| 100% | HARUKI | 6 | ___ Murakami, "Norwegian Wood" author who briefly was an online literary agony uncle with the site "Mr. Murakami's Place" |
| 28% | CLAUDIARANKINE | 14 | "Citizen: An American Lyric" writer who was honored with the 2014 Lannan Literary Award for Poetry (2 wds.) |
| 26% | STEVE | 5 | "Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life" author who was honored with an Academy Award in 2013 |
| 26% | ROARK | 5 | Ayn Rand's fictional character Howard ___ who was the author's vision of an ideal human |
| 25% | STEPHEN | 7 | With 34-Across, "A Brief History of Time" author who is an atheist |
| 25% | BIRD | 4 | Larry who was an NBA All-Star 12 times with the Boston Celtics |
| 24% | EMILY | 5 | With 32-Across, "Into the Woods" actress who became an American citizen in 2015 |
| 24% | SAKI | 4 | Author who famously ended a short story with the line "Romance at short notice was her specialty" |
| 24% | LIN | 3 | Jeremy who is the only Taiwanese American with an NBA championship title |
| 24% | ATWOOD | 6 | Margaret ___, "The Handmaid's Tale" author who collaborated with Naomi Alderman on a serialized zombie novel online |
| 23% | MARK | 4 | ___ Twain, famous author who was friends with the scientist Nikola Tesla and often spent time in his lab |
| 23% | ACE | 3 | "___ is the place with the helpful hardware folks" (retailer's jingle) |
| 23% | ENO | 3 | Musician who is credited with popularizing the concept of the recording studio as an instrument |
| 23% | PINK | 4 | Singer who stylizes her name with an exclamation mark in place of the second letter |
| 23% | EYRE | 4 | Literary Jane who says "No net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will" |
| 22% | ITSAMADMADMADMADWORLD | 21 | 1963 movie with the tagline "Everybody who's ever been funny is in it!" |
| 22% | JULES | 5 | With 141-Down, author whose work is the basis of this puzzle's theme |
| 22% | JAMESBALDWIN | 12 | "Go Tell It on the Mountain" author who was an inaugural honoree on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor: 2 wds. |
| 22% | VIKTORHOVLAND | 13 | Norwegian golfer who tied with American golfer Scottie Scheffler for second place at the 2023 PGA championship (2 wds.) |
| 22% | MARK | 4 | ___ Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks staged a heated fight with a referee who was actually an actor |
| 22% | ELF | 3 | Cosmetics brand whose name is an acronym for the places it’s used |
| 22% | CHARLEYPRIDE | 12 | "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" singer who was honored with the 1972 Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance (2 wds.) |
| 22% | ANNERICE | 8 | Author who wrote Interview with the Vampire |
| 22% | UPTON | 5 | ___ brothers, America's famous baseball siblings who were teammates with the Braves and Padres |
| 22% | FRASIER | 7 | Titular sitcom character who says, about an enemy, "Charm is the vicious grease with which he oils his flim-flam machine" |
| 22% | BOBMARLEY | 9 | Reggae legend who was honored with the Ben & Jerry's flavor One Love: 2 wds. |
| 21% | BERT | 4 | Ernie's muppet buddy from "Sesame Street," who is associated with the color at 42a |
| 21% | KENNY | 5 | With 36-Across, Rockets great who's an analyst for "Inside the NBA" |
| 21% | COLIN | 5 | ___ Powell, retired general in the U. S. Army who was honored with his second Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993 |
| 21% | RAND | 4 | Author who posed the question “Who is John Galt?” |