We look at some famous writers and novelists who have received a knighthood, damehood, CBE, OBE or MBE British honour.

Authors and novelists who have received a knighthood or damehood

Since the 1800s, writers and novelists have been given recognition for their contribution to the world of literature through the reigning monarch’s Birthday and New Year honours.

Some of literature’s biggest names such as Sir Hall Caine (Gazette issue 32766) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Gazette issue 27494) were knighted during their lifetimes, while Dame Agatha Christie (Gazette issue 45262) also received a damehood in 1970.

The latest author to receive a knighthood for his services to literature was Sir Ian Rankin. Best known for his Inspector Rebus novels, Rankin received his knighthood in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours (Gazette issue 63714).

Living authors with a knighthood or damehood

Here is a list of notable living authors who have received a knighthood or damehood for services to literature:

• Dame Jilly Cooper – Riders, Rivals (Gazette issue 64269)
• Lady Antonia Fraser – Mary Queen of Scots, The Six Wives of Henry VIII (Gazette issue 59647)
• Dame Susan Hill – The Woman in Black, The Mist in the Mirror (Gazette issue 63135)
• Sir Alan Hollinghurst – The Line of Beauty, Our Evenings: A Novel (Gazette issue 64607)
• Sir Kazuo Ishiguro – The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go (Gazette issue 62310)
• Dame Penelope Lively – Moon Tiger, How It All Began (Gazette issue 60009)
• Sir Michael Morpurgo – War Horse, Private Peaceful (Gazette issue 62150)
• Sir Philip Pullman – Northern Lights, The Amber Spyglass (Gazette issue 62507)
• Sir Ian Rankin – Knots and Crosses, Hide and Seek (Gazette issue 63714)
• Sir Salman Rushdie – The Satanic Verses, Midnight’s Children (Gazette issue 58358)
• Dame Jacqueline Wilson – Girls in Love, The Story of Tracy Beaker (Gazette issue 64607)

Former authors who received a knighthood or damehood

Here is a list of notable former authors who received a knighthood or damehood for services to literature:

• Sir Martin Amis – Money, London Fields (Gazette issue 64082)
• Sir Kingsley Amis – Lucky Jim, The Old Devils (Gazette issue 52173)
• Dame AS Byatt – Possession, The Children’s Book (Gazette issue 55513)
• Sir Hall Caine – The Manxman, The Bondman (Gazette issue 32766)
• Dame Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express, The A.B.C. Murders (Gazette issue 45262)
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Lost World (Gazette issue 27494)
• Sir William Golding – Lord of the Flies, The Inheritors (Gazette issue 51558)
• Dame Hilary Mantel – Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies (Gazette issue 60895)
• Dame Iris Murdoch – The Sea, the Sea, Under the Net (Gazette issue 50764)
• Sir Terry Pratchett – Good Omens, The Colour of Magic (Gazette issue 58929)
• Sir VS Pritchett – A Cab at the Door, Midnight Oil (Gazette issue 46593)
• Dame Muriel Spark – The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The Girls of Slender Means (Gazette issue 53332)
• Sir PG Wodehouse – The Code of Woosters, Right ho, Jeeves (Gazette issue 46444)

Living authors who have received British honours

Here is a list of notable living authors who have received a CBE, OBE or MBE for services to literature:

• Pat Barker CBE – Regeneration, The Ghost Road (Gazette issue 55710)
• Anthony Browne CBE – Voices in the Park, Willy the Wimp (Gazette issue 63218)
• Dame AS Byatt CBE – Possession, The Children’s Book (Gazette issue 51981)
• Lauren Child CBE – Charlie and Lola, Clarice Bean (Gazette issue 63377)
• Lady Antonia Fraser CBE – Mary Queen of Scots, The Six Wives of Henry VIII (Gazette issue 55513)
• Jackie Kay* CBE – Other Lovers, Trumpet (Gazette issue 62866)
• Hanif Kureishi CBE – The Buddha of Suburbia, The Black Album (Gazette issue 58557)
• Dame Penelope Lively** CBE – Moon Tiger, How It All Began (Gazette issue 56430)
• Dame Hilary Mantel CBE – Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies (Gazette issue 58014)
• Ian McEwan CBE – Atonement, Machines Like Me (Gazette issue 55710)
• Sir Philip Pullman CBE – Northern Lights, The Amber Spyglass (Gazette issue 57155)
• Ali Smith CBE – Autumn, How to Be Both (Gazette issue 61092)
• David Almond OBE – Skellig, Kit's Wilderness (Gazette issue 63377)
• Malorie Blackman OBE – Knife Edge, Checkmate (Gazette issue 58729)
• Bernardine Evaristo*** OBE - Girl, Woman, Other, The Emperor's Babe (Gazette issue 63135)
• Jane Gardam OBE – Old Filth, Last Friends (Gazette issue 58929)
• Sir Kazuo Ishiguro OBE – The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go (Gazette issue 54066)
• Sir Michael Morpurgo**** OBE – War Horse, Private Peaceful (Gazette issue 58014)
• JK Rowling OBE – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Gazette issue 55879)
• Sarah Waters OBE – Fingersmith, The Little Stranger (Gazette issue 62666)
• Jeanette Winterson OBE – Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Written on the Body (Gazette issue 57855)

*Jackie Kay also received an MBE in 1989 (Gazette issue 58014)

**Alongside her damehood and CBE, Penelope Lively also received an OBE in 1989 (Gazette issue 51772)

****Bernardine Evaristo also received an MBE in 2009 Birthday honours (Gazette issue 59090)

****Michael Morpurgo also received an MBE in 1999 Birthday honours (Gazette issue 55513) “for services to Young People”

Former authors who have received British honours

Here is a list of notable former authors who received a CBE, OBE or MBE for services to literature:

• Sir Kingsley Amis CBE – Lucky Jim, The Old Devils (Gazette issue 48467)
• Dame Agatha Christie CBE – Murder on the Orient Express, The A.B.C. Murders (Gazette issue 40669)
• Sir William Golding CBE – Lord of the Flies, The Inheritors (Gazette issue 43854)
• Dame Iris Murdoch CBE – The Sea, the Sea, Under the Net (Gazette issue 46777)
• Anthony Powell CBE – A Question of Upbringing, Books Do Furnish a Room (Gazette issue 40787)
• Sir VS Pritchett CBE – A Cab at the Door, Midnight Oil (Gazette issue 44484)
• Jean Rhys CBE – Wide Sargasso Sea, Good Morning, Midnight (Gazette issue 47418)
• JRR Tolkien CBE – The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit (Gazette issue 45554)
• PD James*** OBE – Cover Her Face, Death Comes to Pemberley (Gazette issue 49375)
• Sir Terry Pratchett OBE – Good Omens, The Colour of Magic (Gazette issue 55155)
• Dame Muriel Spark OBE – The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The Girls of Slender Means (Gazette issue 44210)

***PD James, Baroness James of Holland Park also received life peerage in 1991 (Gazette issue 52448)

Authors who are members of the Order of the Companions of Honour

The Companion of Honour is an honour given to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the arts, science, medicine or the government over a long period of time. It was founded by George V in 1917 and is limited to just 65 people at any one time.

There are currently five authors who are members of the Companion of Honour:

• Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale, Alias Grace (Gazette issue 62507)
• Lady Antonia Fraser – Mary Queen of Scots, The Six Wives of Henry VIII (Gazette issue 62150)
• Sir Kazuo Ishiguro – The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go (Gazette issue 64607)
• JK Rowling OBE – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Gazette issue 61962)
• Sir Salman Rushdie – The Satanic Verses, Midnight's Children (Gazette issue 63714)

Here are some notable former authors who were members of the Companion of Honour:

• John Buchan – The Thirty-Nine Steps, Greenmantle (Gazette issue 33785)
• EM Forster – Howards End, A Passage to India (Gazette issue 39732)
• Graham Greene – The Power and the Glory, The End of the Affair (Gazette issue 43854)
• Doris Lessing – The Golden Notebook, The Grass Is Singing (Gazette issue 55710)
• W Somerset Maugham – Of Human Bondage, The Razor’s Edge (Gazette issue 40188)
• Anthony Powell – A Question of Upbringing, Books Do Furnish a Room (Gazette issue 51171)
• Sir VS Pritchett – A Cab at the Door, Midnight Oil (Gazette issue 53153)

See also

What is the difference between a CBE, OBE, MBE and a knighthood?

Cricketers who have received UK honours

Find out more

Nominate someone for an honour or award (Gov)

Images 

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Publication updated

2 January 2025