Tomorrow, the fifth annual “TIME 100″ issue hits the streets, compiling what managing editor Richard Stengel calls “a thoughtful and sprightly survey of the most influential individuals in the world.” In the “artists and entertainers” section of the list, tribute is paid to authors Stephenie Meyer, Khaled Hosseini, and Elizabeth Gilbert—and financial advisor Suze Orman, who’s had equally grand success in the publishing realm this last year.
As is its habit, the people TIME recruits to explain why its honorees are so influential are themselves quite famous, so you’ve got Laura Bush discussing how “Hosseini’s writing has invited many to look beyond the post-9/11 stereotypes” about Afghanistan, while Orson Scott Card attributes Meyer’s success to a hunger among readers for “pure romantic fantasy—lots of sexual tension, but as decorous as Jane Austen.” And John Hodgman says, sure, Eat Pray Love is a great book, but “my friend Liz wrote the best short story I have ever read. It’s in issue 141 of The Paris Review, and it will make you gasp.”