11 Authors Who Have Written Political Checks This Election

These famous authors aren't just penning books, they're penning checks

October 5, 2012 RSS Feed Print

President Barack Obama buys some books for his daughters Malia and Sasha as he makes an unannounced stop at Prairie Lights book shop in Iowa City, Iowa.

If these authors' checks are any guide, pens truly are mightier than the sword in politics.

Writers typically have reputations for staying out of the public view and letting their books do the talking. However several big-name scribes have put their names, and their hard-earned cash, into this year's election.

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In July, several New York authors hosted an "Artists and Writers for Obama" benefit featuring "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" author Jonathan Safran Foer and "The Corrections" author Jonathan Franzen.

Here's a list of eleven authors, including Franzen and Foer, who've put their book royalties towards the 2012 election:

James Patterson - The world's top-selling writer, according to CNN, the thriller novelist is a major conservative donor. Patterson has given $19,000 to a half dozen Republican politicians, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, as well as $30,800 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Daniel Handler aka 'Lemony Snicket' – The writer of the "Series of Unfortunate Events" books has given Obama $5,000, Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren $250, and the Democratic Party $30,800.

Toni Morrison – The author, who won a Nobel Prize and a Pulitzer Prize for her book "Beloved," has given the $5,000 maximum to Obama as well as $10,500 to the Democratic Party this cycle.

Suze Orman – The personal finance guru has given the maximum $5,000 to Obama and $61,200 to the Democratic Party.

Jonathan Franzen – The National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist gave the $5,000 maximum to the president last year.

Maurice Sendak – Late author of "Where the Wild Things Are" gave $500 to Obama last year.

Stephen King – Literary horror master, whose books include "Carrie" and "The Shining," has given $5,000 to Obama, $30,400 to the Democratic Party, and $18,000 to other Democratic causes.

Judy Blume – Author of "Superfudge," "Freckle Juice," and "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" has given Obama $2,500 and Elizabeth Warren $1,000 this cycle.

Jonathan Safran Foer – The "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" and "Everything Is Illuminated" author gave $2,500 to Obama this year.

John Grisham – The "Time To Kill" author, who perfected the modern legal thriller en route to selling 250 million books, gave $5,000 to Students for a New American Politics, which bills itself as the nation's largest student-run PAC.