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.
3751. Edgar Rice Burroughs
American novelist and pioneer of early 20th-century pulp fiction, best known as the creator of Tarzan and the Barsoom (John Carter) series; prolific writer of adventure, fantasy, and science fiction.
3752. Apsley Cherry-Garrard
British Antarctic explorer and author, member of Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition; author of The Worst Journey in the World (1922).
3753. Louise Fitzhugh
American author and illustrator of children's books, best known for the 1964 novel "Harriet the Spy."
3754. Andrei Platonov
Soviet Russian writer, philosopher and essayist (born Andrei Platonovich Klimentov), best known for novels and prose such as The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan) and Chevengur; noted for his distinctive language and critical, often tragicomedic, treatment of Soviet utopianism.
3755. Frank Norris
American novelist and journalist associated with literary naturalism, best known for The Octopus and McTeague; influential Progressive-era writer who died young.
3756. Constantinos P. Cavafy
Greek poet (1863–1933) from the Greek community of Alexandria, noted for modernist lyric poems that blend historical themes, personal reflection, and subtle eroticism; highly influential in 20th-century poetry.
3757. Hans Fallada
German novelist and short-story writer (born Rudolf Wilhelm Friedrich Ditzen), known for realist portrayals of ordinary Germans and works such as Little Man, What Now? (Kleiner Mann — was nun?) and Every Man Dies Alone (Jeder stirbt für sich allein / Alone in Berlin).
3758. Robert Rosenblum
American art historian and curator known for his scholarship on 19th- and 20th-century art and for influential writings and exhibitions that shaped modern art studies.
3759. Anne Higonnet
American art historian and professor known for scholarship on 19th-century French art, images of childhood, and Impressionism; author of works including 'Pictures of Innocence' and affiliated with Barnard College/Columbia University.
3760. Meyer Schapiro
Lithuanian-born American art historian and critic, longtime Columbia University professor, influential for scholarship on medieval and modern art and for contributions to art theory and intellectual life.
3761. Hollis Clayson
American art historian specializing in 19th-century French art and modernism; a scholar and university professor researching Impressionism, Manet, and visual culture.
3762. Salley Vickers
British novelist, best known for novels such as Miss Garnet's Angel.
3763. Isak Dinesen
Danish author (1885–1962), wrote under the pen name Isak Dinesen (also Tania Blixen); best known for Out of Africa and Seven Gothic Tales.
3764. Evelyn Eaton
Canadian novelist, short story writer and poet, known for historical fiction and stories often drawing on Canadian and Indigenous themes.
3765. Gwen Bristow
American novelist and journalist best known for historical novels set in the American South and West, including the popular novel Jubilee Trail.
3766. James Islington
Australian fantasy novelist best known for The Licanius Trilogy (The Shadow of What Was Lost; An Echo of Things to Come; The Light of All That Falls).
3767. Boris Vian
French writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic and engineer, known for surreal and satirical fiction (notably L'Écume des jours / Froth on the Daydream), his involvement in the postwar jazz scene, and controversial crime novels published under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan.
3768. Knut Sydsaeter
Norwegian mathematician and textbook author, best known for widely used textbooks on mathematics for economics and economic analysis.
3769. James H. Stock
American economist known for work in econometrics and macroeconomics; co-author (with Mark W. Watson) of the textbook "Introduction to Econometrics."
3770. Christopher F. Baum
American econometrician and professor of economics at Boston College; author of textbooks on econometrics and Stata (including 'An Introduction to Modern Econometrics Using Stata').
3771. Andreas C. Müller
Author and software developer focused on machine learning; co-author of 'Introduction to Machine Learning with Python' and contributor to the scikit-learn ecosystem.
3772. Hüseyin Rahmi Gürpınar
Turkish novelist, short story writer and journalist (1864–1944), noted for satirical and realist depictions of Istanbul society in the late Ottoman and early Republican periods.
3773. Gülten Dayıoğlu
Turkish author best known for works of children's and young adult literature.
3774. Şehbenderzâde Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi
Ottoman-Turkish writer, philosopher and Sufi mystic; journalist and periodical editor, best known for the philosophical novel A'mâk-ı Hayâl and for founding/editing the journal Hikmet.
3775. Karl E. Case
American economist best known for co-developing the Case–Shiller home price indices and for influential work in real estate economics.
3776. Olivier J. Blanchard
French economist known for contributions to macroeconomics; served as Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund (2008–2015) and is the author of a widely used macroeconomics textbook.
3777. Howard Anton
American mathematician and author of widely used undergraduate textbooks in calculus and linear algebra, including Elementary Linear Algebra and Calculus.
3778. George B. Thomas Jr.
American mathematician and educator, author of the widely used textbook 'Calculus and Analytic Geometry' (commonly known as Thomas' Calculus).
3779. Aziz Nesin
Turkish writer, humorist and satirist known for his short stories, novels and political satire; a prominent literary and social critic in 20th-century Turkey.
3780. H.P. Lovecraft
American writer of weird and cosmic horror fiction, best known for creating the Cthulhu Mythos and influential short stories such as "The Call of Cthulhu", "At the Mountains of Madness", and "The Shadow over Innsmouth"; noted for his extensive correspondence and influence on 20th-century horror, and also criticized for racist views in his writings.
3781. Chingiz Aitmatov
Kyrgyz writer and statesman (1928–2008), one of the leading Soviet-era authors; wrote in Kyrgyz and Russian, best known for works such as Jamila and The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years.
3782. Ward, Geoffrey C.
American historian, author, editor, and producer best known for collaborating with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns on film scripts and companion books about American history and culture.
3783. Weiner, Jonathan
American science writer and author, known for The Beak of the Finch (Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, 1995) and other works on biology and natural history.
3784. Rachel Ekstrom Courage
3785. Beavan, Colin
American author, blogger, and environmental activist best known for the No Impact Project and the book "No Impact Man", documenting efforts to live with a reduced environmental footprint.
3786. Starkell, Don
Canadian canoeist and travel writer known for long-distance canoe expeditions and books about his journeys.
3787. Hill, Bob
3789. Ian McEwan
English novelist, short story writer and screenwriter, author of novels including Atonement and Amsterdam (Booker Prize winner), known for psychological realism and moral themes.
3790. Pascal Bruckner
French writer and philosopher (born 1948), essayist and novelist associated with the "nouveaux philosophes", known for works addressing Western guilt, multiculturalism, immigration and contemporary social and political criticism.
3791. Sarah Pinborough
British novelist and short-story writer known for psychological thrillers and dark fiction; author of Behind Her Eyes (adapted as a Netflix series) and multiple adult and YA novels.
3792. Pat Ingoldsby
Irish poet, broadcaster and author, known for whimsical, accessible verse and for self-publishing and selling his work on the streets of Dublin.
3793. Susannah Cahalan
American journalist and author, best known for the 2012 memoir 'Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness' about her experience with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis; the book was later adapted into a feature film.
3794. Xaviera Hollander
Dutch former call girl, madam and author, best known for her 1971 memoir The Happy Hooker: My Own Story; later a columnist and sex-advice writer.
3795. Irvine Welsh
Scottish novelist, playwright and short-story writer best known for Trainspotting (1993). His work often portrays working-class life in Edinburgh, uses Scots dialect, and addresses themes such as drug addiction, crime and sexuality with dark humor and transgressive realism.
3796. Vikas Swarup
Indian diplomat and novelist, best known for his debut novel Q&A, which was adapted into the film Slumdog Millionaire.
3797. Adichi Ngozi Chimamanda
Nigerian novelist, short story writer and essayist, author of Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, and Americanah; known for exploring identity, feminism, and postcolonial themes.
3798. Alan Bradley
Canadian novelist best known for the Flavia de Luce mystery series, beginning with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.
3799. Kate Elizabeth Russell
American novelist, author of My Dark Vanessa (2019), known for writing about sexual abuse, memory, and trauma.
3800. Arthur Hailey
British-Canadian novelist best known for research-driven bestsellers about large industries and institutions, including Airport, Hotel, The Moneychangers, and Wheels.