IQ scores of
writers.
Novelists, essayists and philosophers, and the figures that get retrofitted onto their reputations.
32 profiles
Each entry opens onto the full story behind the figure.
Portrait from the workshop of Nicolas de Largillière, public domain. · Portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler (1828), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Phillip Leonian for the New York World-Telegram & Sun (before 1959), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · The Chandos portrait, attributed to John Taylor (c. 1600–1610), public domain. · Photograph, 1907, via the Library of Congress (digital ID cph.3a08820), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Daguerreotype, c. 1849, photographer unknown; restored version, public domain. · Photograph by Napoleon Sarony (1882), Library of Congress, public domain. · Photograph by Lloyd Arnold, public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Press photograph by the Branch of the National Union of Journalists (1943), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph, 1954, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. · Photograph by Étienne Carjat (1876), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph (1914), photographer unknown, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. · Photograph by an unknown photographer (1923), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Gtl12345, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and with background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Friedrich Hermann Hartmann (c. 1875), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Martin Kraft (Frankfurt Book Fair, October 2024), CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Portrait by Vasily Perov (1872), Tretyakov Gallery, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. · Photograph by Joe Loong (Tech@State: Moneyball Diplomacy, June 2013), CC BY-SA 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Christopher Michel (March 18, 2016), CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped from the original. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Kevin Payravi (Toronto International Film Festival, September 6, 2024), CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and with background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Max Halberstadt (c. 1921), public domain. Cropped and with background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by an unknown photo studio, from the Commons file (c. 1925–26), public domain in the UK (author unknown, term expired) and the US (published before 1928). Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Gage Skidmore (AmericaFest, Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, Arizona, December 19, 2024), CC BY-SA 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by George Bergman (University of California, Berkeley, June 1968; Commons file), CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped from a larger picture. · Associated Press photograph published in The Boston Globe in 1953 (Commons file), cropped; public domain in the United States (copyright not renewed). · Photograph by United Press International (1957; New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Library of Congress; Commons file), cropped; public domain in the United States. Background removed for the portrait above. · Portrait of Immanuel Kant by Johann Gottlieb Becker (1768; Commons file), cropped; public domain (the artist died in 1782). · Photograph by Hugh Greentree (January 24, 2004; Commons file), CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped from a larger picture. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Gage Skidmore (August 23, 2025; Commons file), CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped from a larger picture. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Eric Koch for Anefo (March 14, 1968; Nationaal Archief; Commons file), CC0 public domain dedication, cropped. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Galoren.com (2009; Commons file), CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped from a larger picture. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Thomas Bonte (November 16, 2011; Commons file), CC BY 2.0, cropped from a larger picture. Background removed for the portrait above.
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More profiles are on the way. A name joins this category once its figure has been traced and a properly licensed portrait is cleared.
Get a measured score first — then the comparison actually means something. Thirty questions, instant result.
Start the test →Writers IQ, asked and answered
How are IQ scores for writers estimated?
Not by testing anyone. Each figure on this page is inferred from the documented record — published work, contemporary accounts, verified qualifications — using a named method set out under how we read a number. Every profile shows its own workings.
Which of these writers has the highest IQ?
William James Sidis holds the highest estimate in this category at 170–200. That ordering comes from the midpoint of each range and it re-sorts itself as profiles are added, so treat it as a convenience rather than a verdict. The full leaderboard ranks every category together.
How many writers profiles are there?
32 so far, and the list grows as figures are traced and portraits licensed. Browse the rest of the section from all categories, or start at the Celebrity IQ hub.
How do I compare my own IQ with these writers?
Get a measured number first. The IQ Metrics assessment is 30 questions and reports on the same 100-mean scale used on every profile here, with a percentile and an ability breakdown. How we score and norm it explains the benchmarking, and average IQ by country shows how the same scale looks across populations.
Where would you
actually land?
Your score, your percentile, your ability breakdown and a printable IIF certificate.
Find your IQ score now! →