literary executor

American  

noun

1. a person entrusted with the publishable works and other papers of a deceased author.

---

Etymology

Origin of literary executor

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

This pursuit of this truth makes him not only a liberating literary executor but also a worthy moral educator.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

“Through her illness she had me bring her notebooks to the hospital as thoughts and words came to her,” said her friend and literary executor Michael Faucette.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 1, 2024

Strange as it seems, Griswold was also Poe's literary executor, and he expanded the obituary into a biographical essay that accompanied Poe's collected works.

From Salon • Jan. 21, 2023

Along the way, I became very friendly with Merrilee Heifetz, Butler’s literary executor and her lifelong agent.

From New York Times • Dec. 26, 2022

And then, to the surprise of a lot of people, he became Poe’s literary executor, which meant he had access to all of Poe’s papers.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman