William —, winner of the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature (8)
I believe the answer is:
faulkner
(Other definitions for faulkner that I've seen before include "William --, US Nobel prize-winning novelist" , "William ..., US novelist who wrote about people in the southern states" , "Sound and Fury author" , "William ..., US winner of 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature had rank flue" .)