| 100% | NIN | 3 | Novelist who wrote "I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living" |
| 35% | WILLACATHER | 11 | American novelist who wrote the Great Plains trilogy of 15-Across, "The Song of the Lark," and 45-Across (2 wds.) |
| 34% | FAYEKELLERMAN | 13 | "The Quality of Mercy" novelist who has written 27 mysteries featuring 18-Across and 40-Across (2 wds.) |
| 33% | BOB | 3 | ___ Marley, "No Woman, No Cry" singer who has different species of animals, including a crustacean and a spider, named after him |
| 32% | LOUISEGLUCK | 11 | Literature Nobelist who wrote “The great thing / is not having / a mind. Feelings: / oh, I have those; they / govern me” |
| 32% | ERICAJONG | 9 | Feminist novelist who wrote Fear of Flying |
| 32% | COIN | 4 | I have a head and a tail that will never meet. Having too many of me is always a treat. Who am I? |
| 32% | PLATH | 5 | Poet who wrote "I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am" |
| 32% | POE | 3 | Who wrote "I dwelt alone / In a world of moan, / And my soul was a stagnant tide" |
| 31% | KAHN | 4 | Gus who wrote "Dream a Little Dream of Me" |
| 31% | OLSEN | 5 | Novelist Tillie who wrote "Tell Me a Riddle" |
| 30% | ANA | 3 | Novelist Huang who writes the "Twisted" and "Kings of Sin" romance series |
| 30% | BRIANJACQUES | 12 | British novelist who wrote the "Redwall" and "Castaways of the Flying Dutchman" series (2 wds.) |
| 30% | EDNAOBRIEN | 10 | Irish novelist who wrote "The Country Girls," "House of Splendid Isolation," and "Girls" (2 wds.) |
| 30% | CALEB | 5 | With 48-Across, novelist who wrote 40-Across and "The Angel of Darkness" |
| 30% | ABEL | 4 | Son of Adam and Eve who had no children |
| 30% | NUN | 3 | Woman who lives a life of prayer and contemplation |
| 30% | SHERMANALEXIE | 13 | Native American novelist who wrote 2007's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian": 2 wds. |
| 30% | FAULKNER | 8 | Novelist William who wrote "The Sound and the Fury" and "As I Lay Dying" |
| 29% | RUSSELLBRAND | 12 | Comedian and voice actor in "Despicable Me" who has his own podcast, ''Under the Skin'' which is a mix of intellectual interrogations: 2 wds. |
| 29% | ALEC | 4 | Guinness who wrote “My Name Escapes Me: The Diary of a Retiring Actor” |
| 29% | CONROY | 6 | Pat who wrote "The Prince of Tides" and "The Great Santini" |
| 29% | LIAMPAYNE | 9 | One Direction singer who has a fear of spoons: 2 wds. |
| 29% | ASHE | 4 | Tennis great Arthur who wrote a history of African-American athletes |
| 29% | VEST | 4 | Subject of a Mitch Hedberg joke that ends, "If I had no arms, it would be a jacket." |
| 29% | MERCURY | 7 | "I am a god, planet, and a measure of temperature. Who am I?" |
| 29% | PAUL | 4 | Apostle who wrote "Ye see how large a letter I have written" |
| 29% | DALAI LAMA | 10 | Spiritual leader who wrote "The Joy of Living and Dying in Peace" |
| 29% | ANNE | 4 | ___ Bronte, novelist and poet who wrote under the pseudonym of Acton Bell |
| 29% | HAUS | 4 | I may be made of sand and limestone and often have asphalt roof tiles. Who am I in Germany? |