While the name Stephen King immediately conjures up images of dark undercurrents in the state of Maine, mention Richard Bachman to a horror fan and they're likely to be left scratching their heads. However, the two are the same person.
Likewise, Agatha Christie remains one of the most famous murder-mystery writers in the world, but her lesser known nom de plume, Mary Westmacott, was just as critically acclaimed.
From JK Rowling’s male literary alter ego to C S Lewis’s poet name, here are eight authors who publish under pseudonyms.
JK Rowling / Robert Galbraith
The Harry Potter author is no stranger to having to tinker with her name to find success.
Although the British writer’s actual name is Joanne Rowling, she was advised by her publisher that young boys wouldn’t read the Potter series if they thought it was written by a woman. The initial K stands for Kathleen, her grandmother’s name.
She later went on to publish adult books under the nom de plume Robert Galbraith, including The Cuckoo’s Calling, the first in the series of the Cormorant Strike detective novels, and its latest instalment The Ink Black Heart.
“I chose Robert because it is one of my favourite men's names, because Robert F Kennedy is my hero and because, mercifully, I hadn't used it for any of the characters in the Potter series or The Casual Vacancy,” Rowling said.
Stephen King / Richard Bachman
When the “King of horror” first started out, his publishers limited the American author to one book a year. However, King was much more prolific, convincing his publisher to let him release more books under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, named after one of his favourite bands, Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
Under the Bachman brand, King published seven books including 1977’s Rage and 1982’s The Running Man.
The pseudonym was exposed by Steve Brown, a bookstore clerk in Washington, DC who had noticed similarities between Bachman and King’s works. The prolific author would later dedicate his 1989 novel The Dark Half, about a pseudonym turning on the writer who created them, to “The deceased Richard Bachman”.
Isaac Asimov / Paul French
The celebrated Russian-born American science fiction author, Isaac Asimov, also turned to a pen name to try his hand at a different genre.
The talent behind I, Robot and The Caves of Steel was asked to write a sci-fi novel for children which would then be made into a television show. Fearful that the show wouldn’t be good, Asimov wrote Lucky Starr under the name Paul French and went on to pen six novels in the series under the pseudonym.
Agatha Christie / Mary Westmacott
As murder mystery authors go, they don’t come more famous or more prolific than Christie.
The English author wrote 66 detective novels — introducing the world to Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple — and 14 short story collections, as well as the world’s longest-running play, The Mousetrap.
Christie also produced six novels as her alter ego Mary Westmacott, which included 1934’s Unfinished Portrait and The Burden in 1956.
The most-translated individual author said she used a pseudonym to explore “her most private and precious imaginative garden”.
Dean Koontz / Brian Coffey
To date, US author Dean Koontz has sold over 450 million copies of his 105 novels. Working in the suspense thriller genre, he has also moved into horror, sci-fi and mystery.
One of the busiest writers in the world, through the 1970s, Koontz was writing up to eight books a year, leading his publishers to worry he was saturating the market and his brand.
He began using aliases so he could publish a lot more books, with 10 names known to the public, including Deanna Dwyer, Owen West, Aaron Wolfe and David Axton.
Michael Crichton / Michael Douglas
Many books by the celebrated author of Jurassic Park and The Lost World were turned into blockbuster films.
Having started writing novels when he was still at Harvard Medical School, the Chicago-born author worked under the pseudonym John Lange, publishing his first novel Odds On as Lange in 1966. He later claimed he used an alias because he was going to become a doctor and felt his patients would worry they might turn up in his novels.
As well as Lange, he also wrote under the pen name Jeffrey Hudson, using his own name for the first time for 1969’s The Andromeda Strain.
Crichton published the thriller Dealing, which he co-wrote with his brother, under the name Michael Douglas.
CS Lewis / Clive Hamilton
The British author of The Chronicles of Narnia also wrote under two other pen names, Clive Hamilton and NW Clerk.
The Belfast-born writer published as Hamilton when he first began writing, releasing several books of poetry under the pseudonym, including Spirits in Bondage when he was only 20. However, when his career as a poet failed to find an audience, he switched to his real initials CS — for Clive Staples — to become a novelist.
He would later pen a tribute to his late wife, A Grief Observed, under the nom de plume NW Clerk, which wasn’t revealed until his death in 1963.
Sophie Kinsella / Madeleine Wickham
The popular women’s fiction writer who penned the Confessions of a Shopaholic series has sold over 40 million books. Starting out in her career, she wrote her first book, The Tennis Party, at the age of 24 under her real name Madeleine Wickham.
Going on to write six books as Wickham, she later began writing under the pen name Sophie Kinsella — her middle name and her mother’s maiden name.
The English author revealed she was both Wickham and Kinsella when she released her 2003 novel Can You Keep a Secret?
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
THREE
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL
Al Nasr 2
(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)
Shabab Al Ahli 1
(Jaber 13)
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
PREMIER LEAGUE STATS
Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring statistics in the Premier League
Season/club/appearances (substitute)/goals
2011/12 Chelsea: 8(7) - 0
2012/13 West Brom (loan): 35(15) - 17
2013/14 Chelsea: 2(2) - 0
2013/14 Everton (loan): 31(2) - 15
2014/15 Everton: 36(4) - 10
2015/16 Everton: 37(1) - 18
2016/17 Everton: 37(1) - 25
The Intruder
Director: Deon Taylor
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy, Meagan Good
One star
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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More on Quran memorisation:
The five pillars of Islam
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Company name: Nestrom
Started: 2017
Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi
Based: Jordan
Sector: Technology
Initial investment: Close to $100,000
Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors
Brief scores:
Everton 0
Leicester City 1
Vardy 58'
Remaining fixtures
- August 29 – UAE v Saudi Arabia, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
- September 5 – Iraq v UAE, Amman, Jordan (venue TBC)
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THE SPECS
Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 518bhp
Torque: 625Nm
Speed: 0-100kmh 5.3 seconds
Price: Dh633,435
On sale: now
