List of women writers

A

• Karen Aabye, novelist and travel writer
• Jane Aamund, journalist and novelist
• Jane Aaron, writer and scholar
• Florencia Abbate, fiction writer, poet and essayist
• Eleanor Hallowell Abbott, poet and fiction writer
• Rachel Abbott, pen name of Sheila Rodgers, thriller author
• Yassmin Abdel-Magied, writer and media person
• Rreze Abdullahu, writer and war diarist
• Louise Abeita, writer
• Sara Aboobacker, Kannada writer
• Marguerite Abouet, graphic novelist
• Leila Aboulela, writer; The Translator
• Abiola Abrams, film-maker and author; Dare
• Umayya Abu-Hanna, writer, journalist and politician
• Juliet Ace, dramatist and scriptwriter
• Nora Aceval, story teller
• Anna Maria Achenrainer, writer
• Kathy Acker, novelist, poet and playwright; Blood and Guts in High School
• Eliza Acton, cookbook writer and poet; Modern Cookery for Private Families
• Joyce Ackroyd, author, translator and academic
• Juliette Adam, author and magazine editor
• Draginja Adamović, poet
• Abigail Adams, First Lady of the United States, letter writer and diarist
• Glenda Adams, fiction writer
• Patricia J. Adams, poet, writer and broadcaster
• Sarah Fuller Flower Adams, poet and lyricist; Nearer, My God, to Thee
• Patsy Adam-Smith, historian
• Gil Adamson, fiction writer and poet
• Fleur Adcock, poet and editor
• Sade Adeniran, novelist
• Caroline Adderson, fiction writer
• Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, novelist
• Yda Addis, writer and translator
• Kim Addonizio, poet and novelist
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, fiction writer; Purple Hibiscus
• Opal Palmer Adisa, poet, novelist and educator
• Zoe Adjonyoh, writer and cook
• Emma Adler, historical novelist and non-fiction writer
• Renata Adler, author, journalist and critic
• Sophie Adlersparre, feminist editor and writer; Home Review
• Aesara of Lucania, philosopher
• Patience Agbabi, poet
• Charlotte Agell, novelist and children's writer
• Kelli Russell Agodon, poet, writer and editor
• Gerty Agoston, playwright and novelist
• Grace Aguilar, novelist and writer
• Delmira Agustini, poet
• Freda Ahenakew, author and academic
• Catharina Ahlgren, feminist writer, poet and editor
• Mimoza Ahmeti, poet and writer
• Ilse Aichinger, writer
• Renate Aichinger, playwright and theater director
• Ama Ata Aidoo, author and playwright
• Naja Marie Aidt, poet, novelist and screenwriter
• Joan Aiken, novelist; The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
• Lucy Aikin, historical writer
• Tobiloba Ajayi, writer, lawyer and social campaigner
• Iris Akahoshi, writer for Amnesty International
• Miriam Akavia, writer and translator
• Grace Akello, poet, essayist and folklorist
• Anna Åkerhjelm, writer and traveller
• Rachel Akerman, Jewish poet in German
• Sonja Åkesson, poet, writer and artist
• Bella Akhmadulina, poet
• Anna Akhmatova, poet; Requiem
• Mirra Alfassa, also The Mother, mystic and writer
• Layla al-Akhyaliyya, poet
• Susanna Alakoski, Swedish-speaking novelist and lecturer
• Outi Alanne, sado-masochist writer
• Anne-Marie Albiach, poet and translator
• Alice Albinia, non-fiction author; Empires of the Indus
• Jordie Albiston, poet and academic
• Aurora de Albornoz, poet
• Mary Alcock, poet, essayist and philanthropist
• Louisa May Alcott, novelist; Little Women
• Isabella Macdonald Alden, children's writer
• Julia Carter Aldrich, author
• Claribel Alegría, author and poet
• Elizabeth Alexander, poet, essayist and playwright
• Eva Alexanderson, writer, translator and publisher
• Svetlana Alexievich, non-fiction writer and journalist; 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Edna Alford, short story writer and literary editor
• Monica Ali, novelist and essayist
• Jane Alison, novelist and memoir writer
• Laila al-Juhani, fiction writer
• Zaynab Alkali, fiction writer and poet
• Al-Khansā, poet
• Candace Allen, novelist, activist and screenwriter
• Hannah Allen, writer
• Isabel Allende, novelist; Eva Luna
• Phyllis Shand Allfrey, writer; The Orchid House
• Svetlana Alliluyeva, writer and lecturer
• Margery Allingham, crime writer; Mystery Mile
• Dorothy Allison, writer and speaker; '
• Eunice Eloisae Gibbs Allyn, author, correspondent and poet
• Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, poet in Arabic
• Marianne Alopaeus, existentialist novelist and essayist
• Mor Altshuler, scholar and writer
• Julia Álvarez, poet, novelist and essayist; How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
• María Álvarez de Guillén, novelist
• Moniza Alvi, poet and writer
• Barbro Alving, feminist, journalist and writer
• Fanny Alving, novelist
• Karin Alvtegen, crime novelist; Shame
• Ifi Amadiume, poet, anthropologist and essayist
• Catherine d'Amboise, writer and poet
• Elizabeth Frances Amherst, poet and naturalist
• Taos Amrouche, writer and singer
• Valerie Anand, historical fiction writer
• Andaiye, non-fiction writer and activist
• Annemette Kure Andersen, poet and literary editor
• Marguerite Andersen, writer, editor and academic
• Ethel Anderson, poet, novelist and painter
• Jessica Anderson, fiction writer; The Impersonators
• Laurie Halse Anderson, children's and young adults' writer; Speak
• Lena Anderson, children's author and illustrator
• Rachel Anderson, children's and young adult fiction author
• Verily Anderson, children's fiction author, biographer and screenwriter
• Gail Anderson-Dargatz, novelist; The Cure for Death by Lightning
• Pamela Andersson, journalist
• Agustina Andrade, poet
• Isabella Andreini, playwright, poet and actress
• Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, poet and writer
• Eliza Frances Andrews, novelist and Civil War writer
• Marie Louise Andrews, fiction writer and journalist
• Harriet Anena, poet and journalist
• Maya Angelou, autobiographer and poet
• Jane Anger, writer
• Christine Angot, novelist and playwright
• María Nsué Angüe, writer
• Marion Angus, poet in Braid Scots and English
• Yu Anjin, poet and essayist
• Nini Roll Anker, novelist and playwright; Den som henger i en tråd
• Charlotte Anley, novelist, social and religious writer and musician
• Núria Añó, Catalan writer and novelist
• Manana Antadze, writer and translator
• Gloria E. Anzaldúa, author, poet and activist; '
• Leïla Aouchal, autobiographer
• Monica Arac de Nyeko, fiction writer, poet and essayist
• Tullia d'Aragona, poet, author and philosopher
• Maria Arbatova, novelist, playwright and poet
• Elvia Ardalani, writer, poet and storyteller
• Jane Arden, film director, playwright and novelist; The Party
• Hannah Arendt, Jewish political theorist The Human Condition
• Harriett Ellen Grannis Arey, author, editor and publisher
• Héloïse d'Argenteuil, scholar and abbess writing in Latin
• Yemisi Aribisala, essayist, painter and food memoirist
• Hiro Arikawa, novelist
• Lesley Nneka Arimah, short-story writer
• Rae Armantrout, writer, language poet and academic
• Karen Armstrong, writer on comparative religion; A History of God
• Kelley Armstrong, writer; Women of the Otherworld series
• Louise Armstrong, author and feminist
• Millicent Armstrong, playwright and farmer
• Bettina von Arnim, writer and novelist
• Elizabeth von Arnim, novelist; Mr. Skeffington
• Elizabeth Arnold, children's writer
• Joanne Arnott, Métis writer
• Harriette Arnow, novelist
• Franciszka Arnsztajnowa, poet, playwright and translator
• Tuuve Aro, fiction writer, film critic and producer
• Stina Aronson, novelist
• Marina Arrate, poet and psychologist
• Renée Ferrer de Arréllaga, poet and novelist
• Pat Arrowsmith, novelist and politician
• Suzanne Arruda, mystery novelist
• Eustahija Arsić, writer
• Keri Arthur, fantasy, horror and romance novelist
• Inga Arvad, journalist
• Amma Asante, filmmaker and screenwriter
• Helen Asher, novelist
• Daisy Ashford, child writer; The Young Visiters
• Melissa Ashley, novelist
• Anastasia Ashman, author and producer; Tales from the Expat Harem
• Francis Leslie Ashton, novelist
• Anne Askew, poet and martyr
• Asphyxia, children's author and puppeteer
• Marie Aspioti, writer and poet
• Ruth Aspöck, fiction writer and poet
• Cynthia Asquith, novelist and diarist
• Ros Asquith, cartoonist, children's author and illustrator
• Margot Asquith, author
• Judith Astelarra, sociologist in gender studies
• Mary Astell, feminist writer and rhetorician
• Thea Astley, fiction writer and poet
• Tilly Aston, blind poet and prose writer
• Cassandra Atherton, prose-poet and academic
• Gertrude Atherton, writer
• Diana Athill, editor, novelist and memoirist
• Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson, author, journalist and teacher
• Louisa Atkinson, novelist, botanist and illustrator
• Kate Atkinson, novelist
• M. E. Atkinson, children's novelist
• Tiffany Atkinson, poet and academic
• Karen Attard, fantasy and fiction writer
• Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, novelist
• Margaret Atwood, novelist, poet and critic; The Handmaid's Tale
• Sefi Atta, author and playwright
• Ayesha Harruna Attah, fiction writer
• Madeleine de l'Aubespine, poet
• Penelope Aubin, novelist and translator
• Dorothy Auchterlonie, academic, critic and poet
• Aude, fiction writer
• Ashley Audrain, novelist
• Jean M. Auel, novelist; Earth's Children series
• Madame d'Aulnoy, fairy-tale writer
• Rose Ausländer, poet in German and English
• Jane Austen, novelist; Pride and Prejudice
• Mary Austin, writer The Land of Little Rain
• Sarah Austin, translator from German
• Violeta Autumn, architect and cookery author
• Auvaiyar, name shared by several poets in Tamil literature
• Frau Ava, first female writer in German
• Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, novelist, playwright and poet
• Catharine Hitchcock Tilden Avery, author, editor and educator
• Victoria Aveyard, YA fantasy writer; Red Queen
• Bunty Avieson, journalist and novelist
• Magdalena Avietėnaitė, journalist
• Teresa of Ávila, nun and mystic
• Margaret Avison, poet, editor and speaker
• Smilja Avramov, non-fiction writer
• Mona Awad, fiction writer
• Marilou Awiakta, Cherokee author
• Celine Axelos, poet and public speaker
• Majgull Axelsson, journalist and novelist; April Witch
• Elysa Ayala, writer and painter
• Margaret Ayer, writer and illustrator
• Susanne Ayoub, novelist and film-maker
• Pam Ayres, poet, songwriter and presenter
• Che Husna Azhari, writer
• Trezza Azzopardi, fiction writer and broadcaster

  B

• Mariama Bâ, novelist; So Long a Letter
• Alaviyya Babayeva, prose-writer, translator and publicist
• Natalie Babbitt, children's author and illustrator; Tuck Everlasting
• Ingrid Bachér, playwright and screenwriter
• Yamina Bachir, screenwriter and film director
• Ingeborg Bachmann, poet, playwright and novelist
• Elizabeth Backhouse, novelist, scriptwriter and playwright
• Delia Bacon, playwright and fiction writer
• Anita Rau Badami, novelist; The Hero's Walk
• Gabeba Baderoon, poet
• Van Badham, playwright and novelist
• Yaba Badoe, novelist and film-maker
• Enid Bagnold, author and playwright; National Velvet
• Elisaveta Bagryana, poet
• Joanna Baillie, poet and dramatist
• Alice Bailey, mystic
• Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey, ornithologist
• Beryl Bainbridge, novelist
• Doreen Baingana, fiction writer and editor
• Elizabeth-Irene Baitie, writer of young adult fiction
• Deb Baker, mystery writer
• Dorothy Baker, novelist; Young Man with a Horn
• Albena Bakratcheva, author on transcendentalism
• Asma El Bakry, author and film director
• Bettina Balàka, fiction writer, poet and playwright
• Margaret Balderson, children's writer
• Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir, novelist
• Faith Baldwin, romance and fiction author
• Rabia Balkhi, poet
• Mary Balogh, novelist
• Jelena Balšić, epistle writer
• Toni Cade Bambara, author, activist and academic
• Mary Ellen Bamford, author
• Consort Ban, scholar and poet
• Linda Vero Ban, writer on Jewish identity
• Ban Zhao, first female Chinese historian; Lessons for Women
• Ellen Banda-Aaku, fiction and children's writer
• Helen Elliott Bandini, history writer
• Faith Bandler, writer and rights activist
• Mary Jo Bang, poet
• Zsuzsa Bánk, novelist
• Leslie Esdaile Banks, author; The Vampire Huntress Legend Series
• Maya Banks, romance author
• Anne Bannerman, poet
• Helen Bannerman, children's writer; Little Black Sambo
• Agnieszka Baranowska, playwright and poet
• Natalya Baranskaya, writer; A Week Like Any Other
• Anna Laetitia Barbauld, poet, essayist and children's author; Eighteen Hundred and Eleven
• Margaret Barber, novelist and children's writer
• Muriel Barbery, novelist and academic; The Elegance of the Hedgehog
• Maria Tore Barbina, poet and translator
• Florence L. Barclay, fiction writer; The Rosary
• Leigh Bardugo, young adult and fantasy author
• Joan Barfoot, novelist
• Arvède Barine, writer and historian
• Susan Barker, novelist
• Nicola Barker, fiction writer
• Pat Barker, novelist; 1995 Booker Prize; Regeneration trilogy
• Anna Barkova, poet, playwright and fiction and non-fiction writer
• Jane Barlow, novelist and poet
• Marjorie Barnard, novelist and historian
• Mary Barnard, poet, biographer and translator
• Annie Maria Barnes, journalist, editor and author
• Djuna Barnes, writer; Ladies Almanack
• Margaret Ayer Barnes, author; Years of Grace
• Ana Baron, writer and journalist
• Evangeline Barongo, children's author
• Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr, novelist
• Emma de la Barra, novelist
• Emma Barrandeguy, poet, storyteller and playwright
• Andrea Barrett, fiction writer
• Lynne Barrett, fiction writer and editor
• Rachel Barrett, editor and suffragette
• Nuria Barrios, poet and non-fiction writer
• Angela Barry, writer and educator
• Charlotte Barton, children's writer and educationalist
• Emily Mary Barton, poet
• Violet Barungi, writer and editor
• Mildred Barya, poet
• Anabela Basalo, fiction writer
• Marie Bashkirtseff, diarist and artist
• Marnie Bassett, historian and biographer
• Laura Bassi, physicist and academic
• Jackee Budesta Batanda, journalist and writer
• Allie Bates, writer
• Daisy Bates, anthropologist
• Katharine Lee Bates, songwriter
• Catherine Bateson, novelist and poet
• Carol S. Batey, writer
• Janet Bathgate, working-class autobiographer
• Effie T. Battle, poet and educator
• Dawn-Michelle Baude, poet, journalist and educator
• Baudovinia, religious writer in Latin
• Vicki Baum, novelist
• Gertrud Bäumer, writer and feminist
• Annie Maria Baxter, diarist
• Ada Ellen Bayly, novelist
• Barbara Baynton, short story writer
• Emilia Pardo Bazán, essayist and novelist
• Anne Beale, novelist and poet
• Aletta Beaujon, poet
• Betty Bentley Beaumont, author and merchant
• Simone de Beauvoir, author and philosopher; She Came to Stay
• Dany Bébel-Gisler, novelist
• Margaret Bechard, children's writer
• Alison Bechdel, cartoonist and graphic memoirist; Fun Home
• Béatrix Beck, novelist; The Passionate Heart
• Thea Beckman, novelist; Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek
• Claude de Bectoz, writer and philosopher
• Jean Bedford, fiction writer
• Ruth Bedford, poet, playwright and children's writer
• Simi Bedford, novelist; Yoruba Girl Dancing
• Patricia Beer, poet and critic
• Mrs. Beeton, domestic author; Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management
• Anne Beffort, Luxembourg educator, writer and biographer
• Aphra Behn, playwright, poet and novelist; The Rover
• Mariam Behnam, novelist and autobiographer
• Larissa Behrendt, legal academic and novelist
• Valerie Belgrave, artist, painter and author
• Concepción Silva Belinzon, writer
• Diane Bell, anthropologist
• Hilary Bell, playwright
• Susan Groag Bell, women's studies pioneer and autobiographer
• Diana Bellessi, poet and essayist
• Gioconda Belli, Nicaraguan revolutionary and writer
• Samira Bellil, autobiographer
• Nassira Belloula, writer in French
• Jelica Belović-Bernadzikowska, writer
• Myriam Ben, poet, fiction writer and painter
• Karen E. Bender, novelist
• Victoria Benedictsson, author
• Elizabeth Benger, novelist and biographer
• Nouria Benghabrit-Remaoun, sociologist and politician
• Berthe Bénichou-Aboulker, poet and playwright
• Anna Maria Bennett, novelist
• Mary Montgomerie Bennett, biographer and civil rights advocate
• Veronica Bennett, children's novelist
• Gwendolyn B. Bennett, writer
• Louise Bennett, poet and folklorist
• Nettie Lee Benson, archivist and historian
• Sally Benson, screenwriter and fiction writer
• Caroline French Benton, cookery writer
• Nina Berberova, writer; The Tattered Cloak
• Josefa Berens-Totenohl, novelist
• Aimée Daniell Beringer, playwright and novelist
• Gabrielle Bernard, poet in Walloon French
• Patricia Bernard, fiction writer
• Juliana Berners, writer on medieval pursuits; The Book of Saint Albans
• Jovette Bernier, journalist, novelist, and poet
• Elsa Bernstein, playwright and autobiographical account of Theresienstadt concentration camp imprisonment
• Bertice Berry, sociologist, author and educator
• Julie Berry, author of children's and young adult fiction
• Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, poet and playwright
• Betty Berzon, author
• Annie Besant, theosophist and activist; The Ancient Wisdom
• Mary Matilda Betham, diarist, poet and woman of letters
• Matilda Betham-Edwards, novelist, poet and travel writer
• Kata Bethlen, memoirist
• Doris Betts, fiction writer and essayist; Beasts of the Southern Wild and Other Stories
• Elizabeth Beverley, pamphleteer and entertainer
• L. S. Bevington, poet, anarchist and essayist
• Maïssa Bey, writer and educator
• Anuradha Bhattacharyya, Indian writer in English
• Elizabeth Bibesco, writer
• Marthe Bibesco, writer in French
• Hester Biddle, Quaker pamphleteer and preacher
• Ruth Bidgood, poet
• Gisèle Bienne, novelist
• Linda Bierds, poet and professor
• Barbara Biggs, writer, journalist and campaigner
• Juana Bignozzi, poet and translator
• Anna Bijns, humanist writing in Dutch and French
• Elisheva Bikhovski, poet, critic and translator
• Maeve Binchy, novelist, playwright and columnist
• Hildegard of Bingen, mystic, playwright and poet in Latin; Scivias
• Carol Birch, novelist
• Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer, playwright and actress
• Carmel Bird, fiction writer
• Isabella Bird, traveller and writer
• Poldy Bird, poet and essayist
• Sandra Birdsell, fiction writer
• Winifred Birkett, novelist and poet
• Dora Birtles, fiction writer, poet and travel writer
• Anne Bishop, fantasy novelist; The Black Jewels series
• Elizabeth Bishop, poet and writer
• Jacqueline Bishop, writer, visual artist and photographer
• Isidora Bjelica, writer and playwright
• Marie Bjelke-Petersen, novelist
• Christina Björk, writer and children's book author
• Clementina Black, novelist and political writer
• Emily Lucas Blackall, writer and philanthropist
• Sarah Blackborow, Quaker writer and preacher
• Malorie Blackman, fiction writer and dramatist for children and young adults
• Isa Blagden, novelist and poet
• Marina Blagojević, writer on gender and feminism
• Georgia Blain, novelist, journalist and biographer
• Marie-Claire Blais, novelist, poet, and playwright
• Susanna Blamire, poet
• Neltje Blanchan, nature writer; Bird Neighbors
• Carla Blank, writer, editor and educator
• Clair Blank, author of Beverly Gray mystery series
• Barbara Blaugdone, Quaker autobiographer
• Helena Blavatsky, theosophist, occultist and mystic
• Ann Eliza Bleecker, poet and correspondent
• Karen Blixen, writer; Out of Africa
• Francesca Lia Block, author; Weetzie Bat series
• Amy Bloom, novelist, non-fiction writer and psychotherapist
• Valerie Bloom, poet and novelist
• Amelia Bloomer, writer on women's rights and temperance
• Andrée Blouin, activist and writer
• Judy Blume, novelist; Forever
• Enid Blyton, children's writer; Famous Five series
• Capel Boake,, novelist
• Margarita Bobba, writer and poet
• Imma von Bodmershof, poet
• Liliana Bodoc, novelist
• Milica Bodrožić, political history writer
• Janka Boga, writer and teacher
• Louise Bogan, poet
• Graciela Bográn, intellectual and essayist
• Margarete Böhme, novelist; Tagebuch einer Verlorenen
• Eavan Boland, poet
• Catherine of Bologna, religious writer and saint
• Isabel Bolton, novelist
• Sarah Knowles Bolton, writer
• María Luisa Bombal, author
• Erma Bombeck, humorist
• Son Bo-mi, novelist
• Annie B. Bond, author and editor
• Chrystelle Trump Bond, dancer, choreographer and dance historian
• Cynthia Bond, novelist
• Mildred Amanda Baker Bonham, traveler and journalist
• Tanella Boni, poet and novelist
• Elizabeth Anne Bonner, fiction writer and poet
• Geraldine Bonner, author
• Marita Bonner, writer, essayist and playwright; Harlem Renaissance
• Malika Booker, poet, writer and artist
• Mary Everest Boole, writer
• Frances Boothby, playwright
• Alice Borchardt, historical fiction, fantasy and horror writer The Silver Wolf
• Ivonne Bordelois, poet and essayist
• Miriam Borgenicht, mystery novelist
• Norah Borges, poet, journalist and illustrator
• Alicia Borinsky,, novelist, poet and critic
• Elsa Bornemann, children's writer
• Anica Bošković, writer and poet
• Käthe Bosse-Griffiths, archaeologist
• Marianne Boruch, poet and professor
• Anne Lynch Botta, poet, writer and teacher
• Phyllis Bottome, fiction writer; The Mortal Storm
• Jenny Boult, poet
• Jane Bowdler, poet and essayist
• Elizabeth Bowen, fiction writer
• Mary Bowes, playwright and botanist
• Jane Bowles, writer and playwright; Two Serious Ladies
• Karin Boye, poet and novelist
• Kay Boyle, writer, educator and political activist
• Leigh Brackett, science fiction author; The Starmen
• Paula Brackston, historical novelist
• Mary Elizabeth Braddon, novelist; Lady Audley's Secret
• Marion Zimmer Bradley, fantasy and science fiction writer; The Door Through Space
• Anne Bradstreet, poet and writer
• Anne Bragance, writer
• Oyinkan Braithwaite, novelist
• Shannon Bramer, poet
• Dionne Brand, poet, novelist and essayist
• Hannah Brand, actress and playwright
• Mona Brand, poet, playwright and non-fiction writer
• Giannina Braschi, writer; Empire of Dreams
• Ann Brashares, young-adult author
• Lily Braun, feminist writer
• Anna Eliza Bray, novelist
• Libba Bray, young-adult novelist; The Sweet Far Thing
• Angela Brazil, young-adult writer
• Jean "Binta" Breeze, dub poet and storyteller
• Kirstin Breitenfellner, novelist, critic and yoga teacher
• Fredrika Bremer, writer and feminist activist
• Sophia Elisabet Brenner, writer, poet and feminist
• Jane Brereton, topical poet
• Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, fiction writer and poet
• Martha Wadsworth Brewster, poet and writer; first US-born woman to publish under own name
• Melitta Breznik, fiction writer
• London Bridgez, poet and writer
• Patricia Briggs, fantasy writer
• Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright, "New Woman" writer and feminist
• Eliza Brightwen, writer and naturalist
• Hesba Brinsmead, novelist
• Vera Brittain, writer, feminist and pacifist; Testament of Youth
• Dragana Kršenković Brković, writer
• Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, children's writer; Croatian Tales of Long Ago
• Chris Broadribb, fiction writer
• Erna Brodber, novelist and sociologist
• Anne Brontë, novelist and poet; The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
• Charlotte Brontë, novelist and poet; Jane Eyre
• Emily Brontë, novelist and poet; Wuthering Heights
• Emma Brooke, "New Woman" novelist
• Frances Brooke, novelist, essayist and playwright
• Anita Brookner, novelist and art historian; Hotel du Lac
• Geraldine Brooks, novelist; March
• Gwendolyn Brooks, poet and author; Annie Allen
• Anne Brooksbank, scriptwriter and playwright
• Mary Anne Broome, Lady Broome, novelist, travel and children's writer
• Nicole Brossard, formalist poet and novelist
• Alice Williams Brotherton, poet and magazine writer
• Rhoda Broughton, novelist
• Olga Broumas, poet
• Flora Brovina, poet, pediatrician and rights activist
• Cindy Lynn Brown, poet
• Lily Brown, poet and author
• Helen Gurley Brown, author and publisher
• Margaret Wise Brown, children's author; Goodnight Moon
• Pam Brown, poet and prose writer
• Pat Brown, true-crime author and criminal profiler
• Rebecca Brown, author
• Rita Mae Brown, novelist, poet and screenwriter
• Frances Browne, poet and novelist
• Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet; Aurora Leigh
• Mary Grant Bruce, children's author and journalist
• Alyssa Brugman, young-adults' fiction writer
• Herminia Brumana, novelist and playwright
• Andrée Brunin, poet
• Giuliana Bruno, environmentalist
• Marianne Bruns, novelist and poet
• Mary Brunton, novelist
• Tanja Bruske, writer and journalist
• Colette Bryce, poet
• Bryher, novelist, poet and memoirist
• Pearl S. Buck, fiction writer, biographer and humanitarian; 1938 Nobel Prize in Literature The Good Earth
• Klara Buda, writer and journalist
• Maria Elizabeth Budden, novelist, translator and children's writer
• Lukrecija Bogašinović Budmani, writer
• Andrea Hollander Budy, poet
• Aminta Buenaño, writer and politician
• Kanstantsia Builo, poet and playwright
• NoViolet Bulawayo, fiction writer; We Need New Names
• Emily Hemans Bulcock, poet
• Fanny Mary Katherine Bulkeley-Owen, historian
• Silvina Bullrich, novelist, screenwriter and translator
• Anna Bülow, writer, translator and abbess
• Delfina Bunge, poet, fiction writer and essayist
• Anna Bunina, poet
• Elizabeth Burchill, nurse, philanthropist and author
• Erika Burkart, poet and writer
• Bonnie Burnard, novelist; A Good House
• Frances Hodgson Burnett, playwright and children's writer; The Secret Garden
• Frances Burney, closet drama writer
• Frances Burney, novelist, diarist and playwright; Evelina
• Sarah Burney, novelist
• Clara Louise Burnham, novelist
• Anna Burns, novelist
• Deborah Burrows, novelist
• Mary Towne Burt, temperance reformer and benefactor
• Margaret Busby, publisher, journalist and dramatist; Daughters of Africa
• Olivia Ward Bush, author, poet and journalist
• Abena Busia, poet and academic
• Akosua Busia, actress, novelist and screenwriter
• Christine Busta, poet and children's writer
• Sharon Butala, novelist
• Amy Butcher, essayist and writer
• Octavia Butler, science fiction writer; Patternist series
• Susan Bulkeley Butler, motivational author
• Joanne Burns, art critic, historian and novelist
• Miriam Butterworth, pacifist, teacher and politician
• Mary Butts, modernist writer
• A. S. Byatt, novelist and poet
• Kim Byeol-ah, author
• Marie Beuzeville Byles, travel and non-fiction writer
• Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, fiction writer and anthologist

  C

• Meg Cabot, author; The Princess Diaries
• Caroline Caddy, poet
• Florence Caddy, writer
• Elizabeth Cadell, writer
• Dilys Cadwaladr, poet
• Kathleen Caffyn, novelist
• Cai Yan, poet and composer
• Mona Caird, novelist and essayist
• Susana Calandrelli, poet, fiction writer and essayist
• Graciela Rincón Calcaño, writer and poet
• Taylor Caldwell, novelist
• Hortense Calisher, writer
• Maria Callcott, children's and travel writer
• Carmen Callil, publisher, writer and critic
• June Callwood, author and activist
• Mena Calthorpe, novelist
• Paola Calvetti, novelist and journalist
• Ada Cambridge, novelist, poet and autobiographer
• Bebe Moore Campbell, novelist
• Bonnie Jo Campbell, fiction writer
• Hazel Campbell, fiction and children's writer
• Marion May Campbell, novelist and academic
• Lorea Canales, writer, journalist and translator
• Dorothy Canfield, author; Understood Betsy
• May Wedderburn Cannan, poet
• Minna Canth, writer and social activist
• Estela Canto, novelist, biographer and translator
• Ludmilla Lacueva Canut, fiction and non-fiction writer
• Lan Cao, writer; Monkey Bridge
• Margarita Abella Caprile, poet, fiction and travel writer
• Marie Cardinal, novelist
• Jacqueline Carey, fantasy novelist
• Rosa Nouchette Carey, novelist and children's writer
• Patricia Carlon, crime novelist
• Jennings Carmichael, poet
• María Luisa Carnelli, poet and journalist
• Albertina Carri, screenwriter and film director
• Leonora Carrington, novelist, artist and surrealist
• Rachel Carson, marine biologist, conservationist and author; Silent Spring
• Catherine Carswell, writer
• Teresa de Cartagena, religious writer
• Angela Carter, novelist and journalist; Nights at the Circus
• Anne Laurel Carter, novelist
• Elizabeth Carter, poet, writer and Bluestocking
• Emma de Cartosio, writer, poet and storyteller
• Candice Carty-Williams, novelist and columnist
• Caroline Carver, novelist
• Lisa Crystal Carver, writer
• Alice Cary, poet
• Elizabeth Cary, playwright; The Tragedy of Mariam
• Phoebe Cary, poet
• Nené Cascallar, radio and television playwright and screenwriter
• Adelaide Casely-Hayford, fiction writer and educator
• Gladys May Casely-Hayford, poet
• Kathryn Casey, true crime author, novelist and journalist
• Maie Casey, Baroness Casey, poet, librettist and biographer
• Deirdre Cash, novelist
• Kristin Cashore, fantasy author
• P. C. Cast, author; House of Night
• Rosario Castellanos, poet and author
• Almucs de Castelnau, poet writing in Occitan
• Ana Castillo, fiction writer, poet and essayist
• Elisabeth Castonier, children's writer in German and English
• Rosalía de Castro, writer and poet in Galician
• Willa Cather, author; My Ántonia
• Nancy Cato, historical novelist, poet and biographer
• Eleanor Catton, novelist; The Luminaries
• Jane Cavendish, poet and playwright
• Margaret Cavendish, poet, playwright and fiction writer
• Susannah Centlivre, playwright and poet
• Laura Cereta, humanist
• Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, novelist and artist; Dictee
• Brenda Chamberlain, poet, novelist and artist
• Françoise Chandernagor, novelist and playwright
• Elizabeth Margaret Chandler, poet and writer
• Diana Chang, novelist and poet
• Jung Chang, author; Wild Swans
• Hester Chapone, writer and Bluestocking
• Charlotte Charke, playwright, novelist and autobiographer
• Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine, correspondent
• Isabelle de Charrière, novelist in French
• Lidia Charskaya, popular novelist
• Noëlle Châtelet, essayist, novelist and story writer
• Georgiana Chatterton, author and traveler
• Beth Chatto, garden writer
• Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, poet known for Hindi songs
• Nan Chauncy, children's writer
• Daína Chaviano, Cuban writer; The Island of Eternal Love
• Mavis Cheek, novelist
• Nora Chegodayeva, interpreter and translator
• Ying Chen, author
• Chen Jingrong, poet
• Kelly Cherry, novelist, poet and essayist
• C. J. Cherryh, sci-fi and fantasy author
• Tracy Chevalier, novelist; Girl with a Pearl Earring
• Corinne Chevallier, novelist and historian
• Helmina von Chézy, poet, playwright and librettist
• Panashe Chigumadzi, journalist, essayist and novelist
• Sagawa Chika, poet
• Lydia Maria Child, poet and novelist; Over the River and Through the Woods
• Alice Childress, playwright and novelist
• Irma Chilton, children's writer
• Mei Chin, writer and food critic
• Paulina Chiziane, fiction writer
• Joanna Chmielewska, writer
• Sonia Chocrón, poet, novelist and playwright
• Pema Chödrön, Buddhist author
• Choi Jeong-rye, poet
• Susan Choi, novelist and editor
• Mary Cholmondeley, novelist
• Lathóg of Tír Chonaill, poet
• Denise Chong, memoirist and non-fiction author
• Kate Chopin, fiction writer; The Awakening
• Lynda Chouiten, non-fiction writer
• Helene Christaller, children's novelist
• Ada Christen, poet and fiction and sketch writer
• Kate Christensen, novelist; In The Drink
• Autumn Christian, horror and science fiction writer; Girl Like a Bomb
• Agatha Christie, crime writer; The Mousetrap
• Elizabeth Christitch, writer, poet and translator
• Chrystos, Menominee rights activist and poet
• Lady Mary Chudleigh, poet, essayist and writer
• Ismat Chughtai, Urdu writer
• Lydia Chukovskaya, writer; Sofia Petrovna
• Caryl Churchill, playwright; A Mouthful of Birds
• Sandra Cisneros, fiction writer; The House on Mango Street
• Gabrielle Civil, performance artist, poet, and educator
• Hélène Cixous, poet, playwright and philosopher
• Ellen Clacy, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Paula Clamp, novelist and playwright
• Amy Clampitt, poet and author
• Cassandra Clare, young-adult fiction writer
• Mona Matilda Clare, novelist
• Mavis Thorpe Clark, non-fiction and children's writer
• Sue Cassidy Clark, music journalist and photographer
• Joan Clark, novelist
• Margaret Clark, historian, writer and educator
• Coralie Clarke,, travel writer
• Gillian Clarke, poet and playwright
• Maxine Beneba Clarke, writer
• Mary Higgins Clark, suspense novelist
• Amy Key Clarke, mystical poet, author and teacher
• Anna Clarke, mystery writer
• Breena Clarke, scholar and writer of fiction
• Cheryl Clarke, poet, essayist and community activist
• Gillian Clarke, poet, playwright and broadcaster
• Mrs. Henry Clarke, historical novelist and children's writer
• Mary H. Gray Clarke, author, correspondent and poet
• Susanna Clarke, novelist; Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
• Margareta Clausdotter, writer and abbess
• Beverly Cleary, author; The Mouse and the Motorcycle
• Kate McPhelim Cleary, novelist and story writer
• Joceline Clemencia, writer and linguist
• Inga Clendinnen, author and historian
• Cleobulina, poet
• Claude Catherine de Clermont, scholar and courtier
• Michelle Cliff, author; No Telephone to Heaven
• Charmian Clift, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Lucille Clifton, poet, writer and educator
• Gloria Griffen Cline, historian
• Caroline Clive, poet and novelist
• Catherine Clive, actress and dramatist
• Hafina Clwyd, essayist, journalist and educator
• Ella Maria Dietz Clymer, actress, poet
• Lynn Coady, fiction writer and journalist
• Wendy Coakley-Thompson, novelist
• Florence Earle Coates, poet
• Frances Power Cobbe, writer and suffragist
• Grace Coddington, fashion writer and memoirist
• Alice Rollit Coe, author
• Gabrielle de Coignard, poet
• Virginia Coigney, civic leader and author
• Allison Hedge Coke, poet and writer
• Frona Eunice Wait Colburn, journalist and fiction writer
• H. Maria George Colby, journalist, temperance worker and suffragist
• Emma Shaw Colcleugh, journalist, lecturer and traveler
• Lois Dwight Cole, editor and children's author
• Norma Cole, poet, visual artist and translator
• Wanda Coleman, poet
• Christabel Rose Coleridge, novelist and editor
• Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, novelist and poet
• Sara Coleridge, writer and translator
• Colette, novelist; Gigi
• Camilla Collett, novelist, literary critic and essayist
• Ada Langworthy Collier, poet and writer
• Catrin Collier, novelist and playwright
• Jennie Collins, activist and author
• Mabel Collins, theosophist
• Merle Collins, poet and fiction writer
• Suzanne Collins, novelist; The Hunger Games
• Vittoria Colonna, poet and marchioness
• Mary Colum, literary critic and author
• Flavia Company, novelist and poet
• Anne Compton, poet, critic and anthologist
• Jennifer Compton, poet
• Ivy Compton-Burnett, novelist; Pastors and Masters
• Maryse Condé, novelist
• Helen Gray Cone, poet and professor
• Jane Elizabeth Dexter Conklin, poet and religious writer
• Eliza Archard Conner, lecturer and feminist
• Elizabeth Marney Conner, drama reader, educator and author
• Ana Conta-Kernbach, writer and educationist
• Selma Cook, editor
• Eliza Cook, poet
• Marvel Cooke, journalist and writer
• Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Sioux poet, novelist and academic
• Ina Coolbrith, poet
• Deborah Coonts, romance and humor novelist and lawyer
• Carolyn Cooper, author and literary scholar
• J. California Cooper, playwright and fiction writer
• Wendy Cope, poet
• Esther Copley, religious and children's writer
• Marguerite Coppin, poet
• Marie Corelli, novelist
• Corinna, poet
• Cornificia, poet and epigram writer
• Caroline Cornwallis, writer on education, philosophy and science
• Jane Cornwallis, letter writer
• Anita Cornwell, author
• Patricia Cornwell, crime writer
• Cecilia K Corrigan, poet and writer
• Sarah Cortez, poet, editor and essayist
• Jayne Cortez, poet and performance artist
• Lola Costa, painter, writer and poet
• Sophie Ristaud Cottin, novelist
• Dorothy Cottrell, novelist
• Violet May Cottrell, writer, poet and spiritualist
• Anna Couani, novelist, poet and visual artist
• Emily Coungeau, poet
• Hedwig Courths-Mahler, novelist
• Arlette Cousture, writer
• Dani Couture, poet and novelist
• Jessie Couvreur, novelist
• Hannah Cowley, playwright and poet
• Josephine Cox, novelist
• Mary Lynde Craig, writer, teacher and activist
• Dinah Mulock Craik, novelist; John Halifax, Gentleman
• Helen Craik, novelist
• Elizabeth Azcona Cranwell, poet, fiction writer and translator
• Margaret Craven, novelist; I Heard the Owl Call My Name
• Isabella Valancy Crawford, poet
• Susan P. Crawford, professor of law
• Hélisenne de Crenne, novelist, correspondent and translator
• Jasmine Cresswell, romantic and historical novelist
• Alice Guerin Crist, poet, fiction writer and journalist
• Ann Batten Cristall, poet
• Maria Sonia Cristoff, fiction and non-fiction writer
• Alison Croggon, poet, playwright and novelist
• Bithia Mary Croker, writer
• M. T. C. Cronin, writer
• Camilla Dufour Crosland, writer and poet
• Elsa Cross, poet and essayist
• Zora Cross, poet, novelist and journalist
• Karen Crouse, journalist and author
• Catherine Crowe, dramatist, novelist and children's book author
• Helen Cruickshank, poet writing in Braid Scots and English
• Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, poet and playwright
• Diana Çuli, writer and politician
• Meta Davis Cumberbatch, poet, playwright and cultural activist
• Maria Susanna Cummins, novelist; The Lamplighter
• Lady Margaret Cunningham, memoirist and correspondent
• Pat Cumper, playwright
• Maria Renee Cura, Indian specialist and non-fiction writer
• Jean Curlewis, children's writer
• Dymphna Cusack, author
• Rachel Cusk, novelist
• Catherine Cuthbertson, novelist
• Dymphna Cusack, novelist and playwright
• Ptolemais of Cyrene, writer on music
• Julie E. Czerneda, sci-fi and fantasy author

  D

• Emma Dabiri, author, academic, and broadcaster
• Maria Dąbrowska, writer
• Anne Dacier, scholar and translator
• Nino Dadeshkeliani, writer and politician
• Stella Dadzie, educationalist, activist and historian
• Catrin Dafydd, writer and poet
• Fflur Dafydd, novelist and musician
• Elizabeth Frances Dagley, children's author
• Marguerite Dale, playwright and feminist
• Yrsa Daley-Ward, poet
• Ann Dally, author and psychiatrist
• Blanche d'Alpuget, biographer and novelist
• Kathleen Dalziel, poet
• Jordan Dane, thriller writer
• Tsitsi Dangarembga, author and film-maker; Nervous Conditions
• Cora Linn Daniels, author
• Mabel Dove Danquah, fiction writer
• Meri Nana-Ama Danquah, writer and editor
• Edwidge Danticat, novelist; Breath, Eyes, Memory
• Xie Daoyun, poet and calligrapher
• Eleanor Dark, novelist
• Amma Darko, novelist
• Tina Darragh, language poet
• Marie Darrieussecq, Basque novelist
• Cecilia Dart-Thornton, fantasy fiction writer
• Helen Darville, journalist and novelist
• Kamala Das, poet and short story writer
• Marcia Davenport, novelist, biographer and memoirist; The Valley of Decision
• Selina Davenport, novelist writing about women
• Henriette Davidis, cookbook writer
• Joy Davidman, writer and poet
• Alexandra David-Néel, traveller, writer and Buddhist
• Nadia Davids, writer and playwright
• Catherine Glyn Davies, philosopher, historian and translator
• Gwen Davies, translator and editor
• Margaret Davies, poet and scribe
• Mary Davies, poet
• Angela Davis, philosopher and activist
• Dorothy Salisbury Davis, mystery novelist
• Kyra Davis, novelist
• Lydia Davis, fiction writer and essayist
• Norma Davis, poet
• Rebecca Harding Davis, novelist and journalist; Life in the Iron Mills
• Mary Davys, novelist and playwright
• Elizabeth Dawbarn, writer on religion and child care
• Pieretta Dawn, author in English
• Laura Day, writer of self-help books
• Sarah Day, poet
• Shobhaa De, journalist and novelist; Starry Nights
• Dulcie Deamer, novelist, poet and actor
• Pamela Dean, novelist; Tam Lin
• Kathryn Deans, children's fantasy author
• Charlotte Burgis DeForest, writer
• Ellen DeGeneres, writer and comedian
• Draga Dejanović, poet
• E. M. Delafield, novelist and memoirist
• Lucy Delaney, memoirist
• Mary Delany, letter-writer and Bluestocking
• Lucie Delarue-Mardrus, poet, novelist and journalist
• Grazia Deledda, novelist and poet; 1926 Nobel prizewinner
• Yanette Delétang-Tardif, poet, translator and novelist
• Ella Cara Deloria, ethnographer, Sioux oral historian and novelist
• Nicole Dennis-Benn, novelist and story writer
• Enid Derham, poet
• Regina Derieva, poet and writer
• Anita Desai, novelist; In Custody
• Kiran Desai, novelist; The Inheritance of Loss
• Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, poet
• Anne Desclos, journalist and novelist
• Antoinette du Ligier de la Garde Deshoulières, poet
• Virginie Despentes, novelist
• Jessica Dettmann, novelist
• Babette Deutsch, poet, critic, and novelist
• Jean Devanny, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Mary Deverell, religious writer and poet
• Ashapoorna Devi, novelist and poet
• Mahasweta Devi, journalist and novelist
• Caroline Dexter, feminist journalist
• Dhuoda, moralist writing in Latin; Liber Manualis
• Anita Diamant, novelist and non-fiction writer; The Red Tent
• Olga Xirinacs Díaz, writer and piano teacher
• Kate DiCamillo, children's author
• Emily Dickinson, poet
• Susan E. Dickinson, correspondent
• Joan Didion, journalist, essayist and novelist
• Alice Mangold Diehl, novelist and musician
• Florence Carpenter Dieudonné, speculative fiction writer
• Annie Le Porte Diggs, poet and author
• Annie Dillard, non-fiction writer, poet and novelist; Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
• Amy Dillwyn, novelist and benefactor
• Constance Dima, writer, poet and translator
• Jelena Dimitrijević, fiction writer and poet
• Blaga Dimitrova, poet and politician
• Isak Dinesen, novelist; Out of Africa
• Kelly DiPucchio, children's author
• Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, poet and fiction writer; Mistress of Spices
• Lady Florence Dixie, travel writer, war correspondent and novelist
• Assia Djebar, novelist, translator and film-maker
• Rabia Djelti, poet, novelist and educator
• Valentina Dmitryeva, writer; Hveska, the Doctor's Watchman
• Rosemary Dobson, poet
• Anna Bowman Dodd, author
• Mary Mapes Dodge, children's writer; Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates
• Harriet Doerr, novelist; Stones for Ibarra
• Mary Crow Dog, writer and activist; Lakota Woman
• Berlie Doherty, novelist, poet and children's writer
• Dorcas Dole, Quaker pamphleteer
• Emma Dolujanoff, writer
• Hilde Domin, poet
• Elvira Dones, novelist, screenwriter and film producer
• Emma Donoghue, novelist; Hood
• Robyn Doolittle, journalist;
• Mara Đorđević-Malagurski, writer and ethnologist
• Mathilda d'Orozco, salonnière, poet and writer
• Doris Dörrie, novelist and film director
• Lyubov Dostoyevskaya, writer;The Emigrant
• Sarah Doudney, children's writer and poet
• Ellen Douglas, fiction and non-fiction writer
• Mona Douglas, poet and folklorist
• O. Douglas, novelist
• Sara Douglass, fantasy novelist
• Maro Douka, novelist
• Rita Dove, poet; Thomas and Beulah
• Ceridwen Dovey, novelist
• Beatrice von Dovsky, poet, opera librettist and actor
• Unity Dow, human rights activist and novelist
• Mary Frances Dowdall, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Margaret Drabble, novelist and biographer; The Millstone
• Rajna Dragićević, writer, lexicographer and academic
• Judith Drake, feminist essayist
• Augusta Theodosia Drane, religious writer and biographer
• Ingeborg Drewitz, playwright and novelist
• Edwige-Renée Dro, writer, translator and literary activist
• Celia Dropkin, Yiddish poet
• Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, poet
• Ree Drummond, author and food writer
• Anna Harriett Drury, poet and novelist
• Helene von Druskowitz, playwright, critic and poet
• Ursula Dubosarsky, fiction and non-fiction writer for children and teens
• Carol Ann Duffy, poet and playwright; first female and first Scottish Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom
• Marilyn Dumont, First Nations poet
• Sarah Dunant, genre novelist; The Birth of Venus
• Lois Duncan, young adult writer; I Know What You Did Last Summer
• Susan Duncan, memoirist and novelist
• Elaine Dundy, journalist, novelist and biographer
• Camille Dungy, poet and professor
• Clare B. Dunkle, children's fantasy author and librarian
• Katherine Dunn, novelist, journalist and poet; Geek Love
• Rachel Blau DuPlessis, poet, essayist and scholar
• Mary Durack, historical novelist and children's writer
• Claire de Duras, novelist; Ourika
• Marguerite Duras, novelist, playwright and screenwriter
• Ljiljana Habjanović Đurović, novelist
• Marie Dušková, poet
• Karen Duve, fiction writer
• Mona Van Duyn, poet
• Guerguina Dvoretzka, poet and journalist

  E

• Marion Eames, novelist and translator
• Beverley East, writer
• Alice Eather, poet, environmentalist and teacher
• Edith Maude Eaton, novelist
• Winnifred Eaton, fiction writer
• Françoise d'Eaubonne, essayist and novelist
• Margareta Ebner, diarist and mystic
• Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, novelist
• Charlotte O'Conor Eccles, novelist and translator
• Robyn Eckersley, political theorist
• Bertha Eckstein-Diener, feminist historian and travel writer
• Nydia Ecury, poet and translator
• Leigh Eddings, fantasy novelist
• Reni Eddo-Lodge, journalist and author
• Inger Edelfeldt, fiction and children's writer and illustrator
• Aida Edemariam, journalist and memoirist
• Emily Eden, novelist and poet
• Arabella Edge, fiction writer
• Zee Edgell, novelist; Beka Lamb
• Maria Edgeworth, novelist; Castle Rackrent
• Harriet Edquist, architectural historian
• Esi Edugyan, novelist and writer; Half-Blood Blues
• Summer Edward, writer, children's editor and activist
• Amelia Edwards, fiction writer and poet
• Fanny Winifred Edwards, children's writer and teacher
• Yvvette Edwards, novelist
• Françoise Ega, novelist
• Jennifer Egan ; fiction writer; A Visit from the Goon Squad
• Egeria , pilgrim and correspondent in Latin
• Elizabeth Eggleston, author, activist and lawyer
• Elen Egryn, poet
• Alicia Eguren, poet, essayist and journalist
• Barbara Ehrenreich, feminist and political activist
• Marianne Ehrenström, writer
• Paula Einöder, poet and writer
• Kerstin Ekman, novelist and detective story writer
• Margareta Ekström, poet, novelist and children's writer
• Elaine Eksvärd, non-fiction writer
• Nana Ekvtimishvili, writer and film director
• Roza Eldarova, writer and politician
• Anne Elder, poet and ballet dancer
• Flora Eldershaw, novelist, critic and historian
• Elephantis, erotic poet
• Ada María Elflein, poet, columnist and translator
• Menna Elfyn, poet, playwright and editor
• Safia Elhillo, poet
• George Eliot, novelist and poet; Middlemarch
• Elizabeth F. Ellet, writer and poet
• Bina Sarkar Ellias, poet, writer and editor
• Anne Elliot, novelist
• Nawal el-Saadawi, feminist and fiction writer
• Elizabeth Elstob, feminist scholar and translator
• Diamela Eltit, novelist
• Lynn Emanuel, poet
• Buchi Emecheta, novelist
• Claudia Emerson, poet and academic
• Ellen Russell Emerson, author and ethnologist
• Akazome Emon, poet and historian
• Carol Emshwiller, fiction writer
• Marian Engel, novelist
• Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, poet and hymn writer
• Edith Mary England, novelist and poet
• Isobel English, novelist
• Mariana Enríquez, fiction writer and journalist
• Françoise Enguehard, journalist and novelist in French
• Enheduanna, royal priestess and poet
• Anne Enright, fiction writer and essayist
• Fotini Epanomitis, novelist
• Nora Ephron, novelist, screenwriter and film director
• Pamphile of Epidaurus, historian
• Muzi Epifani, novelist, poet and playwright
• Leyla Erbil, writer
• Louise Erdrich, novelist, poet and children's writer
• Rica Erickson, botanical and historical writer
• Helena Eriksson, expressionist poet
• Erinna, poet
• Anastasia Eristavi-Khoshtaria, novelist
• Annie Ernaux, novelist and autobiographer
• Maria Ernestam, journalist and novelist
• Jenny Erpenbeck, novelist
• Nataly von Eschstruth, novelist
• Edith Escombe, fiction writer and essayist
• Erminda Rentoul Esler, fiction writer
• Florbela Espanca, poet
• Teresa Espasa, poet, essayist and professor
• Kristin Espinasse, author
• Ramabai Espinet, poet, novelist and critic
• Laura Esquivel, novelist
• Eleanor Estes, children's writer; The Moffats
• Clarissa Pinkola Estés, poet
• Parvin E'tesami, poet
• Aelia Eudocia, religious writer in Greek
• Jang Eun-jin, author
• Lolita Euson, poet
• Janet Evanovich, novelist; Stephanie Plum'' series
• Anne Evans, poet and composer
• Augusta Jane Evans, novelist
• Christine Evans, poet
• Diana Evans, novelist, journalist and critic
• Mari Evans, poet, playwright and children's writer
• Matilda Jane Evans, novelist
• Lizzie P. Evans-Hansell, fiction writer
• Bernardine Evaristo, writer
• Maria Louise Eve, poet
• Emma Pike Ewing, author and educator
• Eve Ewing, sociologist, author, poet and artist
• Juliana Horatia Ewing, children's writer
• Leonora Eyles, feminist writer and novelist

  F

• Mary Fabilli, poet and illustrator
• Paloma Fabrykant, non-fiction writer, artist and martial arts expert
• Diane Fahey, poet
• Suzanne Falkiner, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Aminata Sow Fall, novelist
• Amber Fallon, horror writer
• Katie Fallon, essayist and non-fiction writer
• Diane Fanning, true crime author and novelist
• Ann, Lady Fanshawe, memoirist
• Catherine Maria Fanshawe, poet
• Ursula Fanthorpe, poet
• Beverley Farmer, fiction writer
• Nancy Farmer, young adult and children's novelist
• Penelope Farmer, children's novelist; Charlotte Sometimes
• Fadhila El Farouk, novelist
• Forough Farrokhzad, poet and film director
• Margaretta Faugères, poet
• Gertrude Minnie Faulding, novelist and children's writer
• Jesse Redmon Fauset, poet, essayist and novelist
• Beatrice Faust, non-fiction writer and activist
• Madame de La Fayette, novelist
• Astrid Stampe Feddersen, women's rights activist and feminist writer
• Etta Federn, anarcho-feminist writer and translator
• Leslie Feinberg, transgender activist and writer; Stone Butch Blues
• Elaine Feinstein, poet, novelist and translator
• Else Feldmann, playwright, poet and novelist
• Stéphanie Félicité, comtesse de Genlis, novelist, playwright and children's writer
• Zuo Fen, poet
• Edna Ferber, novelist and playwright; Show Boat
• Kate Lee Ferguson, novelist, poet and composer
• Fanny Fern, novelist, humorist and children's writer; Ruth Hall
• Roberta Fernández, novelist, scholar and critic
• Chitra Fernando, children's writer and linguistics lecturer
• Elena Ferrante, novelist
• Rosario Ferré, novelist, poet and biographer
• Julia Ferrer, poet and writer
• Susan Edmonstoune Ferrier, novelist
• Maria Fetherstonhaugh, novelist
• Tina Fey, screenwriter and autobiographer
• Rachel Field, novelist, poet and children's writer; Hitty, Her First Hundred Years
• Helen Fielding, novelist; Bridget Jones's Diary
• Sarah Fielding, novelist
• Jennie Fields, novelist
• Celia Fiennes, travel writer
• Sia Figiel, Samoan poet and novelist
• Adelaide Filleul, novelist
• Anne Finch, poet
• Annie Finch, poet, translator and critic
• Anne Fine, writer
• Manuela Fingueret, poet, novelist and essayist
• Nikky Finney, poet
• Caroline Auguste Fischer, writer and rights activist
• Margery Fish, gardening writer
• Carrie Fisher, novelist, actress and screenwriter; Postcards from the Edge
• Catherine Fisher, writer and broadcaster
• Lala Fisher, poet and editor
• M. F. K. Fisher, food writer
• Penelope Fitzgerald, novelist, poet and biographer; 1979 Booker Prize; Offshore
• Louise Fitzhugh, children's book author and illustrator
• Becca Fitzpatrick, novelist
• Kathleen Fitzpatrick, historian, biographer and critic
• Fannie Flagg, screenwriter and novelist; Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
• Jane Flanders, poet
• Marieluise Fleißer, playwright
• Marjorie Fleming, child diarist and poet
• Jane Ada Fletcher, nature and children's writer
• Penelope Fletcher, young-adult, romance and fantasy writer
• Zénaïde Fleuriot, novelist
• Lynn Flewelling, novelist
• Angela Flournoy, novelist
• Pat Flower, stage and television playwright and novelist
• Carol Houlihan Flynn, academic, literary critic and fiction writer
• Gillian Flynn, novelist, screenwriter and comic book writer
• Marnie Fogg, fashion writer
• Jolán Földes, novelist
• Winifred Foley, autobiographer
• Maria Assumpció Soler i Font, Catalan writer and journalist
• Moderata Fonte, Venetian feminist and poet; The Worth of Women
• Donna Foote, journalist and non-fiction writer
• Mary Hallock Foote, novelist
• Mary Hannay Foott, poet and editor
• Curdella Forbes, science fiction writer
• Esther Forbes, novelist and children's writer; Johnny Tremain
• Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force, novelist and poet
• Aminatta Forna, writer
• Mabel Forrest, novelist and poet
• Olga Forsh, writer
• Thelma Forshaw, fiction writer and reviewer
• Margaret Forster, novelist and biographer
• Mary Forster, Quaker polemicist
• Gertrud von Le Fort, novelist, poet and essayist
• Dion Fortune, novelist, writer and occultist
• Mary Fortune, detective story writer
• E. M. Foster, novelist
• Hannah Webster Foster, novelist; The Coquette
• Lynn Foster, playwright and novelist
• Dorothy Fowler, novelist
• Karen Joy Fowler, fiction writer
• Mamita Fox, autobiographer
• Janet Frame, novelist and autobiographer
• Marie de France, poet in Anglo-Norman French
• Annie Francé-Harrar, writer and scientist
• Suzanne Francis, fantasy author
• Julia Franck, novelist
• Veronica Franco, poet
• Louise von François, novelist
• Anne Frank, diarist and Holocaust victim; The Diary of a Young Girl
• Miles Franklin, feminist writer; My Brilliant Career
• Abby Franquemont, writer
• Rebecca Fransway, author and poet
• Antonia Fraser, novelist and biographer; Mary, Queen of Scots
• Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, fiction writer
• Raquel Freire, screenwriter, novelist and film director
• Laura Freixas, fiction writer and columnist
• Elizabeth Wynne Fremantle, diarist
• Dawn French, writer, comedian and actress
• Lucy Virginia French, author
• Marilyn French, feminist author, academic and lecturer; The Women's Room
• Anna Freud, psychoanalytic writer
• Betty Friedan, writer, activist and feminist; The Feminine Mystique
• Violeta Friedman, author and Holocaust survivor
• Gayleen Froese, mystery novelist and songwriter
• Eva Margareta Frölich, writer
• Linda Frum, author and politician
• Joan Mary Fry, Quaker writer on society
• Fu Tianlin, Chinese poet
• Janice Moore Fuller, poet and playwright
• Claire Fuller, novelist
• Margaret Fuller, feminist journalist
• Mary Eliza Fullerton, feminist poet, fiction writer and journalist
• Alice Fulton, author and poet
• Enchi Fumiko, playwright and fiction writer
• Cornelia Funke, children's writer
• Bilkisu Funtuwa, novelist
• Huarui Furen, poet
• Luisa Futoransky, poet, novelist and academic

  G

• Diana Gabaldon, fiction writer; Outlander series
• Ekaterine Gabashvili, feminist novelist
• Frances Dana Barker Gage, writer, poet and abolitionist
• Jeannine Hall Gailey, poet and critic
• Mary Gaitskill, essayist and fiction writer
• Kate Gale, poet and librettist
• Zona Gale, novelist and playwright
• Azucena Galettini, translator and writer
• Katherine Gallagher, poet
• Tess Gallagher, poet, novelist and playwright
• Fatima Gallaire, playwright and fiction writer
• Mavis Gallant, fiction writer, playwright and essayist in French
• Sara Gallardo, fiction writer
• Menna Gallie, novelist and translator
• Karina Galvez, poet
• Griselda Gambaro, fiction writer, playwright and essayist
• Alisa Ganieva, writer and essayist
• Petina Gappah, lawyer and writer
• Nicole Garay, poet
• Cristina García, journalist and novelist; Dreaming in Cuban
• R. S. A. Garcia, science fiction writer
• Jane Gardam, author of children's and adult fiction
• Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington, novelist and journalist
• Malwina Garfeinowa-Garska, novelist and essayist
• Doris Pilkington Garimara, autobiographical novelist
• Helen Garner, novelist and journalist; The Children's Bach
• Constance Garnett, translator from Russian
• Dorothy Garrod, archaeologist
• Caroline Leigh Gascoigne, poet and novelist
• Elizabeth Gaskell, novelist and biographer; Cranford
• Whitney Gaskell, novelist
• Catherine Gaskin, novelist
• Nathalie Gassel, feminist writer
• Alessia Gazzola, novelist
• Pauline Gedge, novelist
• Naira Gelashvili, novelist and activist
• Edith Mary Gell, writer and Christian activist
• Charley Genever, poet
• Empress Genmei, monarch and poet
• Catherine of Genoa, writer and mystic
• Doris Gentile, fiction writer
• Sulari Gentill, fiction writer
• Nina George, writer
• Elizabeth George, mystery novelist
• Margaret George, historical novelist
• Amy Gerstler, poet
• Geum Hee, author
• Yi Geun-hwa, poet
• Amélie Gex, poet and writer in French and Franco-Provençal
• Randa Ghazy, writer
• Salima Ghezali, writer and activist
• Maureen Gibbon, fiction writer
• June and Jennifer Gibbons, novelists and story writers
• Kaye Gibbons, novelist; Ellen Foster
• Stella Gibbons, novelist and short story writer; Cold Comfort Farm
• Angelica Gibbs, fiction writer and magazine journalist
• May Gibbs, children's author and illustrator
• Elizabeth Gilbert, essayist, fiction writer and biographer; Eat, Pray, Love
• Ellen Gilchrist, fiction writer and poet
• Annabel Giles, novelist and broadcaster
• ElizaBeth Gilligan, fantasy novelist
• Charlotte Perkins Gilman, sociologist, poet and social reformer; Herland
• Mary Gilmore, poet and journalist
• Beryl Gilroy, novelist
• Ruby Langford Ginibi, historian and non-fiction writer
• Nikki Giovanni, poet, writer and activist
• Banira Giri, poet and author
• Stanka Gjurić, poet and essayist
• Diane Glancy, poet, novelist and playwright
• Ellen Glasgow, novelist
• Susan Glaspell, novelist and playwright
• Julia Glass, novelist
• Madeline Gleason, poet and dramatist
• Louise Glück, poet
• Gail Godwin, fiction and non-fiction writer and librettist; Glass People
• Christiane Gohl, children's author
• Hawa Jande Golakai, writer and clinical scientist
• Nora Gold, novelist
• Natalie Goldberg, non-fiction writer and speaker
• Goldie Goldbloom, fiction writer
• Marita Golden, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Amy Goldin, art critic
• Emma Goldman, anarchist writer
• Júlia Goldman, genre novelist and mathematician
• Anna Goldsworthy, writer, teacher and pianist
• Claire Goll, poet and novelist in German and French
• Jewelle Gomez, poet, critic and playwright
• Petronila Angélica Gómez, feminist writer and founder of Fémina
• Betina Gonzalez, fiction writer
• Sophie Gonzales, young adults' writer
• Lorna Goodison, poet
• Allegra Goodman, fiction writer; Kaaterskill Falls
• Viviana Gorbato, writer and academic
• Nadine Gordimer, novelist, playwright and activist; 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Caroline Gordon, novelist and literary critic
• Jaimy Gordon, novelist; Lord of Misrule
• Mary Gordon, fiction and non-fiction writer
• Catherine Gore, novelist and dramatist
• Alisz Goriupp, media historian and librarian
• Angélica Gorodischer, fiction writer
• Juana Manuela Gorriti, fiction writer and politician
• Hedwig Gorski, performance poet and avant-garde artist
• Hiromi Goto, novelist
• Olympe de Gouges, feminist and playwright; Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen
• Katherine Govier, fiction writer and essayist
• Barbara Gowdy, fiction writer
• Iris Gower, novelist
• Kodagina Gowramma, writer
• Annie Ryder Gracey, writer
• Posie Graeme-Evans, historical novelist and screenwriter
• Agnieszka Graff, feminist writer and essayist
• Françoise de Graffigny, novelist and playwright
• Sue Grafton, mystery novelist
• Jorie Graham, poet and academic
• Lauren Graham, actress and novelist
• Virginia Graham, poet and humorist
• Almudena Grandes, novelist
• Linda Grant, novelist and journalist; When I Lived in Modern Times
• Shirley Ann Grau, fiction writer
• Mary Tenney Gray, editorial writer
• Gertrud von Helfta, saint and mystic writing in Latin
• Anna Katharine Green, mystery novelist
• Charmaine Papertalk Green, poet and artist
• Eliza S. Craven Green, poet
• Miriam Green, academic
• Bette Greene, childrens' and young adults' author
• Jessie Greengrass, fiction writer
• Bonnie Greer, playwright, novelist and critic
• Debora Greger, poet and visual artist
• Linda Gregg, poet
• Simonetta Greggio, novelist in French
• Doris Gregory, author
• Lady Gregory, folklorist and playwright
• Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg, poet
• Anna Gréki, poet, politician and educator
• Kate Grenville, novelist and academic
• Elizabeth Griffith, dramatist, fiction writer and essayist
• Ann Griffiths, poet and hymnist
• Tatiana P. Grigorieva, essayist, Japanologist and translator
• Martha Grimes, mystery novelist
• Angelina Weld Grimke, journalist and poet
• Charlotte Forten Grimké, anti-slavery activist and poet
• Eliza Griswold, journalist and poet
• Hattie Tyng Griswold, writer, poet
• Alma De Groen, playwright
• Lauren Groff, fiction writer
• Paula Grogger, writer
• Sara Gruen, novelist; Water for Elephants
• Kim Gruenenfelder, romantic comedy novelist
• Bertha Jane Grundy, novelist, poet and non-fiction writer
• Claudine Guérin de Tencin, literary patron and novelist
• Judith Guest, novelist and screenwriter; Ordinary People
• Beatriz Guido, novelist and screenwriter
• Pernette Du Guillet, poet
• Ursula K. Le Guin, science fiction and children's novelist and poet; Earthsea
• Guji, Princess of Joseon, writer, poet and dancer
• Karoline von Günderrode, poet
• Eileen Gunn, fiction writer and editor
• Elizabeth Gunn, mystery novelist
• Susannah Gunning, novelist
• Álfrún Gunnlaugsdóttir, novelist
• Elena Guro, futurist writer; The Little Camels of the Sky
• Goya Gutiérrez, poet and writer
• Anna Gutto, director and actress
• Rosa Guy, adults' and young people's fiction writer
• Emma Jane Guyton, novelist and editor
• Yaa Gyasi, novelist
• Jeon Gyeong-rin, novelist
• Beth Gylys, poet and professor

  H

• H.D. , poet, novelist and memoirist
• Meredith Haaf, writer
• Maria Hack, children's writer
• Marilyn Hacker, poet, translator and critic
• Tessa Hadley, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Mimi Hafida, poet and visual artist
• Jessica Hagedorn, poet, playwright and novelist
• Michitsuna no Haha, diarist
• Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, novelist and playwright
• Seo Hajin, author
• Gisèle Halimi, feminist essayist
• Lady Anne Halkett, memoirist and essayist
• Anna Maria Hall, novelist
• Radclyffe Hall, novelist and poet; The Well of Loneliness
• Sarah Hall, novelist and poet
• Jean Halley, writer and sociologist
• Marion Rose Halpenny, equestrian writer
• Rosalie Ham, novelist and stage and television playwright
• Jane Eaton Hamilton, fiction writer and poet
• Jane Hamilton, novelist; A Map of the World
• Virginia Hamilton, children's novelist; M. C. Higgins, the Great
• Beatrice Hammer, novelist and children's writer
• Susan Hampton, poet
• Judith Hand, novelist, essayist and screenwriter
• Nathalie Handal, poet and playwright
• Helene Hanff, screenwriter and author; 84, Charing Cross Road
• Kristin Hannah, novelist
• Sophie Hannah, poet and novelist; Little Face
• Barbara Hanrahan, novelist and artist
• Lorraine Hansberry, playwright; A Raisin in the Sun
• Bergtóra Hanusardóttir, fiction writer
• Hao Jingfang, novelist
• Volha Hapeyeva, poet, translator and linguist
• Ingibjörg Haraldsdóttir, poet
• Nino Haratischwili, novelist and playwright
• Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, author
• Thea von Harbou, novelist and screenwriter
• Maud Cuney Hare, writer and pianist
• Lesbia Harford, poet, novelist and activist
• Joy Harjo, poet
• Beverley Harper, novelist in African settings
• Frances Harper, poet and novelist; Iola Leroy
• Alice Harriman, poet and publisher
• Amanda Bartlett Harris, author and literary critic
• Joanne Harris, novelist; Chocolat
• Jennifer Harrison, poet
• Juanita Harrison, autobiographer
• Elizabeth Harrower, fiction writer
• Carla Harryman, poet, essayist and playwright
• Petra Hartmann, novelist and children's writer
• Elisabeth Harvor, novelist and poet
• Gwen Harwood, poet and librettist
• Margaret Hasse, poet and writer
• Mary R. P. Hatch, poet, fiction writer
• Libby Hathorn, poet, librettist and children's author
• Ann Hatton, novelist and poet
• Mihri Hatun, poet
• Marlen Haushofer, novelist and children's author
• Paula Hawkins, author
• Susan Hawthorne, fiction and non-fiction writer and poet
• Elizabeth Hay, fiction writer
• Myfanwy Haycock, poet and broadcaster
• Anna Haycraft, writer and essayist
• Eliza Haywood, novelist, playwright and poet
• Helen Haywood, children's writer
• Shirley Hazzard, novelist and fiction writer; The Great Fire
• Bessie Head, fiction writer and journalist
• Anne Hébert, poet and novelist; Kamouraska
• Chantal Hébert, journalist and political commentator
• Jennifer Michael Hecht, poet, historian and philosopher
• Ra Heeduk, poet
• Ursula Hegi, novelist
• Anita Heiss, fiction writer, poet and commentator
• Lyn Hejinian, poet, essayist and translator
• Lin Van Hek, fiction writer
• Liliana Heker, fiction writer and essayist
• Guðrún Helgadóttir, children's writer
• Lillian Hellman, playwright
• Lucinda Barbour Helm, author and editor
• Felicia Hemans, poet in English
• Beth Henley, playwright and screenwriter
• Emmy Hennings, poet and performer
• Marguerite Henry, children's writer
• Luise Hensel, religious writer and poet
• Sally Hepworth, writer
• Mary Sidney Herbert, poet, translator and patron
• María Luisa Ocampo Heredia, novelist, playwright and translator
• Judith Hermann, story writer
• Georgina Herrera, poet
• M. Miriam Herrera, author and poet
• Stella K. Hershan, novelist and biographer
• Karen Hesse, children's novelist; Out of the Dust
• Dorothy Hewett, poet, novelist and playwright
• Eleanor Hibbert, historical novelist
• Patricia Highsmith, crime fiction writer
• Ernestine Hill, travel writer and novelist
• Lorna Hill, children's novelist
• Hilda Hilst, poet, playwright and novelist
• S. E. Hinton, children's novelist; The Outsiders
• Afua Hirsch, writer and broadcaster
• Laura Z. Hobson, novelist
• Karla Höcker, novelist and biographer
• Merle Hodge, novelist and critic
• Louise Manning Hodgkins, educator, author and editor
• Helen Hodgman, novelist and screenwriter
• Alice Hoffman, novelist and young-adult and children's writer; Practical Magic
• Nina Kiriki Hoffman, fiction writer
• Barbara Hofland, children's writer and poet
• Linda Hogan, poet and fiction writer
• Heidi Holland, journalist and author
• Jane Holland, poet, performer and novelist
• Sarah Holland, writer, actress and singer
• Gwen Hollington, translator
• Ada Augusta Holman, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Charlie N. Holmberg, fantasy author
• Constance Holme, novelist and playwright
• Winifred Holtby, novelist and journalist
• Xiao Hong, fiction writer
• Bell Hooks, feminist academic
• Ellen Sturgis Hooper, poet and Transcendental Club member
• Pauline Hopkins, novelist, journalist and playwright
• Nalo Hopkinson, fiction writer
• Marya Hornbacher, author and journalist
• Sally El Hosaini, scriptwriter and film director
• Janette Turner Hospital, fiction writer
• Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, author; Farewell to Manzanar
• Fanny Howe, poet and fiction writer
• Julia Ward Howe, abolitionist, social activist, and poet; The Battle Hymn of the Republic
• Susan Howe, poet, scholar and critic
• Ada Verdun Howell, poet
• Anna Mary Howitt, writer and feminist
• Mary Howitt, poet and children's writer; "The Spider and the Fly"
• Ana María Vázquez Hoys, ancient history professor
• Elizabeth Hoyt, historical novelist
• Hrotsvith von Gandersheim, dramatist and poet in Latin
• Huang E, Ming dynasty poet
• Ricarda Huch, historian, novelist and poet
• Arianna Huffington, author and columnist; The Huffington Post
• Lynn Huggins-Cooper, fiction, non-fiction and children's author
• Ann Harriet Hughes, novelist
• Babette Hughes, playwright
• Ellen Hughes, poet, essayist and suffragist
• Frieda Hughes, poet and painter
• Shirley Fenton Huie, non-fiction writer
• Keri Hulme, New Zealand fiction writer and poet; 1985 Booker Prize; The Bone People
• Marie-Thérèse Humbert, Mauritian fiction writer
• Vilma Rose Hunt, scientist
• Kristin Hunter, novelist
• Constance Hunting, poet and publisher
• Florence Huntley, journalist, editor and humorist
• Dương Thu Hương, Vietnamese dissident and novelist; Paradise of the Blind
• Hồ Xuân Hương, Vietnamese poet
• Fannie Hurst, novelist
• Shahrukh Husain, writer of fiction, non-fiction and screenwriter
• Zora Neale Hurston, fiction writer, folklorist and anthropologist
• Nancy Huston, novelist and essayist in French and English
• Genevieve L. Hutchinson, poet
• Lucy Hutchinson, biographer
• Emily Huws, children's writer
• Elspeth Huxley, memoirist and journalist
• Hwang Jung-eun, author and podcaster
• Hypatia, philosopher and mathematician

  I

• Marcela Iacub, novelist and essayist in French
• Eva Ibbotson, novelist
• Nilima Ibrahim, writer
• Ida, Countess von Hahn-Hahn, novelist
• Jung Ihyun, author
• Lempi Ikävalko, poet and journalist
• Bassey Ikpi, spoken-word poet, writer and mental health advocate
• Branislava Ilić, playwright, screenwriter and prose writer
• Maria Ilnicka, poet, novelist and translator
• Im Yunjidang, scholar, philosopher and non-fiction writer
• Jahanara Imam, non-fiction writer, diarist and political activist
• Vera Inber, poet, essayist and translator
• Elizabeth Inchbald, novelist, actress and dramatist
• M. K. Indira, novelist in Kannada language
• Rachel Ingalls, novelist; Mrs. Caliban
• Jean Ingelow, poet
• Elisabeth Inglis-Jones, novelist and biographer
• Anne Bower Ingram, children's author
• Bozenna Intrator, novelist, poet and playwright in German, Polish and English
• Sylvia Iparraguirre, novelist and human rights activist
• Ōtomo no Sakanoe no Iratsume, poet
• Inez Haynes Irwin, fiction and non-fiction writer
• Norah Isaac, writer and educator
• Ulla Isaksson, fiction writer and screenwriter
• Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, theologist and non-fiction writer
• Svetlana Ischenko, poet, translator and actress
• Lady Ise, poet
• Aleksandra Ishimova, children's writer and translator
• Elizabeth Isichei, author, historian and academic
• Nina Iskrenko, poet
• Rashidah Ismaili, poet, fiction writer and playwright
• Gerta Ital, non-fiction writer
• Frances Itani, novelist, poet and essayist
• Nora Iuga, poet, writer and translator
• Praskovya Ivanovskaya, revolutionary and memoirist
• Eowyn Ivey, novelist; The Snow Child
• Molly Ivins, columnist
• Helen Ivory, poet
• Princess Iwa, poet

  J

• Noni Jabavu, memoirist and journalist
• Helen Hunt Jackson, novelist; Ramona
• Shelley Jackson, fiction writer and essayist
• Shirley Jackson, fiction writer; The Lottery
• Sandra Jackson-Opoku, poet, novelist, screenwriter, and journalist
• Harriet Jacobs, memoir writer; Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
• Annie Jacobsen, non-fiction author and journalist
• Josephine Jacobsen, poet, fiction writer and critic
• Agnes E. Jacomb, novelist
• Frances Jacson, novelist
• Kim Jae-Young, writer and academic
• Ada Jafarey, Urdu poet
• Rona Jaffe, novelist; The Best of Everything
• Dorta Jagić, poet and writer
• Meenakshi Jain, historian
• Linda Jaivin, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Svava Jakobsdóttir, playwright and fiction writer
• Alice James, diarist
• Barbara James, historian
• Christine James, poet and academic
• Florence James, author
• Maria James, poet
• P. D. James, mystery novelist
• Rebecca James, young adult fiction writer
• Wendy James, crime novelist
• Winifred Lewellin James, novelist and travel writer
• Anna Brownell Jameson, writer on art and literature
• Emma Jane, novelist and commentator
• Elizabeth Janeway, novelist
• Éva Janikovszky, children's book author
• Tama Janowitz, fiction writer and screenwriter; Slaves of New York
• Anja Jantschik, writer and journalist
• Florence Page Jaques, nature and travel-book writer
• Lisa Jarnot, poet
• Bella Jarrett, romance author and actress
• Delia Jarrett-Macauley, writer, academic and broadcaster
• Marguerite Florence Laura Jarvis, novelist and actress
• Charlotte Jay, mystery writer
• Barbara Jefferis, radio dramatist and novelist
• Margo Jefferson, writer and academic
• Sheila Jeffreys, feminist scholar and writer
• Jefimija, poet
• Andrea Jeftanovic, author and academic
• Gertrude Jekyll, garden writer
• Elfriede Jelinek, playwright and novelist; 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Joyce Angela Jellison, author
• Gish Jen, writer
• Barbara Jenkins, fiction writer
• Elizabeth Jennings, poet
• Kate Jennings, poet, novelist and essayist
• Helen Jerome, poet, playwright and non-fiction writer
• Ana de Jesús, writer, poet and nun
• Lisa Jewell, fiction writer
• Sarah Orne Jewett, fiction writer
• Geraldine Jewsbury, novelist
• Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, novelist and screenwriter; Heat and Dust
• Paulette Jiles, poet and novelist
• Empress Jitō, poet and empress
• Rita Joe, poet
• Alexandra Joel, fiction and non-fiction writer
• Oddvør Johansen, novelist
• Catherine Johnson, author and screenwriter
• Catherine Johnson, playwright
• Daisy Johnson, fiction writer
• Diane Johnson, novelist and essayist
• Georgia Douglas Johnson, poet
• Helene Johnson, poet
• Josephine Johnson, novelist, poet and essayist
• Kate Johnson, novelist
• Pauline Johnson, poet
• Rebecca Johnson, children's writer
• Susan Johnson, fiction writer
• Susannah Willard Johnson, memoirist
• Dorothy Johnston, fiction writer
• Mary Johnston, novelist
• Velda Johnston, novelist
• Elizabeth Jolley, novelist
• Alice Gray Jones, writer and editor
• Diana Wynne Jones, novelist
• Gail Jones, novelist and academic
• Gayl Jones, novelist
• Jill Jones, poet
• Laura Jones, screenwriter
• Margaret Jones, fiction and non-fiction writer
• Marion Patrick Jones, novelist
• Mary Vaughan Jones, children's writer and educator
• Sandy Jones, parenting writer
• Tayari Jones, novelist
• Erica Jong, novelist; Fear of Flying
• Ingrid Jonker, South African poet
• June Jordan, poet, novelist and autobiographer
• Toni Jordan, novelist
• Irena Jordanova, author
• Jenny Joseph, poet
• Irma Joubert, author
• Mireille Juchau, novelist
• Heidi Julavits, journalist and novelist
• Lucie Julia, poet and novelist
• Miranda July, writer and performer
• Dorothy Misener Jurney, writer on women's issues

  K

• Jane Kaberuka, fiction writer and autobiographer
• Helena Kadare, fiction writer
• Margit Kaffka, novelist and poet
• Elaine Kahn, poet and author
• Nyana Kakoma, writer and editor
• Ana Kalandadze, poet
• Sheema Kalbasi, poet and human rights advocate
• Zaruhi Kalemkaryan, prose writer
• Keturah Kamugasa, writer and journalist
• Meena Kandasamy, poet, fiction writer and translator
• Julie Kane, poet, scholar and editor
• Sarah Kane, playwright
• Lila Rose Kaplan, playwright
• Nelly Kaplan, novelist, essayist and scriptwriter in French
• Mina Karadžić, writer and painter
• Mina Karadžić, writer and painter
• Anna Louisa Karsch, poet and correspondent
• Lady Kasa, poet
• Marie Luise Kaschnitz, novelist and poet
• Stoja Kašiković, writer
• Nina Kasniunas, author and political scientist
• Kassia, poet and composer in Greek
• Elizabeth Kata, novelist
• Olivera Katarina, poet
• Hoda Katebi, fashion writer
• Gina Kaus, novelist and screenwriter
• Julia Kavanagh, novelist
• Jackie Kay, poet and novelist; Trumpet
• M. M. Kaye, novelist and illustrator
• Susanna Kaysen, author and memoirist
• Irena Kazazić, writer
• Susanna Kearsley, novelist
• Annie Keary, novelist and poet
• Henrietta Keddie, novelist and children's writer
• Janice Kulyk Keefer, novelist and poet
• Nancy Keesing, poet, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Antigone Kefala, poet and prose writer
• Gwen Kelly, fiction writer and poet
• Helen Keller, lecturer, essayist and autobiographer
• Linda Kelly, historian of romanticism
• Gene Kemp, children's writer
• Oonya Kempadoo, novelist
• Margery Kempe, autobiographer and mystic
• Latofat Kenjaeva, poet and writer
• Betty Kennedy, broadcaster, journalist and author
• Margaret Kennedy, novelist; The Constant Nymph
• Pagan Kennedy, author and columnist
• Hannah Kent, writer
• Jacqueline Kent, biographer and non-fiction writer
• Josephine Kermode, poet and playwright
• Joan Haverty Kerouac, autobiographer
• Doris Boake Kerr, novelist
• Judith Kerr, children's writer
• Jessie Kesson, writer
• Irmgard Keun, novelist
• Farida Khalaf, ISIS escapee and author
• Dalal Khario, ISIS survivor and memoirist
• Babilina Khositashvili, poet and feminist
• Vénus Khoury-Ghata, writer in French
• Mariam Khutsurauli, poet and fiction writer
• Nadezhda Khvoshchinskaya, novelist; The Boarding School Girl
• Sue Monk Kidd, novelist; The Secret Life of Bees
• Susan Nalugwa Kiguli, poet and scholar
• Emelihter Kihleng, poet in English
• Lali Kiknavelidze, screenwriter and film director
• Anne Killigrew, poet
• Dorothy Kilner, children's writer
• Ronyoung Kim, writer
• Jamaica Kincaid, novelist
• Aby King, author and novelist
• Grace King, fiction writer and historian
• Tabitha King, novelist
• Mary Kingsley, explorer and science writer
• Barbara Kingsolver, fiction writer, poet and essayist
• Maxine Hong Kingston, novelist and academic
• Eleanor Kirk, writer and publisher
• Sarah Kirsch, poet and translator
• Ossip Schubin, novelist
• Madhu Kishwar, feminist writer
• Karin Kiwus, poet
• Carolyn Kizer, poet
• Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs, children's and fiction writer and poet
• Naomi Klein, author, activist and film-maker
• Robin Klein, children's writer
• Anne Knight, children's writer
• Mary Norbert Körte, poet, teacher and environmentalist
• Joy Kogawa, novelist and poet; Obasan
• Musine Kokalari, writer and politician
• Annette Kolb, writer
• Alexandra Kollontai, writer and politician
• Gertrud Kolmar, poet
• Ono no Komachi, poet
• Anna Komnene, chronicler and emperor's daughter writing in Greek; Alexiad
• Amalia Wilhelmina Königsmarck, painter, actor and poet
• Maria Konopnicka, novelist, poet and translator
• Evgenia Konradi, writer, essayist and journalist
• Ana Kordzaia-Samadashvili, novelist and literary journalist
• Alice Graeme Korff, art critic
• Lina Kostenko, poet
• Elizabeth Kostova, novelist; The Historian
• Helene Kottannerin, memoirist in German
• Sofia Kovalevskaya, writer and mathematician
• Alicia Kozameh, fiction writer and poet
• Hanna Krall, writer and novelist
• Judith Krantz, author and journalist
• Nicole Krauss, fiction writer and essayist; The History of Love
• Michelle de Kretser, novelist
• Uma Krishnaswami, children's writer
• Julia Kristeva, critic, philosopher and novelist
• Gerður Kristný, poet and novelist
• Agota Kristof, novelist in French
• Nestan Kvinikadze, scriptwriter and dramatist
• Maxine Kumin, poet and children's novelist
• Xu Kun, post-modern fiction writer
• Irma Kurti, poet and writer
• Rachel Kushner, novelist and journalist; The Flamethrowers
• Ellen Kuzwayo, women's rights activist, politician and teacher
• Jean Kwok, novelist
• Joanne Kyger, poet
• Goretti Kyomuhendo, novelist and literary activist

  L

• Djanet Lachmet, novelist and actor
• Mercedes Lackey, fantasy novelist
• Selma Lagerlöf, novelist and children's writer; 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature winner
• Jhumpa Lahiri, fiction writer; Interpreter of Maladies
• Ana Emilia Lahitte, poet, playwright and essayist
• Sinikka Laine, young-adults' writer
• Natasha Lako, poet and novelist
• Laila Lalami, essayist and novelist; Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits
• Lalleshwari, mystic and poet in Kashmiri language
• Nikita Lalwani, novelist
• Lady Caroline Lamb, novelist
• Charlotte Lamb, romantic novelist
• Helen Lamb, poet
• Mary Lamb, co-author with Charles Lamb
• Alice Elinor Lambert, romance novelist
• Anne Lamott, fiction and non-fiction author
• Beatrice Lamwaka, writer
• Leena Lander, novelist
• Letitia Elizabeth Landon, poet and novelist
• Margaret Landon, novelist; Anna and the King of Siam
• Liliane Landor, journalist and broadcaster
• Michele Landsberg, author, feminist and social activist
• Jane Lane, historical novelist and biographer
• Norah Lange, poet, novelist and autobiographer
• Katja Lange-Müller, novelist
• Gertrude Langer, art critic
• Elisabeth Langgässer, poet and novelist
• Eve Langley, novelist
• Coral Lansbury, novelist and academic
• Aemilia Lanyer, poet
• Alda Lara, poet
• Justine Larbalestier, young-adults' fiction writer
• Lucy Larcom, poet and mill girl
• Rebecca Hammond Lard, poet
• Glenda Larke, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Claudia Lars, poet
• Nella Larsen, fiction writer
• Trude Brænne Larssen, novelist
• Else Lasker-Schüler, poet and playwright
• Marghanita Laski, fiction writer, biographer and playwright
• Ana Irma Rivera Lassén, poet, feminist writer and lawyer
• Agnes Latham, writer, editor and academic
• Irene Latham, poet and children's writer
• Mary Artemisia Lathbury, hymn writer and poet
• Virginia Lathrop, journalist
• Yulia Latynina, writer
• Evelyn Lau, poet and novelist
• Margaret Laurence, fiction writer; The Stone Angel
• Dorianne Laux, poet
• Christine Lavant, poet and novelist
• Mary Lavin, fiction writer
• Nel Law, poet, diarist and artist
• Emily Lawless, novelist and poet
• Patrice Lawrence, fiction writer
• Louisa Lawson, poet, writer and feminist
• Mary Lawson, novelist; Crow Lake
• Sylvia Lawson, historian, journalist and critic
• Jelena Lazarević, writer
• Simone Lazaroo, novelist
• Emma Lazarus, poet; "The New Colossus"
• Jane Leade, mystic
• Caroline Woolmer Leakey, poet and novelist
• Louisa Leaman, writer on education
• Mary Leapor, poet
• Diana Lebacs, children's writer
• Paulina Lebl-Albala, translator and critic
• Violette Leduc, novelist and autobiographer
• Andrea Lee, novelist and memoirist
• Harper Lee, novelist; To Kill a Mockingbird
• Harriet Lee, novelist and playwright
• Ida Lee, historian and poet
• Lee Hye-gyeong, poet
• Muna Lee, poet and translator
• Sophia Lee, playwright and novelist
• Tanith Lee, novelist, poet and screenwriter
• Valentine Leeper, classicist and correspondent
• Joy Leftow, poet
• Danielle Legros Georges, poet, essayist and academic
• Susana Molinari Leguizamón,, poet
• Julia Leigh, novelist and screenwriter
• Tuija Lehtinen, children's writer and novelist
• Leena Lehtolainen, crime writer
• Katerina Lemmel, correspondent and nun
• Aïcha Lemsine, novelist and rights activist
• Madeleine L'Engle, novelist and children's novelist; A Wrinkle in Time
• Sue Lenier, poet and playwright
• Rebecca Lenkiewicz, playwright
• Ellen Lenneck, novelist and story writer
• Anna Maria Lenngren, writer, poet and translator
• Charlotte Lennox, writer, poet, and dramatist
• Hélène Lenoir, writer
• Conchi León, writer
• Donna Leon, mystery novelist
• Yva Léro, writer and artist
• Doris Leslie, historical novelist and biographer
• Doris Lessing, fiction writer, poet and biographer; 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Denise Levertov, US poet and essayist
• Robin Levett, travel writer and novelist
• Celia Moss Levetus, poet and historical writer
• Tanya Levin, non-fiction writer
• Gail Carson Levine, young-adults' novelist
• Andrea Levy, novelist; Small Island
• Deborah Levy, playwright, fiction writer and poet; Swimming Home
• Fanny Lewald, novelist and feminist
• Alethea Lewis, novelist
• Eiluned Lewis, novelist and poet
• Gwyneth Lewis, poet
• Janet Lewis, novelist
• Wendy Lewis, non-fiction writer and playwright
• Marina Lewycka, novelist
• Anne Ley, writer and polemicist
• Marita Liabø, author
• Mechtilde Lichnowsky, poet, playwright and essayist
• Isabella Lickbarrow, poet
• Erika Liebman, poet and academic
• Deborah Lifchitz, expert on Ethiopian Semitic languages
• Werewere Liking, writer and playwright
• Rosa Liksom, fiction and children's writer
• Suzanne Lilar, playwright, essayist and novelist in French
• Kate Lilley, poet and academic
• Lin Huiyin, architect and writer
• Astrid Lindgren, children's novelist; Pippi Longstocking
• Hilarie Lindsay, children's and non-fiction writer and poet
• Joan A'Beckett Lindsay, novelist
• Rose Lindsay, biographer and print-maker
• Eva Lindström, children's book illustrator and author
• Merethe Lindstrøm, fiction writer; Days in the History of Silence
• Elizabeth Linington, mystery novelist
• Kelly Link, fiction writer and editor
• Baik Sou Linne, fiction writer
• Rosina Lippi, writer
• Laura Lippman, crime fiction writer
• Helena Lisická, ethnographer and fairy-tale writer
• Clarice Lispector, novelist; The Passion According to G. H.
• S. E. Lister, novelist
• Carol Liston, historian
• Ellen Liston, fiction writer and poet
• Jessie Sinclair Litchfield, poet and non-fiction writer
• Penelope Lively, novelist and children's writer; Moon Tiger
• Dorothy Livesay, poet
• Luljeta Lleshanaku, poet and editor
• Kate Llewellyn, poet, diarist and travel writer
• Martha Llwyd, poet and hymnist
• Teresa Lo, author
• Joice NanKivell Loch,, prose writer
• Liz Lochhead, poet and dramatist
• Attica Locke, novelist
• Lilian Locke, fiction writer
• Sumner Locke, fiction writer, poet and dramatist
• Amanda Lohrey, novelist and essayist
• Mirra Lokhvitskaya, poet
• Lesley Lokko, novelist and academic
• Joan London, fiction writer and screenwriter
• Joan Long, screenwriter and producer
• Julienne van Loon, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Anita Loos, screenwriter, playwright and novelist; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
• Abie Longstaff, children's writer
• Josefina Lopez, playwright, screenwriter and novelist
• Karen Lord, speculative fiction writer
• Gabrielle Lord, crime fiction writer
• Audre Lorde, poet
• Emilie Loring, romance novelist
• Isabel Losada, writer, actress and singer
• Laura Glen Louis, author, poet and essayist
• Regina Louise, author and child advocate
• Amy Lowell, poet
• Lois Lowry, children's novelist; Number the Stars
• Mina Loy, poet and artist
• Dulce María Loynaz, Cuban poet and novelist
• Melissa Lucashenko, fiction and non-fiction writer
• Clare Boothe Luce, editor, playwright and journalist
• Maria Lugones, feminist philosopher, writer and academic
• Tamara Lujak, science fiction and fantasy writer
• Catharine Lumby, academic and journalist
• Jane Lumley, Baroness Lumley, translator
• Ulla-Lena Lundberg, author in Swedish
• Luo Luo, novelist and film director
• Alison Lurie, novelist and academic; Foreign Affairs
• Pilar de Lusarreta, fiction writer, essayist and critic
• Masiela Lusha, author and actor
• Marta Lynch, fiction writer
• Annabel Lyon, fiction writer
• Elinor Lyon, children's writer
• Dame Enid Lyons, biographer and politician
• Edith Joan Lyttleton, novelist

  M

• Rose Macaulay, writer
• Ann-Marie MacDonald, novelist, playwright and actor; Fall on Your Knees
• Betty MacDonald, writer; The Egg and I
• Helen Macdonald, writer, naturalist and academic; H is for Hawk
• Lilou Macé, author
• Gwendolyn MacEwen, novelist and poet
• Elisabeth MacIntyre, children's writer
• Louise Mack, poet, journalist and novelist
• Shena Mackay, novelist
• Dorothea Mackellar, poet and fiction writer
• Serena Mackesy, novelist and journalist
• Mary Mackey, novelist, poet and academic
• Patricia MacLachlan, children's novelist; Sarah, Plain and Tall
• Mary MacLane, writer
• Charlotte MacLeod, novelist and mystery writer
• Kathleen MacMahon, writer, radio and television journalist
• Debbie Macomber, novelist
• Katharine Sarah Macquoid, novelist and travel writer
• Deirdre Madden, novelist
• Maga Magazinović, journalist and writer
• Audrey Magee, novelist and journalist
• Nilah Magruder, illustrator and writer
• Akka Mahadevi, poet writing in Old Kannada
• Han Mahlsook, novelist
• Bríd Mahon, novelist and folklorist
• Mahsati Ganjavi, poet
• Jennifer Maiden, poet
• Barbara York Main, arachnologist
• Antonine Maillet, novelist, playwright and scholar
• Barbara Makhalisa, novelist, editor and publisher
• Eudokia Makrembolitissa, poet in Greek and empress
• Desanka Maksimović, poet
• Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, fiction writer
• Rosie Malek-Yonan, novelist, actor and filmmaker
• Oriel Malet, novelist and biographer
• Gitta Mallasz, author of esoteric dialogues
• Nathalie Mallet, science fiction and fantasy writer
• Françoise Mallet-Joris, novelist and essayist in French
• Heather Mallick, columnist, author and lecturer
• Emily St. John Mandel, novelist
• Richmal Mangnall, schoolbook writer; Mangnall's Questions
• Delarivier Manley, novelist, playwright and pamphleteer
• Alana Mann, writer on food politics
• Erika Mann, writer, screenwriter and actress
• Eeva-Liisa Manner, poet, playwright and translator
• Emily Manning, poet and journalist
• Olivia Manning, novelist
• Ruth Manning-Sanders, poet, author and children's writer
• Chris Mansell, poet and publisher
• Katherine Mansfield, short story writer
• Eduarda Mansilla, novelist, playwright and music critic
• Fadhma Aït Mansour,, poet and singer
• Latifa Ben Mansour, novelist, linguist and psychoanalyst
• Lisa Mantchev, fantasy novelist
• Hilary Mantel, fiction writer, memoirist and essayist; 2009 and 2012 Booker Prize; Wolf Hall
• Sarah Ladipo Manyika, fiction writer and essayist
• Lee Maracle, poet, novelist and storyteller
• Dacia Maraini, novelist, playwright and poet
• Melina Marchetta, novelist
• Emilie Maresse-Paul, feminist writer
• Anna Margolin, Yiddish poet
• Beryl Markham, aviator, adventurer and author
• Daphne Marlatt, poet
• E. Marlitt, novelist
• Monika Maron, essayist and political writer
• Leïla Marouane, novelist
• Ana Marija Marović, poet and painter
• Anne de Marquets, poet
• Paula Contreras Márquez, novelist and author
• Ellen Marriage, translator from French
• Ngaio Marsh, mystery writer; Roderick Alleyn
• Paule Marshall, novelist
• Lebogang Mashile, actor, writer and performance poet
• Una Marson, feminist, radio producer and poet
• Catherine Edith Macauley Martin, novelist and journalist
• Faith Martin, thriller writer
• Harriet Martineau, novelist and social theorist
• Lebogang Mashile, actress, writer and poet
• Bobbie Ann Mason, fiction writer, essayist and critic; In Country
• Judi Ann Mason, playwright, screenwriter and journalist; '
• Ursula Masson, writer and academic
• Olga Masters, fiction writer and journalist
• Beverly Matherne, writer and poet
• Christobel Mattingley, children's writer
• Ana María Matute, novelist
• Daphne du Maurier, fiction writer; Rebecca
• Megan Maxwell, romance novelist
• DeBarra Mayo, fitness writer
• Eleanor Mayo, novelist
• Imbolo Mbue, fiction writer
• Constance Jane McAdam, writer and suffragette
• Maxine McArthur, science fiction writer
• Bunny McBride, writer, journalist and anthropologist
• Eimear McBride, novelist; A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing
• Anne McCaffrey, science fiction novelist
• Mary McCarthy, novelist, critic and memoirist
• Shirla R. McClain, educator
• Jen McClanaghan, poet
• Nellie McClung, feminist, author and activist
• Joanna McClure, poet
• Elizabeth McCracken, novelist and editor
• Georgiana Huntly McCrae, diarist and painter
• Sharyn McCrumb, fiction writer
• Carson McCullers, novelist; The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
• Colleen McCullough, novelist
• Alice McDermott, fiction writer
• Nan McDonald, poet and editor
• Ella May McFadyen, poet and children's writer
• Fiona McFarlane, novelist
• Phyllis McGinley, children's writer and poet
• Fiona McGregor, writer and performance artist
• Lisa McInerney, fiction writer and blogger
• Siobhán McHugh, author and documentary maker
• Ami McKay, novelist and playwright
• Edith McKay, fiction writer
• Elizabeth McKenzie, author and editor
• Patricia A. McKillip, sci-fi and fantasy writer
• Tamara McKinley, novelist
• Mignon McLaughlin, journalist and author
• Emma McLaughlin, novelist
• Rhyll McMaster, poet and novelist
• Terry McMillan, novelist
• Bertha McNamara, pamphleteer
• Kit McNaughton, diarist and wartime nurse
• Martha McPhee, novelist; Gorgeous Lies
• Richelle Mead, novelist
• Gillian Mears, fiction writer
• Gwerful Mechain, poet
• Mechthild of Magdeburg, mystic writing in Low German
• Saint Mechtilde of Hackeb., religious writer in Latin
• Nia Medi, novelist and actress
• Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger, poet
• Cecília Meireles, writer and educator
• Tamta Melashvili, novelist and feminist
• Ekaterine Melikishvili, translator and children's writer
• Rosita Melo, poet, songwriter and composer
• Maile Meloy, fiction writer
• Pauline Melville, writer and actress
• Velma Caldwell Melville, editor and writer
• Eva Menasse, novelist and journalist
• Jane Mendelsohn, author
• Charlotte Mendelson, novelist and editor
• Susan Mendus, political philosopher
• Maaza Mengiste, novelist
• Wolla Meranda,, novelist
• Martha Mercader, fiction and children's writer and politician
• Tununa Mercado, fiction writer and essayist
• Sophie Mereau, novelist and poet
• Gwen Meredith, playwright, scriptwriter and novelist
• Louisa Meredith, non-fiction writer, poet and novelist
• Edna Merey-Apinda, writer
• Marguerite Merington, playwright and fiction and non-fiction writer
• Alda Merini, writer and poet
• Louise Meriwether, novelist and essayist
• Fatema Mernissi, academic
• Helen Maud Merrill, woman of letters and poet
• Catherine Merriman, fiction writer
• Elizabeth Messenger, cookery writer and crime novelist
• Claire Messud, novelist and academic; The Emperor's Children
• Grace Metalious, novelist; Peyton Place
• Charlotte Mew, poet; The Farmer's Bride
• Stephenie Meyer, novelist; The Host
• Alice Meynell, critic and poet
• Esther Meynell, author and historian; The Little Chronicle of Magdalena Bach
• Malwida von Meysenbug, political writer and memoirist
• Anne Michaels, novelist and poet
• Agnes Miegel, journalist, writer and poet
• Jasmina Mihajlović, writer and literary critic
• Jo Mihaly, diarist, novelist and dancer
• Mitsukazu Mihara, manga writer and artist
• Jung Mi-kyung, novelist
• Grace Mildmay, diarist
• Dorothy Miles, poet and activist for deaf
• Josephine Miles, poet and critic
• Princess Milica of Serbia, poet
• Ognjenka Milićević, translator and essayist
• Edna St. Vincent Millay, poet
• Caroline Miller, novelist
• Grażyna Miller, poet, writer and translator
• Isabel Miller, novelist; Patience and Sarah
• Kirsten Miller, novelist
• Leslie Adrienne Miller, poet
• Madeline Miller, novelist
• Rebecca Miller, novelist and writer; Jacob's Folly
• Kate Millett, feminist
• Arthenia J. Bates Millican, poet, fiction writer and educator
• Anchee Min, novelist and memoir writer; Red Azalea
• Denise Mina, crime writer and playwright
• Liliana Díaz Mindurry, poet and fiction writer
• Mirabai, Hindu mystical poet
• Mir-Jam, novelist
• Gabriela Mistral, poet, educator and feminist; Nobel Prize in Literature
• Dreda Say Mitchell, novelist and journalist
• Elyne Mitchell, children's writer
• Gladys Mitchell, mystery novelist
• Margaret Mitchell, journalist and novelist; Gone with the Wind
• Susan Mitchell, poet, essayist and translator
• Naomi Mitchison, novelist and poet
• Jessica Mitford, author and rights activist
• Mary Russell Mitford, novelist and dramatist; Our Village
• Nancy Mitford, novelist, biographer and letter writer; The Pursuit of Love
• Kim Mi-wol, fiction writer
• Minae Mizumura, novelist, critic and essayist
• Janet Mock, writer, rights activist and author
• Drusilla Modjeska, writer and editor
• Moelona, novelist, children's writer and translator
• Moero or Myro, poet
• Dora Montefiore, poet, autobiographer and suffragist
• Graciela Montes, children's writer and translator
• Nadifa Mohamed, novelist
• Malika Mokeddem, fiction writer and physician
• Natalia Molebatsi, poet
• Mary Louisa Molesworth, children's novelist
• Grace Mera Molisa, poet, politician and campaigner
• Lília Momplé, fiction writer
• Aja Monet, poet, writer and activist
• Jenn Monroe, poet and editor
• Pilar Burgués Monserrat, fiction writer
• Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, poet, diarist and correspondent
• Florence Montgomery, children's writer
• Lucy Maud Montgomery, fiction writer and poet; Anne of Green Gables
• Ruth Montgomery, novelist
• Amy Monticello, essayist and non-fiction writer
• Susanna Moodie, diarist, novelist and poet
• Anne Moody, autobiographer; Coming of Age in Mississippi
• Alison Moore, novelist
• C. L. Moore, fantasy writer
• Lisa Moore, fiction writer
• Lorrie Moore, fiction writer
• Marianne Moore, poet
• Ruth Moore, fiction writer and poet
• Elizabeth Moorhead, fiction writer
• Finola Moorhead, novelist, playwright and poet
• Shani Mootoo, writer, artist and video maker
• Barbara Moraff, poet
• Cherrie Moraga, poet, playwright and essayist
• Aurora Levins Morales, essayist, poet and fiction writer
• Elsa Morante, novelist; History
• Ann Moray, novelist and singer
• Yolanda Morazzo, poet
• Hannah More, moralist, poet and playwright
• Helga Moreira, poet
• C. E. Morgan, author
• Elaine Morgan, playwright and non-fiction writer
• Elena Puw Morgan, novelist and children's writer
• Erin Morgenstern, artist and novelist; The Night Circus
• Irmtraud Morgner, novelist
• Elinor Mordaunt, writer and traveler
• Sally Morgan, writer and artist
• Liane Moriarty, novelist
• Margarita Morozova, memoirist and publisher
• Jan Morris, historian and travel writer
• Mary McGarry Morris, novelist; Vanished
• Meaghan Morris, writer on cultural studies
• Myra Morris, poet, novelist and children's writer
• Sharon Morris, poet and lecturer
• Toni Morrison, novelist, children's writer and 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature winner
• Di Morrissey, novelist
• Donna Morrissey, novelist and screenwriter
• Sally Morrison, biographer and fiction writer
• Penelope Mortimer, novelist
• Nelle Morton, theologian, professor and civil rights leader
• Stefania Mosca, writer
• Hannah Moscovitch, playwright
• Marie Moser, fiction writer
• Ottessa Moshfegh, fiction writer and essayist; Eileen
• Sarah Moss, writer and academic
• Thylias Moss, poet, children's novelist and playwright
• Kate Mosse, fiction writer and broadcaster;Labyrinth
• Ahlam Mosteghanemi, novelist
• Nadežka Mosusova, non-fiction writer
• Touhfat Mouhtare, writer
• Daphne Pochin Mould, non-fiction writer
• Julia Moulden, non-fiction writer and speechwriter
• Mary Braidwood Mowle, diarist
• Ana Gloria Moya, novelist
• Esther Moyal, Jewish writer, feminist and translator
• Milena Mrazović, writer in Serbian
• Zorica Mršević, writer on gender equality and rights
• Cristina Mucci, writer and journalist
• Lisel Mueller, poet
• Willa Muir, writer
• Bharati Mukherjee, fiction writer; Jasmine
• Lale Müldür, poet and writer
• Wendy Mulford, poet and feminist
• Harryette Mullen, poet, fiction writer and literary scholar
• Herta Müller, novelist, poet and essayist; Nobel Prize winner
• Inge Müller, poet
• Zorica Jevremović Munitić, playwright and literary historian
• Alice Munro, short story writer; 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Iris Murdoch, novelist and philosopher; The Sea, the Sea
• Nina Murdoch, biographer, travel writer and poet
• Mary Noailles Murfree, fiction writer
• Rosario Murillo, poet
• Sallyann J. Murphey, novelist
• C. E. Murphy, author
• Margaret Murphy, crime novelist
• Joanna Murray-Smith, playwright, screenwriter and novelist
• Eugénie Musayidire, writer
• Inga Muscio, writer; '
• Susan Musgrave, poet and children's writer
• Małgorzata Musierowicz, children's and young adults' fiction writer
• Carol Muske-Dukes, poet, novelist and professor
• Sugawara no Takasue no musume, diarist
• Dagmar von Mutius, writer
• Beverle Graves Myers, mystery writer

  N

• Farida Nabourema, writer and rights activist
• Constance Naden, poet and philosopher
• Azar Nafisi, writer and academic; Reading Lolita in Tehran
• Alice Nahon, poet
• Sarojini Naidu, child prodigy, activist and poet
• Zofia Nałkowska, novelist and playwright
• Carolina Nairne, song-writer
• Cheng Naishan, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Nakatsukasa, poet
• Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, novelist
• Anna Nakwaska, memoirist, novelist and children's author
• Glaydah Namukasa, novelist and midwife
• Heo Nanseolheon, poet
• Elma Napier, writer and politician
• Ruth Narramore, writer, editor and musician
• Taslima Nasrin, novelist, poet and essayist
• Benedikte Naubert, historical novelist
• Marguerite de Navarre, poet, playwright and fiction writer; Heptameron
• Gloria Naylor, novelist
• Marie NDiaye, novelist and playwright
• Mary Anna Needell, novelist
• María Negroni, poet, essayist and novelist
• Samira Negrouche, poet, prose writer and physician
• Alice Dunbar Nelson, poet, journalist and activist
• Esther Nelson, poet
• Božena Němcová, writer of Czech National Revival movement
• Irène Némirovsky, novelist; Suite française
• Mary Edith Nepean, romantic novelist
• Adalgisa Nery, poet and novelist
• E. Nesbit, children's fiction writer; Five Children and It
• Friederike Caroline Neuber, playwright and actress
• Jill Neville, novelist, playwright and poet
• Aimee Nezhukumatathil, poet and essayist
• Juliana Makuchi Nfah-Abbenyi, professor and writer
• Lauretta Ngcobo, novelist and essayist
• Brenda Niall, biographer, critic and journalist
• Grace Nichols, poet
• Joyce Nicholson, author
• Mavis Nicholson, writer and broadcaster
• Brenda Niall, biographer, critic and journalist
• Lorine Niedecker, poet; only woman among Objectivist poets
• Aīda Niedra, novelist and poet
• Charlotte Niese, writer and poet
• Audrey Niffenegger, novelist and artist
• Deborah Niland, children's book writer and illustrator
• Jenny Nimmo, children's author and novelist
• Anaïs Nin, eroticist, critic and diarist; Henry and June
• Sister Nivedita, writer
• Esther Nirina, poet
• Ketty Nivyabandi, poet and rights activist
• Rebeka Njau, playwright and novelist
• Nkiru Njoku, screenwriter
• Anna de Noailles, writer in French
• Cynthia Reed Nolan, novelist and travel writer
• Ingrid Noll, novelist
• Oodgeroo Noonuccal, poet, activist and educator
• Kerstin Norborg, writer and poet
• Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht, poet, feminist and salonnière
• Clara Nordström, novelist in German
• Regine Normann, fiction writer
• Kathleen Norris, novelist
• Marlene Norst, linguist and educationalist
• Marisela Norte, poet and writer
• Andre Norton, fiction writer; Star Gate
• Caroline Norton, author, reformer and feminist
• Julian of Norwich, mystic
• Nossis, epigrammist and poet
• Amélie Nothomb, novelist
• Alice Notley, poet
• Joanne Nova, science writer and speaker
• Helga M. Novak, poet and political writer
• Anna Novakov, art historian and art critic
• Mary Novik, novelist
• Perpétue Nshimirimana, writer
• Princess Nukata, poet
• Elizabeth Nunez, novelist and academic
• Martina Nwakoby, children's writer and novelist
• Flora Nwapa, novelist
• Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, novelist, humorist and essayist
• Julia Nyberg, poet and songwriter
• Sekai Nzenza, writer, critic and politician

  O

• Ann Oakley, academic and novelist
• Joyce Carol Oates, fiction writer, poet and playwright
• Princess Anka Obrenović, first woman writer published in Serbia
• Silvina Ocampo, poet, short story writer and playwright
• Victoria Ocampo, critic, autobiographer and translator
• María Olimpia de Obaldía, poet
• Charlotta Öberg, poet
• Clara Obligado, fiction writer
• Trifonia Melibea Obono, novelist, political scientist and academic
• Téa Obreht, fiction writer; The Tiger's Wife
• Princess Anka Obrenović, writer
• Edna O'Brien, fiction writer
• Kate O'Brien, novelist and playwright
• Mary-Louise O'Callaghan, non-fiction author
• Silvina Ocampo, poet and fiction writer
• Elizabeth O'Conner', novelist
• Flannery O'Connor, fiction writer
• Niamh O'Connor, novelist and journalist
• Tyne O'Connell, novelist
• Mary O'Donnell, fiction writer and poet
• Mietta O'Donnell, food writer and chef
• Mary O'Donoghue, novelist, poet and translator
• Taiwo Odubiyi, novelist, children's writer and religious columnist
• Okwiri Oduor, writer
• Marie Conway Oemler, novelist
• Julia O'Faolain, novelist
• Nuala O'Faolain, novelist, critic and memoirist
• Jenny Offill, novelist and editor
• Catherine O'Flynn, fiction writer; What Was Lost
• Nana Oforiatta Ayim, writer, art historian and film-maker
• Barbara Ogier, playwright
• Vida Ognjenović, playwright and writer
• Grace Ogot, fiction writer
• Molara Ogundipe, poet, critic and non-fiction writer
• Sheila O'Hagan, poet
• Pixie O'Harris, writer and artist
• Yeo Ok, poet
• Irenosen Okojie, fiction writer
• Nnedi Okorafor, fiction writer
• Juliane Okot Bitek, diaspora poet
• Ifeoma Okoye, fiction and children's writer
• Chinelo Okparanta, fiction writer
• Sofi Oksanen, novelist and playwright
• Princess Ōku, poet
• Sharon Olds, poet
• Margaret Oliphant, novelist; Phoebe, Junior
• Ukamaka Olisakwe, feminist writer, short story writer and screenwriter
• Mary Oliver, poet
• Narelle Oliver, children's author, artist and print-maker
• Tillie Olsen, feminist fiction writer
• Lisa Olstein, poet
• Nessa O'Mahony, poet
• Mary O'Malley, poet
• Kathleen O'Meara, journalist, novelist and biographer
• Yewande Omotoso, novelist and designer
• Heather O'Neill, fiction writer, poet and screenwriter
• Mary Devenport O'Neill, poet and dramatist
• Moira O'Neill, poet
• Makena Onjerika, writer
• Fuyumi Ono, novelist
• Nuzo Onoh, horror writer
• Chibundu Onuzo, novelist
• Osonye Tess Onwueme, playwright, scholar and poet
• Ifeoma Onyefulu, children's writer and novelist
• Amelia Opie, novelist and biographer
• Mary Oppen, artist, poet and writer
• Baroness Orczy, novelist, translator and illustrator; The Scarlet Pimpernel
• Caitriona O'Reilly, poet and critic
• Bukola Oriola, journalist and autobiographer
• Iza Orjonikidze, poet and politician
• Kate Orman, science fiction writer
• Margarita Ormotsadze, journalist, poet and writer
• Olga Orozco, poet and journalist
• Elvira Orphée, fiction writer
• Hanne Ørstavik, novelist
• Virginia Elena Ortea, journalist and novelist
• Alicia Dujovne Ortiz, poet, fiction writer and biographer
• Helena Araújo Ortiz, feminist author and literary critic
• Eliza Orzeszkowa, writer
• Joanne van Os, fiction and children's writer and memoirist
• Deb'rah Eunice Osagiede, pastor and writer
• Beatrice Osborn, novelist and poet
• Martha Ostenso, novelist and screenwriter
• Maggie O'Sullivan, poet, performer and artist
• Maureen Donovan O'Sullivan, educator and historian
• Joanne van Os, fiction and children's writer and memoirist
• Alice Oswald, poet
• Ōtagaki Rengetsu, poet and calligrapher
• Julie Otsuka, novelist; The Buddha in the Attic
• Ouida, fiction writer; Under Two Flags
• Helen Ovbiagele, novelist
• Angelika Overath, author and journalist
• Caroline Overington, author
• Jan Owen, poet
• Sue Owen, humorous poet
• Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, fiction writer
• Helen Oyeyemi, fiction writer
• Emine Sevgi Özdamar, novelist and playwright
• Ruth Ozeki, novelist and academic
• Cynthia Ozick, critic and novelist

  P

• Ruth Padel, poet, critic and nature writer
• Isabel Pagan, poet
• Karen A. Page, food writer
• Elaine Pagels, religious historian and writer; The Gnostic Gospels
• Camille Paglia, essayist; Sexual Personae
• Charlotte Painter, novelist and writer
• Maria Palaiologina, Queen of Serbia, writer
• Marina Palei, writer
• Grace Paley, fiction writer, poet and activist
• Helen Palmer, author, educator and historian
• Nettie Palmer, poet, essayist and critic
• Kirsti Paltto, Sámi playwright, fiction and children's writer
• Emmeline Pankhurst, activist and autobiographer
• Sylvia Pankhurst, suffragist, poet
• Vera Panova, Soviet fiction writer
• Sara Paretsky, mystery novelist
• Susan Parisi, horror fiction writer
• Ruth Park, novelist and children's writer
• Catherine Langloh Parker, fiction writer and folklorist
• Dorothy Parker, poet, critic and fiction writer
• Una-Mary Parker, novelist
• Molly Parkin, novelist and painter
• Adele Parks, fiction writer
• Suzan-Lori Parks, playwright and screenwriter
• Sophia Parnok, poet
• Catherine Parr, Queen Consort
• Anne Parrish, children's novelist
• Anne Spencer Parry, fantasy writer
• Sarah Winifred Parry, fiction writer
• Amy Parry-Williams, writer and singer
• Mona Parsa, author
• Alicia Partnoy, poet, translator and rights activist
• Sarah Willis Parton, novelist, columnist and children's writer
• Vesna Parun, poet
• Jacqueline Pascarl, memoirist and parents' rights advocate
• Josefina Passadori, writer and educator
• Ann Patchett, novelist; Bel Canto
• Shailja Patel, Kenyan poet, playwright
• Evelyn Patuawa-Nathan, writer
• Irene Levine Paull, writer and labor activist
• Karolina Pavlova, writer
• Milena Pavlović-Barili, poet
• Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska, Polish poet
• Patricia Payne, screenwriter and film producer
• Edith Pearlman, fiction and non-fiction writer
• Allison Pearson, journalist and novelist
• Laura Pedersen, author, humorist and playwright; The Brightness of Heaven
• Ethel Pedley, author and musician
• Erica Pedretti, writer in German
• Inês Pedrosa, fiction writer and playwright
• Janet Peery, fiction writer
• Kira Peikoff, thriller writer
• Kathleen Peirce, poet
• Luisa Peluffo, poet and novelist
• Anne Penny, poet
• Louise Penny, mystery novelist
• Emily Pepys, child diarist
• Jennifer Percy, writer
• Charmaine Pereira, non-fiction writer
• Ana Mercedes Perez, poet, writer and translator
• Aşıq Pəri, lyric poet
• Olga Perovskaya, children's writer
• Perpetua, writer of a Latin prison diary
• Lakshmi Persaud, novelist
• Grace Perry, poet and editor
• Julia Peterkin, fiction writer
• Elizabeth Peters, mystery novelist
• Ellis Peters, mystery fiction writer and translator
• Marine Petrossian, poet, essayist and columnist
• Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, writer and dramatist; Immortal Love
• Ann Petry, fiction writer and journalist
• Sophie Petzal, screenwriter
• Hoa Pham, fiction and children's writer
• Nancy Phelan, novelist and travel writer
• Marlene Nourbese Philip, poet, writer and playwright
• Katherine Philips, poet
• Eluned Phillips, bard and memoirist
• Jayne Anne Phillips, fiction writer
• Joan Phipson, children's writer
• Phintys, philosopher
• Ife Piankhi, poet, singer and educator
• Karoline Pichler, novelist; Agathocles
• Jodi Picoult, novelist
• Phyllis Piddington, fiction writer and poet
• Meredith Ann Pierce, fantasy writer
• Tamora Pierce, children's novelist; Alanna of Trebond
• Marge Piercy, poet, novelist and activist
• Rosamunde Pilcher, romance writer
• Florencia del Pinar, poet
• Winsome Pinnock, playwright
• Marie E. J. Pitt, poet
• Ruth Pitter, poet
• Mary Pix, novelist and playwright
• Christine de Pizan, feminist poet and rhetorician in French
• Alejandra Pizarnik, poet
• Marjorie Pizer, poet
• Tamri Pkhakadze, novelist and children's writer
• Josefina Pla, poet, playwright and painter
• Sylvia Plath, poet, fiction writer and essayist
• Ann Plato, essayist
• Karen Platt, garden writer
• Polly Platt, writer on living in France
• Anne Plumptre, fiction and political writer and translator
• Aliénor de Poitiers, writer on court etiquette
• Elizabeth Polack, playwright
• Gillian Polack, fiction writer and editor
• Leonora Polkinghorne, writer and women's activist
• Velma Pollard, poet and fiction writer
• Sarah Polley, screenwriter and political activist; Away from Her
• Katha Pollitt, feminist poet, essayist and critic
• Elizaveta Polonskaya, poet, translator and journalist
• Hannah Azieb Pool, writer and journalist
• Olúmìdé Pópóọlá, poet and novelist
• Elizabeth Polwheele, playwright
• Elena Poniatowska, fiction writer and journalist
• Marie Ponsot, poet and essayist
• Azalais de Porcairagues, poet writing in Occitan
• Anna Maria Porter, poet and novelist
• Dorothy Featherstone Porter, poet
• Eleanor H. Porter, children's writer; Pollyanna
• Jane Porter, historical novelist and playwright
• Katherine Anne Porter, journalist, essayist and novelist
• Marie Porter, writer and welfare advocate
• Suzanne Portnoy, writer and playwright
• Dina Posada, poet
• Francesca Bortolotto Possati, author
• Emily Post, journalist and novelist; Etiquette
• Sue-Ann Post, comedian and writer
• Halina Poświatowska, poet
• Beatrix Potter, children's writer and illustrator; The Tale of Peter Rabbit
• Sarah Powell, poet
• Dawn Powell, fiction writer and playwright
• Patricia Powell, novelist
• Eileen Power, economic historian and medievalist
• Marguerite Agnes Power, novelist and periodical writer
• Rhoda Power, educational and children's writer
• Eve Pownall, children's writer and historian
• Rosa Praed, novelist
• Paula von Preradović, story writer and poet
• Jewel Prestage, political scientist
• Angharad Price, novelist and academic
• Evadne Price writer and media figure
• Katharine Susannah Prichard, fiction writer and playwright
• Diane di Prima, poet
• Mary Prince, autobiographer
• Pauline Prior-Pitt, poet
• Amrita Pritam, Punjabi poet, novelist and essayist
• Faltonia Betitia Proba, poet in Latin
• Adelaide Anne Procter, poet
• Francine Prose, fiction and non-fiction writer and critic
• Annie Proulx, fiction writer and journalist; The Shipping News
• Florence Prusmack, novelist
• Myfanwy Pryce, fiction writer
• Lucía Puenzo, novelist and film director
• Esther Pugh, editor
• Sheenagh Pugh, poet, novelist and translator
• Carmen Montoriol Puig, poet, writer and playwright
• Odette du Puigaudeau, traveler and writer on Sahara
• Adriana Puiggrós, non-fiction writer, politician and educator
• Alice Pung, novelist, memoirist and lawyer
• Barbara Pym, novelist

  Q

• Li Qingzhao, poet
• Qiu Jin, revolutionary, feminist and writer
• Marjorie Quarton, children's writer and novelist
• Daisy May Queen, writer and broadcaster
• Rachel de Queiroz, novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer
• Catharina Questiers, poet and playwright
• Alison Quigan, playwright and actress
• Betty Quin, script-writer
• Anna Quindlen, novelist and journalist; Black and Blue
• Rebeca Quintáns, research writer and journalist
• Elena Quiroga, novelist
• Christine Qunta, writer and lawyer
• Anne Margrethe Qvitzow, poet, translator and memoirist

  R

• Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, correspondent
• Ann Radcliffe, novelist; The Mysteries of Udolpho
• Radegund, Frankish princess and poet in Latin
• Gwynedd Rae, children's writer
• Janet Milne Rae, fiction writer
• Jennifer Rahim, educator and writer
• Allen Raine, novelist
• Samina Raja, poet, writer and broadcaster
• Rajashree, chick lit novelist
• Maraea Rakuraku, playwright
• Ayn Rand, novelist and philosopher; The Fountainhead
• Mary Randolph, housekeeping and cookbook author
• Jennifer Rankin, poet and playwright
• Claudia Rankine, poet and playwright
• Eva Ras, poet and fiction writer
• Ellen Raskin, children's writer and illustrator; The Westing Game
• Patricia Ratto, writer and teacher
• Elsa Rautee, poet
• Dahlia Ravikovitch, poet, translator and peace activist
• Angela Rawlings, poet, editor and artist
• Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, novelist; The Yearling
• Sarah Rayner, author and copy writer
• Helen Raynor, scriptwriter
• Angela Readman, poet
• Pauline Réage, erotic novelist
• Anica Savić Rebac, essayist, biographer and translator
• Elisa von der Recke , writer and poet from Courland
• Jaclyn Reding, historical novelist
• Kerry Reed-Gilbert, poet and author
• Clara Reeve, novelist; The Old English Baron
• Ruth Reichl, food and memoir writer
• Gayla Reid, novelist
• Kiley Reid, novelist
• Małgorzata Rejmer, fiction writer
• Mirkka Rekola, poet
• Mary Renault, historical novelist; Fire From Heaven
• Ruth Rendell, mystery novelist
• Gabriele Reuter, novelist, essayist and children's writer
• Fanny zu Reventlow, political writer and feminist
• Yasmina Reza, playwright, actress and novelist; Art
• Regina Rheda, fiction writer and animal rights advocate
• Jean Rhys, novelist; Wide Sargasso Sea
• Mrs. Riazuddin, feminist and travel writer
• Catherine of Ricci, religious writer and saint
• Marie Jeanne Riccoboni, novelist
• Anne Rice, novelist; Vampire Chronicles
• Adrienne Rich, feminist poet
• Jo-Anne Richards, journalist and author
• Dorothy Richardson, fiction writer, poet and essayist
• Elizabeth Richardson, religious writer
• Ethel Richardson, novelist
• Jutta Richter, children's and young adults' writer
• Elizabeth Riddell,, poet and journalist
• Lola Ridge, poet and editor
• Laura Riding, poet, critic and fiction writer
• Brigitte Riebe, novelist
• Alifa Rifaat, fiction writer
• Denise Riley, poet and philosopher
• Raza Naqvi Wahi, Urdu poet
• Joan Riley, novelist
• Mary Roberts Rinehart, novelist, playwright and poet
• Luise Rinser, novelist, autobiographer and children's writer
• Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie, novelist
• Marion Roach, non-fiction writer
• Sarah Fraser Robbins, writer and natural history educator
• Antoinette Henriette Clémence Robert, novelist and playwright
• Eigra Lewis Roberts, dramatist and novelist in Welsh
• Emma Roberts, travel writer and poet
• Kate Roberts, fiction writer in Welsh
• Michèle Roberts, novelist and poet
• Margaret Roberts, author and herbalist
• Nora Roberts, novelist
• E. Arnot Robertson, novelist
• Lisa Robertson, poet
• Eden Robinson, fiction writer; Monkey Beach
• Hilary Robinson, children's author
• Marilynne Robinson, novelist; Gilead
• Mary Robinson, poet, novelist and actor
• Kim Robinson-Walcott, poet and editor
• Aïcha Mohamed Robleh, writer
• Lucia St. Clair Robson, novelist
• Charlotte Roche, novelist; Feuchtgebiete
• Mazo de la Roche, novelist; Jalna
• Sophie von La Roche, novelist
• Esther Rochon, science fiction novelist
• Debbie Rodriguez, author
• Judith Rodriguez, poet
• Jill Roe, historian, academic and author
• Helena Roerich, mystic
• Monique Roffey, novelist and memoirist
• Betty Roland, play, screenplay and children's writer and novelist
• Jane Helen Rowlands, scholar, linguist and evangelist
• Robin Romm, writer
• Daphne Rooke, writer
• Ginny Rorby, young adults' novelist
• Heather Rose, novelist
• Henrietta Rose-Innes, fiction writer
• Petrona Rosende, poet and journalist
• Barbara Rosiek, writer, poet and psychologist
• Alice Grant Rosman, novelist
• Anna Ross, comic opera dramatist and actress
• Orna Ross, author and advocate for creativism
• Nancy Wilson Ross, novelist
• Somerville and Ross, novelists; The Irish R. M.
• Christina Rossetti, poet; Goblin Market and Other Poems
• Veronica Rossi, young adults' novelist
• Judith Rossner, novelist
• Maria Elizabeth Rothmann, writer
• Veronica Roth, novelist; Divergent trilogy
• Hannah Mary Rothschild, writer, philanthropist and film-maker
• Anne Rouse, poet
• Alma Routsong, novelist; Patience and Sarah
• Jennifer Rowe, novelist
• Mary Rowlandson, memoirist
• J. K. Rowling, novelist; Harry Potter series
• Susanna Rowson, novelist, poet and playwright; Charlotte Temple
• Susanna Roxman, writer, poet and critic; Imagining Seals
• Arundhati Roy, novelist; The God of Small Things
• Gabrielle Roy, novelist and journalist
• Lucinda Roy, novelist
• S. J. Rozan, crime fiction writer
• Pascale Roze, playwright and novelist
• Bernice Rubens, Welsh novelist; The Elected Member
• Dina Rubina, writer; The Blackthorn''
• Berta Ruck, novelist and memoirist
• Anne Rudloe, marine biologist and Zen Buddhist
• Muriel Rukeyser, feminist poet
• Katherine Rundell, children's writer and dramatist
• Kristina Rungano, poet and fiction writer
• Rona Rupert, writer
• Joanna Russ, fiction writer and essayist
• Diana E. H. Russell, feminist writer and activist
• Karen Russell, fiction writer
• Rose Rwakasisi, editor, fiction writer and educator
• Gig Ryan, poet
• Kay Ryan, poet and educator
• Marah Ellis Ryan, novelist
• Nan Ryan, romance novalist

  S

• Nelly Sachs, poet and playwright; 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Vita Sackville-West, writer, poet and gardener
• Mary Sadler, novelist
• Elif Safak, writer
• Françoise Sagan, playwright, novelist and screenwriter
• Mamta Sagar, Kannada poet and playwright
• Sarojini Sahoo, feminist and fiction writer; Sensible Sensuality
• Nandini Sahu, poet, folklorist and academic in English
• Stéphanie Félicité du Crest de Saint-Aubin, novelist, playwright and children's writer
• Saigū no Nyōgo, poet
• Pirkko Saisio, author and actor
• Arja Salafranca, poet
• Nina Salaman, poet and translator
• Excilia Saldaña, poet and children's writer
• Marta Salgado,, non-fiction writer
• Nino Salia, historian
• Blanaid Salkeld, poet, dramatist and salonnière
• Eva Sallis, novelist
• Jessica Amanda Salmonson, fiction writer, essayist and editor
• Lydie Salvayre, writer
• Fiona Sampson, poet and editor
• Rhian Samuel, writer on music
• Matilde Sánchez, writer, journalist and translator
• Sonia Sanchez, poet, playwright and children's writer
• Milcha Sanchez-Scott, playwright
• George Sand, novelist and playwright
• Dorothy Lucy Sanders, romance novelist
• Mari Sandoz, fiction writer and biographer
• Sappho, poet in Greek
• Dipti Saravanamuttu, poet and journalist
• Tibors de Sarenom, poet in Occitan
• Beatriz Sarlo, critic, editor and non-fiction writer
• Noo Saro-Wiwa, travel writer
• Nathalie Sarraute, novelist and essayist
• Homa Sarshar, author and feminist
• May Sarton, poet, novelist and memoirist
• Marjane Satrapi, graphic novelist
• Gerd Grønvold Saue, critic, novelist and hymn-writer
• Stephanie Saulter, science fiction writer
• Sharon Savoy, author
• Ruth Sawyer, novelist and children's writer
• Robin Sax, true-crime author and commentator
• Dorothy L. Sayers, mystery fiction writer and essayist
• Oda Schaefer, poet and journalist
• Riana Scheepers, writer of children's books, fiction and poetry
• Caroline Schelling, essayist, critic and correspondent
• Stacy Schiff, non-fiction author and columnist
• Dorothea von Schlegel, novelist and translator
• Eva Schloss, Jewish memoirist and Holocaust survivor
• Elke Schmitter, novelist
• Pat Schneider, writer, poet and editor
• Diane Schoemperlen, fiction writer
• Elizabeth of Schönau, visionary writing in Latin
• Patricia Schonstein, novelist, poet and children's author
• Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, poet and fiction writer
• Amalie Schoppe, children's writer
• Olive Schreiner, novelist, allegorist and political writer
• Julianne Schultz, non-fiction writer
• Christine Schutt, fiction writer
• Simone Schwarz-Bart, playwright and novelist
• Samanta Schweblin, fiction writer
• Sandra Scofield, novelist, essayist and author of writers' guides
• Ann Scott, novelist
• Caroline Lucy Scott, novelist and religious writer
• Cathy Scott, true crime author, biographer and journalist
• Jane Scott, playwright and theater manager
• Margaret Scott, poet, critic and academic
• Rosie Scott, novelist
• Madeleine de Scudéry, novelist
• Jocelynne Scutt, non-fiction writer and lawyer
• Mary Seacole, nurse and autobiographer
• Molly Elliot Seawell, essayist and fiction writer
• Leïla Sebbar, novelist and autobiographer
• Alice Sebold, novelist; The Lovely Bones
• Amy Sedaris, actress, screenwriter and humorist
• Catharine Sedgwick, novelist
• Lisa See, novelist; Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
• Edith Segal, choreographer, poet and songwriter
• Anna Seghers, novelist; The Seventh Cross
• Alinah Kelo Segobye, social development activist and archaeologist
• Comtesse de Ségur, novelist
• Dubravka Sekulić, author and architect
• Isidora Sekulić, novelist
• Taiye Selasi, novelist
• Odete Semedo, writer and educator
• Olive Senior, poet and fiction writer
• Danzy Senna, novelist
• Raquel Señoret, poet
• Ha Seong-nan, author
• Kim Seon-wu, poet
• Ruta Sepetys, historical fiction writer
• Namwali Serpell, fiction writer
• Nina Serrano, poet, writer and storyteller
• Kadija Sesay, short-story writer, poet and editor
• Anya Seton, historical novelist
• Cynthia Propper Seton, novelist and essayist
• Diane Setterfield, novelist; The Thirteenth Tale
• Mary Lee Settle, novelist and memoirist; Blood Tie
• Anna Seward, Romantic poet
• Anna Sewell, novelist; Black Beauty
• Elizabeth Sewell, poet, novelist and professor
• Elizabeth Missing Sewell, writer on religion and education
• Anne Sexton, poet
• Miranda Seymour, fiction and non-fiction writer
• Carole Seymour-Jones, biographer and educational writer
• Ippolita Maria Sforza, writer, also in Latin
• Mary Ann Shaffer, writer, editor and librarian; The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
• Marietta Shaginyan, writer and political activist; Mess-Mend
• Ruchoma Shain, rebbetzin, author and teacher
• Ntozake Shange, playwright and novelist
• Jo Shapcott, poet, editor and lecturer
• Chava Shapiro, writer in Ukrainian
• Emma Augusta Sharkey, writer, journalist and novelist
• Tatiana Shchepkina-Kupernik, writer and dramatist; Deborah
• Alice Sheldon, fiction writer
• Mary Shelley, novelist; Frankenstein
• Bonnie Shemie, children's author and illustrator
• Nan Shepherd, novelist and poet
• Verene Shepherd, academic
• Frances Sheridan, novelist and playwright
• Dorothy Sherrill, children's writer and illustrator
• Kate Brownlee Sherwood, poet, journalist and translator
• Mary Martha Sherwood, children's writer
• Carol Shields, novelist; The Stone Diaries
• Izumi Shikibu, poet
• Murasaki Shikibu, novelist and poet; The Tale of Genji
• Princess Shikishi, poet
• Aki Shimazaki, novelist and translator
• Shin Kyeong-nim, writer
• Kang Shin-jae, novelist, essayist and playwright
• Shin Kyeong-nim, writer
• Sharon Shinn, novelist
• Irma Shiolashvili, poet, translator and journalist
• Warsan Shire, writer, poet and editor
• Shirome, poet
• Maria Shkapskaya, poet and journalist
• Susy Shock, writer, singer and actor
• Sei Shōnagon, writer and poet; The Pillow Book
• Lola Shoneyin, novelist and poet
• Fredegond Shove, poet
• Ana María Shua, fiction and children's writer, poet and playwright
• Jenefer Shute, novelist
• Marie-Louise Sibazuri, writer
• Bapsi Sidhwa, novelist
• Mary Sidney, translator, playwright and poet
• Gonnie Siegel, feminist and business writer
• Catherine of Siena, nun, philosopher and theologian
• Joyce Sikakane, journalist and activist
• Joan Silber, fiction writer
• Leslie Marmon Silko, Laguna Pueblo fiction writer and poet; Almanac of the Dead
• Jindeok of Silla, poet and queen
• Makeda Silvera, fiction writer
• Dorothy Simpson, crime novelist
• Helen Simpson, novelist, playwright and historian
• Ruth Simpson, lesbian author
• Laura Sims, novelist and poet
• Jo Sinclair, writer
• May Sinclair, fiction writer and poet
• Ansuyah Ratipul Singh, writer and medical doctor
• Sarah Singleton, novelist and children's writer
• Johanna Sinisalo, science-fiction and fantasy writer
• Elinor Sisulu, writer and activist
• Edith Sitwell, poet
• Maj Sjöwall, mystery novelist
• Staka Skenderova, writer in Serbian
• Rebecca Skloot, non-fiction science writer
• Ann Masterman Skinn, novelist
• Sofija Skoric, activist and author
• Amalie Skram, novelist and feminist
• Vendela Skytte, writer
• Karin Slaughter, crime writer
• Barbara Sleigh, children's writer and broadcaster; Carbonel series
• Gillian Slovo, novelist, playwright and memoirist
• Anna Smaill, poet and novelist; The Chimes
• Elizabeth Smart, novelist and poet
• Dorothea Smartt, poet
• Jane Smiley, novelist; A Thousand Acres
• Ali Smith, novelist
• Amanda Smith, evangelist and autobiographer
• Betty Smith, novelist; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
• Charlene Leonora Smith, biographer of Nelson Mandela
• Charlotte Turner Smith, poet and novelist
• Dodie Smith, novelist and playwright; I Capture the Castle
• Doris Buchanan Smith, children's novelist; A Taste of Blackberries
• Georgina Castle Smith, children's writer and novelist
• Maggie Smith, poet, editor and writer
• Patti Smith, poet, visual artist and singer-songwriter
• Pauline Smith, novelist
• Stevie Smith, poet and novelist
• Tracy K. Smith, poet and educator
• Zadie Smith, fiction writer and essayist; White Teeth
• Saundra Smokes, journalist and playwright
• Laura J. Snyder, historian and biographer
• Yan-kit So, food historian and cookery expert
• Gaele Sobott, fiction, children's, and non-fiction author
• Edith Södergran, poet in Swedish
• Zulu Sofola, playwright and dramatist
• Ružica Sokić, writer and actress
• Adeola Solanke, playwright and screenwriter
• Elizabeth Solopova, philologist and academic
• Polyxena Solovyova, poet and translator
• Cathy Song, poet
• Susan Sontag, essayist and novelist
• Oh Soo-yeon, author and essayist
• Tracy Sorensen, novelist and academic
• Fuyumi Soryo, manga writer
• María de Zayas y Sotomayor, novelist
• Svetlana Spajić, cultural activist and translator
• Muriel Spark, novelist; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
• Terry Spear, romance novelist
• Catherine Helen Spence, novelist and social reformer
• Eleanor Spence, children's author
• Vanessa Spence, novelist
• Anne Spencer, poet
• Elizabeth Spencer, fiction writer
• Dale Spender, feminist writer and scholar
• Jean Maud Spender, crime novelist
• Leonora Speyer, poet and violinist
• Lina Spies, poet
• Erica Spindler, romance, thriller and mystery novelist
• Dana Spiotta, novelist
• Jela Spiridonović-Savić, poet and fiction writer
• Andrea Spofford, poet and essayist
• Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford, fiction writer and poet
• Johanna Spyri, children's writer; Heidi
• Biljana Srbljanović, playwright
• Marilyn Stablein, poet, essayist and fiction writer
• Ilse von Stach, playwright, novelist and poet
• Madame de Staël, novelist in French
• Jean Stafford, fiction writer
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton, feminist journalist and essayist
• Freya Stark, travel writer
• Nicolette Stasko, poet, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Lilian Staveley, Christian writer and mystic
• Christina Stead, fiction writer; The Man Who Loved Children
• Danielle Steel, romance novelist
• Flora Annie Steel, novelist
• Mirjana Stefanović, writer
• Alicia Steimberg, fiction writer and translator
• Charlotte von Stein, dramatist and friend of Goethe
• Gertrude Stein, fiction writer, playwright and poet
• Joanne Stepaniak, vegan cookbook writer
• Jadene Felina Stevens, poet
• Augusta Stevenson, writer of children's literature and teacher
• Margo Taft Stever, poet
• Amanda Stewart, poet and performance artist
• Maria W. Stewart, feminist lecturer and journalist
• Mary Stewart, mystery and romance novelist
• Susan Stewart, poet, university professor and literary critic
• Maggie Stiefvater, young-adult fiction writer; The Raven Cycle series
• Ilka Stitz, historical thriller writer
• Wilma Stockenström, writer, translator and actor
• Cynthia Stockley, novelist
• Milica Stojadinović-Srpkinja, poet
• Maša Stokić, dramatist, drama critic
• Ruth Stone, poet
• Sam Stone, fiction writer and playwright
• Marie Stopes, author, palaeobotanist and birth control advocate; Married Love
• Alfonsina Storni, poet and playwright
• Agnes L. Storrie, poet and writer
• Harriet Beecher Stowe, novelist; Uncle Tom's Cabin
• Mari Strachan, novelist
• Susan Straight, fiction writer, essayist and academic
• Jennifer Strauss, poet and academic
• Hesba Stretton, children's writer
• Agnes Strickland, history writer and poet
• Eva Strittmatter, poet and children's writer
• Rashida Strober, playwright
• Elizabeth Strout, fiction writer; Olive Kitteridge
• Jan Struther, hymn-writer and novelist; Mrs Miniver
• Andrea Stuart, historian, biographer and journalist
• Lady Louisa Stuart, memoirist and letter writer
• Toni Stuart, poet
• Sarah Stup, writer
• Olivia Sudjic, novelist
• Meridel Le Sueur, novelist and journalist
• Heo Su-gyeong, poet
• Azalia Suhaimi, poet and writer
• Iliriana Sulkuqi, poet and journalist
• Jennifer Sullivan, children's novelist and critic
• Sulpicia, poet in Latin
• Sulpicia, satirist in Latin
• Anne Summers, writer and columnist
• Barbara Summers, writer, educator and model
• Merna Summers, fiction writer
• Jacqueline Susann, novelist
• Efua Sutherland, playwright, children's author and dramatist
• Esi Sutherland-Addy, academician and rights activist
• Shahnaz Fatmi, Urdu and Hindi poet
• Bertha von Suttner, novelist and Nobel Prize winner
• Han Suyin, novelist, memoirist and essayist; A Many-Splendoured Thing
• Anni Swan, children's book author and translator
• May Swenson, poet and playwright
• Sydney, Lady Morgan, novelist; The Wild Irish Girl
• Bobbi Sykes, poet and author
• Magda Szabó, novelist, poet and playwright; The Door
• Mária Szepes, esoteric and science-fiction novelist
• Wisława Szymborska, poet

  T

• Gladys Taber, novelist and nature writer
• Maria Tacu, poet and prose writer
• Véronique Tadjo, poet, novelist and artist
• Valerie Tagwira, novelist
• Ise no Taiu or Taifu, poet
• Princess Tajima, poet
• Lisa Takeba, screenwriter
• Jill Talbot, fiction and non-fiction writer and poet
• Wassyla Tamzali, writer, feminist and politician
• Amy Tan, novelist
• Meca Tanaka, manga writer
• Shelley Tanaka, non-fiction children's writer
• Lian Tanner, children's author
• Yelizaveta Tarakhovskaya, poet, playwright and children's author
• Sooni Taraporevala, screenwriter and photographer
• Lisa Ysaye Tarleau, fiction writer
• Judith Tarr, author; The Hound and the Falcon
• Donna Tartt, novelist
• Ana Tasić, theater critic
• Glenda R. Taylor, scholar and poet
• Ann Taylor, poet and critic
• Cory Taylor, children's author and memoirist
• Elizabeth Taylor, fiction writer; Angel
• Jane Taylor, poet and novelist; "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
• Kay Glasson Taylor, children's author
• Susie Taylor, teacher and memoir writer
• Teresia Teaiwa, poet and academic
• Roma Tearne, novelist and artist
• Sara Teasdale, poet
• Nadezhda Teffi, writer
• Anyte of Tegea, poet in Greek
• Telesilla, poet in Greek
• Olena Teliha, poet in Ukrainian
• Ana Tena, writer in Ribagorçan Aragonese
• Claudine Guérin de Tencin, literary patron and novelist
• Kylie Tennant, novelist, playwright and children's author
• Lourdes Teodoro, poet and academic
• Lisa St Aubin de Terán, novelist and memoirist
• Mary Church Terrell, activist and journalist
• Jasmina Tešanović, essayist, fiction writer and translator
• Josephine Tey, mystery novelist
• Celia Thaxter, writer of poetry and stories
• Madeleine Thien, fiction writer
• Angela Thirkell, novelist
• Audrey Thomas, fiction writer
• Caitlin Thomas, memoirist
• Elean Thomas, poet, novelist and activist
• Elizabeth Thomas, Gothic novelist and religious poet
• Louie Myfanwy Thomas, writer and novelist
• Margaret Thomas, travel writer, poet and artist
• Judith Thompson, playwright; Lion in the Streets
• Samantha Thornhill, poet and author
• Margaret Farrand Thorp, author and academic
• Rose Hartwick Thorpe, poet and writer
• Torfhildur Þorsteinsdóttir, fiction writer
• Hester Thrale, diarist and author; Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson
• Holly Throsby, novelist
• María Dhialma Tiberti, novelist and poet
• Petronella Johanna de Timmerman, poet and scientist
• Lillian Tindyebwa, writer
• Nino Tkeshelashvili, children's author and suffragist
• Miriam Tlali, novelist
• Lily Tobias, novelist, playwright and activist
• Miriam Toews, novelist
• Ekaterine Togonidze, journalist, novelist and activist
• Laura Tohe, author
• Olga Tokarczuk, writer and poet; Nobel prizewinner
• Tatyana Tolstaya, novelist, essayist and TV presenter
• Glen Tomasetti, singer-songwriter, novelist and poet
• Angharad Tomos, writer and activist
• Angela Topping, poet, literary critic and author
• Elena Topuridze, philosopher and non-fiction writer
• Fatma Aliye Topuz, novelist
• Lucrezia Tornabuoni, poet
• Jessica Townsend, children's author
• Marta Traba, art critic and novelist
• Catharine Parr Traill, author and naturalist
• Clara Augusta Jones Trask, writer
• P. L. Travers, children's writer
• Carmen Clemente Travieso, biographer and journalist
• Catherine Tregenna, playwright and scriptwriter
• Natasha Trethewey, poet
• Terra Trevor, writer
• Rachel Trezise, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Adriana Trigiani, writer and film-maker
• Barbara Margaret Trimble, thriller writer
• Sarah Trimmer, children's writer and critic
• Geeta Tripathee, poet, literary critic and author
• Flora Tristan, writer, feminist and activist
• Frances Trollope, novelist and travel writer; Domestic Manners of the Americans
• Joanna Trollope, novelist
• Catherine Trotter, novelist, playwright and philosopher
• Trotula, writer in Latin on women's medicine
• Jean Trounstine, activist, author and academic
• Meta Truscott, diarist and historian
• Sojourner Truth, feminist; Ain't I a Woman?
• Máire Mhac an tSaoi, Irish-language scholar, poet and writer
• To-wen Tseng, writer, journalist and children's writer
• Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, writer
• Mariam Tsiklauri, poet, children's author and translator
• Marina Tsvetaeva, poet
• Barbara W. Tuchman, author and historian
• Lily Tuck, fiction writer; The News from Paraguay
• Anastasia Tumanishvili-Tsereteli, writer, educator and feminist
• Evgenia Tur, novelist and literary critic
• Ethel Turner, children's author
• Lilian Turner, children's novelist
• Megan Whalen Turner, fantasy writer
• Agata Tuszynska, writer, poet and journalist
• Flora May Woodard Tuttle, writer and journalist
• Diana Tutton, novelist
• Violet Tweedale, writer and poet
• Chase Twichell, poet and professor
• Hilda Twongyeirwe, writer and editor
• Anne Tyler, fiction writer and critic; 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

  U

• Rosana Ubanell, detective novelist
• Bahriye Üçok, academic, writer and women's rights activist
• Hebe Uhart, fiction writer
• Julia Urquidi, memoirist
• Brenda Ueland, writer, journalist and teacher
• Zoila Ugarte de Landívar, journalist, editor and suffragist
• Jenny Uglow, biographer
• Dubravka Ugrešić, novelist
• Hebe Uhart, fiction writer
• Uhwudong, writer, poet and dancer
• Lesya Ukrainka, poet
• Adaora Lily Ulasi, novelist and journalist
• Leonora Christina Ulfeldt, author; Jammers Minde
• Anya Ulinich, writer
• Lyudmila Ulitskaya, writer; Medea and Her Children
• Linn Ullmann, novelist, critic and journalist
• Regina Ullmann, poet in German
• Rosina Umelo, short story and children's writer
• Luz María Umpierre, poet, critic and rights activist
• Lily Unden, poet and painter
• Marie Under, poet
• Terry Underwood, author
• Sigrid Undset, novelist and 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature winner
• Chika Unigwe, fiction writer
• Jane Unrue, writer and educator
• Makerita Urale, playwright and documentary director
• Azucena Grajo Uranza, fiction writer and playwright
• Ellen Urbani, author
• Joan Ure, poet and playwright
• Ofelia Uribe de Acosta, suffragist and editor
• Jane Urquhart, novelist and poet; The Stone Carvers
• Jessie Urquhart, novelist and journalist
• Julia Urquidi, memoirist
• Lourdes Urrea, poet, novelist and young adult writer
• Arantxa Urretabizkaia, Basque-language novelist, screenwriter and poet
• Matilde Urrutia, memoirist
• Shereen Usdin, writer
• Carmina Useros, writer, ceramicist and painter
• O. V. Usha, Malayalam poet and fiction writer
• Ayu Utami, novelist, short story writer
• Kaari Utrio, novelist; Isabella
• Arja Uusitalo, poet and journalist
• Bea Uusma, children's and non-fiction writer and medical doctor
• Uvavnuk, Inuit poet
• Mellie Uyldert, astrologer and esoteric writer
• Buket Uzuner, fiction and travel writer

  V

• Celestine Vaite, novelist
• Matrena Vakhrusheva, Mansi poet and storyteller
• Katri Vala, poet
• Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, novelist, journalist and screenwriter
• Aline Valek, writer, novelist and illustrator
• Elcina Valencia, teacher and poet
• Elvira Farreras i Valentí, writer
• Jean Valentine, poet
• Jenny Valentine, children's writer
• Luisa Valenzuela, fiction writer
• Leda Valladares, poet and folklorist
• Elise Valmorbida, fiction and non-fiction writer
• Jennifer Vanasco, columnist and journalist
• Jane Vandenburgh, novelist, memoirist and non-fiction writer
• Galina Varlamova, Evenk philologist
• Mahadevi Varma, Hindi poet and educationist
• Rahel Varnhagen, essayist and correspondent
• Ana Vásquez-Bronfman, novelist and sociologist
• Elizabeth Vassilieff, non-fiction writer and critic
• Marie Vassiltchikov, wartime Berlin diarist
• Hilda Vaughan, fiction writer
• Mâliâraq Vebæk, translator, ethnographer and novelist
• Tatiana Vedenska, novelist
• Janine Pommy Vega, poet
• Svetlana Velmar-Janković, novelist, essayist and chronicler
• Aurora Venturini, fiction writer, poet and essayist
• Yvonne Vera, novelist
• Anastasiya Verbitskaya, novelist and dramatist; Keys to Happiness
• Caroline Vermalle, thriller and historical novelist
• Seda Vermisheva, poet, economist and activist
• María Sáez de Vernet, chronicler of Argentine Falkland settlement
• Barbara Vernon, playwright and scriptwriter
• Octavia Walton Le Vert, writer
• Sonja Veselinović, writer
• Lidia Veselitskaya, Russian novelist
• Pilar de Vicente-Gella, Spanish writer
• Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand, correspondent
• Soledad Fariña Vicuña, poet
• Mary Therese Vidal, novelist
• Clara Viebig, novelist and playwright
• Marie Vieux-Chauvet, novelist, poet and playwright
• Frida Vigdorova, journalist and novelist
• Vicki Viidikas, poet and prose writer
• Monica Vikström-Jokela, television scriptwriter and author in Swedish
• Maruxa Vilalta, playwright
• Esther Vilar, non-fiction writer and playwright in German
• Mariya Vilinska, novelist and translator
• Clara Villarosa, writer
• Marie-Catherine de Villedieu, playwright and fiction writer
• Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, poet and performance artist
• Louise Leveque de Vilmorin, novelist, poet and journalist
• Nada Vilotijević, author and professor
• Paulina Vinderman, poet and translator
• Elene Virsaladze, folklorist
• Jenny Visser-Hooft, traveler and writer
• Renée Vivien, poet
• Helen Vlachos, autobiographer and journalist
• Michelle Vogel, film historian, author and editor
• Clara Voghan, romance writer
• Ellen Bryant Voigt, poet and essayist
• Zinaida Volkonskaya, poet, short story writer and playwright
• Hava Volovich, memoirist, actress and Gulag survivor
• Élisabeth Vonarburg, science fiction novelist
• Yekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova, memoirist
• Ornela Vorpsi, writer and photographer
• Marko Vovchok, writer; Ukrainian Folk Tales
• Julia Voznesenskaya, writer
• Susanna de Vries, biographer
• Jurgen Vsych, director and screenwriter
• Divna M. Vuksanović, non-fiction writer and philosopher
• Clara Villarosa, business writer

  W

• Kit de Waal, novelist
• Charity Waciuma, novelist
• Elizabeth Wagele, author and cartoonist
• Paula Wajsman, poet, translator and psychologist
• Vikki Wakefield, young adults' fiction writer
• Diane Wakoski, poet
• Kate Walbert, fiction writer
• Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw, writer and academic
• Anne Waldman, poet
• Rosmarie Waldrop, poet, translator and publisher
• Alice Walker, fiction writer and poet
• Kath Walker, poet, fiction writer and artist
• Lucy Walker, romance novelist
• Margaret Walker, poet and novelist
• Mildred Walker, novelist
• Rebecca Walker, writer, feminist and activist
• Dorothy Wall, children's author and illustrator
• Doreen Wallace, novelist
• Effie Waller Smith, poet
• Jeannette Walls, writer and journalist; The Glass Castle
• Anne Walmsley, scholar, critic and author
• María Elena Walsh, poet, novelist and playwright
• Jo Walton, fantasy and science fiction writer
• Susana, Lady Walton, non-fiction writer in English
• Ania Walwicz, poet
• Zuhur Wanasi, fiction writer and politician
• Shangguan Wan'er, poet and prose writer
• Ayeta Anne Wangusa, writer and activist
• Zukiswa Wanner, journalist and novelist
• Harriet Ward, non-fiction and fiction set in South Africa
• Jesmyn Ward, novelist and academic; Salvage the Bones
• Mary Augusta Ward, novelist
• Anna Laetitia Waring, poet and hymnist
• Gertrude Chandler Warner, children's writer
• Susan Warner, children's writer and songwriter
• Myriam Warner-Vieyra, poet and novelist
• Dianne Warren, fiction writer and playwright
• Wendy Wasserstein, playwright
• Sarah Waters, novelist; Fingersmith
• Elizabeth Watkin-Jones, children's writer
• Mary Watson, writer
• Fiona Watt, children's author
• Margaret Way, romance novelist
• Catherine Webb, novelist
• Mary Webb, novelist; Precious Bane
• Delia Weber, writer and women's rights advocate
• Ellen Lenneck, fiction writer
• Anna Weidenholzer, writer and journalist
• Simone Weil, mystic and philosopher
• Hannah Weiner, poet
• Jane Meade Welch, journalist and lecturer
• Fay Weldon, author, essayist and playwright; The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
• Dorothy Wellesley, poet
• Charlotte Fowler Wells, phrenologist
• Ida B. Wells, journalist and sociologist
• Martha Wells, novelist
• Eudora Welty, fiction writer and photographer
• Viola S. Wendt, poet and educator
• Timberlake Wertenbaker, playwright, screenwriter and translator; Our Country's Good
• Dorothy West, fiction writer
• Jane West, novelist, poet and playwright
• Jessamyn West, fiction writer; The Friendly Persuasion
• Rebecca West, novelist, essayist and travel writer; Black Lamb and Grey Falcon
• Amy Westervelt, journalist and writer
• Anne Wharton, poet
• Edith Wharton, fiction writer; The Age of Innocence
• Leslie What, fiction writer
• Nadia Wheatley, children's novelist and writer
• Phillis Wheatley, poet
• Dorothy Whipple, novelist
• Evelyn Whitaker, novelist
• Antonia White, fiction writer
• Dorothy White, religious writer
• Ellen White, evangelist
• Lilian Whiting, journalist and author
• Margaret Whitlam, social campaigner and autobiographer
• Isabella Whitney, poet
• Phyllis A. Whitney, mystery novelist
• Nancy Wicker, art historian
• Anna Wickham, poet
• Zoë Wicomb, fiction writer
• Margaret Widdemer, poet and novelist
• Ulrika Widström, poet and translator
• Elisabeth of Wied, poet, playwright and Queen Consort of Romania
• Kate Douglas Wiggin, educator and children's author
• Marianne Wiggins, novelist
• Susan Wiggs, novelist
• Rosemary Wighton, author, editor and adviser on women's affairs
• Dora Wilcox, poet and playwright
• Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet
• Lynn Wilder, author
• Charlotte Wilder, poet
• Laura Ingalls Wilder, children's writer; Little House on the Prairie
• Kate Wilhelm, fiction writer
• Kim Wilkins, fiction writer
• Marian Wilkinson, author and journalist
• Sandrine Willems, writer
• Anna Williams, poet and companion to Samuel Johnson
• Donna Williams, writer, singer-songwriter and sculptor
• Eley Williams, writer
• Helen Maria Williams, novelist and poet
• Jane Williams, poet and essayist
• Margery Williams, children's writer
• Maria Jane Williams, folklorist and musician
• Ruth Williams, children's writer
• Sherley Anne Williams, poet and novelist
• Mabel Williamson, missionary
• Connie Willis, science fiction writer
• Elizabeth Willis, poet, critic and professor
• Harriet E. Wilson, novelist
• Hazel Hutchins Wilson, children's writer and librarian
• Jacqueline Wilson, children's writer
• Krysty Wilson-Cairns, screenwriter
• Margaret Wilson, television writer
• Margaret Wilson, novelist
• Tara June Winch, fiction writer
• Dallas Winmar, playwright
• Sarah Winnemucca, lecturer and autobiographer
• Eliza Winstanley, writer and stage actor
• Kathleen Winter, fiction writer, columnist and screenwriter
• Jeanette Winterson, novelist
• Jane Wiseman, poet and playwright
• Eleanor Witcombe, screenwriter
• Monique Wittig, writer and feminist
• Amy Witting, novelist and poet
• Maria Petronella Woesthoven, poet
• Gabriele Wohmann, fiction writer
• Sabina Wolanski, Holocaust survivor and autobiographer
• Christa Wolf, novelist, critic and essayist
• Ema Wolf, writer and journalist
• Leslie Wolfe, novelist
• Maryse Wolinski, novelist and screenwriter
• Mary Wollstonecraft, novelist and feminist; A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
• Claire Wolniewicz, writer and journalist
• Frances Garnet Wolseley, 2nd Viscountess Wolseley, garden writer
• Buffalo Bird Woman, Hidatsa writer
• Jade Snow Wong, autobiographer and ceramic artist
• Nellie Wong, feminist poet; Dreams in Harrison Railroad Park
• Ellen Wood, novelist; East Lynne
• Gaby Wood, journalist and literary critic
• Molara Wood, creative writer, journalist and critic
• Susan Wood, poet and essayist
• Elizabeth Wood-Ellem, historian
• Jacqueline Woodson, children's and young adults' writer
• Virginia Woolf, novelist and essayist; Mrs. Dalloway
• Angela Woollacott, historian
• Abba Goold Woolson, writer
• Constance Fenimore Woolson, fiction writer
• Chun Woon-young, author
• Dorothy Wordsworth, poet and diarist
• Elizabeth Strong Worthington, writer
• Alexis Wright, fiction and non-fiction writer
• C. D. Wright, poet
• Judith Wright, poet and environmentalist
• June Wright, crime fiction and non-fiction writer
• Mary Tappan Wright, fiction writer
• Patricia Wrightson, children's writer
• Lady Mary Wroth, poet
• Audrey Wurdemann, poet
• Elinor Wylie, poet and novelist
• Ida Alexa Ross Wylie, novelist
• Sylvia Wynter, novelist, dramatist and critic

  X

• Makhosazana Xaba, poet
• Xi Xi, novelist and poet
• Xia Jia, science-fiction and fantasy writer
• Xiao Hong, writer
• Xie Daoyun, poet and scholar
• Xinran, author and journalist
• Bing Xin, writer
• Empress Xu, bibliographer and empress consort
• Xu Hui, poet
• Xu Kun, fiction writer
• Lady Xu Mu, poet
• Xu Zihua, poet
• Halima Xudoyberdiyeva, poet
• Xue Susu, poet
• Xue Tao, poet
• Rao Xueman, fiction writer and essayist

  Y

• Rama Yade, non-fiction writer and politician
• Elham Yaghoubian, novelist
• Hisaye Yamamoto, fiction writer
• Karen Tei Yamashita, novelist, playwright and academic; Tropic of Orange
• Yamato Hime no Ōkimi, poet
• Wakako Yamauchi, writer
• Hanya Yanagihara, novelist and travel writer; A Little Life
• Yang Gui-ja, novelist
• Tiphanie Yanique, fiction writer, poet and essayist
• Laura Yasán, poet
• Chista Yasrebi, writer, critic and translator
• Paula Yates, non-fiction writer
• Yana Yazova, poet and historical novelist
• Ann Yearsley, poet, novelist and playwright
• Tatyana Yesenina, novelist, journalist and memoirist
• Anna Yevreinova, feminist writer, editor and correspondent
• Anzia Yezierska, fiction writer
• Yi Geun-hwa, poet and educator
• Yi Kyoung-ja, fiction writer
• Gullu Yologlu, non-fiction writer and ethnologist
• Charlotte M. Yonge, novelist; The Heir of Redclyffe
• Yoo An-jin, poet, essayist and educator
• Yosano Akiko, poet
• Banana Yoshimoto, novelist
• Ekaterina Petrova Yosifova, essayist and poet
• Ella Young, poet, mythologist and children's writer
• Yolanda Young, author and journalist
• Marguerite Young, novelist, poet and academic
• So Young-en, author
• Kang Young-sook, author
• Marguerite Yourcenar, novelist and essayist in French; Memoirs of Hadrian
• Yovanna, poet, novelist and songwriter
• Yu Xuanji, poet
• Yun-I Hyeong, author
• Mallika Yunis, novelist
• Sim Yunkyung, novelist
• Rose al Yusuf, journalist and actor

  Z

• Oksana Zabuzhko, poet, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Rachel Zadok, novelist
• Jessica Zafra, essayist and columnist
• Helen Zahavi, writer; Dirty Weekend
• Anna Zahorska, poet, novelist and playwright
• Stefania Zahorska, novelist, historian and non-fiction writer
• Shama Zaidi, art critic and screenwriter
• Zahida Zaidi, poet, playwright and educator
• Lyubov Zakharchenko, poet and songwriter
• Maria Julia Zaleska, fiction writer and essayist
• Māra Zālīte, poet and publisher
• Dina Zaman, fiction writer, essayist and columnist
• María Zambrano, essayist and philosopher
• Daisy Zamora, poet
• Fatma Zohra Zamoum, writer, film-maker and educator
• Adela Zamudio, poet, feminist and educator
• Giovanna Zangrandi, novelist
• Giselda Zani, poet, fiction writer and critic
• Maya Zankoul, novelist and cartoonist
• Léontine Zanta, novelist and feminist
• Celia Correas de Zapata, poet, non-fiction writer and historian
• Gabriela Zapolska, novelist, playwright and naturalist
• Carol Zardetto, novelist and theater critic
• Shaïda Zarumey, sociologist and poet
• Zyranna Zateli, fiction and non-fiction writer
• Marya Zaturenska, poet
• Iris Zavala, poet, novelist and non-fiction writer
• María de Zayas, literary proto-feminist
• Amina Zaydan, fiction writer
• Katarzyna Ewa Zdanowicz-Cyganiak, poet, journalist and social scientist
• Zdenka Žebre, novelist and children's writer
• Alki Zei, novelist and children's writer
• Sylvia Aguilar Zéleny, fiction writer
• Hana Zelinová, fiction writer and playwright
• Eva Zeller, poet and novelist
• Luisa Zeni, writer
• Irena Žerjal, poet, novelist and translator
• Wu Zetian, poet, essayist and Empress regnant
• Zuzka Zguriška, novelist, playwright and translator
• Yulia Zhadovskaya, poet and novelist
• Zhai Yongming, poet
• Empress Zhangsun, moralist
• Vera Zhelikhovsky, writer; The General's Will
• Polina Zherebtsova, poet and diarist
• Maria Zhukova, writer; Evenings on the Karpovka
• Zhu Shuzhen, poet
• Zhuo Wenjun, poet
• Valentina Zhuravleva, science fiction novelist
• Iryna Zhylenko, poet and essayist
• May Ziadeh, poet, essayist and translator
• Annejet van der Zijl, novelist and biographer
• Lydia Zimmermann, film-maker and screenwriter
• Alice Zimmern, writer and translator
• Hedda Zinner, political writer
• Marketa Zinnerová, novelist, screenwriter and children's writer
• Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal, writer
• Elvania Namukwaya Zirimu, poet and dramatist
• Gertrude Bonnin, writer, editor and teacher
• Kathinka Zitz-Halein, writer
• Nina Živančević, playwright, poet and novelist
• Bina Štampe Žmavc, poet, playwright and children's writer
• Narcyza Żmichowska, novelist and poet
• Inga Žolude, fiction writer, playwright and translator
• Anna Zonová, fiction writer
• Halide Nusret Zorlutuna, poet, fiction writer and autobiographer
• Birgit Zotz, non-fiction writer and essayist
• Vera Zouroff, poet, novelist and writer
• Katarina Zrinska, Croatian poet
• Pilar de Zubiaurre, essayist and letter writer
• Svetlana Žuchová, fiction writer and translator
• Berta Zuckerkandl, critic and non-fiction writer
• Zuo Fen, poet
• Katka Zupančič, children's poet, short story writer and playwright
• Unica Zürn, poet and painter
• Cvijeta Zuzorić, lyric poet
• Rose Zwi, fiction writer
• Fay Zwicky, poet and academic
• Rajzel Żychlińsky, Yiddish poet