penname
Writer's assumed identity
A pen name is a fictitious name used by a writer instead of their real name.
Authors adopt pen names for various reasons—privacy, gender concealment, genre separation, or simply a more memorable identity: She published romance novels under a pen name.
Also spelled as two words: pen name.
Adopted false name
- monikerInformal designation for someone
- sobriquetDescriptive informal name
- handlePart for gripping
- bylineArticle author identification
incognito · anonymity · disguise · mask · veil · cover · front · cloak
Creator of texts
- novelistWriter of prose narratives
- essayistAuthor of short prose
- poetWriter of verse
- ghostwriterUncredited hired author
columnist · blogger · satirist · diarist · memoirist · scribe · wordsmith · storyteller
Unknown identity state
- privacyFreedom from observation
- protectionGuarding against harm
- concealmentAct of hiding something
- separationState of being apart
discretion · freedom · reinvention · experimentation · subversion · defiance · dissent
Article author identification
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
- publicationIssued written material
- attributionAssigning origin or cause
- authorshipOrigin of written work
credited · unattributed · published · prolific · oeuvre · bibliography · debut · serialized
alias
Adopted false name
byline · incognito · anonymity · disguise · mask · veil · cover · front · cloak · persona
writer
Creator of texts
ghostwriter · columnist · blogger · satirist · diarist · memoirist · scribe · wordsmith · storyteller · biographer
anonymity
Unknown identity state
- privacyFreedom from observation
- protectionGuarding against harm
- concealmentAct of hiding something
separation · discretion · freedom · reinvention · experimentation · subversion · defiance · dissent
byline
Article author identification
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
- publicationIssued written material
- attributionAssigning origin or cause
authorship · credited · unattributed · published · prolific · oeuvre · bibliography · debut · serialized
pennamereal name
Actual given identity
true name · legal name · birth name · given name · proper name