"Tristram Shandy" author (6)
I believe the answer is:
sterne
'tristram shandy author' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for sterne that I've seen before include "Laurence ...... wrote ` `Tristram Shandy' '" , "Tristram Shandy creator" , "Writer" , "Laurence ..., author of 'Tristram Shandy'" , "18th-century novelist" .)