"Germinal" author (4)
I believe the answer is:
zola
'germinal author' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for zola that I've seen before include "French author of Germinal" , "Emile --, French writer" , "French novelist, defender of Dreyfus, d. 1902" , "French author (Nana)" , "See 2" .)