| 100% | OTRANTO | 7 | "The Castle of ___," novel by Horace Walpole that is considered a seminal work for gothic fiction |
| 54% | HOWL | 4 | Poem by Allen Ginsberg that is considered a seminal work for the Beat Generation |
| 46% | WALDEN | 6 | Book by Henry David Thoreau that is considered a seminal work for transcendentalism |
| 45% | LAND | 4 | "The Waste ___," poem by T.S. Eliot that is considered a seminal work for modernist poetry |
| 42% | CASTLE | 6 | Gothic novel by Horace Walpole: The __ of Otranto |
| 39% | MIDDLEMARCH | 11 | Sixth novel by George Eliot (birthday yesterday) which was written in two pieces that holds a lot of historical value and is considered to be her best work |
| 39% | SCARLET | 7 | "The ___ Letter," historical fiction novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne that was an inspiration for the film "Easy A" |
| 38% | OTRANTO | 7 | Italian city that is the title setting of a Walpole novel |
| 38% | WRATH | 5 | "The Grapes of ___," novel by John Steinbeck, set in the Great Depression, that was a major reason for him winning the Nobel Prize |
| 37% | STATEOFWONDER | 13 | 2011 novel by 28-Across that was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction (3 wds.) |
| 37% | KILLINGFLOOR | 12 | Debut novel by 25-Across that was the basis for the first season of "Reacher" (2 wds.) |
| 36% | EPIC | 4 | “The novel is the ___ of a world that has been abandoned by God”: György Lukács |
| 35% | SHIPS | 5 | "A Thousand ___," novel by Natalie Haynes that is a retelling of the Trojan War |
| 35% | CASTLE | 6 | "The ___ of Otranto," gothic novel by Horace Walpole which tells the story of Manfred and his family |
| 34% | ILLWAITFORYOU | 13 | A song by Frankie Avalon that is considered one of his greatest songs ever, released with the A-side "What Little Girl": 4 wds. |
| 34% | LIST | 4 | "The Guest ___," 2020 novel by Lucy Foley that is a murder mystery set against the backdrop of a wedding |
| 34% | ROAR | 4 | Hit song by Katy Perry that was nominated for a Grammy for Song of the Year in 2014 |
| 34% | FIREWORK | 8 | Hit song by Katy Perry that was nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year in 2012 |
| 34% | THOUSAND | 8 | "A ___ Ships," 2019 novel by Natalie Haynes that is a modern retelling of the Trojan War mythology |
| 34% | CERES | 5 | Body in our solar system that was considered a planet in the first half of the 19th century |
| 33% | WHITEBAIT | 9 | A collective term for the immature fry of fish that are considered delicacies |
| 33% | LADYMARMALADE | 13 | A popular song that was covered by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink for the soundtrack of "Moulin Rouge!": 2 wds. |
| 33% | PALAU | 5 | Micronesian island that was the setting for a season of "Survivor" |
| 33% | POSTCARDS | 9 | Novel by 29-Across that won the 1992 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction |
| 33% | THEOVERSTORY | 12 | Novel by 30-Across that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2 wds.) |
| 33% | AFRICA | 6 | Continent with Nigeria that is the subject of a song by Toto |
| 33% | DOMBEYANDSON | 12 | Novel by Charles Dickens that deals with the story of a shipping firm owner who is frustrated at not having a son to take care of the business: 3 wds. |
| 32% | ROOM | 4 | "The Locked ___," 1986 novel by Paul Auster that is a part of his New York trilogy |
| 32% | LESS | 4 | 2018 novel by Andrew Sean Greer that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction |
| 32% | OTHER | 5 | "Of Love and ___ Demons," 1994 novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez that tells the story of a 12 year old girl who is bitten by a dog |