Literary initials
Encyclopedia
A large number of authors choose to use some form of initials in their name when it appears in their literary work. This includes some of the most famous authors of the 20th century - D. H. Lawrence
, J. D. Salinger
, T. S. Eliot
, J. R. R. Tolkien
, etc - and also a host of lesser-known writers.
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
, J. D. Salinger
J. D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980....
, T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
, J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, etc - and also a host of lesser-known writers.
List of well-known literary initials
Well-known initials and their corresponding full names are listed below.A to E
- A. A. MilneA. A. MilneAlan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
—Alan Alexander Milne - A. B. GuthrieA. B. Guthrie, Jr.Alfred Bertram Guthrie, Jr. was an American novelist, screenwriter, historian, and literary historian who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1950 for his novel The Way West. The author called himself "Bud" because he felt that Alfred Bertram "was a sissy name."-Biography:A. B. Guthrie, Jr...
—Alfred Bertram Guthrie - A. B. "Banjo" Paterson - Andrew Barton Paterson
- A. C. BensonA. C. BensonArthur Christopher Benson was an English essayist, poet, and author and the 28th Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge....
—Arthur Christopher Benson - A. D. HopeA. D. HopeAlec Derwent Hope AC OBE was an Australian poet and essayist known for his satirical slant. He was also a critic, teacher and academic.-Life:...
- Alec Derwent Hope - A. D. Miller - Andrew D Miller
- A. E. CoppardA. E. CoppardAlfred Edgar Coppard was an English writer, noted for his influence on the short story form, and poet.-Life:He was born, the son of a tailor and a housemaid, in Folkestone, and had little formal education...
—Alfred Edgar Coppard - A. E. HousmanA. E. HousmanAlfred Edward Housman , usually known as A. E. Housman, was an English classical scholar and poet, best known to the general public for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad. Lyrical and almost epigrammatic in form, the poems were mostly written before 1900...
—Alfred Edward Housman - A. E. W. Mason—Alfred Edward Woodley Mason
- A. E. Einstein-Albert Einstein
- A. J. Ayer—Alfred Jules Ayer
- A. J. CroninA. J. CroninArchibald Joseph Cronin was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known works are Hatter's Castle, The Stars Look Down, The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom and The Green Years, all of which were adapted to film. He also created the Dr...
—Archibald Joseph Cronin - A. J. LieblingA. J. LieblingAbbott Joseph Liebling was an American journalist who was closely associated with The New Yorker from 1935 until his death.-Biography:...
—Abbott Joseph Liebling - A. J. P. TaylorA. J. P. TaylorAlan John Percivale Taylor, FBA was a British historian of the 20th century and renowned academic who became well known to millions through his popular television lectures.-Early life:...
—Alan John Percivale Taylor - A. L. BarkerA. L. BarkerAudrey Lilian Barker FRSL was an English novelist and short story writer. She was born in St Pauls Cray, Kent and brought up in Beckenham. During her lifetime, she published ten collections of short stories and eleven novels, one of which - John Brown's Body - was shortlisted for the Booker Prize...
—Audrey Lilian Barker - A. L. KennedyA. L. KennedyAlison Louise Kennedy is a Scottish writer of novels, short stories and non-fiction. She is known for a characteristically dark tone, a blending of realism and fantasy, and for her serious approach to her work...
—Alison Louise Kennedy - A. L. RowseA. L. RowseAlfred Leslie Rowse, CH, FBA , known professionally as A. L. Rowse and to friends and family as Leslie, was a British historian from Cornwall. He is perhaps best known for his work on Elizabethan England and his poetry about Cornwall. He was also a Shakespearean scholar and biographer...
—Alfred Leslie Rowse - A. M. HomesA. M. HomesAmy M. Homes is an American writer. She is best-known for her controversial novels and unusual stories, most notably The End of Alice , a novel about a convicted child molester and murderer...
—Amy M. Homes - A. N. WilsonA. N. WilsonAndrew Norman Wilson is an English writer and newspaper columnist, known for his critical biographies, novels, works of popular history and religious views...
—Andrew Norman Wilson - Annie M. G. SchmidtAnnie M. G. SchmidtAnna Maria Geertruida "Annie" Schmidt was a prolific Dutch writer, especially cherished for her children's books—"the most versatile and most talented children's book author in the Netherlands." She is called the mother of the Dutch theatrical song and the queen of Dutch children's...
—Annie Maria Geertruida Schmidt - A. O. ScottA. O. ScottAnthony Oliver Scott, known as A. O. Scott , is an American journalist and critic. He is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with Manohla Dargis.-Background and education:...
- Anthony Oliver Scott - Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
—Arthur Charles Clarke - A. S. ByattA. S. ByattDame Antonia Susan Duffy, DBE is an English novelist, poet and Booker Prize winner...
—Antonia Susan Byatt - A. S. J. TessimondA. S. J. TessimondArthur Seymour John Tessimond was an English poet.He went to Charterhouse School, but ran away at age 16...
—Arthur Seymour John Tessimond - A. S. NeillA. S. NeillAlexander Sutherland Neill was a Scottish progressive educator, author and founder of Summerhill school, which remains open and continues to follow his educational philosophy to this day...
—Alexander Sutherland Neill
- B. F. SkinnerB. F. SkinnerBurrhus Frederic Skinner was an American behaviorist, author, inventor, baseball enthusiast, social philosopher and poet...
—Burrhus Frederic Skinner - B. S. JohnsonB. S. JohnsonB. S. Johnson was an English experimental novelist, poet, literary critic, producer of television programmes and film-maker.-Biography:...
—Bryan Stanley Johnson
- C. H. B. KitchinC. H. B. KitchinClifford Henry Benn Kitchin was a British novelist of the early twentieth century. He was best known for his mystery novels, notably Death of His Uncle and Death of My Aunt, but his other novels were also highly regarded, especially by other writers. His best known novels are The Auction Sale,...
—Clifford Henry Benn Kitchin - C. J. SansomC. J. SansomChristopher John "C.J." Sansom is a British writer of crime novels. He was born in 1952 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was educated at the University of Birmingham, where he took a BA and then a PhD in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he decided to retrain as a solicitor...
—Christopher John Sansom - C. L. R. JamesC. L. R. JamesCyril Lionel Robert James , who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J.R. Johnson, was an Afro-Trinidadian historian, journalist, socialist theorist and essayist. His works are influential in various theoretical, social, and historiographical contexts...
—Cyril Lionel Robert James - C. P. Cavafy— Constantine Petrou Cavafy
- C. P. SnowC. P. SnowCharles Percy Snow, Baron Snow of the City of Leicester CBE was an English physicist and novelist who also served in several important positions with the UK government...
—Charles Percy Snow - C. S. Calverley—Charles Stuart Calverley
- C. S. ForesterC. S. ForesterCecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...
—Cecil Scott Forester - C. S. LewisC. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
—Clive Staples Lewis - C. V. WedgwoodVeronica WedgwoodDame Veronica Wedgwood OM DBE was an English historian who generally published under the name C. V. Wedgwood...
—Cicely Veronica Wedgwood
- D. C. Moore - David Moore
- D. H. LawrenceD. H. LawrenceDavid Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
—David Herbert Lawrence - D. J. EnrightD. J. EnrightDennis Joseph Enright was a British academic, poet, novelist and critic, and general man of letters.-Life:He was born in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, and educated at Leamington College and Downing College, Cambridge...
—Dennis Joseph Enright - D. J. TaylorD. J. TaylorDavid John Taylor is a British critic, novelist and biographer. After attending school in Norwich, he read Modern History at St John's College, Oxford, and has received the 2003 Whitbread Biography Award for his biography of George Orwell. His novel Derby Day was longlisted for the 2011 Man Booker...
—David John Taylor - D. K. BrosterD. K. BrosterDorothy Kathleen Broster , usually known as D.K. Broster was a British novelist and short-story writer, born in Garston, Liverpool at Devon Lodge , which lies in Grassendale Park on the banks of the River Mersey. Educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College and St...
—Dorothy Kathleen Broster - D. M. ThomasD. M. ThomasDonald Michael Thomas, known as D. M. Thomas , is a Cornish novelist, poet, and translator.Thomas was born in Redruth, Cornwall, UK. He attended Trewirgie Primary School and Redruth Grammar School before graduating with First Class Honours in English from New College, Oxford in 1959...
—Donald Michael Thomas
- E. Annie ProulxE. Annie ProulxEdna Annie Proulx is an American journalist and author. Her second novel, The Shipping News , won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for fiction in 1994, and was made into a film in 2001...
—Edna Annie Proulx - E. Nesbit—Edith Nesbit
- E. B. WhiteE. B. WhiteElwyn Brooks White , usually known as E. B. White, was an American writer. A long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine, he also wrote many famous books for both adults and children, such as the popular Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, and co-authored a widely used writing guide, The...
—Elwyn Brooks White - E. C. R. LoracE. C. R. LoracEdith Caroline Rivett was a British crime writer. She was born in Hendon, Middlesex . She attended the South Hampstead High School, and the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. She was a member of the Detection Club...
—Edith Caroline Rivett Lorac (pseudonym) - Edward P. JonesEdward P. JonesEdward Paul Jones is an American novelist and short story writer. His 2003 novel The Known World received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.-Biography:...
- Edward Paul Jones - E. E. CummingsE. E. CummingsEdward Estlin Cummings , popularly known as E. E. Cummings, with the abbreviated form of his name often written by others in lowercase letters as e.e. cummings , was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright...
—Edward Estlin Cummings - E. E. SmithE. E. SmithEdward Elmer Smith, Ph.D., also, E. E. Smith, E. E. "Doc" Smith, Doc Smith, "Skylark" Smith, and Ted was a food engineer and early science fiction author who wrote the Lensman series and the Skylark series, among others...
—Edward Elmer Smith - E. F. BensonEdward Frederic BensonEdward Frederic Benson was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist and short story writer, known professionally as E.F. Benson. His friends called him Fred.-Life:E.F...
—Edward Frederic Benson - E. H. YoungE. H. Young-Life:Although almost completely forgotten by recent generations, E. H. Young was a best-selling novelist of her time. She was born in Whitley, Northumberland, , the daughter of a shipbroker. She attended Gateshead Secondary School and Penrhos College, Colwyn Bay, Wales...
—Emily Hilda Young - E. L. DoctorowE. L. DoctorowEdgar Lawrence Doctorow is an American author.- Biography :Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was born in the Bronx, New York City, the son of second-generation Americans of Russian Jewish descent...
—Edgar Lawrence Doctorow - E. L. KonigsburgE. L. KonigsburgElaine Lobl Konigsburg is an American author and illustrator of children's books and young adult fiction. She is one of five authors to win two Newbery Medals, awarded annually for one contribution to American children's literature.Her first two manuscripts were submitted to editor Jean E...
—Elaine Lobl Konigsburg - E. LockhartE. LockhartEmily Jenkins, who also writes under the name E. Lockhart, is a writer of children's picture books, young adult novels, and adult fiction.Her first novel as E...
- pseudonym of Emily Jenkins - E. M. DelafieldE. M. DelafieldEdmée Elizabeth Monica Dashwood, née de la Pasture , commonly known as E. M. Delafield, was a prolific English author. She is best-known for her largely autobiographical Diary of a Provincial Lady, which took the form of a journal of the life of an upper-middle class Englishwoman living mostly in a...
—Edmée Elizabeth Monica Dashwood (pseudonym) - E. M. ForsterE. M. ForsterEdward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...
—Edward Morgan Forster - E. R. BraithwaiteE. R. BraithwaiteEdward Ricardo Braithwaite is a Guyanese novelist, writer, teacher, and diplomat, best known for his stories of social conditions and racial discrimination against black people...
—Edward Ricardo Braithwaite - Ernest J. GainesErnest GainesErnest James Gaines is an African-American author. His works have been taught in college classrooms and translated into many languages, including French, Spanish, German, Russian and Chinese. Four of his works have been made into television movies.His 1993 novel, A Lesson Before Dying, won the...
—Ernest James Gaines - E. T. A. Hoffmann—Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann
- E. W. SwantonE. W. SwantonErnest William Swanton CBE is chiefly known for being a cricket writer and commentator under his initials, E. W. Swanton. He worked as a sports journalist for The Daily Telegraph and as a broadcaster for BBC Radio for 30 years. He was a regular commentator on Test Match Special, easily recognised...
—Ernest William Swanton
F to M
- F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
—Francis Scott Fitzgerald - F. O. MatthiessenF. O. MatthiessenFrancis Otto Matthiessen was an educator, scholar and literary critic influential in the fields of American literature and American studies.-Scholarly work:...
—Francis Otto Matthiessen - F. R. LeavisF. R. LeavisFrank Raymond "F. R." Leavis CH was an influential British literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth century. He taught for nearly his entire career at Downing College, Cambridge.-Early life:...
—Frank Raymond Leavis
- G. B. Edwards - Gerald Basil Edwards
- G. B. ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
—George Bernard Shaw - G. D. H. ColeG. D. H. ColeGeorge Douglas Howard Cole was an English political theorist, economist, writer and historian. As a libertarian socialist he was a long-time member of the Fabian Society and an advocate for the cooperative movement...
—George Douglas Howard Cole - G. K. ChestertonG. K. ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton - G. M. TrevelyanG. M. TrevelyanGeorge Macaulay Trevelyan, OM, CBE, FRS, FBA , was a British historian. Trevelyan was the third son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, and great-nephew of Thomas Babington Macaulay, whose staunch liberal Whig principles he espoused in accessible works of literate narrative avoiding a...
—George Macaulay Trevelyan
- H. A. ReyH. A. ReyHans Augusto "H.A." Rey , worked with his wife Margret Rey as authors and illustrators of children's books. They were best known for their Curious George series.-Curious George Book Series:Hans and Margret were both Jewish and of German birth...
—Hans Augusto Rey - H. A. R. Gibb—Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb
- H.D.H.D.H.D. was an American poet, novelist and memoirist known for her association with the early 20th century avant-garde Imagist group of poets such as Ezra Pound and Richard Aldington...
—Hilda Doolittle - H. E. BatesH. E. BatesHerbert Ernest Bates, CBE , better known as H. E. Bates, was an English writer and author. His best-known works include Love for Lydia, The Darling Buds of May, and My Uncle Silas.-Early life:...
—Herbert Ernest Bates - H. G. WellsH. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
—Herbert George Wells - H. H. MunroSakiHector Hugh Munro , better known by the pen name Saki, and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirised Edwardian society and culture. He is considered a master of the short story and often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy...
—Hector Hugh Munro (pen name: Saki) - H. J. MassinghamH. J. MassinghamHarold John Massingham was a prolific British writer on matters to do with the countryside and agriculture. He was also a published poet.-Life:...
—Harold John Massingham - H. L. MenckenH. L. MenckenHenry Louis "H. L." Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, acerbic critic of American life and culture, and a scholar of American English. Known as the "Sage of Baltimore", he is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the...
—Henry Louis Mencken - H. M. TomlinsonH. M. TomlinsonHenry Major Tomlinson was a British writer and journalist. He was known for anti-war and travel writing, novels and short stories, especially of life at sea.He was brought up in Poplar, London...
—Henry Major Tomlinson - H. P. LovecraftH. P. LovecraftHoward Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
—Howard Phillips Lovecraft - H. R. F. KeatingH. R. F. KeatingHenry Reymond Fitzwalter "Harry" Keating was an English crime fiction writer most notable for his series of novels featuring Inspector Ghote of the Bombay CID.-Life:...
—Henry Reymond Fitzwalter Keating - Hunter S. ThompsonHunter S. ThompsonHunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
—Hunter Stockton Thompson
- I. A. RichardsI. A. RichardsIvor Armstrong Richards was an influential English literary critic and rhetorician....
—Ivor Armstrong Richards - Iain M. BanksIain BanksIain Banks is a Scottish writer. He writes mainstream fiction under the name Iain Banks, and science fiction as Iain M. Banks, including the initial of his adopted middle name Menzies...
—Iain Menzies Banks - I. F. StoneI. F. StoneIsidor Feinstein Stone was an iconoclastic American investigative journalist. He is best remembered for his self-published newsletter, I. F...
—Isidor Feinstein Stone
- J. Meade FalknerJ. Meade FalknerJohn Meade Falkner was an English novelist and poet, best known for his 1898 novel, Moonfleet. An extremely successful businessman as well, he became chairman of the arms manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth during World War I.-Life and works:Falkner was born in Manningford Bruce, Wiltshire and spent...
—John Meade Falkner - James A. MichenerJames A. MichenerJames Albert Michener was an American author of more than 40 titles, the majority of which were sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating historical facts into the stories...
—James Albert Michener - James M. CainJames M. CainJames Mallahan Cain was an American author and journalist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hardboiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the roman noir...
- James Mallahan Cain - James T. FarrellJames T. FarrellJames Thomas Farrell was an American novelist. One of his most famous works was the Studs Lonigan trilogy, which was made into a film in 1960 and into a television miniseries in 1979...
- James Thomas Farrell - J. B. PriestleyJ. B. PriestleyJohn Boynton Priestley, OM , known as J. B. Priestley, was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. He published 26 novels, notably The Good Companions , as well as numerous dramas such as An Inspector Calls...
—John Boynton Priestley - J. D. BeresfordJ. D. BeresfordJohn Davys Beresford was an English writer, now remembered for his early science fiction and some short stories in the horror story and ghost story genres. His Hampdenshire Wonder was a major influence on Olaf Stapledon. His other science-fiction novels includeThe Riddle of the Tower, about a...
—John Davys Beresford - J. D. SalingerJ. D. SalingerJerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980....
—Jerome David Salinger - Jerome K. JeromeJerome K. JeromeJerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the humorous travelogue Three Men in a Boat.Jerome was born in Caldmore, Walsall, England, and was brought up in poverty in London...
—Jerome Klapka Jerome - J. F. PowersJ. F. PowersJ. F. Powers was a Roman Catholic American novelist and short-story writer who often drew his inspiration from developments in the Catholic Church, and was known for his studies of midwestern Catholic priests...
- James Farl Powers - J. G. BallardJ. G. BallardJames Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
—James Graham Ballard - J. G. Farrell—James Gordon Farrell
- J. H. PrynneJ. H. PrynneJeremy Halvard Prynne is a British poet closely associated with the British Poetry Revival.Prynne's early influences include Charles Olson and Donald Davie. His first book, Force of Circumstance and Other Poems was published in 1962; Prynne has excluded it from his canon...
- Jeremy Halvard Prynne - J. H. Plumb—John Harold Plumb
- J. I. M. StewartJ. I. M. StewartJohn Innes Mackintosh Stewart was a Scottish novelist and academic. He is equally well-known for the works of literary criticism and contemporary novels published under his real name and for the crime fiction published under the pseudonym of Michael Innes...
—John Innes Mackintosh Stewart - J. K. RowlingJ. K. RowlingJoanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
—Joanne Rowling (The K honors her grandmother Kathleen, but is not part of her legal name.) - J. L. CarrJ. L. CarrJoseph Lloyd Carr ; who called himself "Jim" or even "James," was an English novelist, publisher, teacher, and eccentric.-Biography:...
—Joseph Lloyd Carr - J. M. BarrieJ. M. BarrieSir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
—James Matthew Barrie - J. M. Coetzee—John Maxwell Coetzee
- J. M. SyngeJohn Millington SyngeEdmund John Millington Synge was an Irish playwright, poet, prose writer, and collector of folklore. He was a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival and was one of the cofounders of the Abbey Theatre...
—John Millington Synge - John D. MacDonaldJohn D. MacDonaldJohn Dann MacDonald was an American crime and suspense novelist and short story writer.MacDonald was a prolific author of crime and suspense novels, many of them set in his adopted home of Florida...
—John Dann MacDonald - J. P. DonleavyJ. P. DonleavyJames Patrick Donleavy is an Irish American author, born to Irish immigrants. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II after which he moved to Ireland. In 1946 he began studies at Trinity College, Dublin, but left before taking a degree...
—James Patrick Donleavy - J. R. AckerleyJ. R. AckerleyJ. R. Ackerley was arts editor of The Listener, the weekly magazine of the BBC...
—Joe Randolph Ackerley - J. R. R. TolkienJ. R. R. TolkienJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
—John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
- L. Frank BaumL. Frank BaumLyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
—Lyman Frank Baum - L. Sprague de CampL. Sprague de CampLyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
—Lyon Sprague de Camp - L. A. G. StrongLeonard StrongLeonard Alfred George Strong was an English writer, known as a novelist, journalist, poet and director of the publishers Methuen Ltd.- Life :...
—Leonard Alfred George Strong - L. H. MyersLeo Myers-Life:He was born in Cambridge into a cultured family; his father was the writer Frederic William Henry Myers and his mother the photographer Eveleen Tennant. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge...
—Leopold Hamilton Myers - L. P. HartleyL. P. HartleyLeslie Poles Hartley was a British writer, known for novels and short stories. His best-known work is The Go-Between , which was made into a 1970 film, directed by Joseph Losey with a star cast, in an adaptation by Harold Pinter...
—Leslie Poles Hartley
- M. J. AkbarM. J. AkbarMobashar Jawed "M.J." Akbar is a leading Indian journalist and author. He has recently taken charge as Editorial Director of India Today, India's leading weekly English news magazine published by the Living Media group...
- Mobashar Jawed Akbar - M. J. HylandM. J. HylandMaria Joan Hyland is a novelist. She made her debut in Australia in 2003 with How the Light Gets In. Her second novel Carry Me Down was shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize and won both the Encore Award and the Hawthornden Prize in 2007...
- Maria Joan Hyland - M. R. JamesM. R. JamesMontague Rhodes James, OM, MA, , who used the publication name M. R. James, was an English mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge and of Eton College . He is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre...
—Montague Rhodes James
N to Z
- Neil M. GunnNeil M. GunnNeil Miller Gunn was a prolific novelist, critic, and dramatist who emerged as one of the leading lights of the Scottish Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s...
—Neil Miller Gunn - N. F. SimpsonN. F. SimpsonNorman Frederick Simpson was an English playwright closely associated with the Theatre of the Absurd. To his friends he was known as Wally Simpson, in comic reference to the abdication crisis of 1936.-Early years:...
—Norman Frederick Simpson - N. Scott MomadayN. Scott MomadayNavarre Scott Momaday is a Kiowa-Cherokee Pulitzer Prize-winning writer from Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona.-Background:...
- Navarre Scott Momaday
- O. E. Rølvaag - Ole Edvart Rølvaag
- P. B. ShelleyPercy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
—Percy Bysshe Shelley - P. C. WrenP. C. WrenPercival Christopher Wren was a British writer, mostly of adventure fiction. He is remembered best for Beau Geste, a much-filmed book of 1924, involving the French Foreign Legion in North Africa, and its main sequels, Beau Sabreur and Beau Ideal Percival Christopher Wren (1 November 187522...
—Percival Christopher Wren - P. D. JamesP. D. JamesPhyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL , commonly known as P. D. James, is an English crime writer and Conservative life peer in the House of Lords, most famous for a series of detective novels starring policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh.-Life and career:James...
—Phyllis Dorothy James - Pearl S. BuckPearl S. BuckPearl Sydenstricker Buck also known by her Chinese name Sai Zhenzhu , was an American writer who spent most of her time until 1934 in China. Her novel The Good Earth was the best-selling fiction book in the U.S. in 1931 and 1932, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932...
—Pearl Sydenstricker Buck - P. G. WodehouseP. G. WodehouseSir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
—Pelham Grenville Wodehouse - P. H. NewbyP. H. NewbyPercy Howard Newby CBE was an English novelist and broadcasting administrator. He was the first winner of the Booker Prize, his novel Something to Answer For having received the inaugural award in 1969.-Early life:P.H...
—Percy Howard Newby - Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
—Philip Kindred Dick - P. J. O'RourkeP. J. O'RourkePatrick Jake "P. J." O'Rourke is an American political satirist, journalist, writer, and author. O'Rourke is the H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute and is a regular correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, The American Spectator, and The Weekly Standard, and frequent panelist on...
—Patrick Jake O'Rourke - P. N. FurbankP. N. FurbankPhilip Nicholas Furbank FRSL is an English writer, scholar and critic, and a professor of the Open University.-Works:...
—Philip Nicholas Furbank - Poppy Z. BritePoppy Z. BritePoppy Z. Brite is an American author. Brite initially achieved notoriety in the gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s after publishing a string of successful novels and short story collections...
—pseudonym of Melissa Ann Brite
- R. C. HutchinsonR. C. HutchinsonRay Coryton Hutchinson was a best-selling British novelist. His 1975 novel Rising was short-listed for the Booker Prize....
—Ray Coryton Hutchinson - R. C. LehmannR. C. LehmannRudolph Chambers "R.C." Lehmann was an English writer and Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1906 to 1910. As a writer he was best known for three decades in which he was a major contributor to Punch as well as founding editor of Granta magazine.Lehmann was born in...
—Rudolph Chambers Lehmann - R. C. Robertson-GlasgowR. C. Robertson-GlasgowRaymond Charles 'Crusoe' Robertson-Glasgow was a British cricketer and cricket writer....
Raymond Charles Robertson-Glasgow - R. C. SherriffR. C. Sherriff-External links:**...
—Robert Cedric Sherriff - R. D. BlackmoreR. D. BlackmoreRichard Doddridge Blackmore , referred to most commonly as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. Over the course of his career, Blackmore achieved a close following around the world...
—Richard Doddridge Blackmore - R. E. VernèdeR. E. VernèdeRobert Ernest Vernède was an English poet and writer, now remembered as a war poet.He was born in London, and educated at St Paul's School and at St John's College, Oxford. After graduating, he wrote novels and short stories....
—Robert Ernest Vernède - R. G. CollingwoodR. G. CollingwoodRobin George Collingwood was a British philosopher and historian. He was born at Cartmel, Grange-over-Sands in Lancashire, the son of the academic W. G. Collingwood, and was educated at Rugby School and at University College, Oxford, where he read Greats...
—Robin George Collingwood - R. H. Mottram—Ralph Hale Mottram
- R. H. TawneyR. H. TawneyRichard Henry Tawney was an English economic historian, social critic, Christian socialist, and an important proponent of adult education....
—Richard Henry Tawney - R. K. NarayanR. K. NarayanR. K. Narayan , shortened from Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami Tamil: ) , Madras Presidency, British India. His father was a school headmaster, and Narayan did some of his studies at his father's school...
- Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami (original name) - Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
- Robert Anson Heinlein - Robert B. ParkerRobert B. ParkerRobert Brown Parker was an American crime writer. His most famous works were the novels about the private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the late 1980s; a series of TV movies based on the character were also...
- Robert Brown Parker - Robert C. O'BrienRobert C. O'BrienRobert Leslie Conly was an American author and journalist for National Geographic Magazine.-Early life:...
- pen-name of Robert Leslie Conly - R. L. StevensonRobert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
—Robert Louis Stevenson - R. L. StineR. L. StineRobert Lawrence Stine , known as R. L. Stine, and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American writer. Stine, who is called the "Stephen King of children's literature," is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels, including the books in the Fear Street, Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, and The...
—Robert Lawrence Stine - R. M. Ballantyne—Robert Michael Ballantyne
- R. R. PalmerRobert Roswell PalmerRobert Roswell Palmer , commonly known as R. R. Palmer, was a distinguished American historian at Princeton and Yale universities, who specialized in eighteenth-century France...
—Robert Roswell Palmer - R. S. ThomasR. S. ThomasRonald Stuart Thomas was a Welsh poet and Anglican clergyman, noted for his nationalism, spirituality and deep dislike of the anglicisation of Wales...
—Ronald Stuart Thomas
- S. E. HintonS. E. HintonSusan Eloise Hinton is an American author best known for her young adult novel The Outsiders.While still in her teens, Hinton became a household name as the author of The Outsiders, her first and most popular novel, set in Oklahoma in the 1960s. She began writing it in 1965...
—Susan Eloise Hinton - S. T. JoshiS. T. JoshiSunand Tryambak Joshi — known as S. T. Joshi — is an award-winning Indian American literary critic, novelist, and a leading figure in the study of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and other authors of weird and fantastic fiction...
—Sunand Tryambak Joshi - S. Y. Agnon - Shmuel Yosef Agnon
- T. Coraghessan BoyleT. Coraghessan BoyleTom Coraghessan Boyle is a U.S. novelist and short story writer. Since the mid 1970s, he has published twelve novels and more than 100 short stories...
—Thomas Coraghessan Boyle - T. B. Macaulay—Thomas Babington Macaulay
- Thomas M. DischThomas M. DischThomas Michael Disch was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W...
- Thomas Michael Disch - T. E. HulmeT. E. HulmeThomas Ernest Hulme was an English critic and poet who, through his writings on art, literature and politics, had a notable influence upon modernism.-Early life:...
—Thomas Ernest Hulme - T. E. LawrenceT. E. LawrenceLieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
—Thomas Edward Lawrence - T. H. Green—Thomas Hill Green
- T. H. WhiteT. H. WhiteTerence Hanbury White was an English author best known for his sequence of Arthurian novels, The Once and Future King, first published together in 1958.-Biography:...
—Terence Hanbury White - T. S. EliotT. S. EliotThomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
—Thomas Stearns Eliot
- U. A. FanthorpeU. A. FanthorpeUrsula Askham Fanthorpe, CBE, FRSL was an English poet. She published as UA Fanthorpe.-Early life:She was educated in Surrey and at St Anne's College, Oxford, where she received a first-class degree in English language and literature, and subsequently taught English at Cheltenham Ladies' College...
—Ursula Askham Fanthorpe - Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
or (once) U. K. Le Guin—Ursula Kroeber Le Guin
- V. C. Andrews - Cleo Virginia Andrews
- V. S. NaipaulV. S. NaipaulSir Vidiadhar Surajprasad "V. S." Naipaul, TC is a Nobel prize-winning Indo-Trinidadian-British writer who is known for his novels focusing on the legacy of the British Empire's colonialism...
—Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul - V. S. PritchettV. S. PritchettSir Victor Sawdon Pritchett CH CBE , was a British writer and critic. He was particularly known for his short stories, collected in a number of volumes...
—Victor Sawdon Pritchett
- W. Somerset MaughamW. Somerset MaughamWilliam Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
—William Somerset Maugham - W. B. YeatsWilliam Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
—William Butler Yeats - W. E. HenleyWilliam Ernest HenleyWilliam Ernest Henley was an English poet, critic and editor, best remembered for his 1875 poem "Invictus".-Life and career:...
—William Ernest Henley - William T. VollmannWilliam T. VollmannWilliam Tanner Vollmann is an American novelist, journalist, short story writer, essayist and winner of the National Book Award...
—William Tanner Vollmann - W. D. EhrhartW. D. EhrhartWilliam Daniel Ehrhart is an American poet, writer, scholar and Vietnam veteran. Ehrhart has been called "the dean of Vietnam war poetry." Donald Anderson, editor of War, Literature & the Arts, said Ehrhart’s Vietnam-Perkasie: A Combat Marine Memoir, is “the best single, unadorned, gut-felt...
—William Daniel Ehrhart - W. E. B. Du Bois—William Edward Burghardt Du Bois
- W. G. SebaldW. G. SebaldW. G. Maximilian Sebald was a German writer and academic. At the time of his death at the age of 57, he was being cited by many literary critics as one of the greatest living authors and had been tipped as a possible future winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature...
—Winfried Georg Sebald - W. H. AudenW. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
—Wystan Hugh Auden - W. H. DaviesW. H. DaviesWilliam Henry Davies or W. H. Davies was a Welsh poet and writer. Davies spent a significant part of his life as a tramp or vagabond in the United States and United Kingdom, but became known as one of the most popular poets of his time...
—William Henry Davies - W. S. GrahamW. S. GrahamWilliam Sydney Graham was a Scottish poet who is often associated with Dylan Thomas and the neo-romantic group of poets. Graham's poetry was mostly overlooked in his lifetime but, partly due to the support of Harold Pinter, his work has enjoyed a revival in recent years...
—William Sydney Graham - W. S. MerwinW. S. MerwinWilliam Stanley Merwin is an American poet, credited with over 30 books of poetry, translation and prose. During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin's unique craft was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, Merwin's writing influence derived from...
-William Stanley Merwin