Fictional author  

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A fictitious author or fictional author[1] is a fictional character in a work of fiction. It can also refer to a pseudonym (as in Vernon Sullivan, the fictitious writer invented by Boris Vian).

They are not to be confused with real people who are writers of fiction.

When they are not pseudonyms, they necessarily write fictional books.

Some fictional writers are very well known because of the strength of their characterization by the real writer or the significance of their role as writer in the plot of a work. Examples of this type of fictional writer include Edward Casaubon, a fictional scholar in George Eliot's Middlemarch, and Edwin Reardon, a fictional writer in George Gissing's New Grub Street. Casaubon's efforts to complete an authoritative study affect the decisions taken by the protagonists in Eliot's novel and drive significant parts of the plot. In Gissing's work, Reardon's efforts to produce high quality writing put him in conflict with another character, who takes a more commercial approach. Robinson Crusoe is a fictional writer who was originally credited by the real writer (Daniel Defoe) as being the author of the confessional letters in the work of the same name. Bridget Jones is a comparable fictional diarist created by writer Helen Fielding. Both works became famous and popular; their protagonists and story were developed further through many adaptations, including film versions. Cyrano de Bergerac was a real writer who created a fictional character with his own name. The Sibylline books, a collection of prophecies were supposed to have been purchased from the Cumaean Sibyl by the last king of Rome. Since they were consulted during periods of crisis, it could be said that they are a case of real works created by a fictional writer.

Jorge Luis Borges commonly cites fictitious authors in his works. His Pedro Mata for example is a fictional doctor. Borges also wrote fictional writer biographies in the short stories "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" and "An Examination of the Work of Herbert Quain". The novel Nazi Literature in the Americas (1996) by Roberto BolaƱo was a continuation of this.

The Third Policeman and The Dalkey Archive by Flann O'Brien contains not only quotes from the works of a fictitious Irish philosopher named de Selby, but also has numerous footnotes and references to other fictitious authors writing about de Selby and his books.

Kilgore Trout is a fictional author who appears in the works of Kurt Vonnegut. In the fictional world of those stories Kilgore Trout has written a novel called Venus on the Half-Shell. In 1975 real-world author Phillip Jose Farmer wrote a science-fiction novel called Venus on the Half-Shell, which he published under the name Kilgore Trout.

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Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Fictional author" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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