J.K. Rowling's magical Midas touch has landed her on the cover of Entertainment Weekly as the magazine's entertainer of the year.
Author J.K. Rowling signs books for fans at the Elgin and Winter Garden theatre in Toronto, in October.
(Canadian Press)
The magazine said the Harry Potter author deserved the award for getting "people to tote around her big, old-fashioned printed-on-paper books as if they were the hottest new entertainment devices on the planet."
Rowling has sold nearly 400 million copies of her boy-wizard series, which she completed this year with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It also has been adapted into a successful movie franchise.
Rowling was in a class by herself on the magazine's list of the year's top entertainers.
Editors divided celebrities into five categories using terminology drawn from high school: prodigies, class clowns, most popular, most buzzed about and valedictorians.
Seth Rogen 'class clown'
Canadian Seth Rogen earned a mention as class clown, along with Knocked Up and Superbad director Judd Apatow and acting buddy Paul Rudd.
Tina Fey, creator and co-star of 30 Rock, also was recognized as a class clown for her hilariously cringe-inducing portrayal of comedy-show producer Liz Lemon on the NBC sitcom.
"I love going to those uncomfortable places," she said in an interview with the magazine. "I'll go down any weird avenue."
Other class clowns were Vanessa Williams and The Simpsons.
Actor, director and activist George Clooney earned a place as a valedictorian because he has "deftly balanced box-office viability with personal responsibility."
Will Smith, Angelina Jolie and the cast of The Sopranos were also considered high achievers.
On the list of most popular were actor Matt Damon, country singer Carrie Underwood, TV star Katherine Heigl, film actor Johnny Depp and singer Kanye West.
The prodigies were youngsters Zac Efron and Shia LaBeouf, both of whom have made a name with Disney and singers Rihanna and Miley Cyrus.
Amy Winehouse, Gerard Butler, Tyler Perry and the A&E series Mad Men were named the most buzz-worthy.
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