List of English writers (R–Z)

List of English writers lists writers in English, born or raised in England (or who lived in England for a lengthy period), who already have Wikipedia pages. References for the information here appear on the linked Wikipedia pages. The list is incomplete – please help to expand it by adding Wikipedia page-owning writers who have written extensively in any genre or field, including science and scholarship. Please follow the entry format. A seminal work added to a writer's entry should also have a Wikipedia page. This is a subsidiary to the List of English people. There are or should be similar lists of Irish, Scots, Welsh, Manx, Jersey, and Guernsey writers.

Abbreviations: AV = Authorized King James Version of the Bible, c. = circa; century; cc. = centuries; cleric = Anglican priest, fl. = floruit = flourished, RC = Roman Catholic, SF = science fiction, YA = young adult fiction

R

• Jonathan Raban (1942–2023), travel writer
• Michael Rabbet (c. 1562–1630), AV translator and cleric
• Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823), novelist, The Mysteries of Udolpho
• Jeremiah Radcliffe (died 1612 or c. 1620), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• Dollie Radford (real name Caroline Maitland, 1858–1920), poet and writer
• Simon Rae (living), poet and cricket writer
• Elizabeth Raffald (1833–1881), cookery writer
• Shahida Rahman (born 1971), writer and publisher
• Bali Rai (born 1971), YA novelist
• Craig Raine (born 1944) poet and critic
• Kathleen Raine (1908–2003), poet and translator
• Nina Raine (living), playwright and director
• John Rainolds (1549–1607), AV translator and cleric
• Ross Raisin (born 1979), novelist
• Arthur Raistrick (1896–1991), polymath
• Walter Raleigh or Ralegh (1552–1618), poet and navigator
• Walter Raleigh (1861–1922), scholar and poet
• Lobsang Rampa (real name Cyril Henry Hoskin, 1910–1981), novelist
• Leonard G. G. Ramsey (1913–1990), writer, editor and encyclopaedist
• Thomas Randolph (1605–1635), poet
• William Brighty Rands (wrote as Henry Holbeach and Matthew Browne, 1823–1882), children's writer and hymnist
• Charles Rangeley-Wilson (living), novelist and poet
• Nicholas Rankin (born 1950), biographer, historian and broadcaster
• Arthur Ransome (1884–1967), children's writer, Swallows and Amazons
• Ellen Henrietta Ranyard (1810–1879), religious writer
• Hastings Rashdall (1858–1924), philosopher and cleric
• John Rastell or Rastall (c. 1475–1536) chronicler and playwright
• Julian Rathbone (1935–2008), novelist
• Terence Rattigan (1911–1977), playwright and screenwriter The Winslow Boy
• Simon Raven (1927–2001), novelist, screenwriter and playwright
• Ralph Ravens (c. 1553–1615), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• Edward Ravenscroft (c. 1654–1707), playwright
• Gwen Raverat (1885–1957), memoirist and illustrator
• Thomas Ravis (c. 1560–1609), scholar, AV translator and bishop
• George Rawlinson (1812–1902), scholar, historian and cleric
• Hardwicke Rawnsley (1851–1920), poet and hymnist
• Tom Raworth (1938–2017), poet
• John Ray (1627–1705), naturalist and lexicographer
• Derek Raymond (real name R. W. A. Cook, 1931–1994), novelist
• Claire Rayner (1931–2010), novelist and broadcaster
• Jay Rayner (born 1966), novelist and food writer
• Shoo Rayner (originally Hugh Rayner, 1956), children's writer and illustrator
• Benedict Read (1945–2016), art critic
• Herbert Read (1893–1968), poet, critic and novelist
• Miss Read (real name Dora Jessie Saint, 1913–2012), novelist, autobiographer and children's writer
• Piers Paul Read (born 1941), novelist and writer
• Charles Reade (1814–1884), novelist, The Cloister and the Hearth
• Hazel Alden Reason (1901–1976), writer on science for children
• John Redford (died 1547), poet, playwright and composer
• Peter Redgrove (1932–2003), poet, novelist and editor
• Patrick Redmond (born 1966), thriller writer
• Henry Reed (1914–1986), poet and translator
• Isaac Reed (1742–1807), biographer and Shakespearean
• Jeremy Reed (born 1951), poet, novelist and critic
• Talbot Baines Reed (1852–1893), children's novelist
• Douglas Reeman (wrote as Alexander Kent, 1924–2017), novelist
• David Rees (1936–1993), children's writer
• Terence Reese (1913–1996), bridge writer
• Clara Reeve (1729–1807), novelist, The Old English Baron
• John Reeve (1608–1658), religious writer
• Philip Reeve (born 1966), children's writer and illustrator
• Amber Reeves (1887–1981), novelist and writer
• James Reeves (originally John Morris Reeves, 1909–1978), poet and children's writer
• Christopher Reid (born 1949), poet and essayist
• Jonathan Rendall (born 1964), novelist
• Ruth Rendell (also as Barbara Vine, 1930–2015), novelist
• Louise Rennison (1951–2016), children's writer and comic
• John Reresby (1634–1689), politician and diarist
• Frederic Reynolds (1764–1841), playwright
• George W. M. Reynolds (1814–1879, novelist and journalist
• Henry Reynolds (1564–1632), poet, translator and critic
• John Hamilton Reynolds (1794–1852), poet
• Dan Rhodes (born 1972), novelist and story writer
• Pam Rhodes (born 1950), novelist and broadcaster
• William Barnes Rhodes (1772–1826), playwright
• Ernest Rhys (1859–1946), writer, poet and editor
• David Ricardo (1772–1823), political economist
• Ben Rice (born 1972), novelist
• James Rice (1843–1882), novelist
• Barnabe Rich (c. 1540–1617), writer and soldier
• Alfred Bate Richards (1820–1876), playwright, poet and essayist
• I. A. Richards (1893–1979), critic
• Justin Richards (born 1961), novelist
• Vernon Richards (originally Vero Recchioni, 1915–2001), anarchist writer
• Dorothy Richardson (1873–1957), novelist and translator
• Elizabeth Richardson (1576/1577–1651), religious writer
• John Richardson (died 1625), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• John Richardson (1657–1753), Quaker preacher and memoirist
• Samuel Richardson (1689–1761), novelist, Pamela
• Christopher Ricks (born 1933), critic and anthologist
• Edgell Rickword (1898–1982), poet, critic and editor
• Anne Ridler (1912–2001), poet and editor
• James Ridley (wrote as Charles Morell, 1736–1765), novelist and story writer
• Mark Ridley (1560 – c. 1624), lexicographer of Russian
• Nicholas Ridley (1500–1555), theologian and bishop
• Philip Ridley (born 1964), playwright and children's writer
• D. C. H. Rieu (1916–2008), scholar and translator
• E. V. Rieu (1887–1972), scholar, translator and poet
• Denise Riley (born 1948), poet and scholar
• Gwendoline Riley (born 1979), novelist
• Peter Riley (born 1940), poet and essayist
• Stella Rimington (born 1935), novelist and intelligence officer
• James Riordan (1936–2012), children's writer and footballer
• Jonathan Ripley, writer, director and producer
• Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie (1837–1919), novelist and essayist
• James Ewing Ritchie (1820–1898), travel writer and political biographer
• Joseph Ritson (1752–1803), antiquary and editor
• Graham Robb (born 1958), biographer and critic
• Andrew Roberts (born 1963), historian and biographer
• David Roberts (living), novelist and editor
• Emma Roberts (1794–1840), travel writer and poet
• Katherine Roberts (born 1962), children's writer
• Keith Roberts (1935–2000), novelist and story writer
• Lynette Roberts (born Evelyn Beatrice Roberts, 1909–1995), poet
• Michael Roberts (1902–1948), poet and critic
• Michael Symmons Roberts (born 1963), poet and librettist
• Michèle Roberts (born 1949), novelist and poet
• Morley Roberts (1857–1942), novelist
• Joseph Clinton Robertson (wrote as Sholto Percy, 1788–1852), writer and editor
• Thomas William Robertson (1829–1871), playwright
• Denise Robins (several pen names, 1897–1985), novelist
• Patricia Robins (also as Claire Lorrimer, 1921–2016), novelist
• Austin Robinson (1897–1993), economist
• Derek Robinson (born 1932), novelist
• Henry Crabb Robinson (1775–1867), man of letters
• Hilary Robinson (born 1962), children's writer
• Joan Robinson (1903–1983), economist
• John Robinson (1919–1983), writer and bishop Honest to God
• Mary Robinson (1757–1800), poet and novelist
• Nigel Robinson (living), writer and editor
• Peter Robinson (born 1953), poet and translator
• Rony Robinson (born 1940), novelist and playwright
• John Roby (1793–1850), poet and writer
• Paul Roche (1916–2007), poet, novelist and critic
• Regina Maria Roche (1764–1845), Gothic novelist
• Rennell Rodd (1858–1941), poet and politician
• John Rodker (1894–1955), writer and poet
• Jane Rogers (born 1952), novelist
• Samuel Rogers (1763–1855), poet
• Thorold Rogers (1823–1890), political economist
• Woodes Rogers (died 1732), travel writer and mariner
• Peter Mark Roget (1779–1869), philologist, Roget's Thesaurus
• Sax Rohmer (real name A. H. S. Ward, 1883–1959), novelist
• Frederick Rolfe (1860–1913), novelist and artist
• Richard Rolle (1290–1349), writer and Bible translator
• L. T. C. Rolt (1910–1974), transport writer
• Isabella Frances Romer (1798–1852), travel writer
• Stephen Romer (born 1957), poet and critic
• William Roscoe (1753–1831), scholar and poet
• Elizabeth and Gerald Rose (latter b. 1935), children's writers and illustrators
• Paul Rose (1935–2015), writer and politician
• Michael Rosen (born 1946), children's writer and poet
• Isaac Rosenberg (1890–1918), poet and playwright
• Jack Rosenthal (1931–2004), screenwriter
• Alan Ross (1922–2001), poet, writer and editor
• Christina Rossetti (1830–1894), poet
• Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882), poet and painter
• Maria Francesca Rossetti (1827–1876), writer and translator
• William Michael Rossetti (1829–1919), writer and critic
• John Horace Round (1854–1928), historian and genealogist
• W. H. D. Rouse (1863–1950), classicist and editor
• Martin Routh (1755–1854), classicist
• Alick Rowe (1939–2009), scriptwriter and novelist
• Elizabeth Singer Rowe (1674–1737), poet and novelist
• Nicholas Rowe (1674–1718), Poet Laureate
• Richard Rowlands (c. 1550–1640), historian and antiquary
• Samuel Rowlands (c. 1573–1630), poet and pamphleteer
• Samuel Rowley (died c. 1633), playwright and actor
• William Rowley (c. 1585–1626), playwright and actor
• J. K. Rowling (born 1965), children's writer, Harry Potter
• Lucinda Roy (born 1955), novelist and poet
• Gillian Rubinstein (also as Lian Hearn, born 1942), children's writer and playwright
• Carol Rumens (born 1944), poet and scholar
• Katherine Rundell (born 1987), children's writer, playwright and academic
• Peter Rushforth (1945–2005), novelist
• John Ruskin (1819–1900), essayist, poet and art critic
• Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), philosopher What I Believe
• Lord John Russell (1792–1878), biographer and prime minister
• William Clark Russell (1844–1911), novelist
• William Howard Russell (1820–1907), travel writer and war correspondent
• John D. Rutherford (born 1941), scholar and translator
• Edward Rutherfurd (born 1948), historical fiction author
• Cecil Bernard Rutley, (1888–1956), children's and science fiction
• Chris Ryan (born 1961), novelist and soldier
• Amy Louisa Rye (1851–unknown), chlidren's writer and social reformer
• Gilbert Ryle (1900–1976), philosopher
• Thomas Rymer (c. 1643–1713), Historiographer Royal and poet
• Royce Ryton (1924–2009), playwright

S

• Suhayl Saadi (born 1961), novelist, playwright and physician
• Oliver Sacks (1933–2015), writer and neurologist
• Charles Sackville, Earl of Dorset (1638–1706), poet
• Lady Margaret Sackville (1881–1963), poet and children's writer
• Thomas Sackville, Earl of Dorset (1536–1608), poet and statesman
• Vita Sackville-West (1892–1962), poet and novelist All Passion Spent
• Lorna Sage (1943–2001), critic and scholar
• Lawrence Sail (born 1942), poet and editor
• George Saintsbury (1845–1933), critic
• Saki (real name Hector Hugh Munro) (1870–1916), story writer and satirist
• Henry Stephens Salt (1851–1939), writer and campaigner
• John Saltmarsh (died 1647), writer and cleric
• Fiona Sampson (born 1968), poet and editor
• Kevin Sampson (born 1961), novelist
• Ignatius Sancho (c. 1729–1780), writer and domestic servant
• Nicholas Sanders (c. 1530–1581), polemicist and RC priest
• Robert Sanderson (1587–1663), theologian
• Edwin Sandys (1519–1588), Bishops' Bible translator and bishop
• George Sandys (1577–1644), poet and traveller
• Peter Sanger (born 1943), poet and scholar
• C. J. Sansom (born 1952), novelist
• Clive Sansom (1910–1981), poet, playwright and educator
• William Sansom (1912–1976), novelist and travel writer
• Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967), poet and novelist Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man
• Hilary Saint George Saunders (wrote as Francis Beeding, etc., 1898–1951), novelist
• James Savage (1767–1845), writer and antiquary
• Richard Savage (c. 1697–1743), poet and satirist
• Henry Savile (1549–1622), scholar and AV translator
• Michael Saward (1932–2015), hymnist
• Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957), novelist, Lord Peter Wimsey
• Frank Sayers (1763–1817), poet and metaphysician
• Francis Scarfe (1911–1986), poet and novelist
• Vernon Scannell (1922–2007), poet
• Alex Scarrow (living), novelist and screenwriter
• Simon Scarrow (born 1962), historical novelist
• Simon Schama (born 1945), historian
• Ann Schlee (born 1934), novelist
• Caroline Lucy Scott (1784–1857), novelist and religious writer
• Catherine Amy Dawson Scott (1865–1934), poet, playwright and novelist
• Geoffrey Scott (1884–1929), writer and poet
• Hardiman Scott (1920–1999), writer and poet
• Hugh Stowell Scott (wrote as Henry Seton Merriman, c. 1863–1903), novelist
• Jane Scott (1779–1839), playwright
• John Scott (1783–1821), editor and writer
• John Scott of Amwell (1731–1783), poet
• John A. Scott (born 1948), poet and novelist
• Mary Scott (1751/1752–1793), poet
• Paul Mark Scott (1920–1978), novelist, playwright and poet
• Sarah Scott (1720–1795), novelist and translator
• William Bell Scott (1811–1890), poet and artist
• Will Scott (1893−1964), crime writer and playwright
• Anne Scott-James (1913–2009), novelist, editor and garden writer
• E. J. Scovell (1907–1999), poet
• James Scudamore (born 1976), novelist
• George Bazeley Scurfield (1920–1991), poet, novelist and politician
• Marcus Sedgwick (born 1968), children's writer
• Charles Sedley (1639–1701), poet and rake
• Kate Sedley (real name Brenda Clarke, 1926–2022), novelist
• Stephen Sedley (b. 1939), writer on law
• Frederic Seebohm (1833–1912), economic historian
• John Robert Seeley (1834–1895), historian and essayist
• Rachel Seiffert (born 1971), novelist
• David Selbourne (born 1937), philosopher and playwright
• Catherine Selden (fl. 1797–1817), novelist
• John Selden (1584–1654), polymath
• Will Self (born 1961), novelist and columnist
• Charles Seltman (1886–1957), art historian
• George Selwyn (1719–1791), correspondent and wit
• Nassau William Senior (1790–1864), economist
• Sepharial (real name Walter Gorn Old, 1864–1929), astrologer and numerologist
• Gitta Sereny (1921–2012), biographer and historian
• Ian Serraillier (1912–1994), novelist and poet
• Robert Service (born 1947), historian and scholar
• Diane Setterfield (born 1964), novelist
• Elkanah Settle (1648–1724), playwright and poet
• Tim Severin (1940–2020), writer, historian and explorer
• Anna Seward ("Swan of Lichfield", 1747–1809), poet and biographer
• Thomas Seward (1708–1790), writer
• William Seward (1747–1799), anecdotist
• Anna Sewell (1820–1878), novelist, Black Beauty
• Elizabeth Missing Sewell (1815–1906), novelist and religious writer
• Mary Wright Sewell (1797–1884), children's writer
• William Sewell (1804–1874), writer, translator and cleric
• Miranda Seymour (born 1948), biographer, novelist and children's writer
• Martin Seymour-Smith (1928–1998), poet and critic
• Thomas Shadwell (c. 1642–1692), Poet Laureate, Historiographer Royal and playwright
• Anthony Shaffer (1926–2001), playwright and novelist
• Peter Shaffer (1926–2016), playwright Amadeus
• Eddy Shah (born 1944), novelist and newspaper owner
• Saira Shah (born 1964), writer and film-maker
• Tahir Shah (born 1966), travel writer and critic
• Olivia Shakespear (1863–1938), novelist and playwright
• Nicholas Shakespeare (born 1957), novelist and biographer
• William Shakespeare (c. 1564–1616), poet and playwright Hamlet
• Edward Shanks (1892–1953), poet and critic
• Jo Shapcott (born 1953), poet and scholar
• Evelyn Sharp (1869–1955), journalist, children's writer and suffragist
• Jane Sharp (born c. 1641), writer on midwifery
• Margery Sharp (1905–1991), novelist, children's writer and playwright
• Richard Sharp (1759–1835), polemicist and hatter
• Thomas Wilfred Sharp (1901–1978), writer on planning
• Kevin Sharpe (1949–2011), historian
• Richard Sharpe (living), historian
• Richard Bowdler Sharpe (1847–1909), ornithologist and editor
• Tom Sharpe (1928–2013), novelist
• George Shaw (1751–1813), botanist and zoologist
• Pete Shaw (born 1966), writer and producer
• Peter Shaw (1694–1763), physician, medical writer and translator
• Robert Shaw (1927–1978), actor and novelist
• Watkins Shaw (1911–1996), musicologist
• John Shebbeare (1709–1788), novelist and satirist
• Wilfrid Sheed (1930–2011), writer, novelist and essayist
• John Sheffield (also as Mulgrave, then Buckingham, 1647–1721) poet and essayist
• Edward Sheldon (1599–1687), religious translator
• Mary Shelley (1797–1851), author, Frankenstein
• Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), poet Ode to the West Wind
• George Shelvocke (1675–1742), travel writer
• William Shenstone (1714–1763), poet
• Stav Sherez (born 1970), novelist
• Clare Sheridan (1885–1970), writer and sculptor
• Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816), playwright, The Rivals
• William Sherlock (1641–1707), theologian and cleric
• Philip Sherrard (1922–1995), classicist, translator and religious writer
• R. C. Sherriff (1890–1975), playwright, novelist and screenwriter Journey's End
• Charles Scott Sherrington (1857–1952), science writer and Nobel Prize winner
• Norman Sherry (1935–2016), novelist and biographer
• Mary Martha Sherwood (1775–1851), children's writer and tractarian
• James Shirley (1596–1666), playwright
• Joseph Henry Shorthouse (1834–1903), novelist
• Fredegond Shove (1889–1949), poet
• Nevil Shute (1899–1960), novelist and aviation engineer A Town Like Alice
• Penelope Shuttle (born 1947), poet and novelist
• Gareth Sibson (born 1977), novelist and broadcaster
• Elizabeth Siddal (1829–1862), artist and poet
• Mary Sidney (later Mary Herbert, countess of Pembroke, 1561–1621), poet and translator
• Philip Sidney (1554–1586), poet and soldier
• Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester (1563–1626) poet and statesman
• Una Lucy Silberrad (1872–1955), novelist
• Jon Silkin (1930–1997), poet, editor and critic
• Alan Sillitoe (1928–2010), novelist, poet and translator Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
• Elizabeth Simcoe (1762–1850), diarist
• George Augustus Simcox (1841–1905), poet and scholar
• Kathryn Simmonds (born 1972), poet and story writer
• Jack Simmons (1915–2000), historian
• Brian Simon (1915–2002), educator
• David Simpson (1745–1799), writer and cleric
• Dorothy Simpson (born 1933), novelist
• Helen Simpson (born 1959), novelist and story writer
• Joe Simpson (born 1960), writer and mountaineer
• John Simpson (1746–1812), writer and Unitarian minister
• John Simpson (born 1953), lexicographer
• John Palgrave Simpson (1807–1887), playwright
• N. F. Simpson (1919–2011), playwright
• George Robert Sims (1847–1922), writer, poet and journalist
• Andrew Sinclair (1935–2019), novelist, historian and biographer
• Clive Sinclair (1940–2021), novelist
• Ian Sinclair writer, poet and film-maker
• May Sinclair (real name Mary Amelia St. Clair, 1863–1946), novelist, poet and critic
• C. H. Sisson (1914–2003), poet, translator and writer
• Edith Sitwell (1887–1964), poet
• Osbert Sitwell (1892–1969), writer
• Sacheverell Sitwell (1897–1988), poet and writer
• Walter William Skeat (1835–1912), philologist
• Barbara Skelton (1916–1996), novelist and memoirist
• John Skelton (c. 1460–1529), poet and satirist
• Robert Skidelsky (born 1939), economic historian and biographer
• Joseph Skipsey (1832–1903), poet and editor
• G. E. M. Skues (1858–1949), fishing writer
• Eleanor Sleath (1770–1847), Gothic novelist
• Barbara Sleigh (1906–1982), children's writer Carbonel series
• Edward Slow (1841–1925), dialect poet
• Carolyn Smart (born 1952), poet
• Christopher Smart (1722–1771), poet
• Francis Edward Smedley (1818–1864), novelist
• Menella Bute Smedley (1819–1877), novelist, poet and translator
• Albert Richard Smith (1816–1860), writer and mountaineer
• C. Fox Smith (1882–1954), poet and nautical and children's writer
• Charlotte Smith (1749–1806), poet and novelist
• Charlotte Fell Smith (1851–1937) historian and biographer
• David Smith (born 1963), historian
• Dodie Smith (1896–1990), novelist and playwright, The Hundred and One Dalmatians
• Edmund Smith (1672–1710), poet and translator
• Eleanor Smith (1902–1945), novelist
• Emma Smith (1923–2018), novelist and children's writer
• Georgina Castle Smith (1845–1933), children's writer and novelist
• Horace Smith (originally Horatio Smith, 1779–1849), novelist and poet
• Joan Smith (born 1953), novelist and journalist
• John Frederick Smith (1806–1890), novelist
• Ken Smith (1938–2003), poet
• Michael Marshall Smith (born 1965), novelist and screenwriter
• Miles Smith (1554–1624), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• Sid Smith (born 1949), novelist and journalist
• Stevie Smith (1902–1971), poet and novelist
• Sydney Smith (1771–1845), writer and cleric
• Thomas Smith (fl. 1600–1627), writer and soldier
• Tom Rob Smith (born 1979), novelist
• Wentworth Smith (1571 – c. 1623), playwright
• William Smith (fl. 1590s), poet
• William Smith (1769–1839), geologist
• William Smith (1813–1893), lexicographer
• Zadie Smith (born 1975), novelist
• Frank Smythe (1900–1949), writer and mountaineer
• Percy Smythe (1826–1869), man of letters
• C. P. Snow (1905–1980), novelist and physicist Strangers and Brothers
• John Snow (born 1941), poet, autobiographer and first-class cricketer
• William Somervile (1675–1742), poet
• Charles Sorley (1895–1915), poet
• William Sotheby (1757–1833), poet and translator
• Ahdaf Soueif (born 1950), novelist and translator
• Robert South (1634–1716), theologian and cleric
• Joanna Southcott (1750–1814), religious writer
• R. W. Southern (1912–2001), historian
• Caroline Anne Southey (1786–1854), poet
• Robert Southey (1774–1843), Poet Laureate
• Robert Southwell (1561–1595), poet, tractarian and martyr
• Stephen Southwold (1887–1964), novelist and children's writer
• Nancy Spain (1917–1964), novelist, biographer and journalist
• Robert Spaulding (fl. 1610s), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• Rachel Speght (1596-16??), poet and polemicist
• Henry Spelman (c. 1562–1641), historian and antiquary
• Bernard Spencer (1909–1963), poet
• Colin Spencer (born 1933), writer, artist and broadcaster
• Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), philosopher
• John Spencer (1630–1693), scholar and cleric
• William Robert Spencer (1769–1834), poet and wit
• Emily Spender (1841–1922), novelist and suffragette
• Lillian Spender (1835–1895), novelist and essayist
• Stephen Spender (1909–1995), poet, novelist and travel writer
• Edmund Spenser (c. 1552–1599), poet, The Faerie Queene
• John Spenser (1559–1614), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• Dennis Spooner (1932–1986), TV screenwriter
• William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), scholar, spoonerisms
• Jean Sprackland (born 1962), poet
• Francis Spufford (born 1964), writer
• Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892), writer and Baptist minister
• J. C. Squire (1884–1958), poet and historian
• Edward St Aubyn (born 1960), novelist and journalist
• Bayle St. John (1822–1859), travel writer and biographer
• Henry St John, Lord Bolingbroke (1678–1751) politician and philosopher
• James Augustus St. John (born James John, 1795–1875), journalist, writer and traveller
• Spenser St. John (1825–1910), biographer, travel writer and diplomat
• Brian Stableford (born 1948), SF writer
• Tom Stacey (1930–2022), novelist, writer and publisher
• David A. T. Stafford (born 1942), historian
• Julian Stallabrass (living), art historian
• Jon Stallworthy (1935–2014), scholar and poet
• John Stammers (born 1954), poet
• Josiah Stamp (1880–1941), economist and banker
• Derek Stanford (1918–2008), biographer and poet
• Louisa Stanhope (fl. 1806–1827), novelist
• Philip Stanhope, Lord Chesterfield, (1694–1773) politician and writer
• Arthur Stanley (1815–1881), theologian and cleric
• Thomas Stanley (1625–1678), poet and philosopher
• Andy Stanton (living), children's writer,
• Olaf Stapledon (1886–1950), philosopher and novelist
• Robert Stapylton (died 1669), playwright, poet and translator
• Freya Stark (1893–1993), travel writer
• Mariana Starke (1761/1762–1838), travel writer, poet and playwright
• David Starkey (b. 1945), historian
• Boris Starling (living), novelist and screenwriter
• William Thomas Stead (1849–1912), campaigner
• Michael Steed (born 1940), political scientist and broadcaster
• Wickham Steed (1871–1856), journalist and historian
• Anne Steele (wrote as Theodosia, 1717–1778), hymnist
• David Ramsay Steele (living), philosopher
• Jonathan Steele (living), writer and journalist
• Marguerite Steen (1894–1975), novelist and biographer
• George Steevens (1736–1800), Shakespearean scholar
• James Kenneth Stephen (1859–1892), poet
• Leslie Stephen (1832–1904), writer and mountaineer
• Frederic George Stephens (1828–1907), art critic
• Henry Pottinger Stephens (1851–1903), playwright and novelist
• James Francis Stephens (1792–1852), entomologist
• Robert Stephens (1665–1732), Historiographer Royal
• Simon Stephens (born 1971), playwright
• G. B. Stern (1890–1973), novelist, playwright and biographer
• Laurence Sterne (1713–1768), novelist and cleric, Tristram Shandy
• George Alexander Stevens (1710–1780), playwright, poet and actor
• Matthew Stevenson (died 1654), poet
• William Stevenson (1530–1575), poet and playwright
• Angus Stewart (1936–1998) novelist, diarist and poet
• John "Walking" Stewart (1747–1822), philosopher and traveller
• Mary Stewart (1916–2014), novelist
• William Stobbs (1914–2000), children's writer and illustrator
• Julian Stockwin (born 1944), novelist
• Sewell Stokes (1902–1979), novelist, biographer and playwright
• Nick Stone (born 1966), novelist
• Samuel John Stone (1839–1900), hymnist and cleric
• David Lee Stone (born 1978), children's writer
• David Storey (1933–2017), novelist and playwright
• Catherine Storr (1913–2001), children's writer
• Thomas Story (c. 1670–1742), writer and Quaker
• John Stow (c. 1525–1605), historian and antiquary
• Herbert Strang (pseudonym of George Herbert Ely, 1866–1958, and Charles James L'Estrange, 1867–1947), children's writers
• Alix Strachey (1892–1973), psychoanalyst and translator
• James Strachey (1887–1967), psychoanalyst and editor
• Julia Strachey (1901–1979), novelist
• Lytton Strachey (1880–1932), biographer and critic, Eminent Victorians
• Ray Strachey (originally Rachel Costelloe, 1887–1940), biographer and campaigner
• Paul Strathern (born 1940), novelist and scholar
• Noel Streatfeild (1895–1986), children's writer Ballet Shoes
• A. G. Street (1892–1966), writer and broadcaster
• Cecil Street (also as John Rhode, Miles Burton etc., 1884–1965), novelist
• Joe Stretch (born 1982), novelist
• Hesba Stretton (real name Sarah Smith, 1832–1911), novelist and children's writer
• Agnes Strickland (1796–1874), historian, poet and children's writer
• William Strode (1600–1643), poet
• Leonard Strong (wrote as L. A. G. Strong, 1896–1958), novelist, poet and children's writer
• Jan Struther (real name Joyce Anstruther, (1901–1953), novelist and hymnist
• John Strype (1643–1737), historian, biographer and cleric
• Alexander Stuart (living), novelist and screenwriter
• Muriel Stuart (1885–1967), poet and garden writer
• John Stubbs or Stubbe (c. 1543–1591), pamphleteer
• John Studley (c. 1545 – c. 1590), translator
• Joseph Sturge (1793–1859) abolitionist writer and campaigner
• Howard Sturgis (1855–1920), novelist
• Julian Sturgis (1848–1904), novelist and poet
• George Sturt (also as George Bourne, 1863–1927), country writer
• John Strype (1643–1737), historian and biographer
• Showell Styles (1908–2005), novelist and children's writer
• John Suckling (1609–1642), poet
• J. W. N. Sullivan (1886–1937), science writer
• Montague Summers (1880–1948), writer and occultist
• Kate Summerscale (born 1965), writer and journalist
• Robert Smith Surtees (1805–1864), novelist
• Alice Sutcliffe (fl. 1624–1634), religious writer
• William Sutcliffe (born 1971), novelist
• Alfred Sutro (1863–1933), playwright and translator
• E. W. Swanton (1907–2000), cricket writer and broadcaster
• Graham Swift (born 1949), novelist
• Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909), poet
• Robert Swindells (born 1939), children's writer
• Randall Swingler (1909–1967), poet
• Frank Swinnerton (1884–1982), novelist and editor
• Christopher Sykes (1907–1986), travel writer and biographer
• Percy Sykes (1867–1945), travel writer and historian
• Joshua Sylvester (1563–1618), poet
• John Addington Symonds (1840–1893), poet and critic
• A. J. A. Symons (1900–1941), writer and bibliographer
• Arthur Symons (1865–1945), poet and essayist
• Julian Symons (1912–1994), crime writer and poet
• Mitchell Symons (born 1957), writer and journalist
• George Szirtes (born 1948), poet and translator

T

• Thomas Noon Talfourd (1795–1854), writer, playwright and lawyer
• Derek Tangye (1912–1996), writer
• Nigel Tangye (1909–1988), writer and flying instructor
• Heather Tanner (1903–1993), countryside writer
• James T. Tanner (1858–1915), playwright and director
• Thomas Tanner (1630–1682), writer and cleric
• Thomas Tanner (1674–1735), antiquary and bishop
• Theaurau John Tany (originally Thomas Totney, 1608–1659), religious writer
• Emma Tatham (1829–1855), poet
• John Tatham (fl. 1632–64), playwright and poet
• Jemima von Tautphoeus (born Jemima Montgomery, 1807–1893), novelist
• R. H. Tawney (1880–1962), economic historian
• A. J. P. Taylor (1906–1990), historian
• Andrew Taylor (born 1951), novelist
• Ann Taylor (1782–1866), poet and children's writer
• D. J. Taylor (born 1960), novelist and biographer
• Edgar Taylor (1793–1839), writer and translator
• Elizabeth Taylor (1912–1975), novelist
• Emily Taylor (1795–1872), writer, poet and hymnist
• G. P. Taylor (born 1958), novelist and cleric
• Henry Taylor (1711–1785), polemicist and cleric
• Henry Taylor (1800–1886), playwright
• Isaac Taylor (1787–1865), scholar, cleric and inventor
• Jane Taylor (1783–1824), children's poet and novelist
• Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667), religious writer
• John Taylor (1703–1772), autobiographer
• John Taylor (the "Water Poet", 1578–1653), poet
• John Taylor (1750–1826), poet and hymnist
• Philip Meadows Taylor (1808–1876), novelist
• Richard Taylor (1782–1858), naturalist and editor
• Sean Taylor (living), children's writer
• Thomas Taylor (1758–1835), translator
• Tom Taylor (1817–1880), playwright and editor
• William Taylor (died 1423), Lollard theologian
• William Taylor (1765–1836), scholar and translator
• Roma Tearne (born 1954), novelist
• Barry Tebb (born 1942), poet and anthologist
• Mrs. Bartle Teeling (1851–1906), non-fiction writer and novelist
• William Temple (1555–1627), logician
• William Temple (1628–1699), essayist and statesman
• William Temple (1881–1944), writer and archbishop
• William F. Temple (1914–1989), SF writer
• Edward Tennant (1897–1916), poet
• Emma Tennant (1937–2017), novelist
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892), Poet Laureate, The Charge of the Light Brigade
• Frederick Tennyson (1807–1898), poet
• Henry Teonge (c. 1620–1690), diarist and naval chaplain
• Lisa St Aubin de Terán (born 1953), novelist and memoirist
• J. E. Harold Terry (1885–1939), novelist, playwright and critic
• A. S. J. Tessimond (1902–1962), poet
• Anne Isabella Thackeray, Lady Ritchie (1837–1919), novelist and essayist
• William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863), novelist, Vanity Fair
• Algernon Sydney Thelwall (1795–1863), writer and cleric
• John Thelwall (1764–1834), poet and writer
• Sydney Thelwall (1834–1922), scholar, translator and cleric
• Lewis Theobald (1688–1744), scholar, critic and translator
• Marcel Theroux (born 1968), novelist and broadcaster
• Philip Thicknesse (1719–1792), writer
• Angela Thirkell (1890–1961), novelist
• Connop Thirlwall (1797–1875), historian, translator and bishop
• Adam Thirlwell (born 1978), novelist
• William Turner Thiselton-Dyer (1843–1926), botanist
• D. M. Thomas (1935–2023), novelist, poet and translator
• David St John Thomas (1929–2014), writer
• Donald Serrell Thomas (also as Francis Selwyn, b. 1926), novelist, biographer and poet
• Edward Thomas (1878–1917), poet
• Edward J. Thomas (1869–1958), historian of Buddhism and librarian
• Elizabeth Thomas (1675–1731), poet
• Elizabeth Thomas (wrote as Mrs Bridget Bluemantle and Mrs Martha Homely, 1770/1771–1855), novelist and poet
• Hugh Thomas (1931–2017), historian
• Scarlett Thomas (born 1972), novelist
• W. Ian Thomas (1914–2007), writer and missionary
• John Thomlinson (1692–1761), diarist and cleric
• Edward Healy Thompson (1813–1891), religious writer and editor
• Flora Thompson (1876–1947), novelist and poet, Lark Rise to Candleford
• Francis Thompson (1859–1907), poet
• Harry Thompson (1960–2005), biographer, novelist and TV producer
• James Thompson (1817–1877), journalist and historian
• Kate Thompson (born 1956), novelist and children's writer
• Thomas Thompson (1880–1951), fiction and non-fiction writer
• William Thompson (c. 1712 – c. 1766), poet
• William Thoms (1803–1885), antiquary and miscellanist
• A. A. Thomson (1894–1968), cricket and travel writer
• Giles Thomson (1553–1612), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• Jamie Thomson (born 1958), novelist and children's writer
• Katherine Thomson (also as Mrs Thomson and Grace Wharton, 1797–1862), novelist and historian
• Richard Thomson (fl. 1600s), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• Rupert Thomson (born 1955), novelist and memoirist
• Wilfrid Thorley (1878–1963), poet and educator
• George Walter Thornbury (1828–1876), poet, novelist and travel writer
• Guy Thorne (real name C. Ranger Gull, 1876–1923), novelist
• Matt Thorne (born 1974), novelist and children's writer
• William Thorne (c. 1568–1630), orientalist, AV translator and cleric
• Bonnell Thornton (1725–1768), poet, essayist and critic
• Robert John Thornton (1768–1837), botanist and physician
• Tim Thornton (born 1973), novelist and musician
• Adam Thorpe (born 1956), poet and novelist
• Kay Thorpe (living), romantic novelist
• Ralph Thoresby (1658–1725), antiquary and diarist
• Hester Thrale (also as Mrs. Piozzi, 1741–1821), diarist and biographer,
• Colin Thubron (born 1939), travel writer and novelist
• Edward Thurlow, Lord Thurlow (1731–1806), poet and lord chancellor
• E. Temple Thurston (1879–1933), playwright, poet and novelist
• Joseph Thurston (1704–1732), poet
• Ann Thwaite (born 1932), biographer
• Anthony Thwaite (1930–2021), poet and writer
• Chidiock Tichborne (1558–1586), poet and conspirator
• Thomas Tickell (1686–1740), poet
• Robert Tighe (died 1620), AV translator and cleric
• Terence Tiller (1916–1987), poet and radio producer
• E. M. W. Tillyard (1889–1962), classicist and literary critic
• Stella Tillyard (born 1957), historian and novelist
• John Timbs (also as Horace Welby, 1801–1875), writer and antiquary
• William M. Timlin (1892–1943), writer and illustrator
• Gillian Tindall (living), historian and novelist
• Peter Tinniswood (1936–2003), novelist and scriptwriter
• John Tobin (1770–1804), playwright
• Barbara Euphan Todd (1890–1976), novelist and children's writer
• H. E. Todd (1908–1988), children's writer
• Malcolm Todd (1939–2013), historian
• J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), fantasy writer and scholar, The Lord of the Rings
• Simon Tolkien (born 1959), novelist and barrister
• Elizabeth Tollet (1694–1754), poet
• Francis Tolson (died 1745), poet
• Thomas Tomkis (c. 1580–1634), playwright
• Claire Tomalin (born 1933), biographer
• Charles Tomlinson (1927–2015), poet and translator
• H. M. Tomlinson, (1873–1958), travel writer, novelist and journalist
• Theresa Tomlinson (born 1946), children's writer
• Rosemary Tonks (1932–2014), poet and novelist
• Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna (pen name Charlotte Elizabeth, 1790–1846), tractarian and novelist
• John Horne Tooke (1736–1812), philologist and politician
• Rebecca Tope (living), crime writer and journalist
• Augustus Montague Toplady (1740–1778), theologian and hymnist
• Angela Topping (born 1954), poet and critic
• Paul Torday (1946–2013), novelist
• Chris Torrance (1941–2021), poet and musician
• Richard Tottel (died 1594), miscellanist
• Cyril Tourneur (1575–1626), playwright
• Nigel Tourneur (fl. 1898), writer
• Doreen Tovey (1918–2008), writer
• Peter Townend (1935–1999), writer and journalist
• John Rowe Townsend (1922–2014), children's writer and scholar
• Joseph Townsend (1739–1816), economist, physician and cleric
• Peter Townsend (1928–2009), sociologist and economist
• Sue Townsend (1946–2014), novelist, Adrian Mole books
• Tom Townsend (born 1971), writer and bridge player
• Aurelian Townshend (1583–1643), poet and playwright
• Charles Townshend (born 1945), historian
• Chauncy Hare Townshend (1798–1868), poet and cleric
• Thomas Townson (1715–1792), writer and cleric
• Arnold Toynbee (1852–1883), economic historian
• Arnold J. Toynbee (1889–1975), historian
• Philip Toynbee (1916–1981), novelist, poet and journalist
• Polly Toynbee (born 1946), journalist and writer
• John Tradescant the Younger (1608–1662), botanist and antiquary
• Thomas Traherne (1636/1637–1674), poet and religious writer
• Henry Duff Traill (1842–1900), humorist, editor and biographer
• Anna Trapnell (fl. 1650s), religious writer
• Ben Travers (1886–1980), playwright and novelist
• Karen Traviss (living), novelist
• Mary Treadgold (1910–2005), children's writer
• Geoffrey Trease (1909–1998), children's writer
• Miles Tredinnick (born 1955), playwright, screenwriter and singer
• Iris Tree (1897–1968), poet and actress
• Viola Tree (1884–1938), writer and actress
• Henry Treece (1911–1966), poet, novelist and children's writer
• Edward John Trelawny (1792–1881), biographer and novelist
• Rose Tremain (born 1943), novelist
• Kate Tremayne (living), novelist
• Rex Tremlett (1903–1986), writer and broadcaster
• Francis Chenevix Trench (1805–1886), writer and cleric
• Richard Chenevix Trench (1807–1886), philologist, poet and archbishop
• Christopher Trent, author of Motoring Holidays in Britain
• Robert Tressell or Tressall (originally Robert Croker, later Noonan, 1870–1911), novelist, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
• G. M. Trevelyan (1876–1962), historian
• George Trevelyan (1838–1928), writer and statesman
• R. C. Trevelyan (1872–1951), poet and translator
• Raleigh Trevelyan (1923–2014), historian
• John Trevisa (1342–1402), translator
• Elleston Trevor (originally Trevor Dudley-Smith, also as Adam Hall etc., 1920–1995), novelist
• Rachel Trickett (1923–1999), novelist and scholar
• Jonathan Trigell (born 1974), novelist
• Sarah Trimmer (1741–1810), children's writer
• Henry Baker Tristram (1822–1906), travel writer, naturalist and cleric
• Anthony Trollope (1815–1882), novelist, Chronicles of Barsetshire
• Frances Trollope (1780–1863), novelist and travel writer
• Joanna Trollope (also as Caroline Harvey, b. 1943), novelist
• Thomas Adolphus Trollope (1810–1892), travel writer and novelist
• Thomas Trotter (1760–1832), physician and medical writer
• Peter Trower (1930–2017), poet and novelist
• Thomas Tryon (1634–1703), writer and vegetarian
• Edwin Charles Tubb (several pen names, 1919–2010), novelist
• Abraham Tucker (wrote as Edward Search, 1705–1774), philosopher
• Charlotte Maria Tucker (wrote as A.L.O.E, 1821–1893), children's writer
• Cuthbert Tunstall or Tonstall (1474–1559), writer and bishop
• Martin Farquhar Tupper (1810–1889), writer and poet
• George Turberville (c. 1540 – pre–1597), poet
• Charles Tennyson Turner (1808–1879), poet and translator
• David Turner (1927–1990), playwright and scriptwriter
• Ernest Sackville Turner (1909–2006), writer and journalist
• Joe Turner (living), scriptwriter and playwright
• John Frayn Turner (living), military historian
• Matthew Turner (died 1788), philosopher and physician
• Philip Turner (wrote as Stephen Chance, 1925–2006), children's writer and cleric
• Reginald Turner (1869–1938), novelist and aesthete
• Roger Turner (living), garden writer and designer
• Sharon Turner (1768–1847), historian
• Steve Turner (living), poet and biographer
• Thomas Turner (1729–1793), diarist
• Tom Turner (living), garden writer and designer
• Thomas Tusser (1524–1580), poet and farmer
• Ethel Brilliana Tweedie (also as Mrs Alec Tweedie 1862–1940), travel writer
• Robert Twigger (born 1964), writer
• Horace Twiss (c. 1787–1849), writer and politician
• Kenneth Tynan (1927–1980), drama critic and producer
• William Tyndale (1494–1536), scholar and Bible translator
• George Tyrrell (1861–1909), theologian and scholar
• Robert Yelverton Tyrrell (1844–1914), scholar and translator
• Thomas Tyrwhitt (1730–1786), scholar, editor and critic

U

• Nicholas Udall (1505–1556), playwright and translator, Ralph Roister Doister
• Jenny Uglow (born 1947), biographer and critic
• Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941), religious writer and novelist
• Peter Underwood (1923–2014), writer and broadcaster
• Barry Unsworth (1930–2012), novelist
• Cathi Unsworth (living), novelist
• Arthur Upfield (1890–1964), crime writer
• John Upton (1707–1760), editor and critic
• Lawrence Upton (1949–2020), poet and artist
• Edward Upward (1903–2009), novelist and story writer
• Mark Urban (born 1961), military writer
• J. O. Urmson (1915–2012), philosopher
• Thomas Usk (died 1388), poet
• Sarah Elizabeth Utterson (1781–1851), gothic short story writer
• Alison Uttley (1884–1976), children's writer, Little Grey Rabbit

V

• Horace Annesley Vachell (1861–1955), novelist and playwright
• John Van der Kiste (born 1954), writer and polymath
• John Vanbrugh (1664–1726), playwright and architect
• Bernard Vaughan (1847–1922), writer and RC priest
• Keith Vaughan (1912–1977), diarist and artist
• Robert Vaughan (1795–1868), historian, editor and Congregationalist minister
• Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee (born 1953), writer and Sufi mystic
• Thomas Vaux (1510–1556), poet
• Kate Veale, author and illustrator of children's books.
• Frances Vernon (1963–1991), novelist
• Salley Vickers (born 1948), novelist and psychotherapist
• Sherard Vines (1890–1974), poet, novelist and critic
• Elfrida Vipont (real name Elfrida Vipont Foulds, 1902–1992), children's writer
• E. H. Visiak (real name Edward Harold Physick, 1878–1972), poet and novelist
• Ernest Alfred Vizetelly (1853–1922), translator
• Frederick Augustus Voigt (1892–1957), foreign affairs writer

W

• Thomas Wade (1805–1875), poet and playwright
• Lucy Wadham (born 1964), novelist and journalist
• Rekha Waheed (living), novelist
• John Wain (1925–1994), poet and novelist
• Alfred Wainwright (1907–1991), guidebook writer
• Daniel Wakefield (1776–1846), political economist
• Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796–1862), writer and politician
• Gilbert Wakefield (1756–1801), scholar and polemicist
• H. Russell Wakefield (1890–1964), novelist and story writer
• Priscilla Wakefield (1871–1832), educator and philanthropist
• Robert Wakefield (died 1537), linguist and scholar
• George Waldron (1690 – c. 1730), topographer and poet
• Arthur Waley (1889–1966), orientalist and translator
• Alan Walker (born 1930), biographer, musicologist and broadcaster
• Charles Walker (fl. 1860s), religious writer
• Charles Curwen Walker (1856–1940), Christadelphian writer and editor
• George Walker (c. 1581–1651), writer and cleric
• George Walker (c. 1734–1807), dissenting writer and mathematician
• George Walker (1772–1847), novelist and political writer
• George Walker (1803 – post–1851), chess writer
• Obadiah Walker (1616–1699), scholar and educator
• Ted Walker (1934–2004), poet, dramatist and broadcaster
• Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913), naturalist and biologist
• Doreen Wallace (1897–1989), novelist and agricultural writer
• Edgar Wallace (1875–1932), novelist and playwright
• Helen Wallace (born 1946), current affairs writer
• Ian Wallace (living), ornithologist
• John Graham Wallace (born 1966), children's writer and illustrator
• Nick Wallace (born 1972), novelist
• Robert Wallace (1791–1850), writer, biographer and Unitarian minister
• William Wallace (born 1941), scholar and writer on government
• J. M. Wallace-Hadrill (1916–1985), historian
• Edmund Waller (1606–1687), poet
• John Waller (1917–1995), poet and anthologist
• David Walliams (born 1971), children's writer and comedian
• John Wallis (1616–1703), mathematician and writer
• Martin Walls (born 1970), poet and journalist
• Leo Walmsley (1892–1966), novelist and autobiographer
• Horace Walpole (1717–1797), novelist and man of letters, The Castle of Otranto
• Horatio Walpole (1678–1757), writer and politician
• Hugh Walpole (1884–1941), novelist
• Helen Walsh (born 1977), novelist
• Jill Paton Walsh (1937–2020), novelist and children's writer
• John Henry Walsh (also as Stonehenge, 1810–1888), field sports writer
• Sheila Walsh (1928–2009), novelist
• William Walsh (1663–1708), poet and critic
• Guy Walters (born 1971), novelist and journalist
• Hugh Walters (1910–1993), novelist
• Minette Walters (born 1949), novelist
• Vanessa Walters (born 1978), novelist and playwright
• Amy Catherine Walton (1849–1939), children's writer
• Izaak Walton (1593–1683), writer, The Compleat Angler
• William Walwyn (1600–1681), pamphleteer
• Humfrey Wanley (1672–1726), scholar and palaeographer
• Nathaniel Wanley (1634–1680), writer and cleric
• Henry Wansbrough (living), writer, Bible translator and RC monk
• William Warburton (1698–1779), critic and bishop
• Barbara Ward (1914–1981), economist and environmentalist
• Chris Ward (born 1958), playwright
• Edward Ward (1660 or 1667–1731), satirist
• Keith Ward (born 1938), philosopher and cleric
• Mrs. Humphry Ward (born Mary Augusta Arnold, 1851–1920), novelist
• Robert Ward (fl. 1611), AV translator and cleric
• Robert Plumer Ward (1765–1846), lawyer and novelist
• Samuel Ward (1572–1643), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• Sarah Ward (living), novelist and critic
• Seth Ward (1617–1689), polemicist, astronomer and bishop
• Thomas Humphry Ward (1845–1926), writer and journalist
• William George Ward (1812–1882), theologian and mathematician
• Terry Wardle (born 1944), children’s author
• Marina Warner (born 1946), novelist and biographer
• Rex Warner (1905–1986), novelist and translator
• Richard Warner (c. 1713–1775), botanist and scholar
• Richard Warner (1763–1853), antiquary and cleric
• Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893–1978), novelist and poet
• William Warner (c. 1558–1609), poet and translator
• Mary Warnock (1924–2019), philosopher
• Blanche Warre-Cornish (1844–1922), novelist and biographer
• John Warren, Lord de Tabley (1835–1895), poet and botanist
• Samuel Warren (1807–1877), novelist and barrister
• Thomas Herbert Warren (1853–1930), scholar and poet
• Tony Warren (1936–2016), screenwriter and novelist
• Joseph Warton (1722–1800), poet and critic
• Thomas Warton (c. 1688–1745), poet
• Thomas Warton (1728–1790), Poet Laureate and critic
• Robin Waterfield (born 1952), translator and classicist
• Andrew Waterhouse (1958–2001), poet and environmentalist
• Ellis Waterhouse (1905–1985), art historian and editor
• Gilbert Waterhouse (1883–1916), poet and architect
• Keith Waterhouse (1929–2009), novelist and screenwriter
• Rachel Waterhouse (1923–2020), historian and activist
• Sarah Waters (born 1966), novelist
• Charles Waterton (1782–1865), naturalist and explorer
• Denys Watkins-Pitchford (wrote as BB, 1905–1990), naturalist and children's writer
• David Watmough (1926–2017), playwright and novelist
• Colin Watson (1920–1983), novelist
• E. L. Grant Watson (1885–1970), writer and biologist
• James Watson (1936–2015), children's writer and playwright
• Richard Watson (1781–1833), Methodist theologian
• Richard Watson (1737–1816), writer and bishop
• Rosamund Marriott Watson (wrote as Graham R. Tomson, 1860–1911), poet and garden writer
• Thomas Watson (1555–1592), poet and translator
• Thomas Watson (c. 1620–1686), writer and preacher
• Victor Watson (born 1936), children's author and academic
• William Watson (1858–1935), poet
• Winifred Watson (1906–2002), novelist
• Alan Watts (1915–1973), philosopher
• Alaric Alexander Watts (1797–1864), poet and editor
• Isaac Watts (1674–1748), hymnist
• Theodore Watts-Dunton (1832–1914), critic, novelist and poet
• Alec Waugh (1898–1981), novelist
• Auberon Waugh (1939–2001), novelist and journalist
• Edwin Waugh (1817–1890), dialect poet
• Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966), novelist, travel writer and diarist, Brideshead Revisited
• Arthur Way (1847–1930), classicist and translator
• Camilla Way (born 1973), novelist and editor
• Adrian Weale (born 1964), military writer
• Frederic Weatherly (1848–1929), lyricist
• Willoughby Weaving (1885–1977), poet
• Clifford Webb (1895–1972), children's writer and illustrator
• Mary Webb (1881–1927), novelist and poet
• Philip Barker Webb (1793–1854), botanist and traveller
• Sidney Webb (1859–1947), and Beatrice Webb (1858–1943), political economists
• Augusta Webster (1837–1894), poet and playwright
• John Webster (c. 1580–1634), playwright, The Duchess of Malfi
• Camilla Wedgwood (1901–1955), anthropologist
• C. V. Wedgwood (1910–1997), historian
• Ernest Weekley (1865–1964), philologist
• Samantha Weinberg (born 1967), novelist and travel writer
• Arabella Weir (born 1957), writer and actor
• Denton Welch (1915–1948), novelist, diarist and artist
• Ronald Welch (real name Ronald Oliver Felton, 1909–1982), novelist and children's writer
• Fay Weldon (1931–2023), novelist and screenwriter
• Dorothy Wellesley (1889–1956), poet and editor
• Charles Jeremiah Wells (c. 1798–1879), poet
• H. G. Wells (1866–1946), novelist and critic, The War of the Worlds
• John Wells (1936–1998), satirist
• Leonard Welsted (1688–1747), poet
• Louise Wener (born 1966), novelist and singer
• Anne Wentworth (1629/1630 – post-1679), religious writer
• Arnold Wesker (1932–2016), playwright
• Charles Wesley (1707–1788), preacher and hymnist
• John Wesley (1703–1791), theologian and cleric
• Mary Wesley (1912–2002), novelist
• Samuel Wesley (1662–1735), poet and polemicist
• Samuel Wesley (1690 or 1691–1739), poet and cleric
• Arthur Graeme West (1891–1917), diarist and poet
• Gilbert West (1703–1756), poet and translator
• Jane West (wrote as Prudentia Homespun, 1758–1852), novelist, writer and poet
• Kate West (1957–), author
• Paul West (1930–2015), novelist and poet
• Rebecca West (real name Cicely Isabel Fairfield, 1892–1983), novelist and travel writer
• Robert Westall (1929–1993), children's writer
• William Bury Westall (1834–1903), novelist
• Charles Molloy Westmacott (also as Bernard Blackmantle, c. 1788–1868), writer and journalist
• Joyce Wethered (1901–1997), golf and gardening writer
• Robert Wever (fl. 1550), poet
• Stanley J. Weyman (1855–1928), novelist
• Anne Wharton (1659–1685), poet and playwright
• George Wharton (1618–1681), pamphleteer and astrologer
• Goodwin Wharton (1653–1704), autobiographer
• Gordon Wharton (1929–2011), poet
• Henry Wharton (1664–1695), writer, biographer and cleric
• Michael Wharton (wrote as Peter Simple, 1913–2006), humorist
• Mary Whateley (Mary Darwall, also as Harriet Airey, 1738–1835), poet and playwright
• Richard Whateley (1787–1863), theologian, economist and archbishop
• Anne Wheathill (fl. 1584), poet and prayer writer
• Dennis Wheatley (1897–1977), thriller writer
• Ethel Rolt Wheeler (1869–1958), poet, journalist and essayist
• Hugh Wheeler (1912–1987), novelist, playwright and screenwriter
• Mortimer Wheeler (1890–1976), archaeologist
• John Wheeler-Bennett (1902–1975), analyst and historian
• Francis Wheen (born 1957), biographer and journalist
• Eric Whelpton (1894–1981), travel writer
• George Whetstone (c. 1544 – c. 1587), writer and playwright
• Charles Whibley (1859–1930), critic and writer
• Dorothy Whipple (1893–1966), novelist
• Laurence Whistler (1912–2000), poet and engraver
• Evelyn Whitaker (1844–1929), children's writer
• Antonia White (real name Eirine Botting, 1899–1980), novelist, playwright and children's writer
• Dorothy White (c. 1630–1686), Quaker pamphleteer and preacher
• Fred M. White (1859–1935), science-fiction and disaster novelist
• Gilbert White (1720–1795), naturalist and cleric, The Natural History of Selborne
• Hale White (wrote as Mark Rutherford, 1831–1913), writer
• Henry Kirke White (1785–1806), poet and hymnist
• Michael White (writes as Sam Fisher, living), writer
• T. H. White, (1906–1964), children's writer and poet, The Once and Future King
• Thomas White (also as Blackloe, 1593–1676), theologian and RC priest
• Tony White (born 1964), novelist and travel writer
• George Whitefield (1714–1770), theologian and preacher
• Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947), mathematician and philosopher
• Charles Whitehead (1804–1862), poet and novelist
• George Whitehead (1636–1723), Quaker preacher and writer
• William Whitehead (1715–1785), Poet Laureate and playwright
• Richard Whiteing (wrote as Whyte Thorne, 1840–1928), novelist and journalist
• Dorothy Whitelock (1901–1982), historian
• Bulstrode Whitelocke (1605–1675), chronicler
• Hugh Whitemore (1936–2018), playwright and screenwriter
• Charles Whiting (1926–2007), novelist and military historian
• David Whitley (born 1985), YA novelist
• Geoffrey Whitney (c. 1548 – c. 1601), poet
• Isabella Whitney (fl. 1567–1573), poet
• James Pounder Whitney (1857–1939), historian
• Gerald James Whitrow (1912–2000), cosmologist
• Crispin Whittell (born 1969), playwright
• Ian Whybrow (born 1941), children's writer
• Thomas Whythorne (1528–1595), poet, autobiographer and composer
• Frederick Wicks (1840–1910), novelist and inventor
• Susan Wicks (born 1947), poet and novelist
• Ally Wilkes (living), novelist and short story writer
• Jeremiah Holmes Wiffen (1792–1836), poet and scholar
• Clare Wigfall (born 1976), story writer
• William Wilberforce (1759–1833), religious writer and reformer
• John Wilbye (1574–1638), madrigalist
• Patrick Wilde (living), playwright and screenwriter
• Peter Wildeblood (1923–1999), writer and journalist
• John Wilkes (1725–1797), radical
• Charles Wilkins (1749–1836), orientalist and translator
• George Wilkins (fl. 1607), playwright and pamphleteer
• Harold T. Wilkins (1891–1960), writer and historian
• John Wilkins (1614–1672), natural philosopher, writer and bishop
• Vaughan Wilkins (1890–1959), novelist and journalist
• John Wilkinson (born 1953), poet
• John Gardner Wilkinson (1797–1875), writer, traveller and scholar
• Paul Wilkinson (1937–2011), political writer
• Geoffrey Willans (1911–1958), writer and journalist, (with Ronald Searle) Nigel Molesworth
• Barbara Willard (1909–1994), children's writer and novelist
• Aeneas Francon Williams (1886–1971), writer, poet, missionary, chaplain
• Alfred Williams (1877–1930), poet
• Anna Williams (1706–1783), poet
• Bernard Williams (1929–2003), philosopher
• Charles Williams (1886–1945), novelist, poet and scholar
• Charlie Williams (born 1971), novelist
• Eric Williams (1911–1983) WW2 writer
• Frederick Smeeton Williams (1829–1886), railway writer
• Helen Maria Williams (1761/1762–1827), poet, translator and radical
• Hugo Williams (born 1942), poet and travel writer
• Isaac Williams (1802–1865), writer, poet and cleric
• John Francon Williams (1854–1911), writer, geographer, historian, journalist, editor
• John Williams (1761–1818), poet and satirist
• John Hartley Williams (1942–2014), poet
• Jules Williams writer, director and producer
• Nicholas Williams (born 1942), philologist
• Nigel Williams (born 1948), novelist, playwright and screenwriter
• Paul Williams (born 1967), writer on subcultures
• Paul Andrew Williams (born 1973), screenwriter and film director
• Robina Williams (living), novelist
• Rowan Williams (born 1950), writer and archbishop
• Sarah Williams (1837–1868), poet
• Timothy Williams (born 1946), crime novelist
• William Mattieu Williams (1820–1892), writer on science, education and politics
• Alice Muriel Williamson (1869–1933), novelist
• Charles Norris Williamson (1859–1920), novelist and motoring writer
• Henry Williamson (1895–1977), novelist, Tarka the Otter
• Kenneth Williamson (1914–1977), ornithologist
• Timothy Williamson (born 1955), philosopher
• Browne Willis (1682–1760), writer and antiquary
• Paul Willis (living), sociologist
• Robert Willis (engineer) (1800–1875), architectural writer and cleric
• Ted Willis (1914–1992), playwright and screenwriter
• Tim Willocks (living), novelist, screenwriter and psychiatrist
• Francis Willughby or Willoughby (1635–1672), ornithologist
• Clive Wilmer (born 1945), poet
• Val Wilmer (born 1941), music writer and photographer
• John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647–1680), satirical poet
• A. N. Wilson (born 1950), novelist and biographer
• Andrew Wilson (born 1961), history and current affairs writer
• Angus Wilson (1913–1991), novelist
• Bryan R. Wilson (1926–2004), sociologist
• Colin Wilson (1931–2013), novelist and philosopher
• Harriette Wilson (1786–1845), courtesan and memoirist
• Herbert Wrigley Wilson (1866–1940) naval historian
• Horace Hayman Wilson (1786–1860), orientalist and translator
• Ian Wilson (born 1941), religious and science writer
• J. Dover Wilson (1881–1969), Shakespearean and critic
• Jacqueline Wilson (born 1945), children's writer
• John Wilson (1527–1596), playwright and translator
• Leslie Wilson (living), novelist and children's writer
• Richard Wilson (born 1950), Shakespearean scholar
• Robert Wilson (fl. 1572–1600), playwright
• Robert Wilson (born 1957), novelist
• Sandy Wilson (1924–2014), lyricist and composer, The Boy Friend
• T. P. Cameron Wilson (1888–1918), poet
• Thomas Wilson (1524–1581), rhetorician and diplomat
• Thomas Wilson (1773–1858), dialect poet
• Jane Wilson-Howarth (aka Jane Wilson, b. 1954) travel and health writer
• R. D. Wingfield (1928–2007), novelist and radio dramatist
• Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878), translator and hymnist
• Jacqueline Winspear (born 1955), novelist
• Gerrard Winstanley (1609–1676), pamphleteer
• Stephen Winsten (real name Samuel Weinstein, 1893–1991), writer
• John Strange Winter (real name Henrietta Eliza Vaughan Stannard 1856–1911), novelist
• Jeanette Winterson (born 1959), novelist
• Jane Wiseman (c. 1682–1717), poet and playwright
• George Wither (1588–1667), poet and satirist
• P.G. Wodehouse (1881–1975), novelist and playwright, Jeeves
• John Wolcot (wrote as Peter Pindar, 1738–1819), poet and satirist
• Lucien Wolf (1857–1930), historian
• Humbert Wolfe (1885–1940), poet and translator
• Ronald Wolfe (1922–2011), TV scriptwriter
• Jonathan Wolff (born 1959), philosopher
• Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797), polemicist and novelist, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
• Philip Womack (living), novelist
• Anthony Wood (1632–1695), antiquary
• Christopher Wood (wrote as Timothy Lea, 1935–2015), novelist and screenwriter
• David Wood (born 1944), children's playwright, screenwriter and actor
• Ellen Wood (Mrs. Henry Wood, 1814–1887), novelist
• Robert Wood (c. 1622–1685), mathematician and translator
• Sara Wood (living), novelist and story writer
• Thomas Wood (1892–1950), writer and composer
• George Woodcock (1912–1995), poet and thinker
• James Woodforde (1740–1803), diarist and cleric
• Walter Bradford Woodgate (wrote as Wat Bradwood, 1841–1920), writer on rowing, oarsman and barrister
• Cecil Woodham-Smith (1896–1977), historian and biographer
• Martin Woodhouse (1932–2011), novelist and screenwriter
• Richard Woodman (born 1944), novelist and mariner
• Charles Woodmason (c. 1720–1789), diarist, poet and cleric
• Margaret Louisa Woods (1856–1945), novelist and poet
• Anthony Woodville or Wydeville, Earl Rivers (c. 1440–1483) translator
• Gerard Woodward (born 1961), novelist and poet
• John Woodward (1665–1728), naturalist and antiquary
• Emily Woof (born 1967), playwright, screenwriter and actress
• Leonard Woolf (1880–1969), writer and editor
• Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), novelist and biographer, To the Lighthouse
• Thomas Woolner (1825–1892) poet and sculptor
• Christopher Wordsworth (1807–1885), poet, classicist and bishop
• Dorothy Wordsworth (1771–1855), diarist and poet,
• William Wordsworth (1770–1850), poet, The Prelude
• Frank Worrall (living), sports writer
• Philip Stanhope Worsley (1835–1866), poet, translator and cleric
• T.C. Worsley (1907–1977), writer and critic
• Henry Wotton (1568–1639), poet and translator
• Nathaniel Wraxall (1751–1831), memoirist and political writer
• P. C. Wren (1875–1941), novelist
• Chandos Wren-Hoskyns (1812–1876), agricultural writer and landowner
• Crispin Wright (born 1942), philosopher
• David Wright (1920–1994), poet, translator and biographer
• Derrick Wright (born 1928), military historian
• Edward Wright (1561–1615), mathematician
• Fred Wright (born 1947), historian and theologian
• Joseph Wright (1855–1930), philologist and lexicographer
• Kit Wright (born 1944), poet, children's writer and anthologist
• N. T. Wright (also as Tom Wright, b. 1948), writer and bishop
• Patrick Wright (living), historian and broadcaster
• Richard Wright (Unitarian) (1764–1836), writer and Unitarian minister
• Thomas Wright (1810–1877), writer and antiquary
• William Aldis Wright (1831–1914), writer and editor
• Mary Wroth (1587–1651/1653), writer and poet
• Andrea Wulf (born 1972), biographer and garden writer
• Arthur Wyatt (living), writer and editor
• George Wyatt (1550–1623), writer and biographer
• Stephen Wyatt (born 1948), playwright and adapter
• Thomas Wyatt (1503–1542), poet and translator
• Woodrow Wyatt (1918–1997), diarist and politician
• William Wycherley (c. 1640–1715), playwright, The Country Wife
• Robert Wydow (c. 1446–1505), poet, musician and cleric
• John Wycliffe (mid–1320s – 1384), theologian and Bible translator
• John Wyndham (also as John Beynon, 1903–1969), novelist, The Day of the Triffids
• D. B. Wyndham-Lewis (wrote as Timothy Shy, 1891–1969), humorist
• Peter Wynne-Thomas (1934–2021), cricket writer

Y

• Jane Yardley (living), novelist
• William Yarrell (1784–1856), naturalist
• Dornford Yates (real name Cecil William Mercer, 1885–1960), novelist
• Edmund Yates (1831–1894), novelist and playwright
• Ann Yearsley (1753–1806), poet, playwright and novelist
• Victor Maslin Yeates (1897–1934), writer and pilot
• R. J. Yeatman (1897–1968), humorist, 1066 and All That (with W. C. Sellar)
• Tamar Yellin (living), novelist and story writer
• Theresa Yelverton (originally Maria Theresa Longworth, 1833–1881), travel writer
• Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823–1901), novelist
• Walter Yonge of Colyton (1579–1649), diarist and lawyer
• Edward of York (c. 1373–1415), translator and courtier
• Barbara Yorke (born 1951), historian
• Margaret Yorke (1924–2012), crime writer
• Matthew Yorke (born 1958), novelist and editor
• Arthur Young (1741–1820), writer and economist
• E. H. Young (1880–1949), novelist and children's writer
• Edward Young (1683–1765), poet
• F. E. Mills Young (1875–1954), novelist
• Francis Brett Young (1884–1954), novelist
• G. M. Young (1882–1959), historian
• Gary Young (living), screenwriter
• Gavin Young (1928–2001), travel writer and journalist
• Hilton Young, Lord Kennet (1879–1960), writer and politician
• Robert J. C. Young (born 1950), thinker and historian
• Thomas Young (1773–1829), polymath
• Toby Young (born 1963), journalist and playwright

Z

• Helen Zahavi (born 1966), novelist
• Adam Zamoyski (born 1949), biographer and historian
• Israel Zangwill (1864–1926), novelist and playwright
• Louis Zangwill (1869–1938), novelist
• Oliver Zangwill (1913–1987), psychologist
• Benjamin Zephaniah (born 1958), dub poet
• Philip Ziegler (1929–2023), biographer and historian
• Alfred Eckhard Zimmern (1879–1957), classicist and historian
• Alice Zimmern (1855–1939), writer and translator
• Helen Zimmern (1846–1934), writer and translator

See also

• English literature
• English novel
• List of children's literature authors
• List of children's non-fiction writers
• List of English-language poets
• List of English novelists
• Lists of writers