diff --git a/src/hooks/useAuthor.ts b/src/hooks/useAuthor.ts
index a65ad49..e0aea66 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useAuthor.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useAuthor.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export function useAuthor(pubkey: string | undefined) {
         return {};
       }
 
-      const querySignal = AbortSignal.any([signal, AbortSignal.timeout(8000)]);
+      const querySignal = AbortSignal.any([signal, AbortSignal.timeout(15000)]);
 
       try {
         // Try main relays first
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ export function useAuthor(pubkey: string | undefined) {
       }
     },
     staleTime: 60 * 1000, // 1 minute — allows NostrSync to invalidate and refetch quickly
-    retry: 3,
-    retryDelay: (attemptIndex) => Math.min(1000 * 2 ** attemptIndex, 8000),
+    retry: 5,
+    retryDelay: (attemptIndex) => Math.min(1000 * 2 ** attemptIndex, 10000),
   });
 }