| 100% | ALISMITH | 8 | Author whose novel “Summer” is the final book in her Seasonal Quartet (August, 2020) |
| 40% | NEILGAIMAN | 10 | Author whose YA novel "The Graveyard Book" won the Newbery Medal in 2009: 2 wds. |
| 39% | ERNESTHEMINGWAY | 15 | Author of the book whose title is circled in the grid |
| 37% | HOFF | 4 | Harry S —, English author whose 1934 debut novel Trina was published in the US as It Happened in PRK |
| 37% | AVNIDOSHI | 9 | American writer whose debut novel, "Burnt Sugar," was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize (2 wds.) |
| 37% | BRANDONTAYLOR | 13 | American writer whose debut novel, "Real Life," was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize (2 wds.) |
| 36% | DIANECOOK | 9 | American writer whose debut novel, "The New Wilderness," was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize (2 wds.) |
| 36% | XXXXXXXXXX | 10 | Thriller author whose novels are set in Kindle County |
| 34% | JAMESMICHENER | 13 | Author of the novels whose titles are the starts of nine answers in this puzzle |
| 34% | AUSTEN | 6 | Author whose first novel was anonymously published under the byline “By a Lady” |
| 33% | STEIG | 5 | William ___, author whose eponymous book the movie "Shrek" is based on |
| 33% | ANNAMAZZOLA | 11 | Author whose novel "The Unseeing" won the 2018 Edgar Award in the Best Paperback Original category: 2 wds. |
| 33% | JESMYNWARD | 10 | Author whose novels "Salvage the Bones" and "Sing, Unburied, Sing" each won a National Book Award: 2 wds. |
| 33% | MCNEILE | 7 | H C —, author whose novels, including Mufti and Ronald Standish, were published under the name Sapper |
| 33% | JASONREYNOLDS | 13 | Author whose novel "Long Way Down" won the 2018 Edgar Award in the Best Young Adult category: 2 wds. |
| 33% | JOHNLECARRE | 11 | "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" author, whose ten books have been adapted into films: 3 wds. |
| 33% | KWAMEALEXANDER | 14 | Author whose children's book "The Crossover" won the Newbery Medal in 2015: 2 wds. |
| 33% | RYE | 3 | "The Catcher in the ___," novel whose protagonist is Holden Caulfield |
| 32% | HARDY | 5 | Author Thomas, whose novels are set in Wessex |
| 32% | ACHRISTMASCAROL | 15 | Novella whose final words are found in the circled squares |
| 32% | BMX | 3 | Vehicle to be used freestyle in the 2020 Summer Olympics |
| 32% | NIIHAU | 6 | Hawaiian island whose population was 84 in the 2020 census |
| 32% | CHARLESYU | 9 | Writer whose novel "Interior Chinatown" won the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction (2 wds.) |
| 32% | COLSON | 6 | Whitehead whose novel “The Nickel Boys” won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in May, 2020 |
| 32% | DAVEEGGERS | 10 | Author whose children's book "The Eyes and the Impossible" won the Newbery Medal in 2024: 2 wds. |
| 32% | JAYASHER | 8 | Author whose book "Thirteen Reasons Why" was adapted into a Netflix show of the same name: 2 wds. |
| 31% | WHITEHEAD | 9 | Colson whose 2021 novel "Harlem Shuffle" is represented in the circled squares |
| 31% | ERA | 3 | Legislation whose fight was depicted in the 2020 miniseries "Mrs. America" (abbr.) |
| 31% | ALLEGIANT | 9 | Final book in the Divergent trilogy |
| 31% | WHERESWALDO | 11 | Popular children's book series ... whose protagonist is "hiding" in the circled letters |