The Godfather novelist is Mario Puzo, a four-letter word. Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, best known for his 1969 novel The Godfather, which was later adapted into the 1972 film of the same name directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Puzo also wrote the screenplay for the first two Godfather films, as well as the 1974 novel Fools Die. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the first Godfather film in 1972.