The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by author J. D. Salinger . In 1961 , J. D. Salinger denied Elia Kazan permission to direct a stage adaptation of Catcher for Broadway . More recently , Salinger 's agents received bids for the Catcher movie rights from Harvey Weinstein and Steven Spielberg , neither of which was even passed on to J. D. Salinger for consideration .