A large number of

authors An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

choose to use some form of initials in their name when it appears in their literary work. This includes some of the most famous authors of the 20th century –

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger (; January 1, 1919 January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel ''The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger got his start in 1940, before serving in World War II, by publishing several short stories in '' ...

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

, J. R. R. Tolkien, etc. – and also a host of lesser-known writers. Well-known initials and their corresponding full names are listed below.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

I. A. Richards Ivor Armstrong Richards CH (26 February 1893 – 7 September 1979), known as I. A. Richards, was an English educator, literary critic, poet, and rhetorician. His work contributed to the foundations of the New Criticism, a formalist movement ...

– Ivor Armstrong Richards *

I. A. R. Wylie Ida Alexa Ross Wylie (16 March 1885 – 4 November 1959), known by her pen name I.A.R. Wylie, was an Australian-British-American novelist, screenwriter, short story writer, and poet and suffragette sympathiser, who was honored by the journalisti ...

– Ida Alexa Ross Wylie * Iain M. Banks – Iain Menzies Banks *

I. F. Stone Isidor Feinstein "I. F." Stone (December 24, 1907 – June 18, 1989) was an American investigative journalist, writer, and author. Known for his politically progressive views, Stone is best remembered for ''I. F. Stone's Weekly'' (1953–1971), ...

– Isidor Feinstein Stone * I. M. E. Blandin – Isabella Margaret Elizabeth Blandin * I. McC. Wilson – Ibbie McColm Wilson

J

K

L

M

N

O

* O. E. Rølvaag – Ole Edvart Rølvaag *

O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the M ...

– pen-name of William Sydney Porter *

O. Douglas Anna Masterton Buchan (24 March 1877 – 24 November 1948) was a Scottish novelist who wrote under the pen name O. Douglas. Most of her novels were written and set between the wars and portrayed small town or village life in southern Scotland, ...

– pen-name of Anna Masterton Buchan

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R

S

T

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U. A. Fanthorpe Ursula Askham Fanthorpe, Commander of the British Empire, CBE, Royal Society of Literature, FRSL (22 July 1929 – 28 April 2009) was an English poet, who published as U. A. Fanthorpe. Her poetry comments mainly on social issues. Life and work ...

– Ursula Askham Fanthorpe *

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

or (once) U. K. Le Guin – Ursula Kroeber Le Guin

V

V. C. Andrews Cleo Virginia Andrews (June 6, 1923 – December 19, 1986), better known as V. C. Andrews or Virginia C. Andrews, was an American novelist. Profile Andrews's novels combine Gothic horror and family saga, revolving around family secrets and forb ...

– Cleo Virginia Andrews * V. S. Naipaul – Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul *

V. S. Pritchett Sir Victor Sawdon Pritchett (also known as VSP; 16 December 1900 – 20 March 1997) was a British writer and literary critic. Pritchett was known particularly for his short stories, collated in a number of volumes. His non-fiction works incl ...

– Victor Sawdon Pritchett

W

{{columns-list, colwidth=22em, * W. C. Sellar – Walter Carruthers Sellar * W. D. Ehrhart – William Daniel Ehrhart *

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

– William Edward Burghardt Du Bois *

W. G. Sebald Winfried Georg Sebald (18 May 1944 – 14 December 2001), known as W. G. Sebald or (as he preferred) Max Sebald, was a German writer and academic. At the time of his death at the age of 57, he was being cited by literary critics as one of the g ...

– Winfried Georg Sebald * W. H. Auden – Wystan Hugh Auden *

W. H. Davies William Henry Davies (3 July 1871 – 26 September 1940) was a Welsh poet and writer, who spent much of his life as a tramp or hobo in the United Kingdom and the United States, yet became one of the most popular poets of his time. His themes inc ...

– William Henry Davies * W. S. Gilbert – William Schwenck Gilbert *

W. S. Graham William Sydney Graham (19 November 1918 – 9 January 1986) was a Scottish poet, who was often associated with Dylan Thomas and the neo-romantic group of poets. Graham's poetry was mostly overlooked in his lifetime; however, partly thanks to th ...

– William Sydney Graham * W. S. Merwin – William Stanley Merwin * W. Somerset Maugham – William Somerset Maugham *

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

– William Butler Yeats *

W. E. Henley William Ernest Henley (23 August 184911 July 1903) was an English poet, writer, critic and editor. Though he wrote several books of poetry, Henley is remembered most often for his 1875 poem " Invictus". A fixture in London literary circles, the ...

– William Ernest Henley *

William T. Vollmann William Tanner Vollmann (born July 28, 1959) is an American novelist, journalist, war correspondent, short story writer, and essayist. He won the 2005 National Book Award for Fiction with the novel ''Europe Central''.

– William Tanner Vollmann

Y

* Y. L. E. – Mary Whitwell Hale (the concluding letters of her name)

Z

* ZZ Packer – Zuwena Packer (second Z is decorative) Human names Initialisms Literary initials