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.
5151. Alberto da Costa e Silva
Brazilian historian, diplomat and writer, known for his work on African history and Lusophone Africa.
5152. David Buckingham
British media and communications scholar known for research on children, youth, media literacy and media education; author of influential books and articles in media studies.
5153. James Wood
English literary critic, essayist and novelist; longtime contributor to The New Yorker and former literary editor of the London Review of Books, known for books on fiction and criticism such as How Fiction Works.
5154. Geovani Martins
Brazilian writer from Rio de Janeiro, author of the short-story collection "O Sol na Cabeça" (2018), known for fiction addressing life in the favelas.
5155. Delmo Moreira
5156. Jorge Ferreira
5157. Bruno Paes Manso
5158. Jonathan Fenby
British journalist, author and commentator, known for a long career as a foreign correspondent and editor and for books on modern China and modern France.
5159. Ricardo Santhiago
Brazilian ophthalmologist and researcher specializing in corneal and refractive surgery.
5160. João Carlos Rodrigues
5161. Comité Invisível
An anonymous French radical/anarchist collective (The Invisible Committee), authors of The Coming Insurrection and other political texts.
5162. Noemi Jaffe
Brazilian writer, poet and literary critic (born 1962), author of fiction and essays often addressing memory and family; daughter of Jewish immigrants.
5163. Luiz Schwarcz
Brazilian publisher and editor, founder of the major Brazilian publishing house Companhia das Letras.
5164. Thomas Pynchon
American novelist known for dense, complex, and postmodern works blending satire, paranoia, and historical speculation. Major works include V., The Crying of Lot 49, Gravity's Rainbow, Mason & Dixon, Against the Day, Inherent Vice, and Bleeding Edge. Noted for extreme reclusiveness and rare public appearances.
5165. Risko
5166. Celso Rocha de Barros
5167. Kenny Mathieson
5168. Miranda July
American filmmaker, writer, artist, and performer known for the films Me and You and Everyone We Know and The Future, and the short-story collection No One Belongs Here More Than You.
5169. Ogi Ogas
American neuroscientist and popular science author known for writing about human behavior and sexuality; coauthor of A Billion Wicked Thoughts and author of Why We Love.
5170. Enzo Traverso
Italian historian and scholar of modern European intellectual history, specializing in memory studies, the history of the Holocaust, fascism, and Marxism.
5171. William Neuman
American journalist and reporter for The New York Times, known for coverage of Mexico and Latin America, including politics, crime, and social issues.
5172. Kerry Brown
5173. Adelaide Ivánova
5174. Rana Mitter
British historian specializing in modern China; Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at the University of Oxford, author of works on China's wartime history, and a public commentator and broadcaster.
5175. Oscar Pilagallo
5176. Frédéric Lenoir
French philosopher, sociologist, historian of religions and author, known for popular books and novels on spirituality, religion and personal development.
5177. George Saunders
American writer known for short stories, essays, and the novel Lincoln in the Bardo (winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction); recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and a professor of creative writing.
5178. David Grossman
Israeli novelist, essayist and children's author (born 1954). Known for works such as 'See Under: Love', 'The Zigzag Kid', and 'To the End of the Land', and for his public engagement with Israeli society and themes of grief and conflict.
5179. João Cezar de Castro Rocha
Brazilian literary critic and writer
5180. Sandro Veronesi
Italian novelist and journalist (born 1959), author of novels including Caos calmo and Il colibrì.
5181. J.M. Coetzee
South African-born novelist, essayist and translator; awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. Best known for novels such as Disgrace, Waiting for the Barbarians, and The Life & Times of Michael K.
5182. Nara Vidal
5183. Julio Cortázar
Argentine novelist, short-story writer and essayist (1914–1984), a central figure of the Latin American Boom known for experimental narratives such as the novel Hopscotch (Rayuela) and influential short stories including "Axolotl" and "La noche boca arriba."
5184. Peter Linenthal
5185. Charlie Mackesy
British artist, illustrator and author best known for the bestselling illustrated book 'The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse' (2019).
5186. Carlos Fico
Brazilian historian and professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), specialist in contemporary Brazilian political history, the military dictatorship, the Cold War, and the history of media and communications.
5187. Giuliano da Empoli
Italian author, political analyst and commentator.
5188. Karl Alfred Loeser
5189. Jill Lepore
American historian, writer, and professor of American history at Harvard University; staff writer for The New Yorker and author of books including These Truths and The Secret History of Wonder Woman.
5190. J.M. Coetzee
South African-born novelist, essayist and academic, awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature; known for novels including Waiting for the Barbarians and Disgrace.
5191. Richard J. Evans
British historian specializing in modern German history, especially Nazi Germany and the Holocaust; former Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge and author of the widely cited Third Reich trilogy (The Coming of the Third Reich; The Third Reich in Power; The Third Reich at War); has served as an expert witness in high-profile Holocaust denial/libel trials.
5192. Elie Wiesel
Romanian-born Jewish writer, Holocaust survivor, memoirist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1986), best known for his memoir "Night" and his work on Holocaust remembrance and human rights.
5193. Stefano Mancuso
Italian botanist and plant physiologist, a leading proponent of plant neurobiology; professor at the University of Florence and director of the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology, and author of popular science works on plant intelligence.
5194. Elizabeth Buchanan
5195. Nádia Battella Gotlib
Brazilian author and researcher specializing in food history, culinary culture, and gastronomy.
5196. Hans Bertens
Dutch literary theorist and critic, known for work on postmodernism and narrative theory.
5197. Dénètem Touam Bona
Chadian journalist, newspaper editor and advocate for press freedom.
5198. Daniel Aarão Reis
5199. Hanya Yanagihara
American novelist and editor, author of The People in the Trees (2013) and A Little Life (2015).
5200. Adam Silvera
American author of young adult fiction, best known for novels that explore LGBTQ+ themes, including More Happy Than Not (2015), History Is All You Left Me (2017), and They Both Die at the End (2017).