The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word KIPLING
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
K
I
P
L
I
N
G
More clues leading to the result KIPLING
- Poet sleeping quietly once replaced by student
- Linesman having a little nap?
- Top man secures first place for author
- Writer having half a fish for breakfast, then another
- Man checked, holding one place for author
- Henry VIII perhaps gobbles one platter, repulsing poet
- Writer, man describing Indian cricket tournament
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Writer" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case writer = kipling.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.