LITERATURE FEATURE
Lib News, v4 #2: May 2013-Oct 2013
http://library.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/heritage/libnews
“Sorry...what’s your
name again?”
It was revealed this week that J.K.
Rowling published a crime novel in
April under the pseudonym of
Robert Galbraith.
A fake biography for Galbraith was
even created claiming he had
served with the Royal Military
Police, worked in the civilian
security industry, and that the
ideas for the novel came directly
from his own and friends’
experiences.
The name J.K Rowling, used to
publish the Harry Potter series, is
also not her real name. She was
christened Joanne Rowling (no
middle name), but chose the initial
‘K’ when her publisher asked her
not to use her given name.
So why do authors choose to write
under a pseudonym? And who out
there is not who you think they
are?
Separate identities
The author may have a day job
and wish to keep their two ‘lives’
separate. They could want to
protect their employment or not
want to risk their employer gaining
any negative publicity. They may
work in education, or with
children, for example, which could
be particularly sensitive if they
write in genres such as romance
and erotica.
Disguising gender
Usually it’s a case of female
authors adopting a male
pseudonym. They may take on a
full male name, or use initials or a
unisex name in order to make
things more ambiguous. Publishing
under a male name was particularly
popular in the 19th century when
female authors were not taken very
seriously.
J.K. Rowling again features as an
example as her publishers felt her
Harry Potter books would not be as
popular among boys if they knew a
female had written them. Fantasy
author Robin Hobb elected to use a
unisex name (real name: Margaret
Astrid Lindholm Ogden), while 19th
century English novelist Mary Ann
Evans wrote as George Eliot, and
early 20th century Australian
author Ethel Florence Lindesay
Richardson wrote as Henry Handel
Richardson.
Recently we have seen the
opposite in the erotica genre - male
authors adopting female pen
names, as they believe their work
will be more accepted if readers
think it was written by a woman. A
recent example is Australian erotica
author Natasha Walker - real
name: John Purcell.
Credibility
It’s sometimes simply a case of
picking a name that will fit the
genre - Jonathan Freedland doesn’t
LITERATURE FEATURE
sound like a thriller author, but
Sam Bourne does.
An author might think their name
sounds too young, or too old, for
the type of book they’re writing.
And a birth name which could be
seen as odd might detract from a
serious work. Or surnames might
lend themselves to double
entendres in a particular genre.
Teamwork
Some books are written by a duo,
or team of writers. To make it
easier for all involved, one name is
chosen to represent the team.
Early examples include Franklin W.
Dixon - several writers over time
penning the Hardy Boys books,
Carolyn Keene - a group of writers
writing the Nancy Drew mysteries,
and Ellery Queen - actually cousins
Frederic Dannay and Manfred Lee.
A current example is Nicci French
(husband and wife team Nicci
Gerard and Sean French).
Prolific output
Authors who just can’t stop writing
may choose to publish under
different names so their readers
don’t think they’re just churning
out formulaic drivel, or so their
writing doesn’t become
overexposed. For example,
Stephen King published several
books as Richard Bachman
because his publishers didn’t feel
the public would buy more than
one book a year by King.
Diversity of genres
If an author wishes to branch out
into a new genre, especially if
they’ve become well-known for
writing something else, they may
Lib News, v4 #2: May 2013-Oct 2013
http://library.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/heritage/libnews
choose to publish these new stories
under a different name. It could be
a matter of not risking their
reputation (in case the new book
flops), or it may be that they don’t
wish to upset or disappoint their
readers - loyal Stephen King horror
fans may be a bit put out to pick
up his next novel and find it’s a
soppy romance.
Shelf space
Some authors pick pseudonyms
based on where upon the
bookstore shelves their books will
be placed. A surname beginning
with ‘A’ might not always be the
best bet - you might be too high on
the shelf for people to reach. Same
for ‘Z’ - too low and people won’t
bend down. Tania Carver’s (real
name: Martyn Waites) editor
wanted a surname beginning with
‘C’ - apparently shopper’s eyes are
drawn to the top of the second
bookshelf (usually the ‘C’s).
Helpfully, the name Carver also
suited the crime/thriller genre in
which the books are published.
Regency romance author Julia
Quinn was born Julie Cotler
(married name: Pottinger). She
reportedly chose ‘Quinn’ so it would
place her books on the shelf near
those of successful romance author
Amanda Quick.
Sales & Reviews
Obviously the name on the front
cover can have a significant effect
on both reviews and sales.
When J.K. Rowling published The
Casual Vacancy, her first book post
Harry Potter, the critics were
waiting with knives poised. The
Cuckoo’s Calling, published under
LITERATURE FEATURE
the pseudonym Robert Galbraith,
attracted very good, and probably
fairer, reviews, because no-one
knew it was actually by J.K.
Rowling. E.L. James, author of the
Fifty Shades books, has stated that
she will write her next book under
a pseudonym. This is presumably
to avoid critics out to flay her next
work just because it’s different to
Fifty Shades.
Revealing an author’s secret
however, can significantly boost
sales, as has been seen with J.K.
Rowling’s The Cuckoo’s Calling.
Within hours of the news being
revealed the book shot straight to
#1 on Amazon.
Cynics may say these sorts of
reveals are done deliberately in
order to publicise the book and
boost sales. And sometimes that
may be the case. But the author is
not the only one who knows the
secret, and many people don’t
always find secrets easy things to
keep. And, just occasionally, ego
may get the better of an author!
See over page for a select list
of author pseudonyms
Peta Browne
Bundaberg Regional Libraries
Lib News, v4 #2: May 2013-Oct 2013
http://library.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/heritage/libnews
References:
Gilbertson, Matt. “Australia’s queen of
erotica - Natasha Walker, author of
the Secret Life of Emma - is actually a
man”, news.com.au, 1 Jun 2013.
Accessed: 17 Jul 2013.
Grossman, Lev. “Rewriting the
Romance”, juliaquinn.com, Accessed:
17 Jul 2013. [Originally published in
TIME, 3 Feb 2003].
Gupta, Prachi. “J.K. Rowling is mystery
writer Robert Galbraith”, salon.com,
14 Jul 2013. Accessed: 16 Jul 2013.
J.K. Rowling official website,
jkrowling.com, Accessed: 16 Jul 2013.
Klasky, Mindy. “To Have and Have Not
(A Pseudonym, That Is”,
mindyklasky.com. Accessed 16 Jul
2013. [Originally published in
Romance Writers Report magazine,
Sep 2011].
Klems, Brian A. “Why do authors use
pseudonyms?”, writersdigest.com, 29
Apr 2008. Accessed: 16 Jul 2013.
“List of pseudonyms”. Wikipedia.
Accessed 17 Jul 2013.
“Pen name”. Wikipedia. Accessed: 16
Jul 2013.
Santillano, Vicki. “Seven Famous
Female Authors Who Used Male
Psuedonyms”, divinecaroline.com.
Accessed: 17 Jul 2013.
Steger, Jason. “Is there any genre
Rowling cannot master?”,
smh.com.au, 15 Jul 2013. Accessed:
16 Jul 2013.
Youngs, Ian. “JK Rowling or Robert
Galbraith: How to pick a pen name”,
bbc.co.uk, 15 Jul 2013. Accessed: 16
Jul 2013.
Zaharoff, Howard G. “A Rose by Any
Other Name: Pros and Cons of
Pseudonyms”, mbbp.com. Accessed 16
Jul 2013. [Originally published in
Writer’s Digest, Jun 2003].
Lib News, v4 #2: May 2013-Oct 2013
http://library.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/heritage/libnews
LITERATURE FEATURE
Famous as
Also published as | Birth name | Other name/s
Stephen King
Richard Bachman
J.K. Rowling
Robert Galbraith
E.L. James
Erika Leonard
Ariana Franklin
Diana Norman
Nicci French
Nicci Gerard & Sean French
Ellery Queen
Frederic Dannay & Manfred Lee
Henry Handel Richardson
Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson
Tania Carver
Martyn Waites
Sam Bourne
Jonathan Freedland
Nora Roberts
J.D. Robb
Robin Hobb
Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, Megan Lindholm
Natasha Walker
John Purcell
Ruth Rendell
Barbara Vine
George Eliot
Mary Ann Evans
Lemony Snicket
Daniel Handler
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Agatha Christie
Mary Westmacott
Rhys Bowen
Janet Quin-Harkin
Robert Jordan
James Oliver Rigney Jr
Miles Franklin
Stella Marie Sarah Miles Franklin
Emily Rodda
Jennifer Rowe
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
Amanda Quick
Jayne Ann Krentz, Jayne Castle
Ed McBain
Evan Hunter
Dean Koontz
Aaron Wolfe, Deanna Dwyer, David Axton, etc
Alexander Kent
Douglas Reeman
Cassandra Clare
Judith Rumelt
Elizabeth Peters
Barbara Michaels
Ellis Peters
Edith Pargeter
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair
Julia Quinn
Julie Cotler Pottinger
For more pseudonyms see the websites listed in the References, and:
a.k.a: also known as - http://www.trussel.com/books/aka.htm