Joe Alwyn used the pseudonym William Bowery for his songwriting credit on Taylor Swift’s Folklore.
Alwyn was credited under that name on songs from the album, including “betty” and “exile.” He contributed to the writing process during the quarantine-era creation of Folklore, when Swift and her collaborators exchanged instrumental and vocal files remotely. The pseudonym helped keep his participation private when the album was first released.
The credit is sometimes confused with the song’s principal co-writers and producers. Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff were major creative partners on Folklore, while Swift wrote and performed the songs. William Bowery identifies Alwyn’s contribution rather than replacing Swift’s own songwriting credit.
The Recording Academy later recognized Alwyn under the pseudonym after Folklore won Album of the Year at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. “August” belongs to the album’s connected fictional narrative, but the William Bowery credit is an album-production and songwriting detail rather than a character from that story.