Authors are often shy people who like to stay out of the limelight and let their work speak for itself, which is why I’m shocked when one of them decides to lend their voice and make a cameo on The Simpsons. While there have been a growing number of them in recent years, each appearance is still like an Easter egg for bibliophiles alike. Here we take a look at ten authors we never expected to see make a cameo on The Simpsons.
1. Art Spiegelman — Episode “Husbands and Knives”
When a hipster named Milo opens a comic book store called “Coolsville Comics & Toys” across the street from Comic Book Guy, Milo has a number of big name authors show up for a book signing. Among them is Maus author Art Spiegelman, who in the end is a buff, shirtless, mask-donning supporter of struggling comic book artists.
2. Tom Wolfe — Episode “Moe’N’A Lisa”
After reading Moe’s poetry “Howling at a Concrete Moon,” Wolfe invites him to Vermont to attend the Wordloaf Literary Conference to honor his work, and dig into his psyche. He also made a brief cameo in the episode Insane Clown Poppy at the Springfield Festival of Books.
3. John Updike — Episode “Insane Clown Poppy”
The Simpsons attend the Springfield Festival of Books and meet several big name authors, among them is Rabbit, Run author John Updike.
4. Daniel Clowes — Episode “Husbands and Knives”
Clowes, author of Ghost World, is in town for the aforementioned book signing at “Coolsville Comics & Toys.” He also turns out to be a buff, shirtless author fighting for the support of struggling comic book artists.
5. Jonathan Franzen –Episode “Moe’N’A Lisa”
Jonathan Franzen — author of The Corrections — has a pun-off and an actual fist fight with his real-life friend and fellow author Michael Chabon while they are both on a panel at the Wordloaf Literary Conference (see above) to praise Moe.
6. Tom Clancy — Episode “Diatribe of a Mad Housewife”
When Clancy says he doesn’t want to provide a praise blurb for Marge’s novel The Harpooned Heart, he has a fast one pulled on him when they flip the meaning of his words and turn it into praise for the book.
7. Neil Gaiman — Episode “The Book Job”
Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman, American Gods, etc., appears in the episode where the Simpsons discover that T.R. Francis — fictional author of the fictional Angelica Button series — is actually a group of people out to make money from a bestseller. They enlist Gaiman, who quickly establishes himself as the goofball of the group.
8. Stephen King — “Insane Clown Poppy”
Marge meets the famous author of such horror books as The Shining and Misery at the Springfield Festival of Books and asks what tales of macabre he’s working on. While she is let down by his answer (that he’s working on the biography of Benjamin Franklin), he gives a brief description of the book, which is made clear will be told in classic King fashion. “He’s a fascinating man. He discovered electricity, and used it to torture small animals and green mountain men! And that key he tied to the end of a kite. It opened the gates of HELL!”
9. J.K. Rowling — Episode “The Regina Mono logues”
Although it’s a very brief cameo, when the Simpsons travel to England they encounter J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, outside of a bookstore. Lisa begs the question “What happens at the end of Harry Potter?” much to the chagrin of Rowling, who tells her what she wants to hear.
10. Thomas Pynchon — Episode “Diatribe of a Mad Housewife”
I don’t think anyone could have predicted that the reclusive author of The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon, of whom their exist few photos, would one day make an appearance on The Simpsons — albeit with a brown bag with a question mark on it over his head. Lucky for The Simpsons, Pynchon’s son is such a fan of the show that he agreed to take part, and has now appeared in three episodes. In fact, Pynchon has so much respect for the show, Homer’s character in particular, that he even had the writers remove a line from a script that he was to read, which spoke ill of Homer, because “Homer is my [Pynchon’s] role model.”
