What's in a name?

It has just been revealed that J K Rowling, best-selling author and creator of the Harry Potter phenomenon, has published a crime novel under another name.  ‘The Cuckoo’s calling’ was published in April of this year under the synonym Robert Galbraith. Rowling described the experience as liberating, being free from the preconceptions and unavoidable comparisons with the Harry potter series. The novel, a first venture into the crime genre for Rowling, was critically well-received, a fact which may well have been different had the author’s real identity been known – her first post-Potter novel ’The Casual Vacancy’ had mixed reviews.

Rowling is the latest in a long and illustrious line of authors writing under pen – names. Writers  often assume an alternative identity for various reasons – sometimes it is because they may be known for or in a particular profession and want the writing career to remain separate, sometimes to preserve a kind of anonymity, sometimes as writers they are producing books in different genres and want to distinguish them.

 Ruth Rendell writes what could be described as conventional detective novels under her own name and more psychological thrillers under ‘Barbara Vine . The former poet-laureate Cecil Day Lewis wrote mystery novels as Nicholas Blake, and contemporary thriller writer Nicci French is actually two people – husband and wife team Nicci Gerard and Sean French. A name change might be stipulated by a publisher for marketing reasons – sometimes, as in J K Rowlings’ case, it was thought better to conceal the author’s gender.

Historically, society did not consider writing – particularly writing novels – as a suitable activity for a woman. The real name of George Eliot, famous for ‘Middlemarch’ was actually Mary Anne Evans. And the Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Anne and Emily, were initially published under the names of three brothers- Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.                                     

Whatever the reason for choosing another name, one intention seems to be consistent – that the writing should be considered on its own merits.

Have a look at http://www.wordsworthreading.co.uk for help and advice on writing and getting published.