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.
5051. Walter Casagrande Júnior
Brazilian former professional footballer (striker) and sports commentator, known for his playing career in Brazil and Italy and later work as a football pundit.
5052. Paulo Vinicius Coelho
Brazilian sports journalist and football commentator, widely known by the nickname "PVC".
5053. Margaret MacMillan
Canadian historian and academic specializing in international history and the First World War; author of Paris 1919 and The War That Ended Peace; former Provost of Trinity College, University of Toronto.
5054. Valter Hugo Mãe
Portuguese novelist, poet and visual artist known for contemporary fiction and poetry.
5055. Paul Stamets
American mycologist, author, and entrepreneur known for research and advocacy on fungi, founder of Fungi Perfecti, and author of books such as Mycelium Running and Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World.
5056. Paul Beatty
American novelist, poet, and cultural critic, best known for his satirical works on race and society. Author of The Sellout (2015), which won the 2016 Man Booker Prize, and earlier novels including The White Boy Shuffle.
5057. David Graeber
American anthropologist, activist, and author (1961–2020) known for his work on economic anthropology and critiques of bureaucracy and capitalism; author of Debt: The First 5,000 Years and Bullshit Jobs; a participant in the Occupy Wall Street movement and former faculty at institutions including Yale and the London School of Economics.
5058. Saul Bellow
Canadian-born American novelist and short-story writer, awarded the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature; known for The Adventures of Augie March, Henderson the Rain King, Herzog, Mr. Sammler's Planet, and Humboldt's Gift.
5059. Guido Tonelli
Italian particle physicist and professor, known for leadership roles in the CMS experiment at CERN and for contributions to the discovery of the Higgs boson.
5060. Rachel Cusk
British novelist, memoirist and essayist, best known for the Outline trilogy (Outline, Transit, Kudos) and for the memoir A Life's Work: On Becoming a Mother.
5061. Carlos Fausto
Brazilian anthropologist and researcher specializing in indigenous peoples and the anthropology of Brazil.
5062. David Foster Wallace
American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and professor best known for the novel Infinite Jest (1996). Noted for experimental, postmodern prose, extensive use of footnotes, and nonfiction essays on culture, sport, and media.
5063. Karen Armstrong
British author and scholar of religion, and former Roman Catholic nun, best known for accessible books on comparative religion and interfaith understanding (e.g., A History of God).
5064. Oswaldo Giacóia Junior
5066. Jaydeep Chakrabarty
5067. Alejandro Zambra
Chilean novelist, short-story writer and poet, best known for the novel Bonsai (2006) and Forms/Ways of Going Home (Formas de volver a casa, 2011).
5068. Rupi Kaur
Punjabi-Canadian poet, illustrator, and author known for short free-verse poems and bestselling collections such as Milk and Honey (2014) and The Sun and Her Flowers (2017); her work often addresses themes of love, trauma, healing, and feminism.
5070. Sam Harris
American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist; best known for critiques of religion and advocacy of a science-based morality in books such as The End of Faith and The Moral Landscape, and for hosting the Making Sense (formerly Waking Up) podcast.
5071. João José Reis
Brazilian historian and professor at the Federal University of Bahia, specialist in slavery, abolition, and Afro-Brazilian history; author of studies on slave resistance, including research on the 1835 Malê (Muslim) revolt in Bahia.
5072. Marquis de Sade
French nobleman, writer, and philosopher best known for controversial libertine and erotic works such as Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom, and The 120 Days of Sodom; his writings on sexual freedom and cruelty led to the term "sadism." He spent much of his life imprisoned and confined in asylums.
5073. Fernando Gabeira
Brazilian politician, journalist and author; a former leftist militant and memoirist (author of "O Que É Isso, Companheiro?") who later served in elected office and was active in environmental and civic causes.
5074. J.D. Salinger
American writer best known for the novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951) and his short stories (e.g., Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey). Noted for his literary influence and long reclusive life after achieving fame.
5075. Norman Mailer
American novelist, journalist, essayist and filmmaker, a leading figure of postwar American literature and New Journalism. Best known for The Naked and the Dead (1948), Armies of the Night (1968) and The Executioner's Song (1979); winner of Pulitzer Prizes and a cofounder of The Village Voice.
5076. Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic known for combining Lacanian psychoanalysis and Hegelian-Marxist theory in analyses of ideology, popular culture, film, and politics. He is a prolific author and public intellectual.
5077. Glenn Greenwald
American journalist, author, and former lawyer, best known for reporting on government surveillance and the Edward Snowden NSA disclosures; co-founder of The Intercept and commentator on civil liberties and politics.
5078. Junot Díaz
Dominican American novelist, short-story writer, and essayist, author of the short-story collection Drown and the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction), known for work on the Dominican diaspora and immigrant experience.
5079. Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
American novelist, short story writer, and essayist known for darkly satirical, science-fiction-tinged works that critique war and society; best known for Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle, and Breakfast of Champions. A World War II veteran and survivor of the bombing of Dresden.
5080. Marco Antonio Coutinho Jorge
5081. Lloyd Bradley
British music journalist and author best known for writing about reggae and black music history (author of Bass Culture and other works).
5082. Paul B. Preciado
Spanish philosopher, writer, curator, and transgender activist known for work in gender theory, queer studies, and the politics of bodies and sexuality; author of Testo Junkie and other influential texts.
5083. Betty Friedan
American writer, activist, and leading figure in second-wave feminism; author of The Feminine Mystique (1963) and co-founder and first president of the National Organization for Women (NOW).
5084. Alice Sant'Anna
Contemporary Brazilian poet known for several poetry collections.
5085. Sidney Chalhoub
Brazilian historian and academic known for work on social history, slavery, and the urban and elite dynamics of 19th-century Rio de Janeiro.
5086. Oswald de Andrade
Brazilian poet, novelist and essayist; a leading figure of Brazilian Modernism, best known for the Cannibalist (Antropófago) manifesto and the Pau-Brasil manifesto.
5087. Graham Greene
English novelist, playwright, and journalist known for works exploring moral, political, and theological themes; notable novels include Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory, and The Heart of the Matter.
5088. Ian McEwan
English novelist and screenwriter (born 1948), author of novels and short stories including Atonement and Amsterdam (winner of the 1998 Booker Prize), known for psychological realism and darkly comic themes.
5089. Robert M. Gates
American statesman and former intelligence official; served as Director of Central Intelligence (1991–1993), President of Texas A&M University (2002–2006), and U.S. Secretary of Defense (2006–2011).
5090. Michel Foucault
French philosopher, historian of ideas, and social theorist known for influential analyses of power, knowledge, and discourse. Major works include Madness and Civilization, The Birth of the Clinic, Discipline and Punish, and The History of Sexuality.
5091. William Outhwaite
British sociologist and social theorist, academic author known for work on civil society, social theory, and the history of sociology.
5092. Steven Englund
American historian and author specializing in 18th- and 19th-century France, particularly the Napoleonic era; author of books on Napoleon and modern European history.
5093. Chantal Mouffe
Belgian political theorist known for work on agonistic pluralism and critiques of deliberative democracy; co-author with Ernesto Laclau of Hegemony and Socialist Strategy and author of The Democratic Paradox and On the Political.
5094. Manuel Castells
Spanish sociologist and scholar of the information society, networks, and urban sociology; author of the influential trilogy The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture.
5095. Tiago Ferro
Brazilian writer and editor, author of the novel "O pai da menina morta."
5096. Esther Solano
5097. Misha Glenny
British journalist, broadcaster and author specializing in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and organized crime; author of books including The Balkans, DarkMarket and McMafia.
5098. Jean-Christophe Brisard
5099. Ana Martins Marques
Contemporary Brazilian poet from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, author of multiple poetry collections known for concise, reflective verse.
5100. Éric Vuillard
French writer and filmmaker (born 1968), known for historical narratives that blend reportage and fiction; winner of the 2017 Prix Goncourt for L'ordre du jour (The Order of the Day).