Author of the Purāṇa

According to the Matsya Purāṇa , Lord Viṣṇu explains to the sages that Brahma (at the time of creation) first remembered the Purāṇas , in all the scriptures. After that, Vedas have emerged from their mouths. In that period, Purāṇa was the same as a means of elaborate, virtuous and Trivarga community of three Purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kāma)–in a hundred crore verses. Seeing the apathy of the people towards the Purāṇa with the period, Lord Viṣṇu always appears in a different way every Dvāparayuga and he summarizes the Purāṇa and makes it into four lakh verses. The same is divided into eighteen parts and is published in this land.

Even today, this Purāṇa is only in a hundred crore verses in this heaven.

purāṇaṃ sarvaśāstrāṇāṃ prathamaṃ brahmaṇā smṛtam |
nantaraṃ ca vaktrebhyo vedāstasya vinirgatāḥ ||
purāṇamekamevāsīt tadā kalpāntare'nagha |
trivargasādhanaṃ pūṇyaṃ śatakoṭipravistaram ||
pravṛttiḥ sarvaśāstrāṇāṃ purāṇasyābhavat tataḥ |
kālenāgrahaṇaṃ dṛṣṭvā purāṇasya tato nṛpa ||
vyāsarūpamahaṃ kṛtvā saṃharāmi yuge yuge |
caturlakṣapramāṇena dvāpare dvāpare sadā ||
tathāṣṭādaśadhā kṛtvā bhūrloke'smin prakāśyate |
adyāpi devaloke'smiñśatakoṭipravistaram ||
  (Matsya Purāṇa –53/3, 4, 8, 9, 10).

The Viṣṇu Purāṇa^[1] and Devībhāgvata^[2] have mentioned that there are twenty-eight number of Vyāsa had born time to time.

According to the Kurma Purāṇa–he was the Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa who separated the Purāṇas –

aṣṭāviṃśo punaḥ prāpte dyāsmin vai dvāpare dvija
parāśarosuto vyāsaḥ kṛṣṇardvepāyano'bhavat ||
sa eva sarvavedānāṃ purāṇānāṃ pradarśakaḥ |
  (Kurma Purāṇa , Purvavāga, chapter–50).

According to the Visnu Purāṇa it is clear that the speaker of all the Mahā Purāṇas is Maharṣi Vyāsa. And after him his disciples and pro-disciples were the composers of these Purāṇas .^[3]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Viṣṇu Purāṇa–3/3/7-18

[2]:

Viṣṇu Purāṇa–3/6/13-19

[3]:

Kurma Purāṇa–Purvabhāga Chapter 50