diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7976061..cb10aab 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,3 +13,4 @@
 * fix/bash-history-mount: shell history in the dev container persists between sessions.
 * feature/version-file: generated projects take their package version from VERSION; existing projects run `uv lock` once after updating.
 * feature/plain-version: VERSION holds a plain X.Y.Z here and in generated projects, with CI adding the v for tags; existing projects remove the v from VERSION once.
+* fix/empty-author: generated code passes make format-dry-run when no author is set in the Copier settings.
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 4a36342..cb2b00e 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-3.0.0
+3.0.1
diff --git a/template/tests/test_main.py.jinja b/template/tests/test_main.py.jinja
index 8609549..f72f31b 100644
--- a/template/tests/test_main.py.jinja
+++ b/template/tests/test_main.py.jinja
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 Copyright (c) {{ year }} Apache-2.0 license
 
 @file
-@author {{ user_name }}
+@author{% if user_name %} {{ user_name }}{% endif %}
 @brief  Tests for the command-line options
 """
 
diff --git a/template/{{ module_slug }}/__init__.py.jinja b/template/{{ module_slug }}/__init__.py.jinja
index d6d499e..19f2cec 100755
--- a/template/{{ module_slug }}/__init__.py.jinja	
+++ b/template/{{ module_slug }}/__init__.py.jinja	
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 Copyright (c) {{ year }} Apache-2.0 license
 
 @file
-@author {{ user_name }}
+@author{% if user_name %} {{ user_name }}{% endif %}
 @brief{% if project_description %}  {{ project_description }}{% endif %}
 """
 
diff --git a/template/{{ module_slug }}/__main__.py.jinja b/template/{{ module_slug }}/__main__.py.jinja
index 30aa26d..13bfcb9 100755
--- a/template/{{ module_slug }}/__main__.py.jinja	
+++ b/template/{{ module_slug }}/__main__.py.jinja	
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 Copyright (c) {{ year }} Apache-2.0 license
 
 @file
-@author {{ user_name }}
+@author{% if user_name %} {{ user_name }}{% endif %}
 @brief  Main entry point
 """
 
diff --git a/template/{{ module_slug }}/main.py.jinja b/template/{{ module_slug }}/main.py.jinja
index 968f6cb..701585c 100755
--- a/template/{{ module_slug }}/main.py.jinja	
+++ b/template/{{ module_slug }}/main.py.jinja	
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 Copyright (c) {{ year }} Apache-2.0 license
 
 @file
-@author {{ user_name }}
+@author{% if user_name %} {{ user_name }}{% endif %}
 @brief  Main file
 """
 
diff --git a/template/{{ module_slug }}/{% if 'WebServer' in lib_pack %}api.py{% endif %}.jinja b/template/{{ module_slug }}/{% if 'WebServer' in lib_pack %}api.py{% endif %}.jinja
index 13950e5..8a536cf 100644
--- a/template/{{ module_slug }}/{% if 'WebServer' in lib_pack %}api.py{% endif %}.jinja	
+++ b/template/{{ module_slug }}/{% if 'WebServer' in lib_pack %}api.py{% endif %}.jinja	
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ Copyright (c) {{ year }} Apache-2.0 license
 
 
 @file
-@author {{ user_name }}
+@author{% if user_name %} {{ user_name }}{% endif %}
 @brief  FastAPI server{% if project_description %} for {{ project_description }}{% endif %}
 """