diff --git a/src/calibre/ebooks/metadata/odt.py b/src/calibre/ebooks/metadata/odt.py
index f4b0986295..bf30dfd5f7 100644
--- a/src/calibre/ebooks/metadata/odt.py
+++ b/src/calibre/ebooks/metadata/odt.py
@@ -153,7 +153,9 @@ def get_metadata(stream):
     mi = MetaInformation(None, [])
     if data.has_key('title'):
         mi.title = data['title']
-    if data.has_key('creator'):
+    if data.get('initial-creator', '').strip():
+        mi.authors = string_to_authors(data['initial-creator'])
+    elif data.has_key('creator'):
         mi.authors = string_to_authors(data['creator'])
     if data.has_key('description'):
         mi.comments = data['description']