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:

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.

4651. Shelley Jackson

American writer and artist known for experimental and hypertext fiction, notably the 1995 hypertext novel Patchwork Girl and the distributed tattoo story Skin.

Shelley Jackson's highest rated books
Cover of 'Riddance' by Shelley Jackson

4652. Craig Ballantyne

Canadian fitness coach, author and entrepreneur; creator of the Turbulence Training program and author of books such as The Perfect Day Formula, known for online coaching and fitness programs.

Craig Ballantyne's highest rated books

4653. N.T. Wright

English New Testament scholar, theologian, and author (commonly published as N. T. Wright); former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England; noted for work on Paul, the historical Jesus, and Christian origins, and for both scholarly and popular writings.

N.T. Wright's highest rated books

4654. Jason Waller

Jason Waller's highest rated books

4655. Keith C. Sidwell

Keith C. Sidwell's highest rated books

4656. Everest Media

Everest Media is an organization; further reliable public details about this author entry (founding year, location, or company description) are not available.

Everest Media's highest rated books

4657. Sudha Bhuchar

British actress, playwright and theatre maker; co-founder and longtime artistic leader associated with Tamasha Theatre Company, known for work exploring South Asian British experiences.

Sudha Bhuchar's highest rated books

4658. Frederic S. Mishkin

American economist and professor (Columbia Business School), former Governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, known for work on monetary policy, banking and financial markets and for authoring widely used textbooks on money and banking.

Frederic S. Mishkin's highest rated books

4659. Mary Jennings Hegar

American military veteran, author, and political candidate; wrote the memoir 'Shoot Like a Girl' about her service and advocacy for women in the U.S. armed forces, and ran as a Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress.

Mary Jennings Hegar's highest rated books

4660. Jimmy Santiago Baca

American poet, memoirist, and essayist who taught himself to read and write while incarcerated. His work often addresses themes of identity, incarceration, resilience, and the Chicano/Latino experience.

Jimmy Santiago Baca's highest rated books

4661. James L. Haley

American author and historian best known for works on Texas history, including a widely cited biography of Sam Houston.

James L. Haley's highest rated books

4662. Mick West

Author and science skeptic; founder and moderator of Metabunk.org, known for researching and debunking conspiracy theories (including chemtrails and UFO claims) and for writing on critical thinking and internet misinformation. Former video game developer.

Mick West's highest rated books

4663. Bhreathnach, Edel

Irish historian specializing in medieval and early medieval Irish history.

Bhreathnach, Edel's highest rated books
Cover of 'Ireland In The Medieval World, Ad400–1000' by Bhreathnach, Edel

4664. Milo Urban

Slovak novelist and journalist, best known as the author of the novel "Živý bič" (The Living Whip).

Milo Urban's highest rated books

4665. Martin Kukučín

Slovak novelist, short-story writer and playwright (born Matej Bencúr), a leading figure in modern Slovak prose; also trained as a physician.

Martin Kukučín's highest rated books

4666. Michael Kennedy

English music critic, musicologist and author, best known for his books and biographies on classical composers and his long career as a critic and contributor to British musical publications.

Michael Kennedy's highest rated books
Cover of 'Milk White Steed' by Michael Kennedy

4667. Park Wan-suh

South Korean novelist (1931–2011) known for fiction addressing postwar Korean society, family life, and women's experiences; a prominent literary figure in late 20th-century Korea.

Park Wan-suh's highest rated books

4668. Kim Sa-ryang

Korean writer active during the Japanese colonial period who wrote fiction and essays in both Korean and Japanese, known for works addressing colonial-era social issues and questions of identity.

Kim Sa-ryang's highest rated books

4669. In-hun Choi

South Korean novelist and literary critic, best known for the novel "The Square" (Gwangjang); a prominent figure in late 20th-century Korean literature.

In-hun Choi's highest rated books

4670. Mehrsa Baradaran

Iranian-American law professor and author who writes on banking, financial inclusion, and racial economic inequality; author of 'How the Other Half Banks' and 'The Color of Money.'

Mehrsa Baradaran's highest rated books

4671. Loeb Classical Library

A bilingual series of classical Greek and Latin texts with facing English translations, published by Harvard University Press since 1911 and founded by philanthropist James Loeb.

Loeb Classical Library's highest rated books

4672. Atsushi Nakajima

Japanese short-story writer and essayist of the early Shōwa period, noted for works that draw on Chinese classics—most famously the short story "Sangetsuki" ("The Moon Over the Mountain"). Died in 1942.

Atsushi Nakajima's highest rated books

4673. J.L. Mackie

Australian philosopher known for contributions to metaethics, metaphysics, and philosophy of religion; advocated moral error theory and wrote major works including 'Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong' and 'The Miracle of Theism.'

J.L. Mackie's highest rated books

4674. Project Itoh

Japanese science fiction writer who published under the pen name Project Itoh (伊藤計劃). Best known for the novels Harmony and Genocidal Organ. Died in 2009.

Project Itoh's highest rated books

4675. Piergiorgio Odifreddi

Italian mathematician, logician, essayist and popular science writer, known for books on mathematical logic and for public advocacy of secularism and criticisms of religion.

Piergiorgio Odifreddi's highest rated books

4676. Peter Pesic

American physicist, philosopher of science, and author who writes on the intersections of science, philosophy, and the arts (particularly music).

Peter Pesic's highest rated books

4677. George Pólya

Hungarian mathematician known for contributions to problem-solving, combinatorics, probability, and complex analysis; author of 'How to Solve It' and influential works on mathematical heuristics; professor at ETH Zurich and later at Stanford University.

George Pólya's highest rated books

4678. G.E. Mitton

G.E. Mitton's highest rated books

4679. Georges Pompidou

French politician and statesman; Prime Minister of France (1962–1968) and President of France (1969–1974). Former banker and promoter of economic modernization and culture (namesake of the Centre Pompidou).

Georges Pompidou's highest rated books

4680. John Silverwood

John Silverwood's highest rated books

4681. Thomas Povey

Thomas Povey's highest rated books

4682. Valery Larbaud

French poet, novelist, translator and critic active in the early 20th century, known for his novels, essays and for promoting and translating foreign literature into French.

Valery Larbaud's highest rated books

4683. Martin W. Liebeck

British mathematician specializing in group theory and the theory of finite simple groups; professor of mathematics at Imperial College London.

Martin W. Liebeck's highest rated books

4684. Eric Topol M.D.

American cardiologist, geneticist, and digital medicine researcher; founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and author of books on digital health including The Creative Destruction of Medicine, The Patient Will See You Now, and Deep Medicine.

Eric Topol M.D.'s highest rated books
Cover of 'Super Agers' by Eric Topol M.D.

4685. Sadiah Qureshi

British historian of science who researches nineteenth-century natural history, empire, museums, and collections; academic based in the UK.

Sadiah Qureshi's highest rated books
Cover of 'Vanished' by Sadiah Qureshi

4686. Emma Carroll

British children's author, known for writing historical fiction for children and young adults.

Emma Carroll's highest rated books
Cover of 'Dracula & Daughters' by Emma Carroll

4687. Rashmi Sirdeshpande

British children's author of Indian heritage who writes picture books and children's fiction.

Rashmi Sirdeshpande's highest rated books
Cover of 'This Is Who I Am' by Rashmi Sirdeshpande

4688. Sarah Howe

British poet and academic, author of the debut collection Loop of Jade (2015), which won the 2015 T. S. Eliot Prize.

Sarah Howe's highest rated books
Cover of 'Foretokens' by Sarah Howe

4689. Karen McCarthy Woolf

British poet, writer and editor known for her poetry and work engaging with themes of identity, migration and the natural world.

Karen McCarthy Woolf's highest rated books
Cover of 'Nature Matters' by Karen McCarthy Woolf

4690. Vidyan Ravinthiran

Vidyan Ravinthiran's highest rated books
Cover of 'Avidya' by Vidyan Ravinthiran

4691. Karen Solie

Canadian poet born in 1966, author of several contemporary poetry collections; her work often explores landscape, nature and everyday life.

Karen Solie's highest rated books
Cover of 'Wellwater' by Karen Solie

4692. Nick Makoha

Ugandan-born British poet, educator and performer known for experimental and politically engaged poetry; winner of several poetry awards and active in teaching and spoken-word performance.

Nick Makoha's highest rated books
Cover of 'The New Carthaginians' by Nick Makoha

4693. Emily Callaci

Emily Callaci's highest rated books
Cover of 'Wages For Housework' by Emily Callaci

4694. Ash Sarkar

British journalist, political activist and commentator; senior editor at Novara Media known for left-wing and socialist viewpoints and media appearances.

Ash Sarkar's highest rated books
Cover of 'Minority Rule' by Ash Sarkar

4695. Eoin McNamee

Irish novelist and screenwriter, known for crime, noir and psychological fiction and for works that often engage with the Troubles and contemporary Irish life.

Eoin McNamee's highest rated books
Cover of 'The Bureau' by Eoin McNamee

4696. Olivier Norek

French crime novelist and former police officer, best known for the Capitaine Coste series (including 'Code 93').

Olivier Norek's highest rated books
Cover of 'The Winter Warriors' by Olivier Norek

4697. Ian Penman

British music journalist and cultural critic, known for long-form, literary-style music criticism; a prominent contributor to publications including NME and The Face from the late 1970s onward.

Ian Penman's highest rated books
Cover of 'Erik Satie Three Piece Suite' by Ian Penman

4698. Nicola Sturgeon

Scottish politician; leader of the Scottish National Party (2014–2023) and First Minister of Scotland (2014–2023). Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999 and previously served as Deputy First Minister (2007–2014). Prominent advocate for Scottish independence and public policy reform.

Nicola Sturgeon's highest rated books
Cover of 'Frankly' by Nicola Sturgeon

4699. Lionel Richie

American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer who rose to fame as lead singer of the Commodores and enjoyed a highly successful solo career with hits such as "Hello", "All Night Long (All Night)" and the duet "Endless Love."

Lionel Richie's highest rated books
Cover of 'Truly' by Lionel Richie

4700. Tim Curry

English actor and singer best known for his stage and film work and distinctive voice; notable roles include Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and many character/voice performances in film, television and animation.

Tim Curry's highest rated books
Cover of 'Vagabond' by Tim Curry