literary executor

noun

Definition of literary executor

: a person entrusted with the management of the papers and unpublished works of a deceased author

Recent Examples of literary executor from the Web

Nor does the Lady Macbeth of Williams’s life, his literary executor Maria Britneva, who both tried to marry Laughlin and terrorized him through her control of the Williams copyrights.

— ethan mordden, WSJ, "‘The Luck of Friendship’ Review: Dear Playwright, Dear Publisher," 9 Mar. 2018
Lanzmann’s decision to sell the letters from his former lover was impelled by a conflict with de Beauvoir’s adopted daughter, Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir, who is the philosopher’s literary executor.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Why a Collection of Simone de Beauvoir’s Love Letters Were Just Sold to Yale," 24 Jan. 2018
Wanted: an up-and-coming poet to serve as her heir and literary executor.

— sheri linden, latimes.com, "'Maya Dardel' succumbs to the pretentiousness it aims to subvert," 2 Nov. 2017
To be sure, people who leave copies of their own letters with literary executors permit them to make the letters available to biographers.

— kwame anthony appiah, New York Times, "Should I Reveal That My Dad Pretended to Be a Vietnam Vet?," 25 Oct. 2017
Kafka named his friend literary executor, asking Brod to burn all of his writing after his death.

— colin dickey, Slate Magazine, "Red Pens and Invisible Ink," 15 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'literary executor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.