Higashino Keigo (東野圭吾)

 Royalty income: 2.8 million yuan (US$450,200)

Bestseller: "White Night"《白夜行》

Country: Japan

Age: 54

2011 Ranking: 5

Higashino Keigo, born in Osaka in 1958, is a Japanese crime writer known for his mystery novels constructed in an elaborate and meticulous way. The writer, a former engineer of an auto-parts company in Osaka, earned his reputation in 1985 with his mystery work "After School." Since then, he resigned from his former job to become a professional writer. His major works include "The Secret," "The Devotion of Suspect X," and "White Night."

About 20 of his novels have been adapted into films or TV series, making him a household name in Asia. His work "White Night," which was adapted into a TV series in 2006 and a film in 2009, tells a tragic love story between a couple who were forced to become murderers to protect each other when they were young, and tried in vain to keep their promise, hoping that one day they could take a walk in the sun hand in hand.