Politics | O: A Presidential Novel And the Author of O: A Presidential Novel Is... ...Mark Salter! By Evann Gastaldo Posted Jan 27, 2011 9:29 AM CST Copied Mark Salter, left, and Greg Wendt, senior advisers to Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., talk as they arrive with McCain in Columbus, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) The anonymous author of O: A Presidential Novel didn’t stay anonymous for long: It’s none other than McCain speechwriter Mark Salter, sources confirm to Time. Page Six had previously guessed Salter could be the author, and there were some hints, writes Mark Halperin: Salter “has been holed up in Maine,” publisher Jonathan Karp had previously worked with Salter (and the descriptions he gave of the author matched Salter), there’s a story in the book that only a McCain campaign insider could have known, and “Salter's non-denial denial was the closest to a confession of any suspect who was publicly asked.” Click for a review of the book. Read These Next Husband of the Coldplay 'Kiss Cam' woman breaks his silence. Wall Street is getting twitchy over falling lumber prices. It's Rand Paul versus JD Vance: 'Despicable' President Trumps calls the Epstein card a 'dead issue.' Report an error