add_filter('manage_posts_columns', 'column_order');

function column_order($columns) {
  $n_columns = array();
  $move = 'author'; // what to move
  $before = 'title'; // move before this
  foreach($columns as $key => $value) {
    if ($key==$before){
      $n_columns[$move] = $move;
    }
      $n_columns[$key] = $value;
  }
  return $n_columns;
}