Sizzling Sixteen” and a new series starts September 2010 with “Wicked Appetite.” PHOTO: Roland Scarpa                 Ken Follett has sold more than 100 million copies of his novels. His latest, “World Without End,” topped the best-seller lists in the United States and abroad. Mr. Follett started his career as a reporter, writing novels in his spare time. “Eye of the Needle,” his eleventh book and first success, was made into a film starring Donald Sutherland. He went on to write many more best-selling thrillers as well as other novels with strong narrative drive, such as “The Pillars of the Earth,” about building a cathedral during the Middle Ages. Readers of The Times of London, asked to vote for the 60 greatest novels of the past 60 years, ranked it second, after “To Kill a Mockingbird.” His upcoming project, “The Century Trilogy,” will tell the history of the 20th century through the eyes of five families in different countries. PHOTO: Barbara Follett                 Julie Orringer is the author of the novel “The Invisible Bridge” (Alfred A. Knopf, 2010) and the award-winning short story collection “How to Breathe Underwater” (Alfred A. Knopf, 2003), which was a New York Times Notable Book. She is the winner of The Paris Review’s Discovery Prize and the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Stanford University, and the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. PHOTO: Christa Parravani                 Robert Lipsyte, host of “Life (Part 2),” a weekly PBS show about the aging of the boomer generation, is a contributor to and former columnist of The New York Times. He is the author of 16 books, including “In the Country of Illness: Comfort and Advice for the Journey” and young adult novels “Center Field,” “The Contender,” “One Fat Summer” and “Raiders Night.” His memoir “An Accidental Sportswriter: Lessons from a Lifetime in the Locker-Room” will be published in June 2011. Mr. Lipsyte was a correspondent for “CBS Sunday Morning” and for the “NBC Nightly News.” In 1990 he received an Emmy as host of “The Eleventh Hour,” a nightly PBS public affairs show on WNET in New York, and was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize in commentary in 1992. In 2001 he won the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in young adult literature. PHOTO: Sandy Geis