Cameos are the little love notes filmmakers slip into their movies and shows, rewarding fans with a wink and a nod. Among the most satisfying of these surprise appearances are the moments when the very writers who birthed the stories get a few seconds of screen time. In this roundup we celebrate 10 awesome cameos of writers who have popped up in movie or television adaptations of their own work, ranging from cult classics to modern streaming hits.

10 Awesome Cameos Highlighted

1. Lee Child’s Reacher Adaptations

Lee Child, the pen name of Jim Grant, spent nearly two decades crafting promos and trailers for Granada Television before turning his pen to crime fiction. After a lay‑off in 1995 he began writing novels, and his debut Jack Reacher novel, Killing Floor, earned him both the Anthony and Barry Awards. While the sixth novel, One Shot, launched the first big‑screen adaptation starring Tom Cruise, Child managed to slip a cameo into the very opening of that 2012 film. He appears as the desk sergeant who hands Reacher his belongings after a brief arrest, a brief but memorable moment that lets the author greet his own creation.

When Cruise returned for Jack Reacher: Never Go Back in 2016, Child was back for another quick appearance. This time he plays a TSA agent who stops Reacher at the security line, checks his questionable ID, shrugs, and tells the towering hero to have a nice flight. Fans of the books noted the irony of the author, who imagined Reacher as a six‑foot‑five, plate‑handed powerhouse, being reduced to a uniformed gatekeeper.

Amazon’s streaming series Reacher, starring Alan Richson, gave Child yet another cameo. In the series finale, Reacher walks into a diner famed for its peach pie. As he steps inside, a patron politely says, “Excuse me,” and that patron is Lee Child himself, briefly sharing the screen with the very character he created.

2. Jeff Lindsay in Dexter (2006–2013)

Jeff Lindsay, the pseudonym of Jeffry P. Freundlich, lived a kaleidoscopic life before penning his breakout novel about a blood‑spatter analyst who moonlights as a serial killer. After a string of odd jobs—from dishwasher to steelworker to greeting‑card writer—Lindsay moved to Hollywood in the early ’80s, where he wrote for comedians and analyzed scripts. In 2004 his novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter caught Showtime’s eye, spawning a long‑running series.

While the first season hewed closely to his book, subsequent seasons diverged, but Lindsay never lost his affection for the show. He rarely visited the set, preferring to stay in Florida, yet he made a notable on‑screen appearance in the third season’s tenth episode. He plays Vice Officer Jeffries, tasked with guarding a witness in a hospital room, delivering a few lines of dialogue to Detective Angel Batista before and after the witness interview.

Lindsay explained that he agreed to the cameo to show his support for the adaptation, noting that while Hollywood can sometimes mishandle source material, the producers of Dexter “really know what they’re doing.” His brief but solid performance remains a favorite Easter egg for fans of the series.

3. Margaret Atwood’s Adaptations

Margaret Atwood’s literary career began in childhood, with poetry collections in the 1960s that celebrated nature and critiqued materialism. By 1969 she shifted to novels, tackling themes of identity and power. Her 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale earned the Arthur C. Clarke Award and later inspired a Hulu series that has become a cultural touchstone. In the very first episode of that series, Atwood makes a cameo as an Aunt who slaps another handmaid after a harrowing scene involving an eye‑gouging and assault, underscoring the brutal world the show depicts.

That same year, Atwood’s 1996 novel Alias Grace was adapted into a six‑part miniseries for the CBC and later Netflix. In episode four, Atwood appears as a churchgoer who, upon witnessing an affair between a master and his housekeeper, shakes her bonnet‑covered head and declares, “It’s an outrage.” This brief line adds a meta‑layer to the period drama, letting the author comment on the moral turbulence of her own story.

Both cameos illustrate Atwood’s willingness to step into the worlds she’s built, offering fans a wink while reinforcing the themes that have made her work resonate across generations.

4. William Peter Blatty in The Exorcist (1973)

Before penning the horror classic that terrified a generation, William Peter Blatty cut his teeth as a comedy writer, even winning $10,000 on Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life in 1961. He contributed to Blake Edwards’ A Shot in the Dark and wrote for stars such as Zero Mostel and Danny Kaye. After a personal tragedy in 1967, Blatty turned to a darker subject: the real‑life 1949 exorcism case that inspired his 1971 bestseller The Exorcist.

The novel’s success led to a film that would redefine horror cinema. Near the opening of the movie, a film crew is shooting a scene at Washington University. The director, Burke Dennings, steps out of his trailer only to be confronted by a producer brandishing a script and asking, “Is this scene really necessary?” That bewildered producer is none other than Blatty himself, making a fleeting but memorable cameo that ties the author directly to the on‑screen terror.

Blatty’s brief appearance serves as a reminder that the man behind the demonic narrative was also willing to dip his toes into the very medium he’d terrified audiences with, blending his literary genius with a touch of on‑set mischief.

5. Jenny Han’s Adaptations

Jenny Han burst onto the YA scene with her debut novel Shug while still in graduate school, later achieving massive success with the romance trilogy that began with The Summer I Turned Pretty in 2009. After co‑authoring the Burn for Burn series with Siobhan Vivian, she launched the wildly popular To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before in 2014, a story that quickly became a Netflix sensation.

When Netflix adapted the first book in 2018, Han served as an executive producer and snagged a cameo as a chaperone watching over Lara Jean’s freshman homecoming dance. In the sequel, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, she appears again, this time as a teacher offering comfort to a girl in the cafeteria on Valentine’s Day. The third film, To All the Boys: Always and Forever, features Han as School Principal Cho, presenting Lara Jean with a special attendance award.

Beyond the movies, Han created and co‑showran the spin‑off series XO, Kitty and, after signing a deal with Amazon Prime, co‑created the series adaptation of The Summer I Turned Pretty. In the 2022 debut, she makes yet another cameo, this time pulling a glass from a champagne tower at a debutante ball. Her consistent on‑screen presence underscores her deep involvement in bringing her stories to life.

6. Peter Benchley in Jaws (1975)

Peter Benchley grew up surrounded by literary tradition, the grandson of a successful writer and the son of a prolific author. After stints as a travel‑memoir writer, a Washington Post reporter, and a speechwriter for President Lyndon Johnson, he faced financial strain in the early ’70s. A chance encounter with a news story about a massive 4,550‑pound shark off Long Island sparked the idea for a novel about a great white terrorizing a coastal town.

Benchley’s 1974 novel sold 20 million copies, staying on the New York Times bestseller list for 44 weeks. Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film adaptation, Jaws, became a blockbuster, cementing the shark as an icon of cinematic terror. In the movie, Benchley appears as a television reporter on the beach, surrounded by a crowd that includes his wife Wendy and daughter, delivering a live update as the town learns of the man‑eating predator.

Although a still photograph shows Benchley interviewing marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), that scene was cut from the final edit. Another attempted cameo, where Benchley confronts Sheriff Brody (Roy Scheider), was also trimmed. Nevertheless, his on‑screen moments give a nod to the author who birthed the legend.

7. Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Jordan Belfort, the “Wolf,” built Stratton Oakmont into a massive boiler‑room operation in the late ’80s, employing over a thousand brokers and moving more than a billion dollars in securities. His high‑octane, fraudulent practices led to a 1999 indictment, a prison sentence, and a memoir titled The Wolf of Wall Street in 2007.

Martin Scorsese’s 2013 film adaptation, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, captured the excesses of Belfort’s world. Near the film’s conclusion, after DiCaprio’s character is released from prison and begins giving seminars, Belfort himself steps onto the stage. He introduces the on‑screen version of himself, declaring, “My friend Jordan Belfort is the single, most baddest motherf***er I have ever met.” This meta‑moment blurs the line between the real‑life wolf and his fictional counterpart.

The cameo serves as an audacious self‑portrait, allowing the real Belfort to endorse the larger‑than‑life version of his own legend, while also cementing his place in pop‑culture history.

8. William Peter Blatty in The Exorcist (1973)

It’s worth noting that William Peter Blatty’s cameo in The Exorcist not only ties him to the horror classic but also showcases his transition from comedy writing to chilling religious terror. Before the novel, Blatty earned a $10,000 prize on You Bet Your Life, which funded his early career. He contributed to Blake Edwards’ comedies, including the beloved A Shot in the Dark, before turning to darker themes after his mother’s death in 1967.

His 1971 novel The Exorcist became a bestseller, leading to a film that redefined the genre. In a brief opening scene, a film crew shoots a sequence at Washington University. The director, Burke Dennings, emerges, only to be confronted by a producer holding a script and asking, “Is this scene really necessary?” That bewildered producer is Blatty, making a fleeting cameo that ties the author directly to the on‑screen terror.

Blatty’s brief appearance serves as a reminder that the man behind the demonic narrative was also willing to dip his toes into the very medium he’d terrified audiences with, blending his literary genius with a touch of on‑set mischief.

9. James Dickey in Deliverance (1972)

James Dickey, a celebrated mid‑century poet, amassed accolades such as the Order of the South, the National Book Award for Poetry, and a tenure as the 18th United States Poet Laureate in 1966. His first novel, Deliverance, hit shelves in 1970, and he crafted the screenplay for its 1972 film adaptation.

The production was not without drama. Director John Boorman cut the first 19 pages of Dickey’s script, sparking a heated clash. Legend has it that Dickey spent evenings in a bar railing against Boorman, shouting, “They’re not doing my book!” The tension boiled over into a physical fight, leaving Boorman with a broken nose and missing teeth. Though temporarily ejected, Dickey and Boorman reconciled, and Boorman granted the poet a cameo at the film’s conclusion.

In the final moments, Dickey appears as the obnoxious Sheriff Bullard, delivering a memorable, if brief, performance that lets the poet step from page to screen, cementing his place in cinematic history.

10. Charlaine Harris in True Blood (2008–2014)

Charlaine Harris, already known for mystery series, launched the supernatural world of Sookie Stackhouse in 2001, weaving a tale of telepathic waitresses, vampires, and synthetic blood called Tru Blood. HBO turned the series of novels into the hit television show True Blood, which ran from 2008 to 2014.

Harris made a few extra‑role appearances, but two stand out. In the second‑season finale “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’,” she appears as a patron at Merlotte’s Bar, delivering the line, “Well, I certainly never expected anything like that to happen here.” The series finale of season seven features her once more, this time behind a teleprompter during an infomercial for the titular beverage, offering a subtle nod to the author’s presence.

These cameos give fans a chance to spot the mastermind behind the world of vampires and intrigue, rewarding attentive viewers with a brief but delightful glimpse of Harris herself.

11. Ian Fleming in From Russia With Love (1963)

This entry is a tantalizing mystery that has sparked debate for decades. In the 1963 James Bond film From Russia With Love, a fleeting figure appears just after a murder on the Orient Express. At the 1:16:03 timestamp, the camera captures a man in blue trousers and a white sweater, wearing a ball‑cap that hides most of his face. The question: is that man Ian Fleming, the creator of 007?

Fleming was known to visit the set during the Orient Express exterior shoot, and photographs from that day show him in dark pants, a white sweater, and a collared shirt—matching the on‑screen attire. He also carried a cane, though the man in the scene holds two longer sticks. Observers note the similarity in ear shape and stature, though the on‑screen figure appears shorter and stockier than Fleming’s six‑foot frame.

Some argue the man could be a local farmer using sticks to herd cows away from the train, but film sets are tightly controlled, and an unplanned extra would likely be removed. High‑resolution screencaps of the figure’s face have been inconclusive, leaving the mystery alive.

Neither Fleming’s family nor the film’s producers have confirmed the cameo, so the debate continues, offering fans a delicious “what‑if” speculation that adds another layer of intrigue to the Bond legacy.

Before 1847, vegetarians were called “Pythagoreans”. The Romantic idea that human beings should show compassion to nature and all her creatures was the basis of many a meat‑free diet. It appears that the curious Victorian age was a perfect feeding ground for such ideas—and it seemed to be authors, in particular, who applied the Romantic outlook to their eating habits. As you’ll see, some of these diets were fairly bizarre. This article dives into the world of the 10 writers diets that defined a generation of literary giants.

10 Writers Diets Overview

10 Percy Shelley’s “Pythagoreanism”

A fervent advocate for the downtrodden, Percy Bysshe Shelley was swayed by the writings of Joseph Ritson to adopt a meat‑free lifestyle in 1810, just before his stint at Oxford. He feared that consuming animal flesh would entangle his soul in a cycle of transmigration, and the philosophical musings of William Godwin only deepened his commitment to vegetarianism.

During his first marriage to Harriet Westbrook, both Shelley and his wife proudly proclaimed themselves “Pythagoreans.” Although he later relented and ate meat again, Shelley remains celebrated as perhaps the earliest famous modern‑day vegetarian, a status that has endured through the centuries.

9 Lord Byron’s Weight‑Loss Program

Lord Byron’s battle with the bulge was legendary. His appetite for starchy fare caused dramatic swings in his figure, prompting him to devise what would become the age’s inaugural “celebrity diet.”

While at university, Byron subsisted on dry biscuits and water, or boiled potatoes drenched in vinegar, convinced that the acidic punch would curb hunger, sharpen his mind, and accelerate weight loss. Between 1806 and 1811 he reportedly shed a staggering seventy pounds (about 32 kg).

When forced to attend a dinner party, he would finish the meal with a hefty dose of magnesium to counteract over‑eating. In more private moments, Byron layered himself in woolen garments to induce profuse sweating, further contributing to his slender silhouette.

8 Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland Diet

It is well‑documented that Lewis Carroll was a regular opium smoker, a habit many scholars believe flavored the surreal imagery of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” In Victorian England, opium was a commonplace remedy, albeit one that contributed heavily to infant mortality.

Carroll eventually began to ingest the drug in edible form, turning to opium‑infused snacks as a more convenient alternative to smoking. Though the taste left much to be desired, the narcotic boost was prized over any concerns about halitosis.

7 Charles Dickens’ Apple a Day

Charles Dickens possessed a keen awareness of nourishment, a fascination that seeped into his storytelling—from the gaunt depictions in “Oliver Twist” to his obsessive love of baked apples. He became convinced that consuming a baked apple each day while at sea would stave off seasickness, and even believed that the disorienting feeling upon docking could be mitigated by the same fruity remedy.

6 John Keats’ Anchovy a Day

In 1820, the poet John Keats was diagnosed with “mental exertion,” and his physician, Dr. James Clark, prescribed a regiment consisting of a single anchovy and a modest slice of bread each day, hoping to soothe his stomach pains and combat tuberculosis. This meager fare, coupled with daily bloodletting—a common 19th‑century treatment—left Keats nutritionally depleted and increasingly frail.

5 Charlotte Brontë’s Poverty Porridge

The Brontë sisters grew up far from any opulent banquet hall. When meals did arrive, they were often reduced to barely edible fare—burnt porridge and a hard chunk of bread—mirroring periods of near‑starvation that the family endured.

Charlotte eventually transformed these experiences into recurring motifs within her novels, portraying heroines who would starve themselves as a testament to inner strength, suggesting that the spirit could thrive even when the body was starved of sustenance.

4 David Livingstone’s Travel Diet

Explorer David Livingstone, famed for his African expeditions, kept meticulous field diaries that also chronicled his meager sustenance while on the road. Accustomed to hearty meals at home, he was often reduced to drinking water and nibbling bird seed, a diet that left him chronically famished and caused noticeable weight loss, even forcing him to notch his belt tighter.

3 Walt Whitman’s Breakfast

The American poet Walt Whitman famously delayed the start of his day until he savored a hearty plate of meat paired with oysters. He believed the protein fueled his stamina, while the briny oysters kept his mind razor‑sharp and his wit quick‑silver. One can only wonder what culinary delights awaited him at dinner.

2 Charles Darwin’s Omelet

Charles Darwin suffered from a litany of ailments—stomach acidity, gout, and chronic flatulence. His self‑crafted regimen included ten drops of muriatic acid twice daily, a modest serving of game or fowl, a simple egg omelet, and a slice of cheese. Though his physician urged him to incorporate toast and starchy foods like potatoes, Darwin staunchly defended his custom diet, noting it alleviated his vomiting and kept him feeling steady.

1 Robert Louis Stevenson Liked It All

Robert Louis Stevenson was a gourmand in the truest sense, indulging in copious amounts of food, coffee, tobacco, and alcohol. His penchant for over‑indulgence, coupled with a diet heavy in cholesterol and carbohydrates, contributed to repeated bouts of meningitis and heightened blood pressure. Unlike Darwin’s disciplined approach, Stevenson’s lifestyle was a relentless feast that took a toll on his health.

When we think of creative geniuses, we often picture them with a loyal cat curled up on a windowsill or a trusty dog waiting by the studio door. Yet many of history’s most celebrated writers and artists kept companions that were far from ordinary. These creatures not only shared their lives but sometimes stalked the margins of their masterpieces, providing inspiration, amusement, or even a dash of drama. Below you’ll meet ten such extraordinary side‑kicks, each as memorable as the master who owned them.

Ten Unusual Pets: A Glimpse into Creative Companions

10 Frida Kahlo’s Deer, Granizo

Frida Kahlo adored all manner of creatures, and her famed “Blue House” in Mexico became a veritable menagerie. Monkeys swung from rafters, cockatoos squawked beside her easel, parrots added splashes of color, and a hairless Xoloitzcuintli prowled the courtyards. Among her 143 canvases, a striking 55 are self‑portraits that feature at least one animal companion. Yet the star of her personal zoo was Granizo – a graceful deer whose name means “hail.” Granizo frequently posed beside Kahlo for photographs, curled up beside her at night, and ultimately inspired the haunting 1946 masterpiece “Wounded Deer,” where she depicted herself as a stag with a human visage, merging pain and poise in a single, unforgettable image.

9 Ernest Hemingway’s Six‑Toed Cat, Snowball (or Snow White)

Ernest Hemingway may conjure images of bullfights and deep‑sea fishing, but he was also a devoted cat enthusiast. While residing in Key West, a sea‑captain presented him with a feline gift that Hemingway christened Snowball—or, according to some accounts, Snow White. The cat’s claim to fame lay in its six toes on each paw, a condition known as polydactyly, which gave it a distinctive, almost magical appearance. Today, the Hemingway Home‑Museum in Key West houses a thriving colony of Hemingway’s descendants, many of which inherit the same extra toes, allowing visitors to stroll among the very cats that once kept the writer’s desk company.

8 Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Wombat, Top

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a leading light of the Pre‑Raphaelites, nurtured an affection for the exotic that went well beyond the usual English garden pets. His fascination settled on the wombat, an Australian marsupial rarely seen in Victorian England. He adopted a wombat he named Top, allowing the stout creature to lounge on the drawing table while he dined—a sight that shocked, then delighted, his dinner guests. When Top passed away, Rossetti was moved to compose a heartfelt epitaph in verse and immortalized the animal in at least two of his sketches. His curiosity didn’t stop there; he later added a llama and a flamboyant toucan to his household, the latter allegedly trained to perch on the llama’s back while wearing a tiny gaucho hat, strutting around the dining‑room table with undeniable panache.

7 Charles Dickens’ Raven, Grip

Charles Dickens, the master of Victorian social commentary, kept a most unusual confidante: a raven he named Grip. The bird earned a cameo in his novel “Barnaby Rudge,” and some scholars suggest that Edgar Allan Poe may have drawn inspiration from Dickens’s feathered friend when penning his iconic poem “The Raven.” A lover of taxidermy, Dickens preserved Grip’s body after its death, placing the stuffed raven on his writing desk as a perpetual muse. Following Dickens’s own passing, Grip changed hands at auction and eventually found a home in a Philadelphia museum, where it still perches as a testament to the author’s eccentric companionship.

6 Lord Byron’s Tame Bear

Lord Byron, the flamboyant Romantic poet, is famously linked to his loyal dog Boatswain, yet his menagerie also featured a surprisingly docile bear. While studying at Trinity College, Cambridge, Byron encountered a rule that prohibited dogs on campus. In a rebellious twist, he sourced a tame bear from a traveling fair, reasoning that the college statutes made no mention of bears. He led the bear on a chain, treating it much like a canine companion, and when his university days ended, he escorted the bear to his London estate. The bear’s brief academic tenure highlighted Byron’s penchant for defying convention in the most literal sense.

5 Flannery O’Connor’s Backward‑Walking Chicken

Before she earned acclaim for stories like “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor achieved a moment of fame at the tender age of five, thanks to a chicken that could walk backwards. This curious bird was captured on a Pathé newsreel in 1932, preserving the odd spectacle for posterity. O’Connor’s fascination with avian creatures persisted throughout her life; she not only dressed chickens in handmade garments but also kept a collection of peacocks—her favorite birds—alongside a toucan and even an emu, each adding a feathered flourish to her Southern Gothic world.

4 Charles Baudelaire’s Bat

Charles Baudelaire, the French poet behind “Les Fleurs du Mal,” found an unlikely companion in a bat during his Brussels residency from 1864 to 1866. One evening, a bat fluttered down into the courtyard of the Hôtel du Grand Miroir and landed at his feet. Concerned for its wellbeing, Baudelaire wrapped the creature in a handkerchief, nursing it with bread crumbs and a splash of milk. He kept the bat in an empty cage previously occupied by a canary, allowing it to hang upside‑down while he gently stroked its wings—a sight that horrified his young maid, Nelly. Once fully recovered, Baudelaire released the bat back into the shadows of the nearby Sainte‑Anne chapel, where it had originally taken refuge.

3 Alexandre Dumas’ Vulture, Diogène (previously Jugurtha)

Alexandre Dumas, père, the author of “The Three Musketeers” and “The Count of Monte‑Christo,” was as much a collector of exotic fauna as he was of literary fame. His sprawling country estate housed not only five dogs and a cat but also three monkeys, two parrots, a golden pheasant, and a striking vulture. Dumas purchased the bird in Constantine, Algeria, for a modest sum, yet the expense of transporting it to France proved far steeper. Originally named Jugurtha in homage to the Numidian king, the vulture eventually claimed an empty barrel as its favorite perch, prompting Dumas to rename it Diogène after the philosopher famed for dwelling in a barrel. The vulture’s presence added a dramatic, almost theatrical flair to Dumas’s already flamboyant household.

2 Henrik Ibsen’s Scorpion

During the winter of 1865, a young Henrik Ibsen, then a struggling playwright in Rome, found an unlikely desk companion while drafting his breakthrough tragedy “Brand.” A small scorpion scuttled across the floor, and Ibsen, intrigued, placed the arachnid inside an empty beer glass to keep it nearby while he wrote. In a later letter, he recounted how the creature occasionally fell ill, prompting him to offer a piece of soft fruit. The scorpion would strike the fruit, releasing its venom, after which it seemed to recover. Whether the venom was a reaction to the fruit or a mere coincidence, the episode illustrates Ibsen’s willingness to share his creative space with even the most perilous of pets.

1 Princess Vilma Lwoff‑Parlaghy’s Lion, Goldfleck

Princess Vilma Lwoff‑Parlaghy, a Hungarian‑born painter famed for her 1916 portrait of Nikola Tesla, led a life as colorful as her canvases. After marrying and swiftly divorcing a Russian prince, she claimed the title of Princess and settled in New York’s Plaza Hotel in 1909. While strolling through a circus, she fell in love with a lion cub. When the circus owner balked at selling the cub, Lwoff‑Parlaghy enlisted Civil War hero Daniel E. Sickles to intervene; the hero’s reputation convinced the owner to hand over the animal. She named the cub Goldfleck and kept him in her hotel suite, taking the lion on a leash for walks through Central Park. Sadly, Goldfleck’s health declined, and he passed away in 1912, becoming the sole lion interred at Hartsdale Pet Cemetery.

People are reported missing all the time, forcing investigators and relatives to sift through clues and spin countless theories. Sometimes a tidy, logical answer emerges, but other times the puzzle stays stubbornly unsolved. Not every disappearance on this list ended forever, yet each one is undeniably odd and worth a second glance. These ten famous writers vanished in ways that still leave readers and historians scratching their heads.

Why These Ten Famous Writers Remain Enigmatic

10 Agatha Christie

The celebrated English mystery novelist caused a nationwide stir in 1926 when she slipped away without a trace. One evening she left her home, got into her car, and drove off, offering no hint of where she was headed. Police soon discovered the vehicle abandoned, its engine still warm, yet there were no footprints or leads pointing to her destination. Because Christie was already a household name, the media swarmed the case, flooding it with headlines and speculation. For eleven days the search yielded nothing until a hotel clerk recognized her using a pseudonym, and she was finally coaxed back by her husband, though she could barely recall the intervening week.

Authorities and her spouse theorized that a sudden concussion had induced amnesia, erasing her memory of that period. Yet the public kept debating other possibilities: a nervous breakdown triggered by her mother’s death and the humiliation of her husband’s affair, or perhaps a calculated publicity stunt to boost her then‑modest fame. Christie never publicly addressed the incident, and biographers still dissect the episode, ensuring her disappearance remains a lingering mystery.

9 Barbara Newhall Follet

Barbara burst onto the literary scene as a prodigy, publishing The House Without Windows at the tender age of twelve to glowing reviews. By fourteen she’d already released a second novel, cementing her reputation as a remarkable young talent. However, family turmoil soon clouded her future: her father, who had championed her career, abandoned the family for a younger woman. Left without financial backing or paternal encouragement, Barbara wrote two more manuscripts that never saw publication before marrying Nickerson Rogers.

Struggling to make ends meet, she took a secretarial job and, by 1939, found her marriage on shaky ground. After a heated argument that year, she walked out of the house and vanished without a trace. Her mother, Helen, tirelessly pursued any clue, yet no public leads ever surfaced. Theories swing between foul play and suicide, given the marital strife, but without a body, none can be definitively proved.

8 Ambrose Bierci

Ambrose Bierce, a towering figure in American letters, built a legacy of sharp short stories, incisive journalism, and biting poetry. In 1913 he set off for Mexico, presumably to report on the raging Revolution, and was never seen again. The last correspondence he sent to a relative hinted at a foreboding sense of mortality, mentioning the danger of being caught in the crossfire of warring armies.

Scholars largely agree that he likely perished in the chaos of the conflict, yet no wreckage or eyewitness account ever confirmed his fate. The absence of concrete evidence has turned Bierce’s disappearance into an integral, haunting footnote to his already enigmatic oeuvre.

7 Connie Converse

Although not a conventional novelist, Connie Converse wielded words through song, pioneering the modern singer‑songwriter style in 1950s New York. Despite her talent, commercial success eluded her, and after a decade she retreated to Michigan to be near family. In 1974, battling deepening depression, she left a series of notes for her relatives, hinting she intended to vanish and start anew.

Witnesses later reported seeing her pack a car and drive away, after which she disappeared completely. Some speculate she took her own life, citing her mental health struggles, while others believe she truly reinvented herself elsewhere. Her music lay dormant until a revival in the 2000s, when reissued recordings sparked fresh admiration, ensuring her artistic voice lives on despite the mystery surrounding her final days.

6 Weldon Kees

Weldon Kees earned a reputation as a poet and film critic, publishing several collections before his last book appeared in 1954. Exactly a year after that release, he vanished. Police discovered his automobile abandoned with the ignition still engaged, offering no clues as to his whereabouts. Friends recalled Kees discussing suicidal thoughts and the allure of a fresh start in Mexico, but no definitive evidence ever emerged.

His work continued to appear posthumously, and fellow writers kept praising his contributions. Though he achieved notoriety during his life, the unresolved nature of his disappearance still captivates readers and scholars alike.

5 Irmgard Keun

Before World War II, German novelist Irmgard Keun earned acclaim for tackling subjects that the Nazi regime condemned. Forced into exile, she lived in France and the Netherlands until a 1940 newspaper mistakenly reported her death.

In reality, Keun forged new identity papers to slip back into Germany and reunite with her parents. How actively she participated in the false death notice remains a puzzle, as does the full story of her clandestine return.

She spent the rest of her life largely unnoticed, a stark contrast to her earlier fame. By choosing to live under a public veil of death, the details of her post‑1940 existence remain shrouded in uncertainty.

4 Antoine de Saint‑Exupéry

Antoine de Saint‑Exupéry, celebrated for both his literary works and daring aviation feats, penned the timeless classic The Little Prince, which was released posthumously. In 1944 he embarked on what would become his final mission, soaring over the French coastline.

The prevailing theory holds that enemy fire downed his aircraft, yet wreckage remained undiscovered for six decades. When the plane finally surfaced off the southern French coast, investigators still could not pinpoint the exact circumstances of the crash, leaving the mystery alive.

3 Oscar Zeta Acosta

Oscar Zeta Acosta made his mark as a writer, attorney, and outspoken activist for the Chicano movement, championing the rights of Mexican‑American communities in the 1960s and ’70s. He published two provocative novels and forged a close friendship with Hunter S. Thompson, even inspiring a character in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Their bond endured until Acosta vanished in Mexico in 1974.

Thompson pursued answers for years, offering his own speculations—ranging from drug‑related mishaps to politically motivated assassination—but no concrete proof ever surfaced. The enigma surrounding Acosta’s fate persists, fueling endless debate.

2 Solomon Northup

Born free in New York in 1807, Solomon Northup became renowned for his memoir Twelve Years a Slave, detailing his kidnapping and forced sale into slavery. After a legal battle, he regained his freedom and returned to his family, leveraging his story to advocate against slavery.

Despite his prominence, the later chapters of his life remain obscure. Many suspect he joined the Underground Railroad, aiding others in escaping bondage, yet definitive records of his activities after his memoir’s publication are absent.

1 Edgar Allen Poe

Edgar Allan Poe’s final days in 1854 are cloaked in mystery. A week before his death, he was scheduled to travel from Richmond to Philadelphia, then onward to meet his aunt in New York before heading back to Virginia. He never reached either destination. Instead, he was discovered in Baltimore, semi‑conscious, delirious, and unable to recount the missing week.

Numerous theories vie for credibility—ranging from alcohol‑induced collapse and sudden illness to possible foul play—but none have been definitively proven. Given the macabre tone of his literary output, the unresolved nature of his disappearance continues to haunt admirers, embodying a chilling case of art imitating life.

Some Roman writers are very well-known, notably Virgil, who wrote the Aeneid; Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-king who, when not ruling the empire, wrote his Meditations; and Suetonius, the historian who composed biographies of Julius Caesar and the first eleven emperors. You might even recognize the names of Tacitus or Livy, but there are hundreds of Roman authors whose works have survived. Here are ten of the lesser-known Romans whose writings shaped the modern world.

Related: 10 Ways The Roman Empire Was Surprisingly Progressive

10 Seneca (c. 4 BC–AD 65)

Many have heard of the Roman playwrights Plautus and Terence and certainly the earlier Greek dramatists, Sophocles and Euripides. However, Lucius Annaeus Seneca doesn’t get much attention these days. Seneca (Seneca the Younger) was born around the same time as Jesus Christ and died in AD 65. He was close to those in power in Rome later in his life. He became the leading Stoic philosopher of his generation before annoying Emperor Nero (the one who fiddled while Rome burned) and being forced to commit suicide in AD 65.

Seneca’s main impact on shaping the modern world comes from some of his lesser-known works, specifically his plays, all tragedies. Notable among these are Medea, Phaedra, Oedipus, and Agamemnon. These pieces generally dealt with characters seeking revenge on others for some wrongdoing or another. In early modern Europe, these plays profoundly influenced how revenge plays were written and structured, notably William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As such, Seneca has left an indelible imprint on modern culture.^[1]

9 Boethius (c. AD 477–524)

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius was the last of Rome’s notable authors. He lived as the Western Roman Empire was being transformed into a number of successor states ruled by Germanic kings. One of these, Theodoric the Great, had Boethius imprisoned around 523, dying shortly afterward.

Boethius is famed for writing The Consolation of Philosophy while in prison. This work takes the shape of a philosophical treatise between him and the female embodiment of philosophy. Here Boethius famously wrote of the nature of life as a wheel of fortune, in which fate can grant men and women success and then, just as quickly, rob them of it. His book also contained numerous reflections on Roman music from which modern musicologists have been able to determine details of Roman culture. The Consolation of Philosophy was one of the most widely read philosophical treatises in Europe during the Middle Ages.^[2]

8 Columella (c. AD 4–c. 70)

The Roman Empire, for all its sophistication and achievements, always remained a pre-industrial society (though they did have a working scheme for a steam engine). Consequently, agriculture was central to Roman society and its economy. Yet we very rarely hear about Roman writers who actually put pen to paper, or parchment as the case may be, to write about agricultural methods. One of the few exceptions was Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, a first-century soldier and agriculturalist who composed De Re Rustica or On Rural Affairs.

De Re Rustica consisted of twelve books covering a variety of topics, from how to grow grapes to make wine to raising animals and how to manage your staff on a large farm. When it was rediscovered in a Swiss monastery in the fifteenth century, it went on to influence early modern farming methods around the selective breeding of animals and much more.^[3]

7 Marcus Gavius Apicius (c. 10 BC–c. AD 60)

What list of ancient authors would be complete without details of someone who composed a cookbook? Marcus Gavius Apicius is the individual in question, a Roman gourmet. Unfortunately, little is known of his life other than he clearly lived in the first half of the first century AD.

Apicius should be acclaimed today for having written his self-titled work Apicius, also known as De Re Culinaria, meaning On the Subject of Cooking. This ten-book work provides details on how to run a successful kitchen and includes a wide array of recipes and discussions of Roman food. Apicius is not just useful for reconstructing what the Romans ate and how they cooked it, but some of the details provided by Apicius have gone on to influence modern recipes such as stews, ragouts, and salads. Apicius’s work has certainly shaped what the modern world eats.^[4]

6 Frontinus (c. AD 40–103)

Sextus Julius Frontinus was a Roman engineer who lived and wrote during the first century AD. He flourished as a government and military engineer during the reigns of the Flavian emperors between AD 69 and 96 and during the reigns of Nerva and Trajan that followed. In AD 97, he was appointed as curator aquarum, the supervisor of the empire’s aqueducts, a highly significant position within Roman society as the aqueducts that delivered public drinking water to Rome and other cities were one of the cornerstones of urban life.

Frontinus is primarily known for having written De Aqueductu or On Aqueducts, an official report in two parts on the state of Rome’s aqueducts. This report provided extensive details on how the aqueduct system worked, the management problems within it, such as trees growing too close to sections of the aqueducts, and various other issues. De Aqueductu proved very influential in shaping modern water systems. When the text was rediscovered at the monastery library of Monte Cassino outside Rome in 1425, Frontinus’s ideas were quickly applied in improving the water supply of Rome in the fifteenth century, and elements of his work were employed elsewhere in Europe until the nineteenth century.^[5]

5 Pomponius Mela (c. AD 5–c. 60)

Little is known about the life and work of Pomponius Mela other than that he lived during the first century AD and was a geographer. He may have been present during the invasion of Britain by Emperor Claudius.

Pomponius’s legacy today is primarily found in his short work De Situ Orbis, meaning A Description of the World. This provided a cartographic account of the world as it was known to the Romans in the first century AD, with details of lands as far east as India, south to Ethiopia, and north to Scandinavia. His work remained influential until the development of modern cartographic methods in Europe during the sixteenth century. He not only influenced the development of modern cartography, but the names which he used for many places have also become commonplace in the modern world. For instance, Pomponius recorded a version of the word “Scandinavia” as a Latin rendering of the German word “Skaðinawio” to describe the lands north of the Baltic Sea. Thus, Pomponius’s influence continues even to this day.^[6]

4 Marcus Terentius Varro (c. 110 BC–27 BC)

Marcus Terentius Varro isn’t very well known today. However, for most of the last two millennia, he was regarded as one of Rome’s greatest authors, comparable with the epic poet Virgil and the great rhetorician Cicero. Varro’s life was coterminous with the death of the Roman Republic, having been born sometime in the late second century BC and dying in 27 BC, the year Octavian became Emperor Caesar Augustus, and the Roman Empire came into being.

Varro was a brilliant polymath who composed over 70 works throughout his long life. These covered a vast array of topics, from agriculture and architecture to politics, history, and natural philosophy. Unfortunately, of these, only his Rerum Rusticarum Libri Tres, translating to Three Books on Agriculture, has survived fully. However, sections of many other works are still extant. We know of the existence of his other works as a result of the second-hand information provided on them by later Roman writers. Varro’s work foreshadowed the development of many fields of study in modern times, notably microbiology and epidemiology, as he correctly surmised that diseases were caused by bacteria and other entities which could not be seen with the naked eye.^[7]

3 Quintilian (c. AD 35–c. 100)

Few people know who Marcus Fabius Quintilianus is today, but he was one of the most brilliant Roman authors. He lived during the first century AD and had a successful political career in Rome, serving as consul, the Empire’s senior magistrate in the 70s (AD 70s, that is).

Quintilian is primarily famed as a rhetorician and educator. His primary work, Institutio Oratoria, or the Institutes of Oratory, provided a major study of the practice of the art of rhetoric. At the same time, it also commented extensively on educational methods and curricula. Quintilian’s work was studied in every European university during the Renaissance, and his views on educational methods shaped the curriculums of western schools and universities profoundly until the Victorian period. And they continue to residually influence educational methods today.^[8]

2 Vitruvius (c. 75 BC–c. 10 BC)

Few individuals are as little appreciated today for their influence on the modern world as poor old Vitruvius. He was a military engineer who lived during the first century BC and witnessed the death of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Empire under Caesar Augustus.

Vitruvius made his indelible mark on history by composing De Architectura, meaning On Architecture, sometime between 30 BC and 15 BC. This ten-volume work provides extensive details on the construction of monumental buildings such as giant domes and arches and how geometry and mathematics were used in their design and construction. It also outlined many other elements of domestic and civil buildings during the early imperial period, notably the hypocaust, a type of Roman central heating not unlike the use of radiators.

Vitruvius’s work was considered important enough that many copies of the text were made throughout the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance, there was a revival of his methods to erect huge domes such as the one which Filippo Brunelleschi placed on Florence Cathedral in the fifteenth century. The domes that his work allowed individuals such as Brunelleschi to erect were not exceeded height-wise until the advent of the first skyscrapers in the late nineteenth century. Thus, Vitruvius’s impact on the modern world is visible in the architecture of every major European city today.^[9]

1 Galen (AD 129–c. 210)

Surely the most under-appreciated Roman-era author of them all, even more than Vitruvius, is Galen. This physician, surgeon, and philosopher was born at the height of the empire in the reign of Emperor Hadrian in AD 129. He lived until early in the third century. He was born in the Greek city of Pergamum in Asia Minor (Turkey today), but he ended up in Rome in the 160,s where he studied a wide array of fields, including anatomy, pharmacology, and neurology.

Galen’s medical methodology mirrored the prevalent view of Roman physicians in believing that the body was controlled by four humors (fluids) in the body: black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm. This idea was not an entirely unscientific, if unprecise, approach. But his studies went well beyond the prevailing second-century medical knowledge in producing highly detailed studies of human anatomy by dissecting animal torsos and studying the circulatory system and other parts of the body. He also developed a wide array of practical medical procedures, such as removing cataracts in a way that mirrors modern techniques.

Galen recorded his findings in dozens of books—a large proportion of which survive in modern times—and continued to influence medical knowledge as late as the eighteenth century. For that reason, he was undoubtedly one of the most influential Romans in how he shaped the modern world.^[10]

Awhile ago, we told you about 10 Devastating Nuclear Events and Accidents. Included was the story of Stanislav Petrov, the man who single-handedly saved humanity from nuclear annihilation on September 26, 1983. In a very short time frame, the fate of the world was saved by Petrov’s quick thinking. History is littered with these singular world-changing events.

American history is no different, and there are many incidents that could have drastically changed, or even destroyed, America. Altered versions of these “What If” events are a popular genre of science fiction called “alternate history.” To help visualize their Alt-Histories, authors often supply maps of the ALT-USA… and that’s precisely what we’re going to take a look at today. Warning, though: Below Be Spoilers.

10. The Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle is a TV show based on Philip K. Dick’s novel of the same name. In this universe, history diverged from our own when Franklin D. Roosevelt was assassinated by Giuseppe Zangarast in 1933. This was based a real event, but in our history Zangarast missed FDR and killed Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak instead. In Dick’s history Roosevelt was killed, and without him America struggled under the Great Depression and became extremely isolationist. This allowed the Axis powers of World War II (Nazi Germany and Imperialist Japan) to become victorious in Europe and in the Pacific.

By 1945, the Axis powers have invaded North America from both the Pacific and the Atlantic. A Nazi atomic bomb in Washington DC forces America’s surrender, and the occupation creates the division of the United States between Germany and Japan; much like how, during our timeline, Germany was divided into the East and West. The events in The Man in the High Castle TV show take place in the 1960s, and maps show that Germany and Japan had split America between them with a small neutral zone separating the two.

9. Revolution

Revolution was an American post-apocalyptic NBC TV show that takes place in 2027. In this universe, a mysterious 2012 event called “The Blackout” caused all electricity to permanently cease to function. The show, produced by JJ Abrams, followed the survivors as they deal with the consequences of a world without electrical power.

After the Blackout, America descends into chaos and fragments as technology reverts back to pre-electricity, steam-powered tech. Most of the action in the TV show takes place in the Monroe Republic, which is made up of Northeast America. The character Monroe was able to seize power after setting up a tyrannical military dictatorship that takes away the guns of its people. The West Coast is dominated by the California Commonwealth, and Texas exists as a separate republic… which is pretty much par for the course. The Southwest is abandoned to the desert, and a reemergence of a nomadic lifestyle takes over in the Midwest Plains Nation.   

8. Southern Victory

Celebrated science fiction author Harry Turtledove created an alternate universe called Southern Victory. In 1997 he released the first of 11 alternate history books, How Few Remain. In this universe, history diverges during the American Civil War (which you probably guessed based on the title) on September 10, 1862. In real life on this day, a Confederate messenger lost Top Secret Order 191, which outlined the South’s invasion. With these secret plans, the North was able to check the invasion and slog on to eventual victory. In Turtledove’s universe the secret plans weren’t lost. This allows the South to successfully launch a surprise invasion and defeat the Union Army of the Potomac, and eventually the South captures Philadelphia. Capturing such a large city enables the United Kingdom and France to ally with the Confederate States of America, forcing an end to the war with the South declaring independence from the United States on November 4, 1862.

On the map you can see how America wasn’t able to afford buying Alaska from Russia, and the Second Mexican Empire (which at the time was still ruled by the Emperor of Mexico, Maximilian I) crumbles into poverty. In our universe, Maximilian ruled Mexico until he was killed in 1867. In Turtledove’s history the bankrupt Mexico allows the South to purchase the northwestern regions of Sonora and Chihuahua, giving them access to the Pacific. The series continues with North and South being mortal enemies who ally with other world powers to fight each other over the next hundred years.  

7. Jericho

In the CBS TV show Jericho, a shadow government plans a coup via a nuclear attack on 23 major cities in America, using small bombs smuggled to their targets in cargo vans. After the bombs detonate, civilization breaks down and the American government is destroyed. The first season of the show dealt with a small town as it tried to keep its citizens alive during the aftermath of the nuclear attack.

The show pulled in low numbers and was canceled after one season. Jericho’s fans revolted and launched an online campaign for CBS to do a second season, sending nuts to CBS (it actually makes sense in the context of the show, if you haven’t seen it). Eventually, over 20 tons were mailed to the network. This online outcry was an “unprecedented display of passion in support of a prime-time television series.” CBS caved and made a second season, where it was revealed that civilization had returned but the coup planners had only succeeded in seizing Western America, while Texas became independent (that seems to be a theme in these kinds of alternate histories) and the Eastern USA stopped enough nuclear bombs that some form of federal government survived the WMD attack.

Even with the successful nuts viral campaign, CBS still canceled the show after the second season. However, the universe lived on in comics, which revealed that the East and West USA fragmented into smaller nations while some parts of America were occupied by UN forces.

6. The Handmaid’s Tale

Celebrated author Margaret Atwood first published her book The Handmaid’s Tale in 1985. A 1990 film adaptation of the same name was released, and in 2017 Hulu adapted it into a critically acclaimed series. In Atwood’s America, a polluted country is wracked by falling fertility rates, which cause huge civil unrest. A staged attack wipes out the President and most of the federal government. In the chaos, a Christian Fundamentalist movement calling itself the “Sons of Jacob” seize control. Some surviving elements of the government flee to the West, where America still exists, while east of the Rockies is ruled by a new government called “Gilead.”

The new Christian theocracy decrees Baptists are heretics and brutally suppresses its followers, causing much of the American South to be in continuous revolt. Gilead is able to keep the remnants of America and the world at bay by threatening to use nukes that are seized after coup’s success. A number of areas are radioactive, implying that there was nuclear sabotage or that Gilead demonstrated its nuclear might. Condemned criminals and opponents of the new regime (which are often one and the same) are sent to these areas as “clean up” teams, but due to their high mortality these men and women really face a death sentence.

5. Dies the Fire

Stephen Michael Stirling’s Emberverse series spans 14 novels, with the first book Dies the Fire being released in 2008. More installments are expected as the series chugs right along.

In the Emberverse universe a mysterious event called “The Change” alters the laws of physics, throwing the world into chaos. After the Change, modern technology stops functioning, throwing the world back into the Iron Age, with people arming themselves with swords and bow and arrows. Large population areas collapse when food runs out, and from the ashes of urban centers emerge large cannibal groups that create “Death Zones.” From more rural areas, city-states emerge. This is the universe that Dies the Fire sees for post-apocalyptic America.

4. A Canticle for Leibowitz

Walter M. Miller, Jr. first published A Canticle for Leibowitz in 1959. The award-winning book is considered a classic and has never been out of print. It’s a post-apocalyptic story that takes place 600 years after a horrible nuclear war, which sparked a movement to destroy all knowledge called the “Simplification.” During this movement, all books are destroyed except for some hidden away in a Catholic monastery, the Abbey of Saint Leibowitz, in the deserts of the American Southwest.

After all knowledge is wiped out during the Simplification, America reverts to tribal, feudal societies. Sometime in the 600 years after WWIII, the Catholic Church relocates from Rome, Italy, to New Rome, somewhere in the former United States. Surrounding New Rome are a number of Catholic papal states. Also emerging from the fragments of Western civilization are the Empires of Texarkana, Laredo, Denver. Back at the Abbey of Saint Leibowitz, the monastery keeps its vast collection of pre-war books and knowledge alive by painstakingly copying them by hand. From these books, civilization is reborn.  

3. The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins released the first book of her Hunger Games trilogy in 2008, and the novels were adapted into the blockbuster series starring Jennifer Lawrence as the story’s heroine, Katniss Everdeen. Over their cumulative worldwide releases, the four movies pulled in almost $3 billion dollars. So… we’re guessing you’ve probably seen at least one of them.

The Hunger Games takes place sometime in the future after a great war. Rising sea levels have swallowed up vast parts of North America, leaving a new nation called Panem to rise. This dystopian nation is divided into 12 districts that each specialize in specific goods or services.

A lot of the story takes place in District 12 (D12), which is thought to be in the coal-rich Appalachian region. D11 grows grain, and D10 raises livestock. Both are very large, given their tasks of feeding an entire nation. Close by is D9, which processes the food. D8 produces and treats textiles, while D7 specializes in forestry. D6 specializes in research and development, while D5 does genetic research. D4 is on or near the ocean, while D3 works with Information Technology and D2 specializes in weaponry and training peacekeepers. D1 produces luxury goods for the Capitol District and has a diamond mine – possibly the now-commercially closed Kelsey Lake Diamond Mine. The secret, rebellious District 13 is hidden away in bunkers thought to be in the Northeastern part of America.

2. Crimson Skies

Jordan Weisman and Dave McCoy created the Crimson Skies universe first for a board game released in 1998, and then a video game franchise produced by Microsoft Game Studios beginning in 2000.

History diverges from our universe when, in the 1930s, a series of deadly diseases devastate America and the country becomes increasingly isolationist to the point where the federal government devolves all power to the states, leading to the Balkanization of the United States into a series of small regional-states. With no federal government to pull the nation together interstate highways decay while at the same time aviation technology takes off. With a focus on air travel, roads and trains are abandoned in favor of the skies. With so many city-states there are many grievances, which quickly turn into open war. From the chaos of near constant warfare, large groups of air pirates raid commerce and other settlements.

1. The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead has been airing on AMC since October 31, 2010, and is based on a comic book series of the same name created by Robert Kirkman. Even with declining ratings over the last couple seasons, the show was renewed for a ninth season and Forbes’ Paul Tassi has talked about how the series should catch up to the comic books by season 9 or 10. After that, Kirkman hopes the show will diverge from its source material (which it has already started to do, given a few major cast and character shakeups).

In this alternate reality, America has been overrun by a zombie virus that reanimates the dead. The story starts off with the main character, Rick Grimes, waking up from a coma to find the world overtaken by the undead. He and a group of survivors first go to Atlanta, and then after meeting another group head to the nation’s capital, Washington DC – which is the general area around which the show now takes place. The main locations are the Alexandria Safe-Zone south of the capital, the Hilltop colony north of DC, and in the urban core of the city, Ezekiel’s Kingdom. They fight against Negan and the Saviors, who are based east of Washington DC at The Sanctuary. Everything outside of these areas is more or less abandoned, given over to the hordes of the walking dead.

Oh, so that’s where they got the title.

Jon Lucas covers WW1 live, 100 years ago. You can follow the action on Twitter, Tumblr or Instagram

For most writers, there’s a feeling of catharsis that accompanies having a book published. You had something to say, and now it’s out there for the world to view. It may become a bestseller or it might move five copies, all to your mom, but either way, you created something meaningful. Your high school classmates were wrong about you, just like you always knew!

But sometimes that euphoric feeling doesn’t last. Sometimes it turns to downright loathing. Here are 10 writers who hated, hid, or simply pretended books they wrote didn’t exist.

Read the full list!