| 100% | LOUISEERDRICH | 13 | Native American novelist who wrote 18-Across, 44-Across, and 2020's "The Night Watchman" (2 wds.) |
| 72% | LOUISEERDRICH | 13 | Native American novelist who wrote 15-Across, 29-Across, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Night Watchman" (2 wds.) |
| 55% | LEIGHBARDUGO | 12 | American novelist who wrote 17-Across, 40-Across, and the "Shadow and Bone" trilogy (2 wds.) |
| 54% | LOUISEERDRICH | 13 | Native American novelist who wrote 2012's "The Round House": 2 wds. |
| 52% | DONDELILLO | 10 | American novelist who wrote "Mao II," 18-Across, 25-Across, and 34-Across (2 wds.) |
| 52% | SHERMANALEXIE | 13 | Native American novelist who wrote 2007's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian": 2 wds. |
| 50% | WILLACATHER | 11 | American novelist who wrote the Great Plains trilogy of 15-Across, "The Song of the Lark," and 45-Across (2 wds.) |
| 48% | JEFFERYDEAVER | 13 | "The Bone Collector" mystery novelist who created 18-Across and 44-Across (2 wds.) |
| 47% | RUDYARDKIPLING | 14 | English author who wrote the children's literature at 18- and 41-Across: 2 wds. |
| 47% | ALICEHOFFMAN | 12 | American novelist who has written 29 novels, including "The Dovekeepers," 14-Across, and 31-Across (2 wds.) |
| 46% | DANIELLESTEEL | 13 | American author who wrote "A Perfect Life" and is currently the bestselling author alive: 2 wds. |
| 46% | DAVIDMITCHELL | 13 | English novelist who wrote "Cloud Atlas," "The Bone Clocks," and 18-Across (2 wds.) |
| 45% | CORMACMCCARTHY | 14 | "The Road" Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist who wrote 19-Across, 46-Across, and the 2022 novel "The Passenger" (2 wds.) |
| 45% | LARRYMCMURTRY | 13 | 18-Across, 44-Across, and "The Last Picture Show" novelist/screenwriter who lived his whole life in the small Texas town of Archer City (1936-2021) (2 wds.) |
| 44% | JOHNSTEINBECK | 13 | Nobel Prize-winning writer born February 27, 1902, who wrote 18-Across and 44-Across (2 wds.) |
| 44% | NSCOTTMOMADAY | 13 | Native American novelist who wrote 1968's "House Made of Dawn": 3 wds. |
| 44% | STEPHENCOLBERT | 14 | American late night show host who wrote the book "I Am America (And So Can You!)": 2 wds. |
| 44% | ANGIETHOMAS | 11 | Novelist who wrote the Y.A. bestsellers 17-Across and 29-Across (2 wds.) |
| 44% | NEILGAIMAN | 10 | Fantasy novelist who wrote "American Gods" and "The Graveyard Book": 2 wds. |
| 44% | FAYEKELLERMAN | 13 | "The Quality of Mercy" novelist who has written 27 mysteries featuring 18-Across and 40-Across (2 wds.) |
| 43% | IGASWIATEK | 10 | Polish tennis player who won the women's singles championship at the 44-Across in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024 (2 wds.) |
| 42% | KAZUOISHIGURO | 13 | British novelist who wrote 19-Across and 31-Across and was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature (2 wds.) |
| 42% | STEPHENKING | 11 | Novelist who wrote "The Shining" and 37-Across (2 wds.) |
| 42% | RUTHWARE | 8 | British novelist who wrote the bestsellers "The Woman in Cabin 10," 15-Across, and 29-Across (2 wds.) |
| 42% | TONIMORRISON | 12 | 18-Across and 32-Across novelist who won the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature (2 wds.) |
| 41% | SIDNEYSHELDON | 13 | American author who wrote "If Tomorrow Comes", and won an Academy Award for "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer": 2 wds. |
| 41% | JASONREYNOLDS | 13 | National Ambassador for Young People's Literature who wrote 18-Across and 39-Across (2 wds.) |
| 41% | SHONDARHIMES | 12 | 18-Across creator who wrote the episode in which 32-Across died: 2 wds |
| 41% | EMILYHENRY | 10 | 18-Across, 26-Across, and 35-Across novelist who won the 2021, 2022, and 2023 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance (2 wds.) |
| 41% | DAVIDGRANN | 10 | American journalist who wrote "Killers of the Flower Moon," "The Wager," and the works that inspired 16-Across and 32-Across (2 wds.) |