Who Wrote That? The Slightly Complex World of Being Several Authors at Once

By David Salariya (also known as David Stewart, Max Marlborough, and the invisible hand behind Margo Channing’s sticker and early learning empire)

A Confession (Of Sorts)

Let me begin with a small confession.

I suffer from a mild, entirely manageable, and unexpectedly productive condition. It is called Multiple Author Syndrome.

This rare affliction tending to affect those of us with a fondness for strong whisky, a sturdy sketchbook, and an active imagination fuelled by a rotating cast of professional alter egos. The symptoms? You find your name - well, names - scattered across publishing databases like literary confetti.

One Writer, Many Hats

If you have ever typed David Stewart into a library catalogue and ended up knee-deep in ancient Egyptian burial rites, the sweat-soaked spectacles of Roman gladiators, or the final hours of the Titanic, Frankenstein's Secret Journal, that was me.

If you once stumbled across an art instruction book by Max Marlborough, perhaps exploring the bold stylings of manga or inviting you to draw the alphabet with a sense of flair, that was me too.

And if your child has triumphantly stuck 250 miniature flags onto furniture or a world map, cheered on by the glamorous cover-name Margo Channing (lifted straight from "All About Eve', then yes, I must admit - it was also me too...

Making a Career of Not Being Myself

You might say I’ve made something of a career out of not being entirely myself. And strangely, it has suited me.

Why? Because publishing is a strange world. One day you are producing a serious historical book for schools. The next, you are inventing a character who sings while vacuuming. Different audiences, different tones, different covers - each requiring a shift in voice, tone, and (occasionally) gender.

Sometimes publishers prefer it that way. A new name, a new look, a neat little division between series. It is not smoke and mirrors - it is costume and character. And I have always loved the idea of a motley crew of authors and artists producing different lkinds of books, and conversely loath the idea of labelling.

The Unseen Author

There is also a certain liberation in stepping to one side. Letting the work speak. Watching a book travel out into the world without fuss or explanation... It is not always about applause. Sometimes, it is about the quiet pleasure of knowing you pulled something off without being spotted.

Of course, the downside is occasionally being the ghost in your own catalogue of work. Books you worked on, created and designed slip into the world under a borrowed name, while your actual name dozes politely in the metadata. But then again, I was always more interested in the work and the readers.

So, Who Wrote That?

Chances are, if you enjoyed something strange, funny, educational, or drawn - something that whispered “try this” or “learn that” - then one of me probably had something to do with it.

And if you are a young writer, illustrator, or publisher wondering whether you are allowed to be many things at once, I have one simple answer.

Yes. You are. And in today’s world, you may need to be.

Ah, the pen name. The literary wig.

The author’s secret identity. The “I swear, that wasn’t me” escape hatch when a book flops spectacularly.

Writers have been hiding behind pseudonyms for centuries, for reasons ranging from pure survival (hello, 19th-century female authors trying to be taken seriously) to reinvention (hello, Stephen King pretending to be “Richard Bachman” just to see if people still liked him).

I should know - I’ve used several myself.

Would I do it again in today’s digital age? Hmm.

Let’s discuss

Why Bother With a Pen Name?

The short answer? Branding. The long answer? Confusion, secrecy, reinvention, tax evasion (just kidding, or am I?), and the occasional need to escape your own career.

Take one author - me for example...

My full name is David Stewart Salariya, but over the years, I’ve gone by: David Salariya (Classic. The default. Safe.) David Stewart (The middle-name-only phase - mysterious, no?) Max Marlborough (Sounds rakish, wears a velvet smoking jacket, drinks whisky, sitting in a leather armchair. Used it anyway named after Marlborough Place.)

Each one served a purpose. Running The Salariya Book Company meant wearing multiple hats - concept creator, designer, art director, publisher, and, oh and yes, actual author.

So why do authors use pen names and sometimes live to regret It.

Pen names helped keep those roles from colliding like a disaster multi-car pile-up hitting a petrol tanker.

And I’m not alone. J.K. Rowling created Robert Galbraith to escape Harry Potter’s shadow (though let’s be honest, that shadow is the size of the moon). The Brontës became Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell because 19th-century publishers thought a woman writing books was as outrageous as a cow playing the violin. And Lewis Carroll? He just didn’t want his Oxford students bringing Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland into maths lectures and refused any mail addressed to Lewis Carroll, certainly regretting he'd ever written Alice.

When a Pen Name is More Than Just a Name

Sometimes, a pseudonym is about survival.

Molière (real name: Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) didn’t want to embarrass his family by becoming a playwright. George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) had to disguise her gender to be taken seriously.Saki (H.H. Munro) wrote biting satire so he could dodge legal trouble.

And then there’s Daniel Defoe, who reportedly had 190+ pseudonyms - which either means he was incredibly prolific or in serious debt.

In this day and age, Elena Ferrante has gone all-in on anonymity, refusing to reveal her real name. Either she’s a genius or an extreme introvert who just wants to write in peace.

The Pen Name Problem in the Digital Age

Some writers use a pen name to escape their past selves - or at least their publishers' expectations.

Samuel Clemens became Mark Twain and never looked back. Isaac Asimov tried “Paul French” for some of his sci-fi (though let's be honest, Asimov is already a great name). Stephen King wrote as Richard Bachman to see if he could succeed without his famous name.

(Spoiler: He could.)

This reinvention trick is particularly useful if your first books tanked. Because nothing says “fresh start” like pretending you’re someone else entirely.

Anonymity and Privacy

Once upon a time, it was easy to have a secret identity. You wrote under a different name, your publisher covered for you, and readers were none the wiser.

Now? Good luck.

Social media means secrets don’t stay secret. One tweet and boom—your pen name is outed. Just ask Robert Galbraith. AI-generated content is flooding the market with pseudonymous junk. Readers are craving real, human authors more than ever. Publishers are moving toward authenticity. Readers want to know the person behind the book -especially in non-fiction, where credibility matters.

These days, if you’re using a pen name, you better be prepared to double down on the act—or watch it collapse under a well-placed Google search.

Would I Use a Pen Name Today?

Honestly? Probably not.

The advantages (privacy, reinvention, genre-hopping) aren’t as strong anymore. Marketing is easier when readers know who you are.

Publishers want transparency, not mystery. Children's non-fiction books need biographies so that the librarians, teachers and fledgling readers know that they can trust the books are well researched, authoritative and fact checked...and not written by the internee on a slack Thursday...be wary of non-fiction without biographies.

That being said… if you see a book pop up by James Buckminster III, don’t ask too many questions...or the indomitable Margo Channing.

Authors Using Pen Names

Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) United Kingdom
George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) United Kingdom
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) United States
Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) United States
J.K. Rowling (Robert Galbraith) United Kingdom
Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) France
George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair) United Kingdom
Pablo Neruda (Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto) Chile
Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle) France
Isaac Asimov (Paul French) United States (used this pen name for some of his science fiction works)
Anne Rice (Howard Allen Frances O'Brien) United States
Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) United States
Ellis Bell, Acton Bell, Currer Bell (Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë, Charlotte Brontë) United Kingdom
Elena Ferrante (Real identity undisclosed) Italy
Fernando Pessoa (Multiple heteronyms) Portugal
Sidney Sheldon (Sidney Schechtel) United States
James Tiptree Jr. (Alice Bradley Sheldon) United States
Murasaki Shikibu (Real name unknown) Japan
Saki (H.H. Munro) United Kingdom
J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) United States
Stephen King (as Richard Bachman): To test if his success was due to talent or branding.
Agatha Christie (as Mary Westmacott): For her romantic novels.
C.S. Lewis (as Clive Hamilton): For his poetry.
Louisa May Alcott (as A.M. Barnard): For her thrillers.

Artists Known by One Name

Michelangelo (Michelangelo Buonarroti) Italy
Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino) Italy
Rembrandt (Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn) Netherlands
Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) Italy
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) Greece/Spain
Banksy (Real identity undisclosed) England
Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi) Italy
Kehinde Wiley United States (Though known by his full name, he is often referred to simply as "Kehinde" in discussions of his work)
Hokusai (Katsushika Hokusai) Japan
Warhol (Andy Warhol, though commonly referred to just by his last name) - United States

The advent of AI-generated content poses another challenge. Dubbed "AI slop," low-quality machine-generated content is flooding the internet, making human creativity more critical than ever. Readers increasingly value authentic, human-written narratives. For publishers, this underscores the importance of crediting real people behind the books they publish.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/01/01/why-the-internet-is-filling-up-with-nonsense-ai-slop/

Final Thoughts: Pen Names Are Cool, But…

They let authors experiment without fear of judgment. They can separate careers or genres. They add a bit of literary mystery.

BUT—

In an AI-infested, social media-driven world, your identity will probably be uncovered in five minutes. Readers love authenticity. You might end up regretting not taking credit for your own work.

The bottom line? If you’re using a pen name today, it better be for a damn good reason.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to check if ‘Max Marlborough’ is available on Instagram.

Books by David Salariya

Written as David Stewart

You Wouldn't Want To… Series

Be an Egyptian Mummy

Sail on the Titanic!

Explore with Sir Francis Drake!

Be Tutankhamun!

Be a Roman Soldier!

How Would You Survive? Series

As a Bee

As a Polar Bear

As a Lion

As a Killer Whale

Your Guide to a New Life in Ancient Rome
WOE What on Earth Series

Sharks

Dinosaurs

Black & White Series

The Ocean

Pets

Written as Max Marlborough

Learning to Draw & Drawing to Learn (illustrated by Mark Bergin)
The Art of Drawing Manga Series

Girls and Boys

Action and Movement

Heroes and Villains

Drawing the Ancient Greeks
Drawing the Ancient Egyptians
Drawing the Vikings
Drawing the Ancient Romans

Written as David Salariya

Vikings and Their Travels
All About Me! A Baby’s Guide to Babies
I Am Small! A Baby’s Guide to What Babies Need to Know
On the Go! A Baby’s Guide to Getting on the Move
Tyrone the Clean-o-Saurus
What Lola Wants—Lola Gets

Pen names have long offered authors a way to navigate the complexities of identity, genre, and privacy. While they remain a valuable tool for some, the modern emphasis on authenticity is reshaping their role in the creative industry. As we continue to champion human creativity in an age of AI, highlighting the individuals behind the works we cherish feels more important than ever.

“pen names,” “nom de plume,” “famous authors,” “writing identity,” “creative pseudonyms,” and “publishing industry.”