literary executor

noun

: a person entrusted with the management of the papers and unpublished works of a deceased author

Examples of literary executor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And though Robert Nemiroff, her ex-husband and literary executor, did make revisions later, and the creative team of this revival has made additional ones as well, a satisfactory solution has not yet been found. Jesse Green, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2023 As Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports, the collection contains around 120 drawings and more than 200 letters owned by Max Brod, a friend and fellow writer who served as Kafka’s literary executor. Isis Davis-Marks, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 June 2021 His son-in-law and literary executor, David Altshuler, confirmed the death. Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2022 Two new and heavily annotated volumes, edited by his literary executor Edward Mendelson, represent the complete poetry. Brad Leithauser, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022 Jon Shestack is producing Only Apparently Real, based in part on a biography written by Paul Williams, the one-time literary executor of Dick’s estate and friend of the author. Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 June 2022 More than thirty years ago, Hazel Holt, Pym’s close friend and literary executor, published a biography of her. Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker, 30 May 2022 Both my father’s widow, Ilana Howe, and I, the literary executor of his estate, were unaware of this earlier publication. Nina Howe, The New York Review of Books, 10 Feb. 2022 Edward Mendelson, Auden’s literary executor, has been editing the ten-volume series for over three decades; Poems will complete it. Lucy Jakub, The New York Review of Books, 4 Dec. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'literary executor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of literary executor was in 1849

Dictionary Entries Near literary executor

Cite this Entry

“Literary executor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literary%20executor. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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