| 100% | LENNON | 6 | John —, musician; author of 1965 volume A Spaniard in the Works |
| 71% | LENNON | 6 | John —, musician whose written works include 1965 volume A Spaniard in the Works |
| 41% | BOBDYLAN | 8 | Famous US musician author of "Blowin' in the Wind" |
| 39% | ENGELS | 6 | Author of "The Condition of the Working Class in England," 1845 |
| 39% | OPERATIC | 8 | In the style of a work by Bizet, such as Carmen |
| 39% | BYRONIC | 7 | Like moody Romantic heroes, as first described in the works of a British lord |
| 39% | WOLFE | 5 | Author of the 1968 work named in the circled letters (reading clockwise) |
| 39% | MIDNIGHTHOUR | 12 | Time in the title of a 1965 Wilson Pickett hit |
| 37% | PROOF | 5 | Measure of the volume of ethanol in a liquid |
| 37% | ONDAATJE | 8 | Michael —, author of novels Anil’s Ghost and In the Skin of a Lion |
| 37% | CARLVON | 7 | & 6D Prussian general; author of the unfinished On War, a work on military strategy |
| 37% | ADAMS | 5 | John —, composer of the operas A Flowering Tree and Nixon in China |
| 37% | LEWYCKA | 7 | Marina —, author of the novels Two Caravans and A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian |
| 36% | FLAMING | 7 | Like the “Creatures” in a landmark work of underground queer cinema |
| 36% | NIN | 3 | "A Spy in the House of Love" author |
| 36% | AGEE | 4 | Author of "A Death in the Family" |
| 36% | LEWIS | 5 | ___ Carroll, author of "Alice in Wonderland" who also worked as a math professor at Oxford University |
| 36% | AUREOLE | 7 | Radiance around the head of a holy person in works of art |
| 36% | GAY | 3 | John —, author of 1728 stage work The Beggar's Opera |
| 36% | JOHNLECARRE | 11 | Author of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" who cameoed as a party guest in the 2011 film adaptation: 3 wds. |
| 36% | FAERIES | 7 | Creatures of which Gloriana is the “Queene,” in a work by Edmund Spenser |
| 35% | RIORDAN | 7 | Maurice —, author of poetry volumes Floods and A Word from the Loki |
| 35% | ERICHKASTNER | 12 | Author of "Lottie and Lisa" which inspired 29a and a Walt Disney movie of the same name in 1961: 2 wds. |
| 35% | CANDLE | 6 | "___ in the Wind 1997," charity single by Elton John that was rewritten as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales |
| 35% | KEBLE | 5 | John —, a leader of the Oxford Movement and author of 1827 volume of poetry The Christian Year |
| 35% | TSO | 3 | Oldest pro musical ensemble in the Southwest, target of a musicians' walkout in 1950 over lack of pay (abbr.) |
| 35% | GREEN | 5 | Author John of "The Fault in Our Stars" |
| 35% | TOAUTUMN | 8 | The final work in John Keats's "1819 odes", composed after a walk near Winchester : 2 wds. |