1 literary executor | Definition of literary executor

literary executor

noun

Definition of literary executor

: a person entrusted with the management of the papers and unpublished works of a deceased author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

Hoffe’s mother, Esther Hoffe, had been the secretary to Max Brod, a prolific German-speaking Czech writer who was Kafka’s closest friend and appointed literary executor. Washington Post, "Israel unveils Franz Kafka’s papers after a legal battle that was, well, Kafkaesque," 9 Aug. 2019 Paul Wilson’s translation of Bohumil Hrabal’s early stories, Mr. Kafka and Other Tales from the Time of the Cult, is published this month. (November 2015) Blair Worden is Hugh Trevor-Roper’s literary executor. The New York Review of Books, "Contents," 9 Jan. 2014 His death was announced by Wendy Strothman, Mr. Hall’s literary executor. David Mehegan And Joseph P. Kahn, BostonGlobe.com, "Donald Hall, former US poet laureate known for his ties to New Hampshire, dies at 89," 24 June 2018 His literary executor, Wendy Strothman, confirmed the death but did not give a cause. Harrison Smith, Washington Post, "Donald Hall, former U.S. poet laureate who wrote of nature and loss, dies at 89," 24 June 2018 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

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.

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First Known Use of literary executor

1849, in the meaning defined above

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