Relating to or belonging to an author or the act of writing or creating a text.
From Latin 'auctorialis', derived from 'auctor' (creator/author). The adjective form allows us to describe things connected to authorship, like authorial voice or authorial intent.
When literary critics talk about 'authorial intent'—what the author meant to say—they're often debating something impossible to know, which is why modern criticism has largely moved away from assuming authors can control what their readers understand.
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