Think you really know your favorite author? It may be surprising to you to learn that a number of famous authors are actually using a pen name, pseudonym, or nom de plume. In fact, the use of a pen name in place of an author's real name has been quite popular throughout history of writing for a variety of reasons, from avoiding a political danger due to a controversial literary work, avoiding a previous failed attempt at literary success, or utilizing a false name in order to completely distance and author from his or her public identity to write a different genre.
Who are some famous authors who used pen names? You might be surprised. Some of the authors featured here are regarded as the most beloved in the industry and many are even Nobel Peace Prize or Pulitzer Prize winners.
You’ll find authors such as Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, J.K. Rowling, Nora Roberts, Anne Rice, Stephen King, Louisa May Alcott, the Bronte Sisters, and many other authors who used pen names that might surprise you.
Think you know your favorite writers? Read on to find out which authors have used pen names.
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Anne Rice
Pen names: Anne Rampling, A. N. Roquelaure
Anne Rice, perhaps best known for her series The Vampire Chronicles, is yet another popular writer who’s released work under pen names. Her 1985 Exit to Eden and 1986 Belinda were published under the Rampling pen name. Both are erotic novels, the former exploring the subject of BDSM. In the 80s, Rice also published the Sleeping Beauty Trilogy under the Roquelaure byline. The series included The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, Beauty’s Punishment, and Beauty’s Release. These were also erotic BDSM novels that explicitly outlined pornographic tales and fantasies — which could explain why Rice opted for the pseudonym. In an interview with the Telegraph, Rice dismissed those books as “an obsession of youth – or something.” But as the Guardian points out, those novels continue to earn her around $50,000 in royalties each year.
Benjamin Franklin
Pen names: Mrs. Silence Dogood
When Benjamin Franklin was a teenager living in Boston, his older brother James founded the The New-England Courant as the colonies' first independent newspaper. Franklin had been dying to write letters for publication in the paper, and when those letters were rejected, he adopted the persona of a middle-aged widow and his letters were gladly accepted and printed, and are said to have been widely read. The ruse ended when Franklin's brother discovered Dogood's true identity, and young Franklin was forced to leave town for Philadelphia.
Evan Hunter
Pen names: Ed McBain, Hunt Collins, Curt Cannon, Richard Marsten, D.A. Addams, and Ted Taine
Novelist Evan Hunter wrote both crime and science fiction using his own name and multiple pen names. Born Salvatore Albert Lombino in 1926, the author legally changed his name to Evan Hunter in 1952, but saw the most success from the work he published under the pseudonym Ed McBain. Beginning in 1956, he used that name for the majority of the crime fiction he wrote as part of the long-running 87th Precinct series. In a 2005 obituary for Hunter, who died of cancer at age 78, The New York Times explained that Hunter initially moved away from his (very Italian) birth name due to prejudice against writers with foreign names.
Joe Klein
Pen name: Anonymous
Joe Klein doesn’t just write political commentary for TIME. In 1996, he also penned a novel called Primary Colors under his pen name. The book is a roman à clef about Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign in 1992. Klein publicly denied several times that he was the author, but eventually came forward at a news conference. The New York Times reported that Klein protected his identity in the same way a journalist protects his or her sources. “It wasn’t easy. But I felt that there are times when I’ve had to lie to protect a source, and I put this in that category,” he said at the conference.
J. K. Rowling
Pen name: Robert Galbraith
J.K. Rowling, author of the famous Harry Potter series, assumed her pseudonym in order to “publish without hype or expectation.” She called it a “liberating experience” and “a pure pleasure to get feedback from publishers and readers under a different name.” In 2013, Rowling published The Cuckoo’s Calling under her pseudonym.
Mark Twain
Pen names: Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass, Josh
Clemens assumed a number of pen names before settling on Twain, after years of working on Mississippi riverboats where the term "mark twain" was shouted out as a way to mark the depth of the river, as measured on a rope. In Life on the Mississippi, Twain explains, "I was a fresh new journalist, and needed a nom de guerre; so I confiscated the ancient mariner's discarded one, and have done my best to make it remain what it was in his hands."
Nora Roberts
Pen name: J.D. Robb
Best-selling author Nora Roberts already had years of success under her belt before she began churning out books under a pen name. As explained on the author’s website, using the pseudonym offered a new writing challenge, and an opportunity to delve into a genre outside Roberts’ wheelhouse. While she’d previously focused on romance novels, after taking up the pseudonym, Roberts began publishing futuristic science fiction books, all part of the In Death series, beginning in 1995. After the twelfth book of the series hit shelves in 2001, Roberts finally revealed that it had been her all along. The series is still going strong — and the books continue to publish under the name J.D Robb, despite the fact that everyone now knows J.D. Robb is really Nora Roberts.
Ruth Rendell
Pen name: Barbara Vine
The prolific English mystery writer Ruth Rendell took up her pen name in 1986. Under that name, she released 14 novels. As the author once explained to the National Post, the two distinct bylines offered the opportunity to hone two distinct voices. The author also said she used Vine to explore specific topics, like the evolution of morality.
Stephen King
Pen name: Richard Bachman
Even Stephen King has written under a nom de plume. The king of horror published seven novels under his pen name, the first one published in 1977. He says, “I did that because back in the early days of my career there was a feeling in the publishing business that one book a year was all the public would accept.” King explains that he came up with his pseudonym on the fly while on the phone with his publisher. He had a Richard Stark book on his desk, and a Bachman Turner Overdrive song was playing. He combined the two names and Richard Bachman was born. The move allowed King to publish several novels a year. In 1985, a bookstore clerk named Steve Brown noticed the similarities between the two author’s styles and, after some snooping, determined that they were the same person. Stephen King soon confirmed this, and announced that Bachman had died of “Cancer of the Pseudonym.”
Jayne Anne Krentz
Pen names: Amanda Quick, Jayne Castle
Romance novelist Jayne Anne Krentz has churned out books under her own name as well as two separate pen names since 1979. These names establish three separate literary worlds: Krentz for romantic suspense, Quick for historical fiction, and Castle for futuristic science fiction. But this wasn’t Krentz’s original plan. “Trust me, I did not set out to establish three pen names … The idea back at the start was that I would stick with the name that proved most successful,” she told USA Today. Eventually, these identities just kind of evolved until they stuck, giving the author room to develop distinct types of writing.