Logo - Feel The Words

Novelist Quotes

What writers say about owning the title.

Some voices here declare the identity outright, calling themselves novelists down to the bone, while others, having wanted it their whole lives, still hesitate to claim it. A few praise fellow writers as Confident novelists in their own right.

Uzodinma Iweala is a fine and confident novelist.

Quotes by Rumaan Alam

I'm a novelist, not a social scientist or a commentator.

Quotes by Rachel Cusk

My temperament is not geared to that of a novelist.

Quotes by Philip Levine

Novel-writing is, for the novelist, a game of let's pretend.

Philip Roth

Am Quotes

I am a fictionalizing philosopher, not a novelist.

Quotes by Philip K. Dick

Freud was just a novelist.

Quotes by Peter Ackroyd

I am a novelist through and through.

Quotes by Meg Wolitzer

My whole life, I've wanted to be a novelist.

Quotes by Jane Fallon

I'm not a writer; I'm not a novelist.

Quotes by Ian Gillan

Commentator Quotes

It is the job of the novelist to touch the reader.

Quotes by Elizabeth George

I'm not a biographer, I'm a novelist.

Quotes by Barry Unsworth

I'm a middle-class, middle-brow novelist. And that's it. It amuses me.

Quotes by Anita Brookner

I wanted to be a novelist for so long.

Quotes by Alice Sebold

Frequently Asked Questions

What is this Novelist quotes collection about?
It brings together statements from people about identifying - or not identifying - as a novelist, capturing the ambivalence and pride that can come with claiming that specific title over other writing labels.
Why would someone search for novelist quotes rather than writer quotes?
Novelist is a more specific claim than writer - it implies a particular form and a particular ambition. People searching this term are usually interested in that identity question directly, not writing advice in general.
What's the interesting tension in some of these quotes?
A few speakers resist the label even after a lifetime of wanting it, while others state it outright and without hedging. That gap between wanting something and being ready to claim it runs through several of the quotes here.
Do any of these quotes praise other novelists rather than speak in the first person?
Yes, one calls a fellow author a fine and Confident novelist, showing the label used as a compliment about someone else's craft and self-assurance rather than as a personal claim.
What other quote pages pair well with this one?
Readers interested in the writing identity theme can also check Fine quotes for craft-related lines, or Commentator quotes for how people describe other writing-adjacent roles.

Pair these with Fine quotes on craft, or browse the wider Commentator collection for how writers describe their own work.