The Greatest Authors of All Time
Ever wondered who the greatest authors of all time are? We've analyzed 759 diverse book lists to create this comprehensive ranking of literary masters. Our algorithm considers several key factors to determine each author's position:
- Book Rankings: Each author's score starts with the sum of their books' rankings from our master list.
- Number of Great Books: Authors are rewarded for having multiple highly-ranked books. The more great books an author has, the higher their overall score.
- Age of Books: Older books receive a small bonus to their score, with the maximum bonus going to books over 100 years old.
This system ensures that authors with multiple enduring works are recognized, while still giving weight to the quality of individual books. The rankings are automatically calculated and updated as new lists are added to our database.
5001. Guadalupe Loaeza
Mexican writer and journalist known for social chronicles and satirical portraits of Mexico's upper class; author of works such as "Las niñas bien".
5002. Ken Liu
Chinese-American author, translator, and former lawyer/software engineer, best known for the short story "The Paper Menagerie", the Dandelion Dynasty (silkpunk) novels, and for translating Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem into English.
5003. Beaumont, Karen
American author of children's picture books.
5005. Johann Joseph
5006. Fux
Austrian composer and music theorist best known for the influential 1725 treatise Gradus ad Parnassum on counterpoint, long used in Western music pedagogy.
5007. John Sheaffer
5008. Nick Robinson
British political journalist, broadcaster and author, best known for his long-running work for the BBC covering UK politics and for books on British political life.
5009. Scott Adams
American cartoonist and author, best known as the creator of the Dilbert comic strip.
5010. Dick Masterson
Pseudonymous internet personality, writer, and podcast host known for the online persona 'Dick Masterson'.
5011. Ken Kinakin
5012. René Guénon
French metaphysician, philosopher and writer (1886–1951) associated with the Traditionalist School; known for works on symbolism, metaphysics and a critique of modernity. He lived in Cairo from 1930 and converted to Islam.
5013. Charles Bernard Nordhoff
American novelist best known for his collaborations with James Norman Hall; co-author of adventure novels including 'Mutiny on the Bounty'.
5014. Syougo Kinugasa
5015. Truman Capote
American novelist, short story writer, playwright, and screenwriter best known for Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and the nonfiction novel In Cold Blood (1966).
5017. Muhammad Khan
5018. Seán Kinsella
Irish restaurateur and chef, known for his prominence in Irish culinary circles.
5021. Ian McCollum
American firearms historian, researcher, collector, author, and host of the Forgotten Weapons website and YouTube channel, known for detailed examinations and historical presentations of vintage and obscure small arms.
5022. Taylor Zajonc
5023. Stephen Kinzer
American journalist and author, former New York Times foreign correspondent, known for books on U.S. foreign policy and regime change.
5024. Carter Brown
English-born Australian crime fiction novelist, best known for writing prolific pulp/detective paperback novels under the pen name Carter Brown.
5025. Norvell W. Page
American pulp fiction writer best known for authoring The Spider series of pulp novels for Popular Publications during the 1930s and 1940s.
5026. Daniel Howard
5027. Stephen Crane
American novelist, poet, and journalist (1871–1900), best known for The Red Badge of Courage; a leading realist and early modernist writer noted for war fiction, naturalist themes, and reportage.
5028. Sarah Posner
American journalist and author who reports on religion and politics, particularly the evangelical movement; author of Unholy: Why White Evangelical Support for Trump Endures (2020).
5029. Chris Whipple
American journalist, documentary filmmaker, and author known for books and documentaries about the White House and U.S. politics, including The Gatekeepers.
5030. Steven S. Skiena
American computer scientist and professor at Stony Brook University, author of The Algorithm Design Manual and other works; known for research and teaching in algorithms, algorithm engineering, and applications to computational biology.
5031. Barbara Walters
American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author; pioneering female TV host known for co-hosting The Today Show, anchoring ABC's 20/20, creating and co-hosting The View, and conducting high-profile interviews.
5032. Ian McEwan
English novelist, short story writer and screenwriter known for psychologically sharp, morally complex novels. Notable works include The Cement Garden, Enduring Love, Amsterdam (Booker Prize), Atonement, and Saturday.
5033. Contardo Calligaris
Italian-born psychoanalyst, writer and columnist known for his work in Brazil.
5034. Milton Hatoum
Brazilian novelist, short-story writer and translator of Lebanese descent, born in Manaus (1952). Best known for the novel 'Dois Irmãos' (The Brothers) and works that explore family, memory and cultural identity in the Amazon region.
5035. Chinua Achebe
Nigerian novelist, poet, critic and professor best known for the novel "Things Fall Apart" (1958); a leading figure in modern African literature and postcolonial studies.
5036. Oscar Vilhena Vieira
Brazilian legal scholar and professor known for work on constitutional law, democracy, and human rights.
5037. Michel Onfray
French philosopher and writer, born in 1959, known for his prolific essays on hedonism, atheism and contemporary philosophy; founder of the Université populaire de Caen and author of works such as Traité d'athéologie.
5038. Brian Greene
American theoretical physicist and mathematician specializing in string theory; professor at Columbia University and a popular science author (e.g., The Elegant Universe), and co-founder of the World Science Festival.
5039. Murilo Rubião
Brazilian writer and journalist (1916–1991) best known for short stories in the fantastic and surreal tradition; influential in Brazilian fantasy literature.
5040. Flann O'Brien
Irish novelist, satirist and humorist (best known by the pen name Flann O'Brien), author of At Swim-Two-Birds and The Third Policeman, and a longtime columnist for The Irish Times; also worked as a civil servant.
5041. Jessé Souza
Brazilian sociologist and author known for research and writing on social inequality, class and Brazilian society.
5042. Júlia Lopes de Almeida
Brazilian novelist, short story writer, playwright and children's author active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; noted as one of Brazil's early women writers and involved in social and feminist causes.
5043. Andrey Kurkov
Ukrainian novelist and journalist who writes primarily in Russian, best known for the novel "Death and the Penguin" (1996). Kurkov's work often blends satire, absurdism and political commentary; he has also written essays and screenplays.
5044. Bates Gill
American political scientist and China specialist known for his work on Chinese foreign and security policy, arms control, and Asia-Pacific security.
5045. Imre Kertész
Hungarian novelist and Holocaust survivor, awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature; best known for the semi-autobiographical novel 'Fatelessness' (Sorstalanság) and other works exploring memory, totalitarianism, and individual freedom.
5046. Jennifer Egan
American novelist and short-story writer, born 1962. Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for A Visit from the Goon Squad. Author of novels including Look at Me, The Keep, Manhattan Beach, and The Candy House; known for inventive narrative techniques.
5047. Eduardo Giannetti
Brazilian economist, writer and university professor, author of essays and books on economics, ethics and social behavior.
5048. Cláudio Ferreira Costa
5049. Helen Graham
5050. David B. Agus
American physician, oncologist, and author known for cancer research and work in personalized medicine; professor and medical researcher involved in translating biomedical research into clinical practice.