| author | | |
| n. (person) | 1. author, writer | writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay). |
| ~ communicator | a person who communicates with others. |
| ~ abstracter, abstractor | one who makes abstracts or summarizes information. |
| ~ alliterator | a speaker or writer who makes use of alliteration. |
| ~ authoress | a woman author. |
| ~ biographer | someone who writes an account of a person's life. |
| ~ coauthor, joint author | a writer who collaborates with others in writing something. |
| ~ commentator, reviewer | a writer who reports and analyzes events of the day. |
| ~ compiler | a person who compiles information (as for reference purposes). |
| ~ contributor | a writer whose work is published in a newspaper or magazine or as part of a book. |
| ~ cyberpunk | a writer of science fiction set in a lawless subculture of an oppressive society dominated by computer technology. |
| ~ drafter | a writer of a draft. |
| ~ dramatist, playwright | someone who writes plays. |
| ~ essayist, litterateur | a writer of literary works. |
| ~ folk writer | a writer of folktales. |
| ~ framer | someone who writes a new law or plan.; "the framers of the Constitution" |
| ~ gagster, gagwriter, gagman | someone who writes comic material for public performers. |
| ~ ghostwriter, ghost | a writer who gives the credit of authorship to someone else. |
| ~ gothic romancer | a writer of Gothic romances. |
| ~ hack writer, literary hack, hack | a mediocre and disdained writer. |
| ~ journalist | a writer for newspapers and magazines. |
| ~ librettist | author of words to be set to music in an opera or operetta. |
| ~ lyricist, lyrist | a person who writes the words for songs. |
| ~ novelist | one who writes novels. |
| ~ pamphleteer | a writer of pamphlets (usually taking a partisan stand on public issues). |
| ~ paragrapher | a writer of paragraphs (as for publication on the editorial page of a newspaper). |
| ~ poet | a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry). |
| ~ polemic, polemicist, polemist | a writer who argues in opposition to others (especially in theology). |
| ~ poetiser, poetizer, rhymer, rhymester, versifier | a writer who composes rhymes; a maker of poor verses (usually used as terms of contempt for minor or inferior poets). |
| ~ scenarist | a writer of screenplays. |
| ~ scriptwriter | someone who writes scripts for plays or movies or broadcast dramas. |
| ~ space writer | a writer paid by the area of the copy. |
| ~ speechwriter | a writer who composes speeches for others to deliver. |
| ~ tragedian | a writer (especially a playwright) who writes tragedies. |
| ~ wordmonger | a writer who uses language carelessly or pretentiously with little regard for meaning. |
| ~ word-painter | a writer of vivid or graphic descriptive power. |
| ~ wordsmith | a fluent and prolific writer. |
| ~ aiken, conrad aiken, conrad potter aiken | United States writer (1889-1973). |
| ~ alger, horatio alger | United States author of inspirational adventure stories for boys; virtue and hard work overcome poverty (1832-1899). |
| ~ algren, nelson algren | United States writer (1909-1981). |
| ~ andersen, hans christian andersen | a Danish author remembered for his fairy stories (1805-1875). |
| ~ anderson, sherwood anderson | United States author whose works were frequently autobiographical (1876-1941). |
| ~ aragon, louis aragon | French writer who generalized surrealism to literature (1897-1982). |
| ~ asch, shalom asch, sholem asch, sholom asch | United States writer (born in Poland) who wrote in Yiddish (1880-1957). |
| ~ asimov, isaac asimov | United States writer (born in Russia) noted for his science fiction (1920-1992). |
| ~ auchincloss, louis auchincloss, louis stanton auchincloss | United States writer (born in 1917). |
| ~ austen, jane austen | English novelist noted for her insightful portrayals of middle-class families (1775-1817). |
| ~ baldwin, james arthur baldwin, james baldwin | United States author who was an outspoken critic of racism (1924-1987). |
| ~ baraka, imamu amiri baraka, leroi jones | United States writer of poems and plays about racial conflict (born in 1934). |
| ~ john barth, john simmons barth, barth | United States novelist (born in 1930). |
| ~ barthelme, donald barthelme | United States author of sometimes surrealistic stories (1931-1989). |
| ~ baum, frank baum, lyman frank brown | United States writer of children's books (1856-1919). |
| ~ beauvoir, simone de beauvoir | French feminist and existentialist and novelist (1908-1986). |
| ~ beckett, samuel beckett | a playwright and novelist (born in Ireland) who lived in France; wrote plays for the theater of the absurd (1906-1989). |
| ~ beerbohm, max beerbohm, sir henry maxmilian beerbohm | English writer and caricaturist (1872-1956). |
| ~ belloc, hilaire belloc, joseph hilaire peter belloc | English author (born in France) remembered especially for his verse for children (1870-1953). |
| ~ saul bellow, solomon bellow, bellow | United States author (born in Canada) whose novels influenced American literature after World War II (1915-2005). |
| ~ benchley, robert benchley, robert charles benchley | United States humorist (1889-1945). |
| ~ william rose benet, benet | United States writer; brother of Stephen Vincent Benet (1886-1950). |
| ~ ambrose bierce, ambrose gwinett bierce, bierce | United States writer of caustic wit (1842-1914). |
| ~ boell, heinrich boell, heinrich theodor boell | German novelist and writer of short stories (1917-1985). |
| ~ arna wendell bontemps, bontemps | United States writer (1902-1973). |
| ~ borges, jorge borges, jorge luis borges | Argentinian writer remembered for his short stories (1899-1986). |
| ~ boswell, james boswell | Scottish author noted for his biography of Samuel Johnson (1740-1795). |
| ~ boyle, kay boyle | United States writer (1902-1992). |
| ~ bradbury, ray bradbury, ray douglas bradbury | United States writer of science fiction (born 1920). |
| ~ charlotte bronte, bronte | English novelist; oldest of three Bronte sisters (1816-1855). |
| ~ currer bell, emily bronte, emily jane bronte, bronte | English novelist; one of three Bronte sisters (1818-1848). |
| ~ anne bronte, bronte | English novelist; youngest of three Bronte sisters (1820-1849). |
| ~ artemus ward, charles farrar browne, browne | United States writer of humorous tales of an itinerant showman (1834-1867). |
| ~ pearl buck, pearl sydenstricker buck, buck | United States author whose novels drew on her experiences as a missionary in China (1892-1973). |
| ~ bunyan, john bunyan | English preacher and author of an allegorical novel, Pilgrim's Progress (1628-1688). |
| ~ anthony burgess, burgess | English writer of satirical novels (1917-1993). |
| ~ burnett, frances eliza hodgson burnett, frances hodgson burnett | United States writer (born in England) remembered for her novels for children (1849-1924). |
| ~ edgar rice burroughs, burroughs | United States novelist and author of the Tarzan stories (1875-1950). |
| ~ burroughs, william burroughs, william s. burroughs, william seward burroughs | United States writer noted for his works portraying the life of drug addicts (1914-1997). |
| ~ samuel butler, butler | English novelist who described a fictitious land he called Erewhon (1835-1902). |
| ~ cabell, james branch cabell | United States writer of satirical novels (1879-1958). |
| ~ caldwell, erskine caldwell, erskine preston caldwell | United States author remembered for novels about poverty and degeneration (1903-1987). |
| ~ calvino, italo calvino | Italian writer of novels and short stories (born in Cuba) (1923-1987). |
| ~ albert camus, camus | French writer who portrayed the human condition as isolated in an absurd world (1913-1960). |
| ~ canetti, elias canetti | English writer born in Germany (1905-1994). |
| ~ capek, karel capek | Czech writer who introduced the word `robot' into the English language (1890-1938). |
| ~ carroll, charles dodgson, charles lutwidge dodgson, dodgson, lewis carroll, reverend dodgson | English author; Charles Dodgson was an Oxford don of mathematics who is remembered for the children's stories he wrote under the pen name Lewis Carroll (1832-1898). |
| ~ cather, willa cather, willa sibert cather | United States writer who wrote about frontier life (1873-1947). |
| ~ cervantes, cervantes saavedra, miguel de cervantes, miguel de cervantes saavedra | Spanish writer best remembered for `Don Quixote' which satirizes chivalry and influenced the development of the novel form (1547-1616). |
| ~ chandler, raymond chandler, raymond thornton chandler | United States writer of detective thrillers featuring the character of Philip Marlowe (1888-1959). |
| ~ chateaubriand, francois rene chateaubriand, vicomte de chateaubriand | French statesman and writer; considered a precursor of the romantic movement in France (1768-1848). |
| ~ cheever, john cheever | United States writer of novels and short stories (1912-1982). |
| ~ chesterton, g. k. chesterton, gilbert keith chesterton | conservative English writer of the Roman Catholic persuasion; in addition to volumes of criticism and polemics he wrote detective novels featuring Father Brown (1874-1936). |
| ~ kate chopin, kate o'flaherty chopin, chopin | United States writer who described Creole life in Louisiana (1851-1904). |
| ~ agatha christie, christie, dame agatha mary clarissa christie | prolific English writer of detective stories (1890-1976). |
| ~ sir winston leonard spenser churchill, winston churchill, winston s. churchill, churchill | British statesman and leader during World War II; received Nobel prize for literature in 1953 (1874-1965). |
| ~ clemens, mark twain, samuel langhorne clemens | United States writer and humorist best known for his novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1835-1910). |
| ~ cocteau, jean cocteau | French writer and film maker who worked in many artistic media (1889-1963). |
| ~ colette, sidonie-gabrielle claudine colette, sidonie-gabrielle colette | French writer of novels about women (1873-1954). |
| ~ collins, wilkie collins, william wilkie collins | English writer noted for early detective novels (1824-1889). |
| ~ a. conan doyle, arthur conan doyle, conan doyle, sir arthur conan doyle | British author who created Sherlock Holmes (1859-1930). |
| ~ conrad, joseph conrad, teodor josef konrad korzeniowski | English novelist (born in Poland) noted for sea stories and for his narrative technique (1857-1924). |
| ~ james fenimore cooper, cooper | United States novelist noted for his stories of American Indians and the frontier life (1789-1851). |
| ~ crane, stephen crane | United States writer (1871-1900). |
| ~ cummings, e. e. cummings, edward estlin cummings | United States writer noted for his typographically eccentric poetry (1894-1962). |
| ~ clarence day, clarence shepard day jr., day | United States writer best known for his autobiographical works (1874-1935). |
| ~ daniel defoe, defoe | English writer remembered particularly for his novel about Robinson Crusoe (1660-1731). |
| ~ de quincey, thomas de quincey | English writer who described the psychological effects of addiction to opium (1785-1859). |
| ~ charles dickens, charles john huffam dickens, dickens | English writer whose novels depicted and criticized social injustice (1812-1870). |
| ~ didion, joan didion | United States writer (born in 1934). |
| ~ baroness karen blixen, blixen, dinesen, isak dinesen, karen blixen | Danish writer who lived in Kenya for 19 years and is remembered for her writings about Africa (1885-1962). |
| ~ doctorow, e. l. doctorow, edgard lawrence doctorow | United States novelist (born in 1931). |
| ~ dos passos, john dos passos, john roderigo dos passos | United States novelist remembered for his portrayal of life in the United States (1896-1970). |
| ~ dostoevski, dostoevsky, dostoyevsky, feodor dostoevski, feodor dostoevsky, feodor dostoyevsky, feodor mikhailovich dostoevski, feodor mikhailovich dostoevsky, feodor mikhailovich dostoyevsky, fyodor dostoevski, fyodor dostoevsky, fyodor dostoyevsky, fyodor mikhailovich dostoevski, fyodor mikhailovich dostoevsky, fyodor mikhailovich dostoyevsky | Russian novelist who wrote of human suffering with humor and psychological insight (1821-1881). |
| ~ dreiser, theodore dreiser, theodore herman albert dreiser | United States novelist (1871-1945). |
| ~ alexandre dumas, dumas | French writer remembered for his swashbuckling historical tales (1802-1870). |
| ~ george du maurier, george louis palmella busson du maurier, du maurier | English writer and illustrator; grandfather of Daphne du Maurier (1834-1896). |
| ~ dame daphne du maurier, daphne du maurier, du maurier | English writer of melodramatic novels (1907-1989). |
| ~ durrell, lawrence durrell, lawrence george durrell | English writer of Irish descent who spent much of his life in Mediterranean regions (1912-1990). |
| ~ ehrenberg, ilya ehrenberg, ilya grigorievich ehrenberg | Russian novelist (1891-1967). |
| ~ george eliot, mary ann evans, eliot | British writer of novels characterized by realistic analysis of provincial Victorian society (1819-1880). |
| ~ ellison, ralph ellison, ralph waldo ellison | United States novelist who wrote about a young Black man and his struggles in American society (1914-1994). |
| ~ emerson, ralph waldo emerson | United States writer and leading exponent of transcendentalism (1803-1882). |
| ~ farrell, james thomas farrell | United States writer remembered for his novels (1904-1979). |
| ~ edna ferber, ferber | United States novelist; author of several popular novels (1887-1968). |
| ~ henry fielding, fielding | English novelist and dramatist (1707-1754). |
| ~ f. scott fitzgerald, francis scott key fitzgerald, fitzgerald | United States author whose novels characterized the Jazz Age in the United States (1896-1940). |
| ~ flaubert, gustave flaubert | French writer of novels and short stories (1821-1880). |
| ~ fleming, ian fleming, ian lancaster fleming | British writer famous for writing spy novels about secret agent James Bond (1908-1964). |
| ~ ford hermann hueffer, ford madox ford, ford | English writer and editor (1873-1939). |
| ~ c. s. forester, cecil scott forester, forester | English writer of adventure novels featuring Captain Horatio Hornblower (1899-1966). |
| ~ anatole france, jacques anatole francois thibault, france | French writer of sophisticated novels and short stories (1844-1924). |
| ~ benjamin franklin, franklin | printer whose success as an author led him to take up politics; he helped draw up the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; he played a major role in the American Revolution and negotiated French support for the colonists; as a scientist he is remembered particularly for his research in electricity (1706-1790). |
| ~ carlos fuentes, fuentes | Mexican novelist (born in 1928). |
| ~ emile gaboriau, gaboriau | French writer considered by some to be a founder of the detective novel (1832-1873). |
| ~ galsworthy, john galsworthy | English novelist (1867-1933). |
| ~ erle stanley gardner, gardner | writer of detective novels featuring Perry Mason (1889-1970). |
| ~ elizabeth cleghorn stevenson gaskell, elizabeth gaskell, gaskell | English writer who is remembered for her biography of Charlotte Bronte (1810-1865). |
| ~ dr. seuss, geisel, theodor seuss geisel | United States writer of children's books (1904-1991). |
| ~ gibran, kahlil gibran | United States writer (born in Lebanon) (1883-1931). |
| ~ andre gide, andre paul guillaume gide, gide | French author and dramatist who is regarded as the father of modern French literature (1869-1951). |
| ~ gjellerup, karl gjellerup | Danish novelist (1857-1919). |
| ~ gogol, nikolai vasilievich gogol | Russian writer who introduced realism to Russian literature (1809-1852). |
| ~ golding, sir william gerald golding, william golding | English novelist (1911-1993). |
| ~ oliver goldsmith, goldsmith | Irish writer of novels and poetry and plays and essays (1728-1774). |
| ~ gombrowicz, witold gombrowicz | Polish author (1904-1969). |
| ~ edmond de goncourt, edmond louis antoine huot de goncourt, goncourt | French writer who collaborated with his brother Jules de Goncourt on many books and who in his will established the Prix Goncourt (1822-1896). |
| ~ goncourt, jules alfred huot de goncourt, jules de goncourt | French writer who collaborated with his brother Edmond de Goncourt on many books (1830-1870). |
| ~ gordimer, nadine gordimer | South African novelist and short-story writer whose work describes the effects of apartheid (born in 1923). |
| ~ aleksey maksimovich peshkov, aleksey maximovich peshkov, gorki, gorky, maksim gorky, maxim gorki | Russian writer of plays and novels and short stories; noted for his depiction of social outcasts. |
| ~ grahame, kenneth grahame | English writer (born in Scotland) of children's stories (1859-1932). |
| ~ gunter grass, gunter wilhelm grass, grass | German writer of novels and poetry and plays (born 1927). |
| ~ graves, robert graves, robert ranke graves | English writer known for his interest in mythology and in the classics (1895-1985). |
| ~ graham greene, greene, henry graham greene | English novelist and Catholic (1904-1991). |
| ~ grey, zane grey | United States writer of western adventure novels (1875-1939). |
| ~ jakob grimm, jakob ludwig karl grimm, grimm | the older of the two Grimm brothers remembered best for their fairy stories; also author of Grimm's law describing consonant changes in Germanic languages (1785-1863). |
| ~ grimm, wilhelm grimm, wilhelm karl grimm | the younger of the two Grimm brothers remembered best for their fairy stories (1786-1859). |
| ~ haggard, rider haggard, sir henry rider haggard | British writer noted for romantic adventure novels (1856-1925). |
| ~ elizabeth haldane, elizabeth sanderson haldane, haldane | Scottish writer and sister of Richard Haldane and John Haldane (1862-1937). |
| ~ edward everett hale, hale | prolific United States writer (1822-1909). |
| ~ alex haley, haley | United States writer and Afro-American who wrote a fictionalized account of tracing his family roots back to Africa (1921-1992). |
| ~ marguerite radclyffe hall, radclyffe hall, hall | English writer whose novel about a lesbian relationship was banned in Britain for many years (1883-1943). |
| ~ dashiell hammett, hammett, samuel dashiell hammett | United States writer of hard-boiled detective fiction (1894-1961). |
| ~ hamsun, knut hamsun, knut pedersen | Norwegian writer of novels (1859-1952). |
| ~ thomas hardy, hardy | English novelist and poet (1840-1928). |
| ~ frank harris, james thomas harris, harris | Irish writer noted for his sexually explicit but unreliable autobiography (1856-1931). |
| ~ harris, joel chandler harris, joel harris | United States author who wrote the stories about Uncle Remus (1848-1908). |
| ~ bret harte, harte | United States writer noted for his stories about life during the California gold rush (1836-1902). |
| ~ hasek, jaroslav hasek | Czech author of novels and short stories (1883-1923). |
| ~ hawthorne, nathaniel hawthorne | United States writer of novels and short stories mostly on moral themes (1804-1864). |
| ~ ben hecht, hecht | United States writer of stories and plays (1894-1946). |
| ~ heinlein, robert a. heinlein, robert anson heinlein | United States writer of science fiction (1907-1988). |
| ~ joseph heller, heller | United States novelist whose best known work was a black comedy inspired by his experiences in the Air Force during World War II (1923-1999). |
| ~ ernest hemingway, hemingway | an American writer of fiction who won the Nobel prize for literature in 1954 (1899-1961). |
| ~ hermann hesse, hesse | Swiss writer (born in Germany) whose novels and poems express his interests in eastern spiritual values (1877-1962). |
| ~ heyse, paul heyse, paul johann ludwig von heyse | German writer (1830-1914). |
| ~ dubois heyward, edwin dubois hayward, heyward | United States writer (1885-1940). |
| ~ higginson, thomas higginson, thomas wentworth storrow higginson | United States writer and soldier who led the first Black regiment in the Union Army (1823-1911). |
| ~ e. t. a. hoffmann, ernst theodor amadeus hoffmann, ernst theodor wilhelm hoffmann, hoffmann | German writer of fantastic tales (1776-1822). |
| ~ oliver wendell holmes, holmes | United States writer of humorous essays (1809-1894). |
| ~ howells, william dean howells | United States writer and editor (1837-1920). |
| ~ edmond hoyle, hoyle | English writer on card games (1672-1769). |
| ~ hubbard, l. ron hubbard | a United States writer of science fiction and founder of Scientology (1911-1986). |
| ~ james langston hughes, langston hughes, hughes | United States writer (1902-1967). |
| ~ james henry leigh hunt, leigh hunt, hunt | British writer who defended the Romanticism of Keats and Shelley (1784-1859). |
| ~ aldous huxley, aldous leonard huxley, huxley | English writer; grandson of Thomas Huxley who is remembered mainly for his depiction of a scientifically controlled utopia (1894-1963). |
| ~ john irving, irving | United States writer of darkly humorous novels (born in 1942). |
| ~ irving, washington irving | United States writer remembered for his stories (1783-1859). |
| ~ christopher isherwood, christopher william bradshaw isherwood, isherwood | United States writer (born in England) whose best known novels portray Berlin in the 1930's and who collaborated with W. H. Auden in writing plays in verse (1904-1986). |
| ~ helen hunt jackson, helen maria fiske hunt jackson, jackson | United States writer of romantic novels about the unjust treatment of Native Americans (1830-1885). |
| ~ jane jacobs, jacobs | United States writer and critic of urban planning (born in 1916). |
| ~ jacobs, w. w. jacobs, william wymark jacobs | English writer of macabre short stories (1863-1943). |
| ~ henry james, james | writer who was born in the United States but lived in England (1843-1916). |
| ~ jensen, johannes vilhelm jensen | modernistic Danish writer (1873-1950). |
| ~ dr. johnson, johnson, samuel johnson | English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784). |
| ~ erica jong, jong | United States writer (born in 1942). |
| ~ james augustine aloysius joyce, james joyce, joyce | influential Irish writer noted for his many innovations (such as stream of consciousness writing) (1882-1941). |
| ~ franz kafka, kafka | Czech novelist who wrote in German about a nightmarish world of isolated and troubled individuals (1883-1924). |
| ~ helen adams keller, helen keller, keller | United States lecturer and writer who was blind and deaf from the age of 19 months; Anne Sullivan taught her to read and write and speak; Helen Keller graduated from college and went on to champion the cause of blind and deaf people (1880-1968). |
| ~ jack kerouac, jean-louis lebris de kerouac, kerouac | United States writer who was a leading figure of the beat generation (1922-1969). |
| ~ ken elton kesey, ken kesey, kesey | United States writer whose best-known novel was based on his experiences as an attendant in a mental hospital (1935-2001). |
| ~ joseph rudyard kipling, kipling, rudyard kipling | English author of novels and poetry who was born in India (1865-1936). |
| ~ arthur koestler, koestler | British writer (born in Hungary) who wrote a novel exposing the Stalinist purges during the 1930s (1905-1983). |
| ~ jean de la fontaine, la fontaine | French writer who collected Aesop's fables and published them (1621-1695). |
| ~ lardner, ring lardner, ringgold wilmer lardner | United States humorist and writer of satirical short stories (1885-1933). |
| ~ francois de la rochefoucauld, la rochefoucauld | French writer of moralistic maxims (1613-1680). |
| ~ d. h. lawrence, david herbert lawrence, lawrence | English novelist and poet and essayist whose work condemned industrial society and explored sexual relationships (1885-1930). |
| ~ lawrence of arabia, t. e. lawrence, thomas edward lawrence, lawrence | Welsh soldier who from 1916 to 1918 organized the Arab revolt against the Turks; he later wrote an account of his adventures (1888-1935). |
| ~ david john moore cornwell, john le carre, le carre | English writer of novels of espionage (born in 1931). |
| ~ dutch leonard, elmore john leonard, elmore leonard, leonard | United States writer of thrillers (born in 1925). |
| ~ lermontov, mikhail yurievich lermontov | Russian writer (1814-1841). |
| ~ doris lessing, doris may lessing, lessing | English author of novels and short stories who grew up in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) (born in 1919). |
| ~ c. s. lewis, clive staples lewis, lewis | English critic and novelist; author of theological works and of books for children (1898-1963). |
| ~ harry sinclair lewis, sinclair lewis, lewis | United States novelist who satirized middle-class America in his novel Main Street (1885-1951). |
| ~ jack london, john griffith chaney, london | United States writer of novels based on experiences in the Klondike gold rush (1876-1916). |
| ~ clarence malcolm lowry, malcolm lowry, lowry | English novelist (1909-1957). |
| ~ john lyly, lyly | English writer noted for his elaborate style (1554-1606). |
| ~ bulwer-lytton, edward george earle bulwer-lytton, first baron lytton, lytton | English writer of historical romances (1803-1873). |
| ~ mailer, norman mailer | United States writer (born in 1923). |
| ~ bernard malamud, malamud | United States writer (1914-1986). |
| ~ malory, sir thomas malory, thomas malory | English writer who published a translation of romances about King Arthur taken from French and other sources (died in 1471). |
| ~ andre malraux, malraux | French novelist (1901-1976). |
| ~ thomas mann, mann | German writer concerned about the role of the artist in bourgeois society (1875-1955). |
| ~ katherine mansfield, kathleen mansfield beauchamp, mansfield | New Zealand writer of short stories (1888-1923). |
| ~ alessandro manzoni, manzoni | Italian novelist and poet (1785-1873). |
| ~ john marquand, john philip marquand, marquand | United States writer who created the Japanese detective Mr. Moto and wrote other novels as well (1893-1960). |
| ~ ngaio marsh, marsh | New Zealand writer of detective stories (1899-1982). |
| ~ a. e. w. mason, alfred edward woodley mason, mason | English writer (1865-1948). |
| ~ maugham, somerset maugham, w. somerset maugham, william somerset maugham | English writer (born in France) of novels and short stories (1874-1965). |
| ~ guy de maupassant, henri rene albert guy de maupassant, maupassant | French writer noted especially for his short stories (1850-1893). |
| ~ francois charles mauriac, francois mauriac, mauriac | French novelist who wrote about the conflict between desire and religious belief (1885-1970). |
| ~ andre maurois, emile herzog, maurois | French writer best known for his biographies (1885-1967). |
| ~ mary mccarthy, mary therese mccarthy, mccarthy | United States satirical novelist and literary critic (1912-1989). |
| ~ carson mccullers, carson smith mccullers, mccullers | United States novelist (1917-1967). |
| ~ herbert marshall mcluhan, marshall mcluhan, mcluhan | Canadian writer noted for his analyses of the mass media (1911-1980). |
| ~ herman melville, melville | United States writer of novels and short stories (1819-1891). |
| ~ merton, thomas merton | United States religious and writer (1915-1968). |
| ~ james albert michener, james michener, michener | United States writer of historical novels (1907-1997). |
| ~ henry miller, henry valentine miller, miller | United States novelist whose novels were originally banned as pornographic (1891-1980). |
| ~ a. a. milne, alan alexander milne, milne | English writer of stories for children (1882-1956). |
| ~ margaret mitchell, margaret munnerlyn mitchell, mitchell | United States writer noted for her novel about the South during the American Civil War (1900-1949). |
| ~ nancy freeman mitford, nancy mitford, mitford | English writer of comic novels (1904-1973). |
| ~ jessica lucy mitford, jessica mitford, mitford | United States writer (born in England) who wrote on American culture (1917-1996). |
| ~ michel eyquem montaigne, michel montaigne, montaigne | French writer regarded as the originator of the modern essay (1533-1592). |
| ~ l. m. montgomery, lucy maud montgomery, montgomery | Canadian novelist (1874-1942). |
| ~ more, sir thomas more, thomas more | English statesman who opposed Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and was imprisoned and beheaded; recalled for his concept of Utopia, the ideal state. |
| ~ chloe anthony wofford, toni morrison, morrison | United States writer whose novels describe the lives of African-Americans (born in 1931). |
| ~ h. h. munro, hector hugh munro, munro, saki | British writer of short stories (1870-1916). |
| ~ dame jean iris murdoch, iris murdoch, murdoch | British writer (born in Ireland) known primarily for her novels (1919-1999). |
| ~ alfred de musset, louis charles alfred de musset, musset | French poet and writer (1810-1857). |
| ~ nabokov, vladimir nabokov, vladimir vladimirovich nabokov | United States writer (born in Russia) (1899-1977). |
| ~ nash, ogden nash | United States writer noted for his droll epigrams (1902-1971). |
| ~ harold nicolson, nicolson, sir harold george nicolson | English diplomat and author (1886-1968). |
| ~ benjamin franklin norris jr., frank norris, norris | United States writer (1870-1902). |
| ~ joyce carol oates, oates | United States writer (born in 1938). |
| ~ edna o'brien, o'brien | Irish writer (born in 1932). |
| ~ flannery o'connor, mary flannery o'connor, o'connor | United States writer (1925-1964). |
| ~ liam o'flaherty, o'flaherty | Irish writer of short stories (1896-1984). |
| ~ john henry o'hara, o'hara | United States writer (1905-1970). |
| ~ michael ondaatje, ondaatje, philip michael ondaatje | Canadian writer (born in Sri Lanka in 1943). |
| ~ baroness emmusca orczy, orczy | British writer (born in Hungary) (1865-1947). |
| ~ eric arthur blair, eric blair, george orwell, orwell | imaginative British writer concerned with social justice (1903-1950). |
| ~ thomas nelson page, page | United States diplomat and writer about the Old South (1853-1922). |
| ~ dorothy parker, dorothy rothschild parker, parker | United States writer noted for her sharp wit (1893-1967). |
| ~ boris leonidovich pasternak, boris pasternak, pasternak | Russian writer whose best known novel was banned by Soviet authorities but translated and published abroad (1890-1960). |
| ~ alan paton, alan stewart paton, paton | South African writer (1903-1988). |
| ~ percy, walker percy | United States writer whose novels explored human alienation (1916-1990). |
| ~ gaius petronius, petronius, petronius arbiter | Roman satirist (died in 66). |
| ~ plath, sylvia plath | United States writer and poet (1932-1963). |
| ~ gaius plinius secundus, pliny the elder, pliny | Roman author of an encyclopedic natural history; died while observing the eruption of Vesuvius (23-79). |
| ~ gaius plinius caecilius secundus, pliny, pliny the younger | Roman writer and nephew of Pliny the Elder; author of books of letters that commented on affairs of the day (62-113). |
| ~ edgar allan poe, poe | United States writer and poet (1809-1849). |
| ~ o. henry, william sydney porter, porter | United States writer of short stories whose pen name was O. Henry (1862-1910). |
| ~ katherine anne porter, porter | United States writer of novels and short stories (1890-1980). |
| ~ emily post, emily price post, post | United States female author who wrote a book and a syndicated newspaper column on etiquette (1872-1960). |
| ~ ezra loomis pound, ezra pound, pound | United States writer who lived in Europe; strongly influenced the development of modern literature (1885-1972). |
| ~ john cowper powys, powys | British writer of novels about nature; one of three literary brothers (1872-1963). |
| ~ theodore francis powys, powys | British writer of allegorical novels; one of three literary brothers (1875-1953). |
| ~ llewelyn powys, powys | British writer of essays; one of three literary brothers (1884-1939). |
| ~ howard pyle, pyle | United States writer and illustrator of children's books (1853-1911). |
| ~ pynchon, thomas pynchon | United States writer of pessimistic novels about life in a technologically advanced society (born in 1937). |
| ~ ayn rand, rand | United States writer (born in Russia) noted for her polemical novels and political conservativism (1905-1982). |
| ~ mordecai richler, richler | Canadian novelist (born in 1931). |
| ~ kenneth roberts, roberts | United States writer remembered for his historical novels about colonial America (1885-1957). |
| ~ anna eleanor roosevelt, eleanor roosevelt, roosevelt | wife of Franklin Roosevelt and a strong advocate of human rights (1884-1962). |
| ~ philip milton roth, philip roth, roth | United States writer whose novels portray middle-class Jewish life (born in 1933). |
| ~ jean-jacques rousseau, rousseau | French philosopher and writer born in Switzerland; believed that the natural goodness of man was warped by society; ideas influenced the French Revolution (1712-1778). |
| ~ alfred damon runyon, damon runyon, runyon | United States writer of humorous stylized stories about Broadway and the New York underground (1884-1946). |
| ~ ahmed salman rushdie, rushdie, salman rushdie | British writer of novels who was born in India; one of his novels is regarded as blasphemous by Muslims and a fatwa was issued condemning him to death (born in 1947). |
| ~ a.e., george william russell, russell | Irish writer whose pen name was A.E. (1867-1935). |
| ~ comte donatien alphonse francois de sade, de sade, marquis de sade, sade | French soldier and writer whose descriptions of sexual perversion gave rise to the term `sadism' (1740-1814). |
| ~ j. d. salinger, jerome david salinger, salinger | United States writer (born 1919). |
| ~ amandine aurore lucie dupin, baroness dudevant, george sand, sand | French writer known for works concerning women's rights and independence (1804-1876). |
| ~ carl sandburg, sandburg | United States writer remembered for his poetry in free verse and his six volume biography of Abraham Lincoln (1878-1967). |
| ~ saroyan, william saroyan | United States writer of plays and short stories (1908-1981). |
| ~ dorothy l. sayers, dorothy leigh sayers, dorothy sayers, sayers | English writer of detective fiction (1893-1957). |
| ~ johann christoph friedrich von schiller, schiller | German romantic writer (1759-1805). |
| ~ sir walter scott, walter scott, scott | British author of historical novels and ballads (1771-1832). |
| ~ robert william service, service | Canadian writer (born in England) who wrote about life in the Yukon Territory (1874-1958). |
| ~ g. b. shaw, george bernard shaw, shaw | British playwright (born in Ireland); founder of the Fabian Society (1856-1950). |
| ~ mary godwin wollstonecraft shelley, mary shelley, mary wollstonecraft shelley, shelley | English writer who created Frankenstein's monster and married Percy Bysshe Shelley (1797-1851). |
| ~ nevil shute, nevil shute norway, shute | English writer who settled in Norway after World War II (1899-1960). |
| ~ georges joseph christian simenon, georges simenon, simenon | French writer (born in Belgium) best known for his detective novels featuring Inspector Maigret (1903-1989). |
| ~ sinclair, upton beall sinclair, upton sinclair | United States writer whose novels argued for social reform (1878-1968). |
| ~ isaac bashevis singer, singer | United States writer (born in Poland) of Yiddish stories and novels (1904-1991). |
| ~ smollett, tobias george smollett, tobias smollett | Scottish writer of adventure novels (1721-1771). |
| ~ baron snow of leicester, c. p. snow, charles percy snow, snow | English writer of novels about moral dilemmas in academe (1905-1980). |
| ~ aleksandr i. solzhenitsyn, aleksandr solzhenitsyn, alexander isayevich solzhenitsyn, solzhenitsyn | Soviet writer and political dissident whose novels exposed the brutality of Soviet labor camps (born in 1918). |
| ~ sontag, susan sontag | United States writer (born in 1933). |
| ~ dame muriel spark, muriel sarah spark, muriel spark, spark | Scottish writer of satirical novels (born in 1918). |
| ~ frank morrison spillane, mickey spillane, spillane | United States writer of popular detective novels (born in 1918). |
| ~ baronne anne louise germaine necker de steal-holstein, madame de stael, stael | French romantic writer (1766-1817). |
| ~ sir richrd steele, steele | English writer (1672-1729). |
| ~ gertrude stein, stein | experimental expatriate United States writer (1874-1946). |
| ~ john ernst steinbeck, john steinbeck, steinbeck | United States writer noted for his novels about agricultural workers (1902-1968). |
| ~ marie henri beyle, stendhal | French writer whose novels were the first to feature psychological analysis of the character (1783-1842). |
| ~ sir leslie stephen, stephen | English writer (1832-1904). |
| ~ laurence sterne, sterne | English writer (born in Ireland) (1713-1766). |
| ~ robert louis balfour stevenson, robert louis stevenson, stevenson | Scottish author (1850-1894). |
| ~ francis richard stockton, frank stockton, stockton | United States writer (1834-1902). |
| ~ abraham stoker, bram stoker, stoker | Irish writer of the horror novel about Dracula (1847-1912). |
| ~ harriet beecher stowe, harriet elizabeth beecher stowe, stowe | United States writer of a novel about slavery that advanced the abolitionists' cause (1811-1896). |
| ~ styron, william styron | United States writer best known for his novels (born in 1925). |
| ~ eugene sue, sue | French writer whose novels described the sordid side of city life (1804-1857). |
| ~ john addington symonds, symonds | English writer (1840-1893). |
| ~ rabindranath tagore, sir rabindranath tagore, tagore | Indian writer and philosopher whose poetry (based on traditional Hindu themes) pioneered the use of colloquial Bengali (1861-1941). |
| ~ ida m. tarbell, ida minerva tarbell, ida tarbell, tarbell | United States writer remembered for her muckraking investigations into industries in the early 20th century (1857-1944). |
| ~ thackeray, william makepeace thackeray | English writer (born in India) (1811-1863). |
| ~ henry david thoreau, thoreau | United States writer and social critic (1817-1862). |
| ~ alexis charles henri maurice de tocqueville, alexis de tocqueville, tocqueville | French political writer noted for his analysis of American institutions (1805-1859). |
| ~ alice b. toklas, toklas | United States writer remembered as the secretary and companion of Gertrude Stein (1877-1967). |
| ~ j.r.r. tolkien, john ronald reuel tolkien, tolkien | British philologist and writer of fantasies (born in South Africa) (1892-1973). |
| ~ count lev nikolayevitch tolstoy, leo tolstoy, tolstoy | Russian author remembered for two great novels (1828-1910). |
| ~ anthony trollope, trollope | English writer of novels (1815-1882). |
| ~ ivan sergeevich turgenev, ivan turgenev, turgenev | Russian writer of stories and novels and plays (1818-1883). |
| ~ sigrid undset, undset | Norwegian novelist (1882-1949). |
| ~ louis untermeyer, untermeyer | United States writer (1885-1977). |
| ~ john hoyer updike, john updike, updike | United States author (born 1932). |
| ~ carl clinton van doren, carl van doren, van doren | United States writer and literary critic (1885-1950). |
| ~ jorge mario pedro vargas llosa, mario vargas llosa, vargas llosa | Peruvian writer (born in 1936). |
| ~ jules verne, verne | French writer who is considered the father of science fiction (1828-1905). |
| ~ eugene luther vidal, gore vidal, vidal | United States writer (born in 1925). |
| ~ arouet, francois-marie arouet, voltaire | French writer who was the embodiment of 18th century Enlightenment (1694-1778). |
| ~ kurt vonnegut, vonnegut | United States writer whose novels and short stories are a mixture of realism and satire and science fiction (born in 1922). |
| ~ john barrington wain, john wain, wain | English writer (1925-1994). |
| ~ alice malsenior walker, alice walker, walker | United States writer (born in 1944). |
| ~ edgar wallace, richard horatio edgar wallace, wallace | English writer noted for his crime novels (1875-1932). |
| ~ fourth earl of orford, horace walpole, horatio walpole, walpole | English writer and historian; son of Sir Robert Walpole (1717-1797). |
| ~ izaak walton, walton | English writer remember for his treatise on fishing (1593-1683). |
| ~ mary augusta arnold ward, mrs. humphrey ward, ward | English writer of novels who was an active opponent of the women's suffrage movement (1851-1920). |
| ~ robert penn warren, warren | United States writer and poet (1905-1989). |
| ~ evelyn arthur saint john waugh, evelyn waugh, waugh | English author of satirical novels (1903-1966). |
| ~ beatrice webb, martha beatrice potter webb, webb | English writer and a central member of the Fabian Society (1858-1943). |
| ~ h. g. wells, herbert george wells, wells | prolific English writer best known for his science-fiction novels; he also wrote on contemporary social problems and wrote popular accounts of history and science (1866-1946). |
| ~ eudora welty, welty | United States writer about rural southern life (1909-2001). |
| ~ franz werfel, werfel | United States writer (1890-1945). |
| ~ cicily isabel fairfield, dame rebecca west, rebecca west, west | British writer (born in Ireland) (1892-1983). |
| ~ edith newbold jones wharton, edith wharton, wharton | United States novelist (1862-1937). |
| ~ e. b. white, elwyn brooks white, white | United States writer noted for his humorous essays (1899-1985). |
| ~ patrick victor martindale white, patrick white, white | Australian writer (1912-1990). |
| ~ elie wiesel, eliezer wiesel, wiesel | United States writer (born in Romania) who survived Nazi concentration camps and is dedicated to keeping alive the memory of the Holocaust (born in 1928). |
| ~ oscar fingal o'flahertie wills wilde, oscar wilde, wilde | Irish writer and wit (1854-1900). |
| ~ thornton niven wilder, thornton wilder, wilder | United States writer and dramatist (1897-1975). |
| ~ angus frank johnstone wilson, sir angus wilson, wilson | English writer of novels and short stories (1913-1991). |
| ~ harriet wilson, wilson | author of the first novel by an African American that was published in the United States (1808-1870). |
| ~ owen wister, wister | United States writer (1860-1938). |
| ~ p. g. wodehouse, pelham grenville wodehouse, wodehouse | English writer known for his humorous novels and stories (1881-1975). |
| ~ thomas clayton wolfe, thomas wolfe, wolfe | United States writer best known for his autobiographical novels (1900-1938). |
| ~ thomas kennerly wolfe jr., thomas wolfe, tom wolfe, wolfe | United States writer who has written extensively on American culture (born in 1931). |
| ~ mary wollstonecraft, mary wollstonecraft godwin, wollstonecraft | English writer and early feminist who denied male supremacy and advocated equal education for women; mother of Mary Shelley (1759-1797). |
| ~ ellen price wood, mrs. henry wood, wood | English writer of novels about murders and thefts and forgeries (1814-1887). |
| ~ adeline virginia stephen woolf, virginia woolf, woolf | English author whose work used such techniques as stream of consciousness and the interior monologue; prominent member of the Bloomsbury Group (1882-1941). |
| ~ herman wouk, wouk | United States writer (born in 1915). |
| ~ richard wright, wright | United States writer whose work is concerned with the oppression of African Americans (1908-1960). |
| ~ s. s. van dine, willard huntington wright, wright | United States writer of detective novels (1888-1939). |
| ~ israel zangwill, zangwill | English writer (1864-1926). |
| ~ stefan zweig, zweig | Austrian writer (1881-1942). |
| n. (person) | 2. author, generator, source | someone who originates or causes or initiates something.; "he was the generator of several complaints" |
| ~ coiner | someone who is a source of new words or new expressions. |
| ~ maker, shaper | a person who makes things. |
| v. (creation) | 3. author | be the author of.; "She authored this play" |
| ~ authorship, penning, writing, composition | the act of creating written works.; "writing was a form of therapy for him"; "it was a matter of disputed authorship" |
| ~ indite, pen, write, compose | produce a literary work.; "She composed a poem"; "He wrote four novels" |
| ~ co-author | be a co-author on (a book, a paper). |
| ~ ghostwrite, ghost | write for someone else.; "How many books have you ghostwritten so far?" |
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