Who coined the term Kafkaesque?

The term "Kafkaesque" was coined by Max Brod, a close friend and literary executor of Franz Kafka.

Brod, a fellow writer, first used the term in his biography of Kafka, "Franz Kafka: A Biography" (published in 1937), to describe the unique and unsettling aspects of Kafka's writing.

It's important to note that while Brod popularized the term, it's not certain if Kafka himself ever used it to describe his work.