The crossword solutions for the term 'ROOTS' NOVELIST ALEX is Haley, which is a five-letter word. Haley is the surname of the famous American novelist Alex Haley, who is best known for his 1976 novel 'Roots: The Saga of an American Family'. The novel was based on Haley's family history and traced his African-American ancestors from the mid-18th century to the Reconstruction era. It was adapted into a television miniseries in 1977 and won nine Emmy Awards.