Writers often use assumed names instead of their own names when publishing work. They do so for different reasons, notably when the books don’t match their usual style or genre. This article shares famous authors who use pen names.
Famous authors and their pen names
Stephen King – Richard Bachman
When Stephen King first started writing, his publishers only allowed them to publish one book per year. But Stephen was more ambitious than that. He convinced his publishers to release more novels under the name Richard Bachman.
Stephen chose this name because it’s similar to the name of his favorite band, Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
King published Rage and The Running Man under this pen name. However, it wasn’t long before Steve Brown, a bookseller from Washington, DC noticed that King and Bachman’s works have too much in common.
J.K. Rowling – Robert Galbraith
Most readers know Joanne Rowling for her Harry Potter saga. However, only a few know her pen name, Robert Galbraith. The author published adult books like The Cuckoo’s Calling, the first novel in the Cormorant Strike series using a pseudonym. She also published The Ink Black Heart under her pen name.
As she explained, Robert is her favorite man’s name. She considers Robert F. Kennedy a hero, and since none of the Harry Potter characters carry that name, she went on to use it for herself.
Agatha Christie – Mary Westmacott
Agatha Christie has 66 detective novels under her belt. She is the creator of now-legendary characters like Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. On top of her rich novel collection, she also published 14 short story collections and a play, The Mousetrap.
She wrote six novels using the pen name Mary Westmacott. The famed author also published Unfinished Portrait and The Burden using her pseudonym.
As she once reported, she used a pen name to explore the deepest imaginative part of herself.
Anne Rice – A. N. Roquelaure
Anne Rice is best known for her bestselling novel The Vampire Chronicles. However, she has written other work using two pen names:
- A.N. Roquelaure
- Anne Rampling
Rice used the first pen name to write medieval erotic novels, while the latter was a better fit for her two erotic fiction novels.
Charlotte Bronte – Currer Bell
Charlotte Bronte and her sisters Currer, Ellis, and Acton, who were also writers, all used pen names. Their male publisher advised them to do so to get their work published as females.
Charlotte used Currer Bell, where “Currer” was the first name of the person who funded her school, while “Bell” was the middle name of Bronte’s future husband.
The pen-name adventure didn’t last long for Charlotte. Her early reviewers recognized that Currer is actually a woman.
C.S Lewis – Clive Hamilton and N. W. Clerk
The Chronicles of Narnia author used two pen names:
- N. W. Clerk
- Clive Hamilton
The author used the pen name Hamilton for his first published works. He released multiple poetry books under this name, including Spirits in Bondage. The author turned to his real initials when he started publishing novels.
Lewis used the pen name N. W. Clerk for A Grief Observed, a tribute to his late wife.
Isaac Asimov – Paul French
One of the most popular Russian-American science fiction authors used a pen name Paul French for some of his work. He was eager to explore a new genre, a sci-fi children’s book Lucky Starr. He wrote six more novels in the same genre using the new pseudonym.
Daniel Handler – Lemony Snicket
Daniel Handler is one of the few writers who use a pen name that actually appears in his books. Lemony Snicket is both his writing pseudonym and a character in multiple books he wrote.
The author is best known for his work A Series of Unfortunate Events under the Lemony Snicket pseudonym.
Dean Koontz – Multiple
Dean Koontz used numerous pen names in his writing career:
- David Axton
- Brian Coffey
- Deanna Dwyer
- K. R. Dwyer
- Leigh Nichols
- John Hill
- Richard Paige
- Anthony North
- Aaron Wolfe
During the peak of his writing career, Koontz published more than eight books per year. He used numerous pen names so as not to saturate the market.
Nora Roberts – J.D. Robb
Nora Roberts has published more than 200 romance novels. But she feared that publishing any other work not related to romance could confuse her readers. That’s why she decided to ditch her real name for J. D. Robb to write her detective novels like:
- Naked in Death
- Glory in Death
- Immortal in Death
- Rapture in Death
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FAQ
What do you call a writer that writes under a different name?
Writers who write under different names and hide their true identity use pseudonyms or pen names.
Does James Patterson write under a pseudonym?
Yes, but he co-authors some of his books, so you may find other names on his book covers.
Is it OK to write under a pen name?
Yes. Many authors use alter egos when writing work in a different genre from which they are known. For example, Mark Twain (real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens), Michael Douglas (Michael Crichton), Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair), George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans), and Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) are all pen names.
Is the name of the author really important?
The name of successful writers is important as it serves as their brand. Some fiction authors strive to create memorable names to stick in the minds of their readers.
What is the difference between a pen name and a pseudonym?
Pen name, pseudonym, and nom de plume are all synonyms to refer to writers who use fictitious names instead of real names.
What is a pseudonym?
Pseudonym is a fictitious name often used by authors.
What is the name of one of J.D. Salinger’s pseudonyms?
Thomas Pynchon may have been J. D. Salinger’s pseudonym.
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