| 100% | STACEYABRAMS | 12 | Voting rights activist who writes legal thrillers such as 14-Across under her own name and romance novels under the pen name Selena Montgomery (2 wds.) |
| 36% | JOANNEROWLING | 13 | Author of the "Harry Potter" series who has written novels under the pen name Robert Galbraith: 2 wds. |
| 35% | STEPHENKING | 11 | Thriller writer who also wrote under the pen name Richard Bachman (2 wds.) |
| 34% | NORAROBERTS | 11 | Romance writer who also wrote under the pen name J.D. Robb (2 wds.) |
| 32% | KARENBLIXEN | 11 | Danish author who wrote 17-Across and 30-Across under the pen name Isak Dinesen (2 wds.) |
| 31% | RUTHRENDELL | 11 | Mystery writer who also wrote under the pen name Barbara Vine (2 wds.) |
| 28% | LEECHILD | 8 | Pen name of the British novelist who writes the Jack Reacher novel series (2 wds.) |
| 28% | BEVERLYCLEARY | 13 | Children's author who wrote the novel "Ramona and Her Mother" (2 wds.) |
| 27% | GILLIANFLYNN | 12 | Author who wrote the novels from which 17-Across and 29-/31-Across were adapted: 2 wds. |
| 27% | RUNAWAYJURY | 11 | 2003 legal thriller film starring Dustin Hoffman (birthday today) and John Cusack, based on the John Grisham novel of the same name: 2 wds. |
| 27% | SHELDONSIEGEL | 13 | Lawyer who wrote the thrillers "Final Verdict" and "Criminal Intent": 2 wds. |
| 27% | JOHNGRISHAM | 11 | Lawyer who wrote the thrillers "The Firm" and "The Pelican Brief": 2 wds. |
| 27% | MEGGARDINER | 11 | Lawyer who wrote the thrillers "China Lake" and "The Nightmare Thief": 2 wds. |
| 27% | LISASCOTTOLINE | 14 | Lawyer who wrote the thrillers "Look Again" and "Don't Go": 2 wds. |
| 27% | MIAWASIKOWSKA | 13 | Actress who played the daughter of 14- and 32-Across in "The Kids Are All Right": 2 wds. |
| 27% | JOHNLEWIS | 9 | Congressperson and civil rights activist who was awarded the 2016 27-Across (2 wds.) |
| 26% | ALICEHOFFMAN | 12 | American novelist who has written 29 novels, including "The Dovekeepers," 14-Across, and 31-Across (2 wds.) |
| 26% | DAVIDBALDACCI | 13 | Lawyer who wrote the thrillers "The Whole Truth" and "Deliver Us From Evil": 2 wds. |
| 26% | DALAILAMA | 9 | Spiritual leader and human rights activist who was awarded the 2015 27-Across (2 wds.) |
| 26% | CAITLYNJENNER | 13 | Transgender rights activist who was named Glamour Woman of the Year in 2015: 2 wds. |
| 26% | GILLIANFLYNN | 12 | Author who wrote the film adaptation of her own "Gone Girl": 2 wds. |
| 26% | LOUISBRAILLE | 12 | Blind educator who invented the touch system of reading and writing named after him: 2 wds. |
| 25% | CARRIEFISHER | 12 | Author who wrote the film adaptation of her own "Postcards From the Edge": 2 wds. |
| 25% | ANSELELGORT | 11 | "The Fault in Our Stars" actor who is also a singer and DJ who plays under the name "Ansolo": 2 wds. |
| 25% | SOPHIEKINSELLA | 14 | Author of the "Shopaholic" novels who also wrote stand-alone novels as Madeleine Wickham: 2 wds. |
| 25% | KATIEHOLMES | 11 | Actress who prefers to keep her ongoing romance with Jamie Foxx under the radar: 2 wds. |
| 25% | THEFIRM | 7 | American legal thriller film based on a John Grisham novel by the same name: 2 wds. |
| 25% | MAYAANGELOU | 11 | Civil rights icon and poet who wrote "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings": 2 wds. |
| 25% | CORMACMCCARTHY | 14 | "The Road" Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist who wrote 19-Across, 46-Across, and the 2022 novel "The Passenger" (2 wds.) |
| 25% | MARYANNEEVANS | 13 | Author of "The Mill on the Floss" who wrote under the pen name George Eliot: 3 wds. |