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.
8401. Stuart Stevens
American political strategist, consultant and author, known for work on Republican campaigns including serving as a senior strategist for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign; also a commentator and writer of books and articles.
8402. Hazel Gaynor
Irish novelist and author, best known for writing historical and contemporary women's fiction.
8403. Michael Kazin
American historian and author specializing in U.S. populism and progressive politics; professor of history at Georgetown University and frequent contributor to left-leaning publications.
8404. John H. Walton
American Old Testament scholar and professor, known for work on the Ancient Near Eastern background of the Bible and books such as The Lost World of Genesis One.
8405. Josh Kendall
8406. R.S. Chaurasia
8407. R.C. Majumdar
Indian historian and academic, specialist in ancient and medieval Indian history; editor of the multi-volume 'History and Culture of the Indian People' and author of numerous works on Indian history.
8408. Silvan S. Tomkins
American psychologist and psychoanalyst best known for developing affect theory and for his multi-volume work 'Affect, Imagery, Consciousness.'
8409. Harishankar Parsai
Prominent Hindi writer and satirist known for his short stories, essays and columns that critique social and political life in India.
8410. Ben Cardew
8411. Belinda Jack
8412. Bhagwaticharan Verma
Indian Hindi-language novelist and writer, best known for the novel Chitralekha.
8413. W. Cleon Skousen
American conservative author and lecturer best known for anti-communist writings and the book The 5,000 Year Leap; influential in conservative and Mormon circles.
8414. Robert Alter
American literary scholar, translator, and critic; professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, known for influential literary readings and English translations of the Hebrew Bible and for works on biblical narrative and poetry.
8415. Lester Kaufman
8416. Chris Bailey
Canadian author and productivity expert, known for the books The Productivity Project (2016) and Hyperfocus (2018).
8417. Jonathan Haber
8418. Osho
Indian spiritual teacher and mystic (born Chandra Mohan Jain), later known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and Osho; founder of the Rajneesh movement and author of numerous spiritual discourses. A prolific and controversial figure, associated with the Rajneeshpuram community in the United States and various legal and political controversies.
8419. Satyajit Rai
8420. Keith D. Dickson
8421. D.K. Publishing
Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British publishing company, founded in 1974, known for illustrated reference books and children's titles published under the DK imprint.
8422. Harendra Prasad Sinha
8423. D.K. Publishing
British multinational publishing company founded in 1974, commonly known as DK or D.K. Publishing, specializing in illustrated reference books and children's non-fiction; headquartered in London.
8424. Mitch Albom
American author, journalist, screenwriter and broadcaster, best known for bestselling books such as Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
8426. Al Cimino
8427. Sara Brunsvold
8428. Richard Dargie
8429. Michael Dudley
8430. Alexander MacDonald
8431. Samantha Newman
8432. Michael Swan
British author, grammarian and English language teaching (ELT) expert, best known for Practical English Usage and co-authoring How English Works.
8433. Acharya Chatursen
Indian Hindi-language novelist known for historical novels set in ancient India.
8434. Ian Fleming
British author, journalist and former naval intelligence officer, best known as the creator of James Bond; wrote twelve Bond novels and numerous short stories and also authored Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang.
8435. The Staff of Entrepreneur Media
Collective byline used for articles produced by the staff of Entrepreneur Media, the company behind Entrepreneur magazine and Entrepreneur.com.
8436. Nicholas Sutton
8437. Christine Wilding
8438. Max Brooks
Max Brooks is an American author and screenwriter, best known for his books 'World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War' and 'The Zombie Survival Guide'. He is the son of director Mel Brooks and actress Anne Bancroft.
8439. K.W. Jeter
American science fiction, fantasy and horror author, best known for the novel Dr. Adder, for writing authorized sequels to Blade Runner, and for coining the term "steampunk".
8440. K.W. Jeter
American science fiction and horror author, associated with Tim Powers and James P. Blaylock; credited with popularizing the term "steampunk" and known for novels such as Dr. Adder and Morlock Night.
8441. Eugene V. Debs
American socialist, trade unionist, and political activist; leader of the American Railway Union, co-founder of the Industrial Workers of the World, and five-time Socialist Party candidate for U.S. President. Imprisoned under the Espionage Act for anti–World War I speeches.
8442. Manil Suri
Indian-American mathematician and novelist; professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and author of novels including The Death of Vishnu.
8443. W. Chan Kim
South Korean scholar of business strategy and professor at INSEAD, best known as co-author (with Renée Mauborgne) of the book 'Blue Ocean Strategy.'
8444. Amy Newmark
8445. Inc
Corporate/organizational author label 'Inc' (abbreviation for 'Incorporated'). Insufficient information to identify a specific individual or company.
8447. Dennis Braun
8448. David Petrie
8449. फणीश्वर नाथ रेणु
Indian Hindi novelist and short-story writer, a leading figure of post-independence Hindi literature known for pioneering the 'anchalik' (regional) novel; best known for the novel Maila Anchal (1954) and vivid portrayals of rural life in Bihar.