joint author

1 4.2

A person who writes a book or article together with another person, sharing credit

noun
/dʒɔɪnt ˈɔːθər/

: coautor

Katherine and James are joint authors of a new research paper that explores climate change.

Examples

The committee chose two joint authors for the project, allowing both of them to contribute their unique perspectives.
Whether collaborators are joint authors or have a work-for-hire relationship is largely a matter of the agreement.

Academic text (1997)
Some recent exceptions are found in the work of Karnes and Marquardt, joint authors of two companion books on due process and the (United States) law associated with gifted (1991a, 1991b).

Academic text (1997)
As joint authors, they shared the responsibility of writing the book, ensuring every section reflected their combined expertise.

Synonyms

collaborator

vsjoint author

47 4.8

A person who works with others on a project, especially in art or research

is used specifically for shared responsibility in producing a written work rather than general teamwork

coauthor

vsjoint author

9 3.8

A person who writes a book or article together with others

emphasizes shared responsibility for the completed written work rather than general collaboration

co-creator

vsjoint author

3.7

A person who makes something together with other people

focuses on shared responsibility for a written work rather than general creation with others

Antonyms

individual

∞ 2.3

A single person or animal regarded separately from a group

solo

148 3.7

Music played by one person without other players

How Involved

joint author

1 4.2

contributor

136 3.6

Surface Forms

joint author singular

joint authors plural

Morphology

joint + author

The meaning 'a person who collaborates with one or more others to write a work' is directly and transparently composed from 'joint' (involving two or more parties) + 'author' (a writer). This ADJ+NOUN pattern is common and mirrored in many languages (e.g., co-author, coautor), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Joint author comes from the idea of joint meaning 'joined' and author meaning a writer. So a joint author is a writer who works 'together' with others and shares the credit and responsibility.