Although most believe this work to be written by Izumi Shikibu herself, there are others who think a different author may have created this work due to the fact that this work was once called "Izumi Shikibu Monogatari" (the Story of Izumi Shikibu), and that Izumi Shikibu is treated as a third person and referred to as the 'lady' when it is herself that is the main character and she herself is the author (according to this argument, this work is a diary-style fiction under the guise of her romantic episodes).
作者は和泉式部の本人自筆の作品とされることもあるものの、かつては『和泉式部物語』とも呼ばれたこともあり、また主人公であり筆者であるはずの和泉式部本人を「女」という三人称的呼称で扱っていることから別に作者がいるのではないか、との意見もある(この説に従うなら和泉式部の恋愛に仮託した日記風歌物語、ということになる)。