List of women writers

This is a list of notable women writers who have Wikipedia pages.

See also individual lists of women writers by nationality

A

• Karen Aabye (1904–1982), Danish novelist, travel writer and essayist
• Jane Aamund (1936–2019), Danish journalist and novelist
• Eleanor Hallowell Abbott (1872–1958), US poet and fiction writer
• Rachel Abbott, pen name of Sheila Rodgers (born c. 1953), English thriller author
• Louise Abeita (1926–2014), Native US Isleta Pueblo writer; I am a Pueblo Indian Girl
• Sara Aboobacker (born 1936), Indian Kannada writer
• Marguerite Abouet (born 1971), Ivorian graphic novelist
• Leila Aboulela (born 1964), Sudanese writer; The Translator
• Abiola Abrams (born 1976), US TV host, art filmmaker and author; Dare
• Umayya Abu-Hanna (born 1961), Palestinian-Finnish writer, journalist and politician
• Anna Maria Achenrainer (1909–1972), Austrian writer
• Kathy Acker (1947–1997), US novelist, poet, essayist and playwright; Blood and Guts in High School
• Eliza Acton (1799–1859), English cookbook writer and poet; Modern Cookery for Private Families
• Juliette Adam (1836–1936), French author and magazine editor
• Abigail Adams (1744–1818), former First Lady of the United States, letter writer and diarist
• Sarah Fuller Flower Adams (1805–1848), English poet and lyricist; Nearer, My God, to Thee
• Gil Adamson (born 1961), Canadian novelist, short story writer and poet
• Fleur Adcock (born 1935), New Zealand-born English poet and editor
• Sade Adeniran (living), Nigerian novelist
• Caroline Adderson (born 1963), Canadian fiction writer
• Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (born 1988), Nigerian novelist
• Yda Addis (1857–1902), US writer and translator
• Kim Addonizio (born 1954), US poet, novelist
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born 1977), Nigerian fiction writer; Purple Hibiscus
• Renata Adler (born 1938), US author, journalist and film critic
• Sophie Adlersparre (1823–1895), Swedish feminist, editor and writer; Home Review
• Aesara of Lucania (4th or 3rd century BC), Greek philosopher
• Patience Agbabi (born 1965), British poet
• Charlotte Agell (born 1959), Swedish-US novelist and children's writer
• Kelli Russell Agodon (born 1969), US poet, writer, and editor
• Gerty Agoston (living), Hungarian-US playwright and novelist
• Grace Aguilar (1816–1847), English novelist and writer on Jewish history and religion
• Delmira Agustini (1886–1914), Uruguayan poet
• Freda Ahenakew (1932–2011), Canadian author and academic
• Catharina Ahlgren (1734 – c. 1800), Swedish feminist writer, poet and editor
• Ilse Aichinger (1921–2016), Austrian writer
• Ama Ata Aidoo (born 1942), Ghanaian author and playwright
• Naja Marie Aidt (born 1963), Danish poet, novelist and screenwriter; Strings
• Joan Aiken (1924–2004), English novelist; The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
• Lucy Aikin (1781–1864), English historical writer
• Tobiloba Ajayi (living), Nigerian writer, lawyer and social campaigner
• Miriam Akavia (1927–2015), Polish-born Israeli writer and translator
• Grace Akello (born 1950), Ugandan poet, essayist, folklorist
• Anna Åkerhjelm (1647–1693), Swedish writer and traveller
• Rachel Akerman (1522–1544), Austrian Jewish poet writing in German
• Sonja Åkesson (1926–1977), Swedish poet, writer, and artist
• Bella Akhmadulina (1937–2010), Russian-Soviet poet
• Anna Akhmatova (1899–1966), Russian-Soviet poet; Requiem
• Mirra Alfassa, also known as The Mother (1878–1973), French mystic and writer
• Layla al-Akhyaliyya (7th century), Arab poet
• Susanna Alakoski (born 1962), Finnish-Swedish novelist, social worker and lecturer; Svinalängorna
• Outi Alanne (born 1967), Finnish sadomasochist writer
• Anne-Marie Albiach (1937–2012), French poet and translator
• Alice Albinia (born 1976), English journalist and non-fiction author; Empires of the Indus
• Jordie Albiston (born 1961), Australian poet and academic
• Aurora de Albornoz (1926–1990), Spanish poet
• Mary Alcock (c. 1742–1798), English poet, essayist, and philanthropist
• Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888), US novelist; Little Women
• Isabella Macdonald Alden (1841–1930), US children's writer
• Julia Carter Aldrich (1834–1924), US author
• Claribel Alegría (1924–2018), Nicaraguan-born author and poet
• Elizabeth Alexander (born 1962), US poet, essayist and playwright
• Eva Alexanderson (1911–1994), Swedish writer, translator and publisher
• Svetlana Alexievich (born 1948), Belarusian investigative journalist and non-fiction writer; 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Edna Alford (born 1947), Canadian short story writer and literary editor
• Monica Ali (born 1967), Bangladeshi-English novelist and essayist
• Laila al-Juhani (born 1969), Saudi Arabian fiction writer
• Zaynab Alkali (born 1950), Nigerian novelist, poet, short story writer
• Al-Khansā (7th century), Arab poet
• Hannah Allen (born 1638), English writer
• Isabel Allende (born 1942), Chilean-US novelist; Eva Luna, Daughter of Fortune
• Phyllis Shand Allfrey (1908–1996), West Indian writer; The Orchid House
• Svetlana Alliluyeva (1926–2011), Soviet writer and lecturer
• Margery Allingham (1904–1966), English crime writer; Mystery Mile, Sweet Danger
• Dorothy Allison (born 1949), US writer and speaker; Trash: Short Stories, Cavedweller
• Eunice Eloisae Gibbs Allyn (born 1847), US letter-writer, author and poet
• Wallada bint al-Mustakfi (1001–1080), Andalusian poet writing in Arabic
• Marianne Alopaeus (1918–2014), Finnish existentialist, novelist and essayist
• Mor Altshuler (born 1957), Israeli scholar and writer
• Julia Álvarez (born 1950), Dominican-US poet, novelist and essayist; How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
• María Álvarez de Guillén (pen name Amari Zalvera, 1889–1980), Salvadoran novelist
• Moniza Alvi (born 1954), Pakistani-British poet and writer
• Barbro Alving (1909–1987), Swedish feminist, journalist and writer
• Fanny Alving (1874–1955), Swedish novelist
• Karin Alvtegen (born 1965), Swedish crime novelist; Shame
• Ifi Amadiume (born 1947), Nigerian poet, anthropologist and essayist
• Catherine d'Amboise (1475–1550), French writer and poet
• Elizabeth Frances Amherst (c. 1716–1779), English poet and naturalist
• Valerie Anand (born 1937), British author of historical fiction
• Annemette Kure Andersen (born 1962), Danish poet and literary editor
• Marguerite Andersen (born 1924), German-Canadian writer, editor and academic
• Ethel Anderson (1883–1958), Australian poet, novelist and painter
• Jessica Anderson (1916–2010), Australian fiction writer; The Impersonators
• Laurie Halse Anderson (born 1961), US writer for children and young adults; Speak
• Rachel Anderson (born 1943), English journalist and children's and young adult fiction author
• Verily Anderson (1915–2010), English children's fiction author, biographer and screenwriter
• Gail Anderson-Dargatz (born 1963), Canadian novelist, The Cure for Death by Lightning
• Pamela Andersson (born 1965), Swedish journalist
• Isabella Andreini (1562–1604), Italian playwright, poet and actress
• Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (1919–2004), Portuguese poet and writer
• Eliza Frances Andrews (1840–1931), US novelist and Civil War writer
• Marie Louise Andrews (1849–1891), US short story writer, journalist and co-founder of Western Association of Writers from Indiana
• Harriet Anena (living), Ugandan poet and journalist
• Maya Angelou (1928–2014), US autobiographer and poet; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Jane Anger (late 16th century), English writer
• Christine Angot (born 1959), French novelist and playwright
• María Nsué Angüe (born 1945), Equatorial Guinean writer
• Marion Angus (1865–1946), Scottish poet writing in Braid Scots and English
• Yu Anjin (born 1941), Korean poet and essayist
• Nini Roll Anker (1873–1942), Norwegian novelist and playwright; Den som henger i en tråd
• Charlotte Anley (1796–1893), English novelist, social and religious writer and musician
• Núria Añó (born 1973), Catalan writer and novelist
• Manana Antadze (born 1945), Georgian writer and translator
• Gloria E. Anzaldúa (1942–2004), US author, poet and activist; Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza
• Monica Arac de Nyeko (born 1979), Ugandan writer of short fiction, poetry and essays
• Tullia d'Aragona (c. 1510–1556), Italian poet, author and philosopher
• Maria Arbatova (born 1957), Russian novelist, playwright and poet
• Elvia Ardalani (born 1963), Mexican writer, poet and storyteller
• Jane Arden (1927–1982), Welsh film director, playwright and novelist; The Party
• Hannah Arendt (1906–1975), German Jewish political theorist The Human Condition
• Harriett Ellen Grannis Arey (1819–1901), US author, editor and publisher
• Héloïse d'Argenteuil (c. 1101–1164), French scholar and abbess writing in Latin
• Hiro Arikawa (born 1972), Japanese light novelist
• Rae Armantrout (born 1947), US writer, language poet and academic; 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Karen Armstrong (born 1944), English writer on comparative religion; A History of God
• Kelley Armstrong (born 1968), Canadian writer; Women of the Otherworld series
• Louise Armstrong (1937–2008), US author and feminist
• Bettina von Arnim (1785–1859), German writer and novelist
• Elizabeth von Arnim (1866–1941), Australian-born British novelist; Mr. Skeffington
• Elizabeth Arnold (born 1944), English children's writer
• Joanne Arnott (born 1960), Canadian Métis writer
• Harriette Arnow (1908–1986), US novelist
• Franciszka Arnsztajnowa (1865–1942), Polish poet, playwright and translator
• Tuuve Aro (born 1973), Finnish fiction writer, film critic and producer
• Stina Aronson (1892–1956), Swedish novelist
• Marina Arrate (born 1957), Chilean poet and clinic psychologist
• Renée Ferrer de Arréllaga (born 1944), Paraguayan poet and novelist
• Pat Arrowsmith, English novelist and politician
• Suzanne Arruda, US mystery novelist
• Inga Arvad (1913–1973), Danish-US journalist
• Daisy Ashford (1881–1972), English writer; The Young Visiters
• Anastasia Ashman (born 1964), US author and cultural producer; Tales from the Expat Harem
• Francis Leslie Ashton (1904–1994), English novelist
• Anne Askew (1520/1521–1546), English poet and Protestant martyr
• Marie Aspioti (1909–2000), Greek writer and poet
• Cynthia Asquith (1887–1960), English novelist and diarist
• Margot Asquith (1864–1945), English author
• Mary Astell (1666–1731), English feminist writer and rhetorician
• Thea Astley (1925–2004), Australian fiction writer; also some poetry
• Cassandra Atherton (living), Australian prose-poet and academic
• Gertrude Atherton (1857–1948), US writer
• Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson (1863–1942), US author, journalist and teacher
• Kate Atkinson (born 1951), English novelist; Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Human Croquet
• M. E. Atkinson (1899–1974, Mary Evelyn Atkinson), English children's novelist
• Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (born 1984), US novelist
• Margaret Atwood (born 1939), Canadian novelist, poet and critic; The Handmaid's Tale
• Sefi Atta (born 1964), Nigerian author and playwright
• Madeleine de l’Aubespine (1546–1596), French poet
• Penelope Aubin (c. 1679–c. 1731), English novelist and translator
• Dorothy Auchterlonie (1915–1991), English-born Australian academic, literary critic and poet
• Aude (1947–2012), Canadian fiction writer
• Ashley Audrain (born 1982), Canadian novelist
• Jean M. Auel (born 1936), US novelist; Earth's Children series
• Madame d'Aulnoy (c. 1650s–1705), French writer of fairy tales
• Rose Ausländer (1901–1988), Bucovina-born poet writing in German and English
• Jane Austen (1775–1817), English novelist; Pride and Prejudice
• Mary Austin (1868–1934), US writer The Land of Little Rain
• Sarah Austin (1793–1867), English translator from German
• Violeta Autumn (1930–2012), Peruvian-born US architect and cookery author
• Auvaiyar, name shared by several poets in Tamil literature
• Frau Ava (c. 1060–1127), first female writer in German
• Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda (1814–1873), Cuban novelist, playwright and poet; Sab
• Catharine Hitchcock Tilden Avery (1844–1911), US author, editor, educator
• Victoria Aveyard (born 1990), US YA fantasy writer; Red Queen
• Magdalena Avietėnaitė (1892–1984), Lithuanian journalist
• Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582), Spanish nun, monastic reformer, and mystic
• Margaret Avison (1918–2007), Canadian poet, editor and speaker
• Mona Awad (born 1978), Canadian fiction writer
• Marilou Awiakta (born 1936), Native US Cherokee author
• Celine Axelos (1902–1992), Egyptian poet, public speaker
• Majgull Axelsson (born 1947), Swedish journalist and novelist; April Witch
• Elysa Ayala (1879–1956), Ecuadorian writer and painter
• Margaret Ayer (died 1981), US writer and illustrator
• Pam Ayres (born 1947), English poet, songwriter and radio and TV presenter
• Che Husna Azhari (born 1955), Malaysian writer

B

• Mariama Bâ (1929–1981), Senegalese novelist; So Long a Letter
• Alaviyya Babayeva (1921–2014), prose-writer, translator and publicist
• Natalie Babbitt (born 1932), US author and illustrator of children's books; Tuck Everlasting
• Ingrid Bachér (born 1930), German playwright and screenwriter
• Ingeborg Bachmann (1926–1973), Austrian poet, playwright and novelist
• Delia Bacon (1811–1859), US playwright and fiction writer; work on Shakespeare authorship question
• Anita Rau Badami (born 1961), Indian-Canadian novelist; The Hero's Walk
• Gabeba Baderoon (born 1969), South African poet
• Yaba Badoe (born 1955), Ghanaian-British novelist and filmmaker
• Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), British author and playwright; National Velvet
• Elisaveta Bagryana (1893–1991), Bulgarian poet
• Joanna Baillie (1762–1851), Scottish poet and dramatist
• Alice Bailey (1880–1949), English mystic
• Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey (1863–1948), US ornithologist
• Beryl Bainbridge (1932–2010), English novelist; The Bottle Factory Outing
• Doreen Baingana (living), Ugandan short-story writer and editor
• Elizabeth-Irene Baitie (born 1970), Ghanaian writer of young adult fiction
• Deb Baker (born 1953), US mystery writer
• Dorothy Baker (1907–1968), US novelist; Young Man with a Horn
• Albena Bakratcheva (born 1961), Bulgarian author, best known for work on US Transcendentalism
• Asma El Bakry (1947–2015), Egyptian film director and author
• Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir (born 1949), Icelandic novelist
• Faith Baldwin (1893–1978), US author of romance and fiction
• Rabia Balkhi (10th century), Persian poet
• Toni Cade Bambara (1939–1995), US author, social activist and college professor
• Mary Ellen Bamford (1857–1946), US author
• Consort Ban (Ban Jieyu, Lady Pan, c. 48–c. 6 BC), Chinese scholar and poet
• Linda Vero Ban (born 1976), Hungarian writer on Jewish identity and spirituality
• Ellen Banda-Aaku (born 1965), Zambian writer of fiction and children's books
• Helen Elliott Bandini (1854–1912), US writer; primarily on Californian history
• Mary Jo Bang (born 1946), US poet
• Zsuzsa Bánk (born 1965), German novelist
• Leslie Esdaile Banks (born 1959), US author; The Vampire Huntress Legend Series
• Maya Banks (living), US author of erotic romance
• Anne Bannerman (1765–1829), Scottish poet
• Helen Bannerman (1862–1946), Scottish children's writer; Little Black Sambo
• Agnieszka Baranowska (1819–1890), Polish playwright and poet
• Natalya Baranskaya (1908–2004), Soviet writer; A Week Like Any Other
• Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743–1825), English poet, essayist and children's author; Eighteen Hundred and Eleven
• Muriel Barbery (born 1969), French novelist and academic; The Elegance of the Hedgehog
• Maria Tore Barbina (1940–2007), Italian poet and translator, Latin educator
• Florence L. Barclay (1862–1921), English fiction writer; The Rosary
• Leigh Bardugo (born 1974), US young adult and fantasy author
• Joan Barfoot (born 1946), Canadian novelist
• Arvède Barine (1840–1908), French writer and historian
• Susan Barker (born 1978), novelist
• Nicola Barker (born 1966), English fiction writer
• Pat Barker (born 1943), English novelist; 1995 Booker Prize; Regeneration trilogy
• Anna Barkova (1901–1976), Soviet poet, playwright and fiction and non-fiction writer
• Jane Barlow (1856–1917), Irish novelist and poet
• Mary Barnard (1909–2001), US poet, biographer and Greek-to-English translator
• Annie Maria Barnes (born 1857), US journalist, editor, author
• Djuna Barnes (1892–1982), US writer; Ladies Almanack, Nightwood
• Margaret Ayer Barnes (1886–1967), Pulitzer Prize-winning US author; Years of Grace
• Evangeline Barongo (living), Ugandan author of children's literature
• Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr (1831–1919), British novelist
• Emma Barrandeguy (1914–2006), Argentine poet, storyteller and playwright
• Andrea Barrett (born 1954), US fiction writer
• Lynne Barrett (living), US writer and editor, known for short stories
• Nuria Barrios (born 1962), Spanish poet and writer of non-fiction
• Angela Barry (living), Bermudian writer and educator
• Violet Barungi (born 1943), Ugandan writer and editor
• Mildred Barya (living), Ugandan poet
• Marie Bashkirtseff (1858–1884), Russian diarist and artist
• Laura Bassi (1711–1778), Italian physicist and academic
• Jackee Budesta Batanda (living), Ugandan journalist, writer and entrepreneur
• Allie Bates (born 1957), US writer
• Katharine Lee Bates (1859–1929), US songwriter
• Carol S. Batey (born 1955), US writer
• Janet Bathgate (c. 1806–1898), Scottish autobiographical working-class writer
• Effie T. Battle (c. 1882–post–1940), African-US poet and educator
• Dawn-Michelle Baude (born 1959), US poet, journalist and educator
• Baudovinia (fl. c. 600), French religious writer in Latin
• Vicki Baum (1888–1960), Austrian novelist
• Gertrud Bäumer (1873–1954), German writer and feminist
• Ada Ellen Bayly (Edna Lyall, 1857–1903), English novelist
• Emilia Pardo Bazán (1851–1921), Spanish essayist and novelist
• Aletta Beaujon (1933–2001), Curaçaoan-Aruban poet
• Betty Bentley Beaumont (1828–1892), English author and merchant
• Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986), French author and philosopher; She Came to Stay
• Dany Bébel-Gisler (1935–2003), Guadeloupean novelist
• Margaret Bechard (born 1953), US children's writer
• Alison Bechdel (born 1960), US cartoonist and graphic memoirist; Fun Home
• Béatrix Beck (1914–2008), French novelist; The Passionate Heart
• Thea Beckman (1923–2004), Dutch novelist; Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek
• Claude de Bectoz (1490–1547), French writer and philosopher
• Simi Bedford (living), Nigerian novelist based in Britain; Yoruba Girl Dancing
• Patricia Beer (1919–1999), English poet and critic
• Mrs. Beeton (1836–1865), English domestic author; Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management
• Anne Beffort (1880–1966), Luxembourg educator, writer and biographer
• Aphra Behn (1640–1689), English playwright, poet and novelist; The Rover
• Mariam Behnam (1921–2014), Iranian-Emirati novelist and autobiographer
• Concepción Silva Belinzon (1903–1987), Uruguayan writer
• Susan Groag Bell (1926–2015), Czech-US women's studies pioneer and autobiographer
• Gioconda Belli (born 1948), Nicaraguan revolutionary and writer
• Karen E. Bender (living), US novelist
• Victoria Benedictsson (1850–1888), Swedish author
• Elizabeth Benger (1775–1827), English novelist and biographer
• Veronica Bennett (born 1953), children's novelist
• Gwendolyn B. Bennett (1902–1981), African-US writer
• Louise Bennett (1919–2006), Jamaican poet and folklorist
• Sally Benson (1897–1972), US screenwriter and short story writer
• Caroline French Benton (died 1923), US cookery writer
• Nina Berberova (1901–1993), Soviet-Russian writer; The Tattered Cloak
• Josefa Berens-Totenohl (1891–1969), German novelist
• Aimée Daniell Beringer (1856–1936), American playwright and novelist
• Gabrielle Bernard (1893–1963), Belgian poet writing in Walloon French
• Juliana Berners (14th and 15th centuries), English writer on heraldry, hawking and hunting; The Book of Saint Albans
• Jovette Bernier (1900–1981), Canadian journalist, novelist, and poet
• Bertice Berry (born 1960), US sociologist, author, lecturer, and educator
• Julie Berry (born 1980), US author of children's and young adult fiction
• Mei-mei Berssenbrugge (born 1947), Chinese-US poet and playwright
• Betty Berzon (1928–2006), US author
• Annie Besant (1847–1933), English theosophist and activist; The Ancient Wisdom, Thought Forms
• Mary Matilda Betham (1776–1852), English diarist, poet and woman of letters
• Matilda Betham-Edwards (1836–1919), English novelist, poet and travel writer
• Kata Bethlen (1700–1759), Hungarian memoirist
• Doris Betts (1932–2012), US novelist, short story writer and essayist; Beasts of the Southern Wild and Other Stories
• Elizabeth Beverley (fl. 1815–30), English pamphleteer and entertainer
• L. S. Bevington (1845–1895), English poet, anarchist and essayist
• Anuradha Bhattacharyya (born 1975), Indian writer in English
• Elizabeth Bibesco (1897–1945), English writer
• Marthe Bibesco (1886–1973), Romanian writer in French
• Hester Biddle (c. 1629–1697), English Quaker pamphleteer and preacher
• Gisèle Bienne (born 1946), French novelist
• Linda Bierds (born 1945), US poet and professor
• Anna Bijns (1493–1575), Flemish humanist writing in Dutch and French
• Elisheva Bikhovski (1888–1949)
• Maeve Binchy (1939–2012), Irish novelist, playwright and columnist; Circle of Friends
• Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), German mystic, playwright and poet writing in Latin; Scivias
• Carol Birch (born 1951), English novelist
• Elizabeth Burchill (1904–2003), Australian nurse, philanthropist and author
• Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer (c. 1800–1868), German playwright and actress
• Isabella Bird (1831–1904), English traveller and writer
• Sandra Birdsell (born 1942), Canadian fiction writer
• Anne Bishop, US fantasy novelist; The Black Jewels series
• Elizabeth Bishop (1911–1979), Pulitzer Prize-winning US poet and writer
• Jacqueline Bishop (living), Jamaican writer, visual artist and photographer
• Clementina Black (1853–1922), English novelist and political writer
• Emily Lucas Blackall (1832–1892), US writer, philanthropist
• Sarah Blackborow (fl. 1650s–1660s), English Quaker writer and preacher
• Malorie Blackman (born 1962), Barbadian-born English author of fiction and drama for children and young adults; Noughts & Crosses series
• Isa Blagden (1816/1817–1873), novelist and poet in English resident in Italy
• Marie-Claire Blais (born 1939), Canadian novelist, poet, and playwright
• Susanna Blamire (1747–1794), English poet
• Neltje Blanchan (1865–1918), US nature writer; Bird Neighbors, Nature's Garden
• Clair Blank (1915–1965), US author of the Beverly Gray mystery series
• Barbara Blaugdone (c. 1609–1705), English Quaker autobiographer
• Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891), Russian theosophist, occultist and mystic
• Ann Eliza Bleecker (1752–1783), US poet and correspondent
• Karen Blixen (1885–1962), Danish writer; Out of Africa
• Francesca Lia Block (born 1962), US author; Weetzie Bat series
• Amy Bloom (born 1953), US novelist, non-fiction writer and psychotherapist
• Valerie Bloom (born 1956), Jamaican poet and novelist
• Amelia Bloomer (1818–1894), US writer, women's rights and temperance advocate
• Andrée Blouin (1921–1986), activist and writer from the Central African Republic
• Judy Blume (born 1938), US novelist; Forever, Tiger Eyes
• Enid Blyton (1897–1968), English children's writer; Famous Five series
• Margarita Bobba (fl. 1560), Italian writer and poet
• Imma von Bodmershof (1895–1982), Austrian poet
• Janka Boga (1886–1963), Hungarian writer and teacher
• Louise Bogan (1897–1970), US poet; fourth US Poet Laureate
• Graciela Bográn (1896-2000), Honduran intellectual and essayist
• Margarete Böhme (1867–1939), German novelist; Tagebuch einer Verlorenen
• Eavan Boland (born 1944), Irish poet
• Catherine of Bologna (1413–1463), Italian religious writer and saint
• Isabel Bolton (1883–1975), US novelist
• Sarah Knowles Bolton (1841–1916), US writer
• María Luisa Bombal (1910–1980), Chilean author
• Erma Bombeck (1927–1996), US humorist
• Son Bo-mi (born 1980), Korean novelist
• Annie B. Bond (born 1953), US author, editor
• Chrystelle Trump Bond (living), US dancer, choreographer and dance historian
• Cynthia Bond (born 1961), US novelist
• Mildred Amanda Baker Bonham (1840–1907), US traveler, journalist
• Tanella Boni (born 1954), Ivorian poet and novelist
• Elizabeth Anne Bonner (born 1924), US writer of fiction and poetry
• Geraldine Bonner (1870–1930), US author
• Marita Bonner (1899–1971), US writer, essayist and playwright; Harlem Renaissance
• Malika Booker (born 1970), British poet, writer and artist
• Mary Everest Boole (1832–1916), English writer
• Frances Boothby (fl. c. 1669–1670), English playwright
• Alice Borchardt (1939–2007), US writer of historical fiction, fantasy, and horror; The Silver Wolf
• Miriam Borgenicht (1915−1992), US writer of mystery novels
• Marianne Boruch (born 1950), US poet and professor
• Anne Lynch Botta (1815–1891), US poet, writer, teacher and socialite
• Phyllis Bottome (1884–1963), British fiction writer; The Mortal Storm, Danger Signal
• Jane Bowdler (1743–1784), English poet and essayist
• Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973), Anglo-Irish fiction writer; The Death of the Heart, The Heat of the Day
• Mary Bowes (1749–1800), English playwright and botanist
• Jane Bowles (1917–1973), US writer and playwright; Two Serious Ladies
• Karin Boye (1900–1941), Swedish poet and novelist
• Kay Boyle (1902–1992), US writer, educator and political activist
• Leigh Brackett (1915–1978), US science fiction author; The Starmen, People of the Talisman
• Paula Brackston (living), English historical fiction novelist; The Witch's Daughter
• Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1837–1915), English novelist; Lady Audley's Secret
• Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930–1999), US fantasy and science fiction writer; The Door Through Space, The Firebrand
• Anne Bradstreet (1612–1672), US poet and writer
• Anne Bragance (born 1945), French writer
• Oyinkan Braithwaite (born 1988), Nigerian-UK novelist
• Shannon Bramer (born 1973), Canadian poet
• Dionne Brand (born 1953), Canadian poet, novelist and essayist
• Hannah Brand (1754–1821), English actress and playwright
• Giannina Braschi (born 1953), Puerto Rican writer; Empire of Dreams
• Ann Brashares (born 1967), author of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series
• Lily Braun (1865–1916), German feminist writer
• Anna Eliza Bray (1790–1883), English novelist
• Libba Bray (born 1964), US young-adult novelist; The Sweet Far Thing
• Angela Brazil (1868–1947), British writer
• Jean "Binta" Breeze (born 1956), Jamaican dub poet and storyteller
• Fredrika Bremer (1801–1865), Swedish writer and feminist activist
• Sophia Elisabet Brenner (1659–1730), Swedish writer, poet, feminist and salon hostess
• Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond (living), US-Ghanaian writer of novels, short stories and poetry
• Martha Wadsworth Brewster (1710–c. 1757), US poet and writer; first US-born woman to publish under own name
• Melitta Breznik (born 1961), Austrian-born writer of short stories
• London Bridgez (born 1982), US poet, writer
• Patricia Briggs (born 1965), US fantasy writer
• Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright (1859–1945), "New Woman" writer and feminist
• Vera Brittain (1893–1970), English writer, feminist and pacifist; Testament of Youth
• Dragana Kršenković Brković (living), Montenegrin writer
• Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić (1874–1938), Croatian children's writer; Croatian Tales of Long Ago, The Marvelous Adventures and Misadventures of Hlapić the Apprentice
• Chris Broadribb (living), Australian fiction writer
• Erna Brodber (born 1940), Jamaican novelist and sociologist
• Anne Brontë (1820–1849), English novelist and poet; The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
• Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855), English novelist and poet; Jane Eyre
• Emily Brontë (1818–1848), English novelist and poet; Wuthering Heights
• Emma Brooke (1844–1926), "New Woman" novelist
• Frances Brooke (1723–1789), English novelist, essayist and playwright
• Anita Brookner (1928–2016), English novelist and art historian; 1984 Booker Prize for Hotel du Lac
• Geraldine Brooks (born 1955), Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March
• Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000), US poet and author; Annie Allen
• Nicole Brossard (born 1943), French Canadian formalist poet and novelist
• Alice Williams Brotherton (1848–1930), US poet, magazine writer
• Rhoda Broughton (1840–1920), English novelist
• Olga Broumas (born 1949), Greek poet living in US
• Cindy Lynn Brown (born 1973), poet
• Lily Brown (born 1981), poet, author
• Helen Gurley Brown (1922–2012), US author, publisher and businesswoman
• Margaret Wise Brown (1910–1952), US children's author; Goodnight Moon
• Pat Brown (born 1955), true-crime author, criminal profiler
• Rebecca Brown (born 1956), US author
• Rita Mae Brown (born 1944), US novelist, poet and screenwriter; Rubyfruit Jungle
• Frances Browne (1816–1887), Irish poet and novelist
• Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861), English poet; Aurora Leigh
• Andrée Brunin (1937–1993), French poet
• Giuliana Bruno, author of The Guardian best book of 2003
• Marianne Bruns (1897–1994), German novelist and poet
• Mary Brunton (1778–1818), Scottish novelist
• Tanja Bruske (born 1978), German writer and journalist
• Colette Bryce (born 1970), poet from Northern Ireland
• Bryher (also Annie Winifred Ellerman, 1894–1983), English novelist, poet, memoirist and editor
• Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973), US fiction writer, biographer and humanitarian; 1938 Nobel Prize in Literature The Good Earth
• Maria Elizabeth Budden (c. 1780–1832), English novelist, translator and children's writer
• Andrea Hollander Budy (born 1947), US poet
• Aminta Buenaño (born 1958), Ecuadorian writer and politician
• Kanstantsia Builo (1893–1986), Belarusian poet and playwright
• NoViolet Bulawayo (born 1981), Zimbabwean fiction writer; We Need New Names
• Anna Bülow (died 1519), Swedish writer, translator and abbess
• Anna Bunina (1774–1829), Russian poet
• Erika Burkart (1922–2010), Swiss poet and writer
• Bonnie Burnard (1945–2017), Canadian novelist; A Good House
• Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924), English playwright and children's writer; The Secret Garden
• Frances Burney (1776–1828), English author of closet drama
• Frances Burney (1752–1840), English novelist, diarist and playwright; Evelina
• Sarah Burney (1772–1844), English novelist
• Clara Louise Burnham (1854–1827), US novelist
• Anna Burns (born 1962), Northern Irish novelist
• Deborah Burrows (born 1959), Australian novelist
• Mary Towne Burt (1842–1898), US temperance reformer, publisher and benefactor
• Margaret Busby (born 1944), Ghanaian publisher, journalist and dramatist; Daughters of Africa
• Olivia Ward Bush (1869–1944), US author, poet and journalist
• Abena Busia (born 1953), Ghanaian poet and academic
• Akosua Busia (born 1966), Ghanaian actress, novelist and screenwriter
• Christine Busta (1915–1987), Austrian poet
• Sharon Butala (born 1940), Canadian novelist
• Amy Butcher (living), US essayist and writer
• Octavia Butler (1947–2006), US science fiction writer; Patternist series, Lilith's Brood
• Susan Bulkeley Butler, US motivational author
• Miriam Butterworth (1918–2019) US pacifist, teacher and politician
• Mary Butts (1890–1937), English modernist writer
• A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English novelist and poet; 1990 Booker Prize; Possession: A Romance
• Kim Byeol-ah (born 1969), Korean author
• Sarah Shun-lien Bynum (born 1972), US novelist, short story writer, and anthologist

C

• Meg Cabot (born 1967), US author; The Princess Diaries
• Caroline Caddy (born 1944), Australian poet
• Florence Caddy (1837–1923), English writer
• Elizabeth Cadell (1903–1989), British writer raised in India
• Mona Caird (c. 1854–1932), Scottish novelist and essayist
• Graciela Rincón Calcaño (1904–1987), Venezuelan writer and poet
• Taylor Caldwell (1900–1985), Anglo-US novelist
• Hortense Calisher (1911–2009), US writer
• Maria Callcott (1785–1842), English author of children's books and travel writings
• June Callwood (1924–2007), Canadian journalist, author and social activist
• Paola Calvetti (born 1948), Italian novelist, journalist
• Bebe Moore Campbell (1950–2006), US novelist
• Bonnie Jo Campbell (born 1962), US novelist and short-story writer
• Hazel Campbell (1940–2018), Jamaican writer of short stories and children's books
• Marion May Campbell (born 1948), Australian novelist and academic
• Lorea Canales (living), Mexican writer, journalist, translator
• Dorothy Canfield (1879–1958), US author; Understood Betsy
• May Wedderburn Cannan (1893–1973), English poet
• Minna Canth (1844–1897), Finnish writer and social activist
• Ludmilla Lacueva Canut (born 1971), Andorran fiction and non-fiction writer
• Lan Cao (born 1961), Vietnamese-US writer; Monkey Bridge
• Jacqueline Carey (born 1964), US fantasy novelist; Kushiel's Legacy
• Rosa Nouchette Carey (1840–1909), English novelist and children's writer
• Leonora Carrington (born 1917), British-born Mexican artist, surrealist painter and novelist
• Rachel Carson (1907–1964), US marine biologist, conservationist and author; Silent Spring
• Catherine Carswell (1879–1946), Scottish writer
• Teresa de Cartagena (born c. 1425), Spanish religious writer
• Angela Carter (1940–1992), English novelist and journalist; Nights at the Circus
• Anne Laurel Carter (born 1953), Canadian novelist
• Elizabeth Carter (1717–1806), English poet, writer and Bluestocking
• Caroline Carver (born 1959), English-Australian novelist
• Lisa Crystal Carver (born 1968), US writer
• Alice Cary (1820–1871), US poet, sister of Phoebe Cary
• Elizabeth Cary (1585–1639), English playwright; The Tragedy of Mariam
• Phoebe Cary (1824–1871), US poet, sister of Alice Cary
• Adelaide Casely-Hayford (1868–1960), Sierra Leonean short story writer and educator
• Gladys May Casely-Hayford (1901–1950), Sierra Leonean poet
• Kathryn Casey (living), US true crime author, novelist and journalist
• Deirdre Cash (1924–1963, Criena Rohan), Australian novelist
• Kristin Cashore (born 1976), US fantasy author; Graceling
• P. C. Cast (born 1960), US author; House of Night
• Rosario Castellanos (1925–1974), Mexican poet and author
• Almucs de Castelnau (c. 1140–pre–1184), French poet writing in Occitan
• Ana Castillo (born 1953), Mexican-US fiction writer, poet and essayist
• Elisabeth Castonier (1894–1975), German-born children's writer and journalist in German and English
• Rosalía de Castro (1837–1885), Galician writer and poet
• Willa Cather (1873–1947), Pulitzer Prize-winning US author; My Ántonia, O Pioneers!
• Eleanor Catton (born 1985), Canadian-New Zealand novelist; 2013 Man Booker Prize; The Luminaries
• Jane Cavendish (1620/1621–1669), English poet and playwright
• Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673), English poet, playwright and fiction writer; The Blazing World
• Susannah Centlivre (1667–1723), English playwright and poet
• Laura Cereta (1469–1499), Italian humanist
• Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951–1982), US novelist and artist; Dictee
• Françoise Chandernagor (born 1945), French novelist and playwright
• Elizabeth Margaret Chandler (1807–1834), US poet and writer; first US woman writer to concentrate on abolition of slavery
• Diana Chang (born 1934), Chinese US novelist and poet
• Jung Chang (born 1952), Chinese-English author; Wild Swans
• Hester Chapone (1727–1801), English writer and Bluestocking
• Charlotte Charke (1713–1760), English playwright, novelist and autobiographer
• Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine (in German: Liselotte von der Pfalz, 1652–1722), German correspondent
• Isabelle de Charrière (1740–1805), Dutch novelist writing in French
• Lidia Charskaya (1875–1938), popular Russian novelist
• Noëlle Châtelet (born 1944), French essayist, novelist and story writer
• Georgiana Chatterton (1806–1876), English author and traveler
• Beth Chatto (1923–2018), English garden writer
• Subhadra Kumari Chauhan (1904–1948), Indian poet known for Hindi songs
• Daína Chaviano (born 1960), Cuban writer; The Island of Eternal Love
• Mavis Cheek (born c. 1948), English novelist
• Nora Chegodayeva (1905–1971), Soviet interpreter and translator
• Ying Chen (born 1961), Chinese Canadian author
• Kelly Cherry (born 1940), US, novelist, poet and essayist
• C. J. Cherryh (born 1942), US sci-fi and fantasy author; Downbelow Station
• Tracy Chevalier (born 1962), US-English novelist; Girl with a Pearl Earring
• Helmina von Chézy (1783–1856), German poet, playwright and librettist
• Sagawa Chika (1911–1936), Japanese avant-garde poet
• Lydia Maria Child (1802–1880), US poet, novelist and journalist; Over the River and Through the Woods
• Alice Childress (1916–1994), African-US playwright and novelist
• Mei Chin (born 1977), US writer and food critic
• Paulina Chiziane (born 1955), Mozambiquean fiction writer
• Joanna Chmielewska (born 1932), Polish writer
• Sonia Chocrón (born 1961), Venezuelan poet, novelist and playwright
• Pema Chödrön (born 1936), US Buddhist author
• Susan Choi (born 1969), US novelist and editor
• Mary Cholmondeley (1859–1925), English novelist
• Lathóg of Tír Chonaill (fl. 9th century), Irish poet
• Denise Chong (born 1953), Canadian memoirist, editor and non-fiction author
• Kate Chopin (1851–1904), US fiction writer; The Awakening
• Helene Christaller (1872–1953), German children's novelist
• Kate Christensen (born 1962), US novelist; In The Drink, Jeremy Thrane, The Great Man
• Agatha Christie (1890–1976), British crime writer; The Mousetrap, And Then There Were None
• Chrystos (born 1946), Menominee rights activist and poet
• Lady Mary Chudleigh (1656–1710), English poet, essayist and writer; The Ladies' Defence
• Ismat Chughtai (1915–1991), Indian Urdu writer
• Lydia Chukovskaya (1907–1996), Soviet-Russian writer; Sofia Petrovna
• Caryl Churchill (born 1938), English playwright; A Mouthful of Birds
• Sandra Cisneros (born 1954), US fiction writer; The House on Mango Street, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories
• Gabrielle Civil (living), US performance artist, poet, and educator
• Hélène Cixous (born 1937), Algerian-born French poet, playwright and philosopher
• Paula Clamp (born 1967), British novelist, playwright
• Amy Clampitt (1920–1994), US poet and author
• Cassandra Clare (born 1973), US young-adult fiction writer
• Sue Cassidy Clark, US music journalist and photographer
• Joan Clark (born 1934), Canadian novelist
• Margaret Clark (born 1964), US historian, writer, and educator
• Maxine Beneba Clarke (living), Australian writer
• Mary Higgins Clark (born 1927), US suspense novelist; A Stranger is Watching
• Amy Key Clarke (1892–1980), English mystical poet, author and teacher
• Anna Clarke (1919–2004), English mystery writer
• Gillian Clarke (born 1937), Welsh poet, playwright and broadcaster
• Mrs. Henry Clarke (1853–1908), English historical novelist and children's writer
• Mary H. Gray Clarke (1835–1992), US author, correspondent and poet
• Susanna Clarke (born 1959), English novelist; Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
• Margareta Clausdotter (died 1486), Swedish writer and abbess
• Beverly Cleary (born 1916), US author; The Mouse and the Motorcycle
• Kate McPhelim Cleary (1863–1905), US novelist and story writer
• Joceline Clemencia (1952–2011), Afro-Curaçaoan writer and linguist
• Cleobulina (fl. c. 550 BC), Greek poet
• Claude Catherine de Clermont (1543–1603), French scholar and courtier
• Michelle Cliff (born 1946), Jamaican-US author; No Telephone to Heaven
• Lucille Clifton (1936–2010), US poet, writer and educator
• Gloria Griffen Cline (1929–1973), US historian
• Caroline Clive (1801–1872), English poet and novelist
• Catherine Clive (Kitty, 1711–1785), English actress and dramatist
• Ella Maria Dietz Clymer (1847–1920), US actress, poet
• Lynn Coady (born 1970), Canadian novelist, short story writer and journalist
• Wendy Coakley-Thompson (born 1966), US novelist; What You Won't Do for Love
• Florence Earle Coates (1850–1927), US poet
• Frances Power Cobbe (1822–1904), Irish writer and suffragist
• Alice Rollit Coe (1858–1940), Canadian-US author
• Gabrielle de Coignard (1550–1586), French poet
• Virginia Coigney (1917–1997), civic leader, journalist and author
• Allison Hedge Coke (born 1958), US poet and writer
• Frona Eunice Wait Colburn (1859–1946), US journalist and fiction writer
• H. Maria George Colby (1844–1910), US journalist, temperance worker and suffragist
• Emma Shaw Colcleugh (1846–1940), US journalist, lecturer and traveler
• Lois Dwight Cole (1903–1979), US editor and children's author
• Norma Cole (born 1945), US poet, visual artist, and translator
• Wanda Coleman (born 1946), US poet
• Christabel Rose Coleridge (1843–1921), English novelist and editor
• Mary Elizabeth Coleridge (1861–1907), English novelist and poet
• Sara Coleridge (1802–1852), English writer and translator
• Colette (1873–1954), French novelist; Gigi
• Camilla Collett (1813–1895), Norwegian novelist, literary critic and essayist
• Ada Langworthy Collier (1843–1919), US poet, writer
• Jennie Collins (1828–1887), US activist and author
• Mabel Collins (1851–1927), English theosophist
• Merle Collins (born 1950), Grenadian poet and short story writer
• Suzanne Collins (born 1962), US novelist; The Hunger Games
• Vittoria Colonna (1490–1547), Italian poet and marchioness
• Mary Colum (1884–1957), Irish literary critic and author
• Anne Compton (born 1947), Canadian poet, critic, and anthologist
• Ivy Compton-Burnett (1884–1969), English novelist; Pastors and Masters
• Maryse Condé (born 1937), Guadeloupean novelist
• Helen Gray Cone (1859–1934), poet and professor
• Jane Elizabeth Dexter Conklin (born 1831), US poet, journalist and religious writer
• Eliza Archard Conner (1838–1912), US journalist, lecturer and feminist
• Elizabeth Marney Conner (born 1856), US drama reader, educator and author
• Ana Conta-Kernbach (1865–1921), Romanian educationist, journalist and literary writer
• Selma Cook (born 1961), editor
• Eliza Cook (1818–1889), English poet
• Marvel Cooke (1903–2000), US journalist and writer
• Elizabeth Cook-Lynn (born 1930), Crow Creek Lakota Sioux poet, novelist and academic; Wíčazo Ša Review
• Ina Coolbrith (born Josephine Anna Smith, 1841–1928), first poet laureate of California
• Deborah Coonts (living), US romance, mystery and humor novelist, and lawyer
• Carolyn Cooper (born 1950), Jamaican author and literary scholar
• J. California Cooper (1931–2014), African-US playwright and fiction writer
• Wendy Cope (born 1945), English poet
• Esther Copley (1786–1851), English religious and children's writer
• Marguerite Coppin (1867–1931), Poet Laureate of Belgium
• Marie Corelli (1855–1924), English novelist
• Corinna (Κόριννα, 6th century BC), Greek poet
• Cornificia (c. 85–c. 40 BC), Roman poet and writer of epigrams
• Caroline Cornwallis (1786–1858), English writer on education, philosophy and science
• Jane Cornwallis (1581–1659), English letter writer
• Anita Cornwell (born 1923), US author
• Patricia Cornwell (born 1956), US crime writer; Body of Evidence
• Cecilia K Corrigan (born 1987), US poet, writer
• Sarah Cortez (living), Latina poet, editor and essayist
• Jayne Cortez (born 1936), US poet and performance artist
• Lola Costa (1903–2004), English painter, writer and poet
• Sophie Ristaud Cottin (1770–1807), French novelist
• Violet May Cottrell (1887–1971), New Zealand writer, poet and spiritualist
• Hedwig Courths-Mahler (1867–1950), German novelist
• Arlette Cousture (born 1948), Canadian writer
• Dani Couture (born 1978), Canadian poet and novelist
• Hannah Cowley (1743–1809), English playwright and poet
• Mary Lynde Craig (living), US writer, teacher and activist
• Dinah Mulock Craik (1826–1887), English novelist; John Halifax, Gentleman
• Helen Craik (1751–1825), Scottish novelist
• Margaret Craven (1901–1980), US novelist; I Heard the Owl Call My Name
• Isabella Valancy Crawford (1850–1887), Canadian poet
• Susan P. Crawford (born 1963), US professor of law
• Hélisenne de Crenne (1510–1552), French novelist, epistolary writer and translator
• Ann Batten Cristall (1769–1848), English poet
• Bithia Mary Croker (1849–1920), Irish-born Anglo-Indian writer
• M. T. C. Cronin (born 1963), Australian writer
• Camilla Dufour Crosland (1812–1895), English writer and poet
• Elsa Cross (born 1946), Mexican poet and essayist
• Karen Crouse (living), American journalist and author
• Catherine Crowe (1800–1876), English dramatist, novelist and author of children's books
• Helen Cruickshank (1886–1975), Scottish poet writing in Braid Scots and English
• Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651–1695), Mexican poet and playwright
• Meta Davis Cumberbatch (1900–1978), Trinidad-born poet, playwright and cultural activist
• Maria Susanna Cummins (1827–1866), US novelist; The Lamplighter
• Lady Margaret Cunningham (died c. 1622), Scottish memoirist and correspondent
• Pat Cumper (born 1954), British playwright
• Dymphna Cusack (1902–1981), Australian author; Come In Spinner
• Rachel Cusk (born 1967), Canadian-born novelist
• Catherine Cuthbertson (c. 1775–1842), English novelist
• Ptolemais of Cyrene (3rd century BC or later), Greek writer on music
• Julie E. Czerneda (born 1955), Canadian sci-fi and fantasy author

D

• Maria Dąbrowska (1889–1965), Polish writer
• Anne Dacier (1645–1720), French scholar and classical translator
• Nino Dadeshkeliani (1890–1931), Georgian writer, politician
• Yrsa Daley-Ward (born 1989), British poet
• Ann Dally (1929–2007), English author and psychiatrist
• Jordan Dane (born 1953), US thriller writer
• Tsitsi Dangarembga (born 1959), Zimbabwean author and filmmaker; Nervous Conditions
• Cora Linn Daniels (born 1852), US author
• Mabel Dove Danquah (1910–1984), Ghanaian short story writer and journalist
• Meri Nana-Ama Danquah (born 1967), Ghanaian-US writer, editor, journalist and public speaker
• Edwidge Danticat (born 1969), Haitian-US novelist; Breath, Eyes, Memory
• Xie Daoyun (pre-340 AD – post-399), Chinese poet
• Amma Darko (born 1956), Ghanaian novelist
• Tina Darragh (born 1950), US language poet
• Marie Darrieussecq (born 1969), French-Basque novelist
• Cecilia Dart-Thornton (living), Australian fantasy fiction writer; Bitterbynde trilogy
• Helen Darville (Helen Dale, Helen Demidenko; born 1972), Australian journalist and novelist
• Kamala Das (1932–2009), poet and short story writer
• Marcia Davenport (1903–1996), US novelist, biographer and memoirist; The Valley of Decision
• Selina Davenport (1779–1859), English novelist who wrote about and for women
• Henriette Davidis (1801–1876), German cookbook writer
• Alexandra David-Néel (1868–1969), French traveller, writer, and Buddhist
• Joy Davidman (born Helen Joy Davidman, 1915–1960), writer and poet
• Nadia Davids (born 1977), South African writer and playwright
• Angela Davis (born 1944), US philosopher and political activist
• Dorothy Salisbury Davis (born 1916), US mystery novelist
• Kyra Davis (born 1972), US novelist
• Lydia Davis (born 1947), US "flash fiction" writer and essayist
• Rebecca Harding Davis (1831–1910), US journalist and novelist; Life in the Iron Mills
• Mary Davys (1674–1732), Irish novelist and playwright
• Elizabeth Dawbarn (died 1839), English writer on religion and child care
• Pieretta Dawn (born 1994), author
• Laura Day (born 1959), US writer of self-help books
• Shobhaa De (born 1947), Indian journalist and novelist; Starry Nights
• Pamela Dean (born 1953), US novelist; Tam Lin
• Kathryn Deans (living), Australian children's fantasy author
• Charlotte Burgis DeForest (1879–1973), US writer
• Ellen DeGeneres (born 1958), US writer, comedian and television host
• E. M. Delafield (1890–1943), English novelist and memoirist
• Lucy Delaney (c. 1830–c. 1890), US memoirist
• Mary Delany (1700–1788), English letter-writer and Bluestocking
• Lucie Delarue-Mardrus (1874–1945), French poet, novelist and journalist
• Grazia Deledda (1871–1936), Italian novelist and poet; 1926 Nobel Prize for Literature
• Yanette Delétang-Tardif (1902–1976), French poet, translator and novelist
• Ella Cara Deloria (1888–1971), US ethnographer, Sioux oral historian and novelist
• Nicole Dennis-Benn (born 1982), Jamaican novelist and story writer
• Enid Derham (1882–1941), Australian poet
• Regina Derieva (1949–2013), Russian poet and writer
• Anita Desai (born 1937), Indian novelist; In Custody
• Kiran Desai (born 1971), Indian novelist; 2006 Booker Prize; The Inheritance of Loss
• Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (1786–1859), French poet
• Anne Desclos (writing as Dominique Aury and Pauline Réage, 1907–1998), French journalist and novelist
• Antoinette du Ligier de la Garde Deshoulières (1638–1694), French poet
• Virginie Despentes (born 1969), French novelist
• Babette Deutsch (1895–1982), US poet, critic, translator, and novelist
• Mary Deverell (1731–1805), English religious writer and poet
• Ashapoorna Devi (1909–1995), Bengali novelist and poet
• Mahasweta Devi (born 1926), Bengali-Indian journalist and novelist
• Caroline Dexter (1819–1884), English-Australian feminist journalist
• Dhuoda (c. 803–c. 843), Frankish moralist writing in Latin; Liber Manualis
• Anita Diamant (born 1951), US novelist and non-fiction writer; The Red Tent
• Olga Xirinacs Díaz (born 1936), writer and piano teacher
• Kate DiCamillo (born 1964), US children's author
• Emily Dickinson (1830–1886), US poet
• Susan E. Dickinson (1842–1915), Civil War correspondent
• Joan Didion (born 1934), US journalist, essayist and novelist
• Alice Mangold Diehl (1844–1912), English novelist and musician
• Florence Carpenter Dieudonné (1850–1927), pioneer of US speculative fiction
• Annie Le Porte Diggs (1853–1916), Canadian poet, author and newspaperwoman
• Annie Dillard (born 1945), US nonfiction writer, poet, essayist and novelist; Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
• Constance Dima (born 1948), Greek writer, poet and translator
• Blaga Dimitrova (1922–2003), Bulgarian poet and Vice President of Bulgaria
• Isak Dinesen (1885–1962), Danish novelist; Out of Africa
• Kelly DiPucchio (born 1967), children's author
• Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (born 1956), Indian-US poet and fiction writer; Mistress of Spices
• Lady Florence Dixie (1855–1905), Scottish feminist travel writer, war correspondent and novelist
• Assia Djebar (1936–2015), Algerian novelist, translator and filmmaker
• Valentina Dmitryeva (1859–1947), Russian-Soviet writer; Hveska, the Doctor's Watchman
• Rosemary Dobson (1920–2012), Australian poet
• Anna Bowman Dodd (1858–1929), US author
• Mary Mapes Dodge (1831–1905), US children's writer; Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates
• Harriet Doerr (1910–2002), US novelist; Stones for Ibarra
• Mary Crow Dog (born 1953), Native US writer and activist; Lakota Woman
• Berlie Doherty (born 1943), English novelist, poet, playwright, screenwriter and children's writer
• Dorcas Dole (fl. later 17th century), English Quaker pamphleteer for adults and children
• Emma Dolujanoff (1922–2013), Mexican writer
• Hilde Domin (1909–2006), German poet
• Emma Donoghue (born 1969), Irish-Canadian novelist; Hood
• Robyn Doolittle (born 1984), Canadian journalist; Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story
• Mathilda d'Orozco (also Mathilda Montgomery-Cederhjelm; 1796–1863), Swedish (originally Spanish-Italian) salonist, poet and writer
• Doris Dörrie (born 1955), German novelist and film director
• Lyubov Dostoyevskaya (1869–1926), Russian writer;The Emigrant
• Sarah Doudney (1841–1926), English children's writer and poet
• Ellen Douglas (1921–2012), US novelist, short story and non-fiction writer
• O. Douglas, pen name of Anna Buchan (1877–1948), Scottish novelist
• Sara Douglass (Sara Warneke, 1957–2011), Australian fantasy novelist; the Axis trilogy
• Maro Douka (born 1947), Greek novelist
• Rita Dove (born 1952), US poet; 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry; Thomas and Beulah
• Unity Dow (born 1959), Botswanan human rights activist and novelist
• Mary Frances Dowdall (1876–1939), English novelist and non-fiction writer
• Margaret Drabble (born 1939), English novelist and biographer; The Millstone
• Judith Drake (late 17th century), English feminist essayist
• Augusta Theodosia Drane (1823–1894), English religious writer and biographer
• Ingeborg Drewitz (1923–1986), German playwright and novelist
• Celia Dropkin (1887–1956), Berorussian-US Yiddish-language poet
• Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1797–1848), German poet
• Ree Drummond (born 1969)
• Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955), Scottish poet and playwright; first female and first Scottish Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom
• Marilyn Dumont (born 1955), First Nations Canadian poet
• Sarah Dunant (born 1950), English genre novelist; The Birth of Venus
• Lois Duncan (1934–2016), US young adult thriller writer; I Know What You Did Last Summer
• Elaine Dundy (1931–2008), US journalist, novelist and biographer
• Camille Dungy (born 1972), US poet and professor
• Clare B. Dunkle (born 1964), US children's fantasy author and librarian
• Katherine Dunn (1945–2016), US novelist, journalist, and poet; Geek Love
• Rachel Blau DuPlessis (born 1941), US poet, essayist and feminist scholar
• Mary Durack (1913–1994), Australian historical novelist and children's writer
• Claire de Duras (1777–1828), French novelist; Ourika
• Marguerite Duras (Marguerite Donnadieu, 1914–1996), French novelist, playwright and screenwriter; L'Amant
• Marie Dušková (1903–1968), Czech poet
• Karen Duve (born 1961), German novelist and story writer
• Mona Van Duyn (1921–2004), US poet; 36th US Poet Laureate
• Guerguina Dvoretzka (living), Bulgarian poet and journalist

E

• Huang E (also Huang Xiumei; 1498–1569), Chinese poet of the Ming dynasty
• Beverley East (born 1953), Jamaican writer
• Edith Maude Eaton (also Sui Sin Far; 1865–1914), Chinese-English-Canadian novelist
• Winnifred Eaton (also Watanna Onoto; 1875–1954), Chinese-English-Canadian-US fiction writer
• Françoise d'Eaubonne (1920–2005), French feminist essayist and science fiction novelist; ecofeminism
• Margareta Ebner (1291–1351), German diarist and mystic
• Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916), Austrian novelist
• Charlotte O'Conor Eccles (1860–1911), Irish novelist and translator
• Nydia Ecury (1926–2012), Aruban-Curaçaoan poet and translator
• Leigh Eddings (1939–2007), US fantasy novelist
• Inger Edelfeldt (born 1956), Swedish fiction writer, children's writer and illustrator
• Aida Edemariam (living), Ethiopian-Canadian journalist and memoirist
• Emily Eden (1797–1869), English novelist and poet
• Zee Edgell (born 1940), Belizean novelist; Beka Lamb
• Maria Edgeworth (1767–1849), English-born Irish novelist; Castle Rackrent
• Esi Edugyan (born 1978), Canadian novelist and writer; Half-Blood Blues
• Summer Edward (born 1986), Trinidadian writer, children's editor and literary activist
• Amelia Edwards (1831–1892), English fiction writer and poet
• Yvvette Edwards (living), British novelist
• Françoise Ega (1920–1976), Martinican novelist
• Jennifer Egan (born 1962); US fiction writer; 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; A Visit from the Goon Squad
• Egeria (Aetheria) (fl. AD 381–384), Gallic pilgrim and correspondent writing in Latin
• Alicia Eguren (1924–1977), Argentine poet, essayist and journalist
• Barbara Ehrenreich (born 1941), US feminist, socialist and political activist
• Marianne Ehrenström (1773–1867), Swedish writer
• Paula Einöder (born 1974), Uruguayan poet, writer
• Kerstin Ekman (born 1933), Swedish novelist, detective story writer
• Margareta Ekström (born 1930), Swedish poet, novelist and children's writer
• Elaine Eksvärd (born 1981), Swedish non-fiction writer
• Nana Ekvtimishvili (born 1978), Georgian writer and film director
• Roza Eldarova (born 1923), Soviet writer and politician writing in Russian
• Elephantis (fl. late 1st century BC), Greek erotic poet
• Safia Elhillo (born 1990), Sudanese-US poet
• George Eliot (born Marian Evans, 1819–1880), English novelist and poet; Middlemarch
• Elizabeth F. Ellet (1818–1877), US writer, historian and poet
• Bina Sarkar Ellias (born 1949), Indian poet, writer, editor
• Anne Elliot (1856–1941), English novelist
• Nawal el-Saadawi (born 1931), Egyptian feminist and fiction writer
• Elizabeth Elstob (1683–1756), English feminist scholar and translator
• Diamela Eltit (born 1949), Chilean novelist
• Lynn Emanuel (born 1949), US poet
• Buchi Emecheta (1944–2017), Nigerian novelist; The Bride Price
• Claudia Emerson (1957–2014), US poet and academic; 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Ellen Russell Emerson (1837–1907), US author, ethnologist
• Akazome Emon (956–1041), Japanese poet and historian
• Carol Emshwiller (born 1921), US fiction writer
• Marian Engel (1933–1985), Canadian novelist
• Dorothe Engelbretsdatter (1634–1716), Norwegian poet and hymn writer
• Isobel English (1920–1994), English novelist; Every Eye
• Françoise Enguehard (born 1957), French-Canadian journalist and novelist
• Enheduanna (2285–2250 BCE), Sumerian royal priestess and poet
• Anne Enright (born 1962), Irish fiction writer and essayist; 2007 Booker Prize; The Gathering
• Nora Ephron (1941–2012), US film director, producer, screenwriter and novelist
• Pamphile of Epidaurus (1st century AD), Greek historian
• Muzi Epifani (1935–1984), Italian novelist, poet, playwright, columnist
• Leyla Erbil (1931–2013), Turkish writer
• Louise Erdrich (born 1954), US novelist, poet and children's writer
• Helena Eriksson (born 1962), Swedish expressionist poet
• Erinna (Ἤριννα, fl. c. 600 BC), Greek poet
• Anastasia Eristavi-Khoshtaria (1868–1951), Georgian novelist
• Annie Ernaux (born 1940), French novelist and autobiographer
• Maria Ernestam (born 1959), Swedish journalist and novelist
• Jenny Erpenbeck (born 1967), German novelist
• Nataly von Eschstruth (1860–1939), German novelist
• Edith Escombe (1866–1950), English fiction writer and essayist
• Erminda Rentoul Esler (c.1852–1924), Irish fiction writer
• Florbela Espanca (1894–1930), Portuguese poet
• Teresa Espasa (living), Spanish Valencian poet, essayist and professor
• Kristin Espinasse (born 1968), author
• Laura Esquivel (born 1950), Mexican novelist; Like Water for Chocolate
• Eleanor Estes (1906–1988), US children's writer; The Moffats, Ginger Pye
• Clarissa Pinkola Estés (born 1945), US poet
• Parvin E'tesami (1907–1941), Persian poet of Iran
• Aelia Eudocia (c. 401–460), Byzantine religious writer in Greek
• Jang Eun-jin (born 1976), Korean author
• Lolita Euson (1914–1994), St. Eustatian and Arubian poet
• Janet Evanovich (born 1943), US novelist; Stephanie Plum series
• Anne Evans (1820–1870), English poet and composer
• Augusta Jane Evans (1835–1909), US novelist
• Diana Omo Evans (born c. 1971), British novelist, journalist and critic
• Mari Evans (born 1923), US poet, playwright and children's writer
• Matilda Jane Evans (Maud Jean Franc, 1827–1886), Australian novelist
• Lizzie P. Evans-Hansell (born 1836), US fiction writer
• Bernardine Evaristo (living), English writer
• Maria Louise Eve (born 1848), US poet
• Emma Pike Ewing (1838–1917), US educator, author
• Juliana Horatia Ewing (1841–1885), English children's writer
• Leonora Eyles (1889–1960), English feminist writer and novelist

F

• Mary Fabilli (1914–2011), US poet and illustrator
• Diane Fahey (born 1945), Australian poet
• Aminata Sow Fall (born 1941), Senegalese novelist
• Amber Fallon, horror writer
• Katie Fallon (born 1976), essayist and non-fiction writer
• Diane Fanning (living), US true crime author and novelist
• Ann, Lady Fanshawe (1625–1680), English memoirist
• Catherine Maria Fanshawe (1765–1834), English poet
• Ursula Fanthorpe (1929–2009), English poet
• Nancy Farmer (born 1941), US young adult and children's novelist; The Ear, the Eye and the Arm
• Penelope Farmer (born 1939), English children's novelist; Charlotte Sometimes
• Forough Farrokhzad (1935–1967), Iranian poet and film director
• Margaretta Faugères (1771–1801), US poet
• Gertrude Minnie Faulding (1875–1961), English novelist and children's writer
• Jesse Redmon Fauset (1882–1961), US poet, essayist and novelist; Plum Bun
• Madame de La Fayette (1634–1693), French novelist; La Princesse de Clèves
• Astrid Stampe Feddersen (1852–1930), Danish women's rights activist and feminist writer
• Etta Federn (1883–1951), Austrian anarcho-feminist writer and translator from many languages
• Leslie Feinberg (1949–2014), US transgender activist and writer; Stone Butch Blues
• Elaine Feinstein (born 1930), English poet, novelist and translator of Russian poetry
• Else Feldmann (1884–1942), Austrian playwright, poet and novelist
• Stéphanie Félicité, comtesse de Genlis (Madame de Genlis; 1746–1830), French novelist, playwright and children's writer
• Zuo Fen (c. 255–300), Chinese poet
• Edna Ferber (1885–1968), US novelist and playwright; Show Boat
• Charlene "Charlie" Fern (born 1968), US speechwriter to Laura Bush
• Fanny Fern (1811–1872), US columnist, humorist, novelist, and children's writer; Ruth Hall
• Roberta Fernández (living), US novelist, scholar, critic and arts advocate
• Chitra Fernando (1935–1998), Sri Lankan children's writer and lecturer on linguistics
• Elena Ferrante (born 1943), Italian novelist; Neapolitan Novels series
• Rosario Ferré (1938–2016), US novelist, poet and biographer
• Julia Ferrer (1925–1995), Peruvian poet and writer
• Susan Edmonstoune Ferrier (1782–1854), Scottish novelist
• Maria Fetherstonhaugh (1847–1918), English novelist
• Tina Fey (born 1970), US screenwriter, actress and autobiographer; Bossypants
• Rachel Field (1894–1942), US novelist, poet and children's writer; Hitty, Her First Hundred Years
• Helen Fielding (born 1958), English novelist; Bridget Jones's Diary
• Sarah Fielding (1710–1768), English novelist
• Jennie Fields (born 1953), US novelist
• Celia Fiennes (1662–1741), English travel writer
• Sia Figiel (born 1967), Samoan poet and novelist
• Adelaide Filleul (1761–1836), French novelist
• Anne Finch (Countess of Winchilsea, 1661–1720), English poet
• Annie Finch (born 1956), US poet, translator and critic
• Anne Fine (born 1947), English writer
• Margery Fish (1892–1969), English gardening writer
• Carrie Fisher (1956–2016), US actress, novelist and screenwriter; Postcards from the Edge
• M. F. K. Fisher (1908–1992), US food writer
• Penelope Fitzgerald (1916–2000), English novelist, poet and biographer; 1979 Booker Prize; Offshore
• Louise Fitzhugh (1928–1974), US author and illustrator of children's books; Harriet the Spy
• Becca Fitzpatrick (born 1979), US novelist
• Fannie Flagg (born 1944), US screenwriter and novelist; Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
• Jane Flanders (1940–2001), US poet
• Marieluise Fleißer (1901–1974), German playwright
• Marjorie (Marjory) Fleming (1803–1811), Scottish child diarist and poet
• Penelope Fletcher (born 1988), young-adult, romance and fantasy writer
• Zénaïde Fleuriot (1829–1890), French novelist
• Lynn Flewelling (born 1958), US novelist; Nightrunner
• Angela Flournoy (living), US novelist
• Carol Houlihan Flynn (born 1945), US academic, literary critic and fiction writer
• Gillian Flynn (born 1971), US novelist, screenwriter and comic book writer; Gone Girl
• Marnie Fogg (living), fashion writer
• Jolán Földes (1902–1963), Hungarian novelist
• Winifred Foley (1914–2009), English autobiographer
• Maria Assumpció Soler i Font (1913–2004), Catalan writer and journalist
• Moderata Fonte (1555–1592), Venetian feminist writer and poet; The Worth of Women
• Donna Foote (born 1950), journalist and non-fiction writer
• Mary Hallock Foote (1847–1938), US novelist
• Curdella Forbes (living), Jamaican science fiction writer
• Esther Forbes (1891–1967), US novelist and children's writer; Johnny Tremain
• Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force (1654–1724), French novelist and poet
• Aminatta Forna, OBE (born 1964), Scottish writer of Sierra Leone descent
• Olga Forsh (1873–1961), Russian-Soviet writer; Palace and Prison
• Margaret Forster (born 1938), English novelist and biographer
• Gertrud von Le Fort (1876–1971), German novelist, poet and essayist
• Hannah Webster Foster (1758–1840), US novelist; The Coquette
• Dorothy Fowler (living), New Zealand novelist
• Karen Joy Fowler (born 1950), US fiction writer
• Mamita Fox (born 1943), Curaçao-born autobiographer from Dutch Caribbean
• Janet Frame (1924–2004), New Zealand novelist and autobiographer
• Marie de France (fl. 12th century), poet in Anglo-Norman French
• Annie Francé-Harrar (1886–1971), Austrian writer and scientist
• Suzanne Francis (born 1959), English fantasy author
• Julia Franck (born 1970), German novelist
• Veronica Franco (1546–1591), Italian poet and courtesan
• Louise von François (1817–1893), German novelist
• Anne Frank (Anna, 1929–1945), German-born Dutch diarist; The Diary of a Young Girl
• Miles Franklin (1879–1954), Australian feminist writer; My Brilliant Career
• Abby Franquemont (born 1972), US writer
• Rebecca Fransway (born 1953), US author and poet
• Antonia Fraser (born 1932), English genre novelist and biographer; Mary, Queen of Scots
• Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman (1852–1930), US fiction writer
• Raquel Freire (born 1973), Portuguese film director, screenwriter and novelist
• Laura Freixas (born 1958), Spanish fiction writer and newspaper columnist
• Elizabeth Wynne Fremantle (1778–1857), English diarist
• Lucy Virginia French (1825–1881), US author
• Marilyn French (1929–2009), US feminist author, academic and lecturer; The Women's Room
• Anna Freud (1895–1982), Austro-British psychoanalytic writer
• Betty Friedan (1921–2006), US writer, activist and feminist; The Feminine Mystique
• Violeta Friedman (1930–2000), author and Holocaust survivor
• Gayleen Froese (born 1972), Canadian mystery novelist and songwriter
• Eva Margareta Frölich (1650–1692), Swedish writer
• Linda Frum (born 1963), Canadian Senator, author and journalist
• Joan Mary Fry (1862–1955), English Quaker writer on society
• Janice Moore Fuller (born 1951), US poet and playwright
• Claire Fuller (living), English novelist
• Margaret Fuller (1810–1850), US feminist journalist
• Mary Eliza Fullerton (1868–1946), Australian feminist poet, short story writer, journalist and novelist
• Alice Fulton (born 1952), US author, poet
• Enchi Fumiko (Fumi Ueda, 1905–1986), Japanese playwright, fiction writer
• Cornelia Funke (born 1958), German children's writer; The Thief Lord, Inkheart trilogy
• Bilkisu Funtuwa (living), Nigerian novelist
• Huarui Furen (fl. mid–10th century), Chinese poet

G

• Diana Gabaldon (born 1952), US fiction writer; Outlander series
• Ekaterine Gabashvili (1851–1938), Georgian feminist novelist
• Frances Dana Barker Gage (1808–1884), US writer, poet and abolitionist
• Jeannine Hall Gailey (born 1973), US poet and critic
• Mary Gaitskill (born 1954), US essayist, fiction writer
• Kate Gale (born 1965), US poet, librettist and independent publisher
• Zona Gale (1874–1938), US novelist and playwright
• Azucena Galettini, Argentinean translator and writer
• Tess Gallagher (born 1943), US poet, novelist and playwright
• Mavis Gallant (1922–2014), Canadian-French fiction writer, playwright and essayist
• Karina Galvez (born 1964), Ecuadorian poet
• Alisa Ganieva (pseudonym Gulla Khirachev, born 1985), Russian writer and essayist
• Petina Gappah (born 1971), Zimbabwean lawyer and writer
• Nicole Garay (1873–1928), Panamanian poet
• Cristina García (born 1958), Cuban-US journalist and novelist; Dreaming in Cuban
• R. S. A. Garcia, Trinidadian science fiction writer
• Jane Gardam (born 1928), English author of children's and adult fiction
• Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (1789–1849), Irish novelist and journalist
• Malwina Garfeinowa-Garska (1870–1932), Polish novelist and essayist
• Helen Garner (born 1942), Australian novelist and journalist; The Children's Bach
• Constance Garnett (1861–1946), English translator from Russian
• Dorothy Garrod (1892–1968), English archaeologist
• Caroline Leigh Gascoigne (1813–1883), English poet and novelist
• Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865), English novelist and biographer; Cranford
• Whitney Gaskell (born 1972), US novelist
• Nathalie Gassel (born 1964), Belgian feminist writer
• Alessia Gazzola (born 1982), Italian novelist
• Pauline Gedge (born 1945), Canadian genre novelist
• Naira Gelashvili (born 1947), Georgian novelist, activist
• Edith Mary Gell (1860–1944), English writer and Christian activist.
• Charley Genever (living), poet
• Empress Genmei (660–721), Japanese monarch and poet
• Catherine of Genoa (St. Catherine, 1447–1510), Genoese writer and mystic
• Nina George (born 1973), German writer
• Elizabeth George (born 1949), US mystery novelist; The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
• Margaret George (born 1943), US historical novelist
• Amy Gerstler (born 1956), US poet
• Hee Geum (born 1979), Korean author
• Yi Geun-hwa (born 1976), Korean poet
• Amélie Gex (1835–1883), French poet and writer in French and Franco-Provençal
• Randa Ghazy (born 1987), Italian Egyptian writer
• Maureen Gibbon (living), US fiction writer
• Kaye Gibbons (born 1960), US novelist; Ellen Foster
• Stella Gibbons (1902–1989), English novelist, journalist and short story writer; Cold Comfort Farm
• Angelica Gibbs (1908–1955), US fiction writer and magazine journalist
• Elizabeth Gilbert (born 1969), US essayist, fiction writer and biographer; Eat, Pray, Love
• Ellen Gilchrist (born 1935), US fiction writer and poet
• ElizaBeth Gilligan (1962–2017), US fantasy novelist
• Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935), US sociologist, poet and lecturer on social reform; Herland
• Mary Gilmore (1865–1962), Australian socialist poet and journalist
• Beryl Gilroy (1924–2001), Guyanese novelist
• Nikki Giovanni (born 1943), African-US poet, writer and activist
• Stanka Gjurić (born 1956), Croatian poet and essayist
• Diane Glancy (born 1941), US poet, novelist and playwright
• Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945), US novelist
• Susan Glaspell (1876–1948), US novelist and playwright
• Julia Glass (born 1956), US novelist; Three Junes
• Madeline Gleason (1903–1979), US poet and dramatist
• Louise Glück (born 1943), US poet; 42nd US Poet Laureate
• Gail Godwin (born 1937), US fiction and non-fiction writer and librettist; Glass People
• Christiane Gohl (born 1958), children's author
• Nora Gold (born 1952), Canadian novelists
• Natalie Goldberg (born 1948), US non-fiction writer and speaker; Writing Down the Bones
• Goldie Goldbloom (born 1964), Australian fiction writer
• Marita Golden (born 1950), African-US novelist and non-fiction writer
• Amy Goldin (1926–1978), US art critic
• Emma Goldman (1869–1940), Lithuanian-US anarchist writer
• Júlia Goldman (born 1974), Hungarian genre novelist and mathematician
• Claire Goll (1890–1977), German-born poet and novelist writing in German and French
• Jewelle Gomez (born 1948), US poet, critic and playwright
• Petronila Angélica Gómez (1883–1971), Dominican Republic feminist writer and founder editor-in-chief of Fémina
• Lorna Goodison (born 1947), Jamaican poet
• Allegra Goodman (born 1967), US fiction writer; Kaaterskill Falls
• Nadine Gordimer (1923–2014), South African novelist, playwright and activist; 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Caroline Gordon (1895–1981), US novelist and literary critic
• Jaimy Gordon (born 1944), US novelist; Lord of Misrule
• Mary Gordon (born 1949), US fiction and non-fiction writer
• Catherine Gore (1799–1861), English novelist and dramatist
• Alisz Goriupp (1894–1979), Hungarian librarian and media historian
• Hedwig Gorski (born 1949), US performance poet and avant-garde artist
• Hiromi Goto (born 1966), Canadian novelist
• Olympe de Gouges (1748–1793), French activist, feminist and playwright; Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen
• Katherine Govier (born 1948), Canadian fiction writer and essayist
• Barbara Gowdy (born 1950), Canadian fiction writer; The Romantic
• Kodagina Gowramma (1912–1939), Indian writer
• Annie Ryder Gracey (1836–1908), US writer
• Posie Graeme-Evans (born 1952), English-Australian historical novelist and screenwriter
• Agnieszka Graff (born 1970), Polish feminist academic writer and essayist
• Françoise de Graffigny (1695–1758), French novelist and playwright
• Sue Grafton (born 1940), US mystery novelist; Kinsey Millhone series ("A" Is for Alibi, etc.)
• Jorie Graham (born 1950), US poet and academic; 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Lauren Graham (born 1967), US actress and novelist
• Virginia Graham (1910–1993), English poet and humorist
• Almudena Grandes (born 1960), Spanish novelist
• Linda Grant (born 1951), English novelist and journalist; When I Lived in Modern Times
• Shirley Ann Grau (born 1929), US fiction writer; 1965 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
• Mary Tenney Gray (1833–1904), US editorial writer
• Gertrud von Helfta (1256–c. 1302), saint and mystic writing in Latin
• Anna Katharine Green (1846–1935), US mystery novelist; Marked "Personal"
• Miriam Green (living), South African academic now living in England
• Bette Greene (born 1934), US author of children and young adult's books
• Jessie Greengrass (born 1982), English fiction writer
• Bonnie Greer (born 1948), US-British playwright, novelist and critic
• Debora Greger (born 1949), US poet and visual artist
• Linda Gregg (born 1942), US poet
• Simonetta Greggio (born 1961), Italian-born novelist writing in French
• Doris Gregory, Canadian author
• Lady Gregory (1852–1932), Irish folklore reviver and playwright
• Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg (1633–1694), Austrian poet
• Kate Grenville (born 1950), Australian novelist and academic; The Secret River
• Elizabeth Griffith (c. 1727–1793), Irish dramatist, fiction writer and essayist
• Tatiana P. Grigorieva (1929–2014), Russian essayist, Japanologist and translator
• Martha Grimes (born 1931), US mystery novelist; Richard Jury series
• Angelina Weld Grimke (1880–1958), US journalist and poet
• Charlotte Forten Grimké (1837–1914), US anti-slavery activist and poet
• Eliza Griswold (born 1973), US journalist and poet
• Hattie Tyng Griswold (1842–1909), US writer, poet
• Lauren Groff (born 1978), US fiction writer; Fates and Furies
• Paula Grogger (1892–1984), Austrian writer
• Sara Gruen (born 1969), Canadian-US novelist; Water for Elephants
• Kim Gruenenfelder (living), US romantic comedy novelist
• Bertha Jane Grundy (1837–1912), English novelist, poet and non-fiction writer
• Claudine Guérin de Tencin (1682–1749), French literary patron and novelist
• Judith Guest (born 1936), US novelist and screenwriter; Ordinary People
• Pernette Du Guillet (c. 1520–1545), French poet
• Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018), US science fiction and children's novelist, poet and essayist; Earthsea
• Guji, Princess of Joseon (died 1489), Korean writer, poet and dancer
• Karoline von Günderrode (1780–1806), German poet
• Eileen Gunn (born 1945), US short story writer and editor
• Elizabeth Gunn (living), US mystery novelist
• Susannah Gunning (c. 1740–1800), English novelist
• Álfrún Gunnlaugsdóttir (born 1938), Icelandic novelist
• Elena Guro (1877–1913), Russian Futurist writer; The Little Camels of the Sky
• Goya Gutiérrez (born 1954), Spanish poet and writer
• Anna Gutto (born 1977), Norwegian director, artistic director and actress
• Rosa Guy (1922–2012), Trinidad-born US writer of fiction for adults and young people
• Emma Jane Guyton (1825–1887), English novelist and editor
• Yaa Gyasi (born 1989), a Ghanaian-US novelist
• Jeon Gyeong-rin (born 1962), Korean novelist
• Beth Gylys (born 1964), US poet and professor

H

• H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) (1886–1961), US poet, novelist and memoirist
• Meredith Haaf (born 1983), writer
• Maria Hack (1777–1844), English children's writer
• Marilyn Hacker (born 1942), US poet, translator and critic
• Jessica Hagedorn (born 1949), Filipino US poet, playwright and novelist
• Michitsuna no Haha (c. 935–995), Japanese diarist
• Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey (born 1938), US novelist and playwright
• Seo Hajin (born 1960), Korean author
• Gisèle Halimi (born 1927), French-Tunisian feminist essayist
• Lady Anne Halkett (1623–1699), English memoirist and religious essayist
• Anna Maria (Mrs S. C.) Hall (1800–1881), Irish novelist
• Radclyffe Hall (1880–1943), English novelist and poet; The Well of Loneliness
• Sarah Hall (born 1974), English novelist and poet
• Jean Halley (born 1967), US writer and sociologist
• Marion Rose Halpenny (living), English equestrian writer; British Racing and Racecourses
• Jane Eaton Hamilton (born 1954), Canadian short fiction writer and poet
• Jane Hamilton (born 1957), US novelist; A Map of the World
• Virginia Hamilton (1936–2002), US children's novelist; M. C. Higgins, the Great
• Beatrice Hammer (born 1963), French novelist and children's writer
• Judith Hand (born 1940), US novelist, essayist, and screenwriter
• Nathalie Handal (born 1969), Haitian-born US poet and playwright of Palestinian descent
• Helene Hanff (1916–1997), US screenwriter and author; 84, Charing Cross Road
• Kristin Hannah (born 1960), US novelist; The Nightingale
• Sophie Hannah (born 1971), English poet and novelist; Little Face
• Lorraine Hansberry (1930–1965), US playwright; A Raisin in the Sun
• Bergtóra Hanusardóttir (born 1946), Faroese fiction writer
• Volha Hapeyeva (born 1982), poet, translator and linguist
• Ingibjörg Haraldsdóttir (born 1942), Icelandic poet
• Nino Haratischwili (born 1983), Georgian novelist, playwright
• Elizabeth Boynton Harbert (1843–1925), US author
• Thea von Harbou (1888–1954), German novelist and screenwriter
• Maud Cuney Hare (1874–1936), US pianist, musicologist, writer
• Joy Harjo (born 1951), US poet
• Frances Harper (1825–1911), US poet and novelist; Iola Leroy
• Alice Harriman (1861–1925), US poet, and publisher; A Man of Two Countries
• Amanda Bartlett Harris (1824–1917), US author and literary critic
• Joanne Harris (born 1964), English novelist; Chocolat
• Juanita Harrison (1891–?), African-US writer known her autobiography, My Great, Wide, Beautiful World
• Carla Harryman (born 1952), US poet, essayist, and playwright; associated with the language poets
• Petra Hartmann (born 1970), German journalist, novelist and children's writer
• Elisabeth Harvor (born 1936), Canadian novelist and poet
• Gwen Harwood (1920–1995), Australian poet and librettist
• Margaret Hasse (born 1950), US poet and writer
• Mary R. P. Hatch (1848–1935), US poet, novelist, short story writer
• Mihri Hatun (died 1506), female Ottoman poet
• Marlen Haushofer (1920–1970), Austrian novelist and children's author
• Paula Hawkins (born 1972), Zimbabwean-English author; The Girl on the Train
• Elizabeth Hay (born 1951), Canadian fiction writer; Late Nights on Air
• Eliza Haywood (1693–1756), English novelist, playwright and poet
• Helen Haywood (1907–1995), English children's writer
• Shirley Hazzard (1931–2016), US novelist and fiction writer; The Great Fire
• Bessie Head (1937–1986), Botswanan novelist, journalist and short story writer
• Anne Hébert (1916–2000), Canadian poet and novelist; Kamouraska
• Chantal Hébert (born 1954), Canadian journalist and political commentator
• Jennifer Michael Hecht (born 1965), US poet, historian and philosopher
• Ra Heeduk (born 1966), Korean poet
• Ursula Hegi (born 1946), German US novelist
• Lyn Hejinian (born 1941), US poet, essayist and translator
• Lin Van Hek (born 1944), Australian novelist
• Guðrún Helgadóttir (born 1935), Icelandic children's writer
• Lillian Hellman (1905–1984), US playwright
• Lucinda Barbour Helm (1839–1897), US author, editor
• Felicia Hemans (1793–1835), English-born Welsh poet writing in English
• Beth Henley (born 1952), US playwright and screenwriter
• Emmy Hennings (1885–1948), German poet and performer
• Marguerite Henry (1902–1997), US children's literature writer
• Luise Hensel (1798–1876), German religious writer and poet
• Sally Hepworth (born 1980), Australian writer
• Mary Sidney Herbert (1561–1621), English poet, translator and patron
• María Luisa Ocampo Heredia (1899–1974), Mexican novelist, playwright and translator
• Judith Hermann (born 1970), German story writer
• Georgina Herrera (born 1936), Cuban poet
• M. Miriam Herrera (living), US author and poet
• Stella K. Hershan (1915–2014), Austrian-US novelist and biographer
• Karen Hesse (born 1952), US children's novelist; Out of the Dust
• Dorothy Hewett (1923–2002), Australian feminist poet, novelist and playwright
• Eleanor Hibbert (1906–1993), English historical novelist (countless pseudonyms); Murder Most Royal
• Patricia Highsmith (1921–1995), US crime fiction writer; Strangers on a Train
• Lorna Hill (1902–1991), English children's novelist
• Hilda Hilst (1930–2004), Brazilian poet, playwright and novelist
• S. E. Hinton (born 1948), US children's novelist; The Outsiders
• Afua Hirsch (born 1981), British writer and broadcaster
• Laura Z. Hobson (1900–1986), US novelist
• Karla Höcker (1901–1992), German novelist and biographer
• Merle Hodge (born 1944), Trinidadian novelist and critic
• Louise Manning Hodgkins (1846–1935), US educator, author, editor
• Alice Hoffman (born 1952), US novelist and young-adult and children's writer; Practical Magic
• Nina Kiriki Hoffman (born 1955), US fiction writer
• Barbara Hofland (1770–1844), English children's writer and poet
• Linda Hogan (born 1947), US poet, fiction writer
• Heidi Holland (1947–2012), South African journalist and author
• Gwen Hollington (1919–2014), English translator
• Charlie N. Holmberg (born 1988), US author of fantasy
• Constance Holme (1880–1955), English novelist and playwright
• Winifred Holtby (1898–1935), English novelist and journalist
• Xiao Hong (1911–1942), Chinese fiction writer
• Bell Hooks (born 1952), US feminist academic
• Ellen Sturgis Hooper (1812–1848), US poet, member of the Transcendental Club
• Pauline Hopkins (1859–1930), US novelist, journalist and playwright
• Nalo Hopkinson (born 1960), Jamaican-Canadian fiction writer
• Marya Hornbacher (born 1974), US author and freelance journalist
• Janette Turner Hospital (born 1942), Australian fiction writer
• Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston (born 1934), US author; Farewell to Manzanar
• Fanny Howe (born 1940), US poet and fiction writer
• Julia Ward Howe (1819–1910), US abolitionist, social activist, and poet; The Battle Hymn of the Republic
• Susan Howe (born 1937), US poet, scholar, essayist and critic; closely associated with the language poets
• Ada Verdun Howell (1902–1981), Australian US poet
• Anna Mary Howitt (1824–1884), English writer and feminist
• Mary Howitt (1799–1888), English poet and children's writer; "The Spider and the Fly"
• Ana María Vázquez Hoys (born 1945), Spanish ancient history professor
• Elizabeth Hoyt (penname Julia Harper, living), writer of historical romance
• Hrotsvith von Gandersheim (c. 935–c. 1002), German dramatist and poet writing in Latin
• Ricarda Huch (1864–1947), German historian, novelist and poet
• Arianna Huffington (born 1950), Greek-US author and columnist; The Huffington Post
• Lynn Huggins-Cooper (born 1964)
• Babette Hughes (1906–1982), US playwright
• Frieda Hughes (born 1960), English poet and painter
• Xu Hui (627–650), Chinese poet
• Shirley Fenton Huie (1924–2016), Australian non-fiction writer
• Lin Huiyin (1904–1955), Chinese architect and writer
• Keri Hulme (born 1947), New Zealand fiction writer and poet; 1985 Booker Prize; The Bone People
• Marie-Thérèse Humbert (born 1940), Mauritian fiction writer
• Vilma Rose Hunt (1926–2012)
• Marsha Hunt (born 1946), US actress, singer and novelist
• Kristin Hunter (1931–2008), African-US novelist
• Constance Hunting (1925–2006), US poet and publisher
• Florence Huntley (1861–1912), US journalist, editor and humorist
• Dương Thu Hương (born 1947), Vietnamese dissident and novelist; Paradise of the Blind
• Hồ Xuân Hương (1772–1822), Vietnamese poet
• Fannie Hurst (1885–1968), US novelist
• Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960), US fiction writer, folklorist and anthropologist; Their Eyes Were Watching God
• Nancy Huston (born 1953), Canadian novelist and essayist writing in French and English
• Genevieve L. Hutchinson (1883–1974), New England poet
• Lucy Hutchinson (1620–1681), English biographer
• Elspeth Huxley (1907–1997), English-Kenyan memoirist and journalist
• Lee Hye-gyeong (1960), Korean poet
• Yun-I Hyeong (born 1976), Korean author
• Hypatia (c. AD 350/370–415), Greek philosopher and mathematician

I

• Eva Ibbotson (1925–2010), Austrian-born British novelist
• Nilima Ibrahim (1921–2002), Bangladeshi writer
• Ida, Countess of Hahn-Hahn (1805–1880), German novelist
• Jung Ihyun (born 1972), Korean author
• Lempi Ikävalko (1901–1994), Finnish poet and journalist
• Bassey Ikpi (born 1976), Nigerian spoken-word poet, writer and mental health advocate
• Branislava Ilić (born 1970), Serbian playwright, screenwriter and prose writer
• Maria Ilnicka (c.1825–1897), Polish poet, novelist and translator
• Im Yunjidang (1721–1793), Korean scholar, philosopher and non-fiction writer
• Jahanara Imam (1929–1994), Bangladeshi non-fiction writer, diarisT and political activist
• Vera Inber (1890–1972), Russian poet, essayist and translator
• Elizabeth Inchbald (1753–1821), English novelist, actress and dramatist; Lovers' Vows
• M. K. Indira (1917–1994), Kannada novelist
• Rachel Ingalls (born 1940), US novelist; Mrs. Caliban
• Jean Ingelow (1820–1897), English poet
• Bozenna Intrator (born 1964), Polish-US novelist, poet and playwright writing in German, Polish and English
• Sylvia Iparraguirre (born 1947), Argentine novelist
• Ōtomo no Sakanoe no Iratsume (c. 700–750), Japanese poet
• Inez Haynes Irwin (1873–1970), Brazilian-born US fiction writer, non-fiction writer and journalist
• Ulla Isaksson (1916–2000), Swedish novelist, short story writer and screenwriter
• Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz (1943–2012), Cuban-US theologist and non-fiction writer
• Svetlana Ischenko (born 1969), Ukrainian poet, translator and actress
• Lady Ise (c. 875–c. 938), Japanese poet
• Aleksandra Ishimova (1805–1881), Russian children's writer and translator
• Elizabeth Isichei (born 1939), Nigerian author, historian and academic
• Nina Iskrenko (1951–1995), Russian poet
• Rashidah Ismaili (born 1941), Benin-born US poet, fiction writer and playwright
• Gerta Ital (1904–1988), German non-fiction writer
• Frances Itani (born 1942), Canadian novelist, poet and essayist
• Nora Iuga (born 1931), Romanian poet, writer and translator
• Lidiya Ivanova (1936–2007), Russian journalist and television presenter
• Praskovya Ivanovskaya (1852–1935), Russian revolutionary and memoirist
• Eowyn Ivey (living), US novelist; The Snow Child
• Molly Ivins (born 1944), US columnist
• Helen Ivory (born 1969), English poet
• Princess Iwa (4th or 5th century), Japanese poet

J

• Noni Jabavu (1931–2008), South African memoirist and journalist
• Helen Hunt Jackson (1830–1885), US novelist; Ramona
• Shelley Jackson (born 1963), Filipino US fiction writer and essayist; Patchwork Girl
• Shirley Jackson (1916–1965), US fiction writer; The Lottery
• Harriet Jacobs (1813–1897), US memoir writer; Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
• Annie Jacobsen (born 1967), US investigative journalist and non-fiction author; Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base
• Josephine Jacobsen (1908–2003), US poet, short story writer and critic; 21st US Poet Laureate
• Agnes E. Jacomb (1866–1949), English novelist
• Frances Jacson (1754–1842), English novelist
• Kim Jae-Young (born 1966), South Korean writer and academic
• Ada Jafarey (born 1924), Pakistani Urdu poet
• Rona Jaffe (1932–2005), US novelist; The Best of Everything
• Dorta Jagić (born 1974), Croatian poet and writer
• Meenakshi Jain (living), Indian historian
• Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004), Icelandic playwright and short story writer
• Alice James (1848–1892), US diarist
• P. D. James (born 1920), English mystery novelist; Cover Her Face
• Anna Brownell Jameson (1794–1860), Irish-born English writer on art and literature
• Elizabeth Janeway (1913–2005), US novelist
• Éva Janikovszky (1926–2003), Hungarian author of children's books
• Tama Janowitz (born 1957), US novelist, short story writer and screenwriter; Slaves of New York
• Anja Jantschik (born 1969), German writer and journalist
• Florence Page Jaques (1890–1972), US writer of nature and travel books
• Lisa Jarnot (born 1967), US poet
• Bella Jarrett (1926–2007), romance author and actress
• Jefimija (1349–1405), Serbian poet
• Andrea Jeftanovic (born 1970), Chilean author, sociologist and academic
• Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932), English garden writer
• Elfriede Jelinek (born 1946), Austrian playwright and novelist; 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature; The Piano Teacher
• Joyce Angela Jellison (born 1969), US author
• Gish Jen (born 1956), US writer
• Elizabeth Jennings (1926–2001), English poet
• Choi Jeong-rye (born 1955), Korean poet
• Ana de Jesús (1545–1621), Spanish writer, poet and nun
• Lisa Jewell (born 1968), English author of popular fiction.
• Sarah Orne Jewett (1849–1909), US fiction writer
• Geraldine Jewsbury (1812–1880), English novelist
• Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (born 1927), German-US novelist and screenwriter; Heat and Dust
• Paulette Jiles (born 1943), US-Canadian poet and novelist
• Qiu Jin (1875–1907), Chinese revolutionary, feminist and writer
• Hao Jingfang (born 1984), Chinese novelist
• Chen Jingrong (1917–1989), Chinese poet
• Empress Jitō (645–702), Japanese poet and empress
• Rita Joe (born 1932), Canadian poet
• Oddvør Johansen (born 1941), Faroese novelist
• Catherine Johnson (born 1962), English author and screenwriter
• Catherine Johnson (born 1957), English playwright
• Diane Johnson (born 1934), US novelist and essayist; Le Divorce
• Georgia Douglas Johnson (1877–1966), US poet
• Helene Johnson (1906–1995), US poet
• Josephine Johnson (1910–1990), US novelist, poet, and essayist; 1935 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
• Kate Johnson (born c. 1980), English novelist
• Pauline Johnson (1861–1913), Canadian poet
• Susannah Willard Johnson (1729–1810), US memoirist
• Velda Johnston (1912–1997), US writer of Gothic romance novels
• Mary Johnston (1870–1936), US novelist
• Diana Wynne Jones (born 1934), English novelist, primarily of fantasy
• Gayl Jones (born 1949), US novelist
• Sandy Jones (born 1943), US parenting writer
• Tayari Jones (born 1970), US novelist
• Erica Jong (born 1942), US novelist; Fear of Flying
• Ingrid Jonker (1933–1965), South African poet
• Kishi Joō (929–985), Japanese poet
• June Jordan (1936–2002), US poet, novelist and autobiographer
• Irena Jordanova (born 1980), Macedonian author
• Jenny Joseph (born 1932), English poet
• Irma Joubert (born 1947), South African author
• Heidi Julavits (born 1968), US journalist and novelist
• Lucie Julia (born 1927), Guadeloupean poet and novelist
• Miranda July (born 1974), US writer and performance artist
• Hwang Jung-eun (born 1976), South Korean author and podcaster
• Dorothy Misener Jurney (1909–2002), US journalist writing on women's issues

K

• Jane Kaberuka (born 1956), Ugandan writer of fiction and autobiography
• Margit Kaffka (1880–1918), Hungarian novelist and poet
• Elaine Kahn (living), poet and author
• Nyana Kakoma (living), Ugandan writer, editor, blogger and publisher
• Ana Kalandadze (1924–2008), influential Georgian poet
• Sheema Kalbasi (born 1972), Iranian poet, critic and human rights advocate
• Zaruhi Kalemkaryan (1871–1971), prose
• Keturah Kamugasa (died 2017), Ugandan writer and journalist
• Meena Kandasamy (born 1984), Indian poet, fiction writer and translator
• Julie Kane (born 1952), US poet, scholar and editor; Louisiana Poet Laureate 2011–13
• Sarah Kane (1971–1999), English playwright
• Lila Rose Kaplan (born 1980), playwright
• Anna Louisa Karsch (1722–1791), German poet and letter writer
• Lady Kasa (early 8th century), Japanese poet
• Marie Luise Kaschnitz (1901–1974), German novelist and poet
• Nina Kasniunas (born 1972), US political scientist, author and professor
• Kassia (810 – pre-865), Byzantine poet and composer writing in Greek
• Hoda Katebi, Iranian-American fashion blogger and activist
• Gina Kaus (1893–1985), Austrian novelist and screenwriter
• Julia Kavanagh (1824–1877), Irish novelist
• Jackie Kay (born 1961), Scottish poet and novelist; Trumpet
• M. M. Kaye (1908–2004), British novelist, editor and illustrator; The Far Pavilions
• Susanna Kaysen (born 1948), US author and memoirist; Girl, Interrupted
• Susanna Kearsley (born 1966), Canadian novelist
• Annie Keary (1825–1879), English novelist and poet
• Henrietta Keddie (1827–1914), Scottish novelist and children's writer
• Janice Kulyk Keefer (born 1952), Canadian novelist and poet
• Antigone Kefala (born 1935), Australian poet and prose-writer of Greek-Romanian heritage
• Helen Keller (1880–1968), US lecturer, essayist and autobiographer; Light in my Darkness
• Linda Kelly (born 1936), English historian of 18th–19th-century romanticism
• Gene Kemp (1926–2015), English children's writer
• Oonya Kempadoo (born 1966), British novelist
• Margery Kempe (c. 1373–1438), English autobiographer and mystic
• Latofat Kenjaeva (born 1950), Tajik poet, writer and journalist
• Betty Kennedy (1926–2017), Canadian broadcaster, journalist and author
• Margaret Kennedy (1896–1967), English novelist; The Constant Nymph
• Pagan Kennedy (born c. 1963), US columnist and author
• Hannah Kent (born 1985), Australian writer
• Joan Haverty Kerouac (1931–1990), US autobiographer
• Judith Kerr (1923–1919), German-born children's writer in English
• Jessie Kesson (1916–1994), Scottish writer
• Irmgard Keun (1905–1982), German novelist
• Farida Khalaf (born c. 1995), ISIS escapee and author
• Dalal Khario (born c. 1997), ISIS survivor, memoirist
• Babilina Khositashvili (1884–1973), Georgian poet, feminist
• Vénus Khoury-Ghata (born 1937), Lebanese-French writer; former Miss Beirut
• Mariam Khutsurauli (born 1960), Georgian poet and short story writer
• Nadezhda Khvoshchinskaya (1824–1889), Russian novelist; The Boarding School Girl
• Sue Monk Kidd (born 1948), US writer; The Secret Life of Bees
• Susan Nalugwa Kiguli (born 1969), Ugandan poet and literary scholar
• Emelihter Kihleng (living), Micronesian poet writing in English
• Lali Kiknavelidze (born 1969), Georgian sreenwriter and film director
• Anne Killigrew (1660–1685), English poet
• Dorothy Kilner (1755–1836), English children's writer
• Ronyoung Kim (1926–1987), Korean US writer
• Jamaica Kincaid (born 1949), Antiguan US novelist; Annie John
• Aby King (born 1977), British author and fantasy novelist
• Grace King (1852–1932), US short story writer and historian
• Tabitha King (born 1949), US novelist
• Mary Kingsley (1862–1900), English explorer and scientific writer
• Barbara Kingsolver (born 1955), US fiction writer, poet and essayist
• Maxine Hong Kingston (born 1940), Chinese US novelist and academic
• Eleanor Kirk (1831–1908), US writer and publisher
• Sarah Kirsch (born 1935), German poet and translator
• Ossip Schubin (real name Aloisia Kirschner, 1854–1934), Austrian novelist
• Madhu Kishwar (born 1951), Indian feminist
• Karin Kiwus (born 1942), German poet
• Carolyn Kizer (1925–2014), US poet; 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs (born 1974), Faroese children's writer, poet and short story writer
• Naomi Klein (born 1970), Canadian author, social activist and filmmaker; The Shock Doctrine
• Anne Knight (1792–1860), English children's writer
• Mary Norbert Körte (born 1934), American poet, teacher and environmentalist
• Joy Kogawa (born 1935), Canadian novelist and poet; Obasan
• Annette Kolb (1870–1967), German writer
• Alexandra Kollontai (1872–1952), Russian-Soviet writer and political figure; A Great Love
• Gertrud Kolmar (1894–1943), German poet
• Ono no Komachi (825–900), Japanese poet
• Anna Komnene (1083–1183), Byzantine chronicler and emperor's daughter writing in Greek; Alexiad
• Amalia Wilhelmina Königsmarck (1663–1740), Swedish noble, known as a painter, actor and poet
• Maria Konopnicka (1842–1910), Polish novelist, poet, translator and essayist
• Evgenia Konradi (1838–1898), Russian writer, essayist and journalist
• Ana Kordzaia-Samadashvili (born 1968), Georgian novelist and literary journalist
• Alice Graeme Korff (1904–1975), US art critic
• Lina Kostenko (born 1930), Ukrainian poet
• Elizabeth Kostova (born 1964), US novelist; The Historian
• Helene Kottannerin (fl. 1430s), Hungarian memoirist writing in German
• Sofia Kovalevskaya (1859–1891), Russian writer and major mathematician; Nihilist Girl
• Hanna Krall (born 1937), Polish writer, novelist and journalist
• Judith Krantz (1928–2019), US author and journalist
• Nicole Krauss (born 1974), US fiction writer, essayist and journalist; The History of Love
• Uma Krishnaswami (born 1956), children's writer
• Julia Kristeva (born 1941), Bulgarian-French critic, philosopher and novelist
• Gerður Kristný (born 1970), Icelandic poet and novelist
• Agota Kristof (1935–2011), Hungarian novelist writing in French
• Nestan Kvinikadze (born 1980), Georgian scriptwriter and dramatist
• Lidia Kulikovski (born 1951), Moldovan librarian, bibliographer and editor
• Maxine Kumin (1925–2014), US poet and children's novelist; 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Xu Kun (born 1965), Chinese postmodern fiction writer
• Rachel Kushner (born 1968), US novelist and journalist; The Flamethrowers
• Jean Kwok, Chinese US novelist
• Shin Kyeong-nim (born 1936), South Korean writer
• Joanne Kyger (1934–2017), US poet
• Goretti Kyomuhendo (born 1965), Ugandan novelist and literary activist

L

• Mercedes Lackey (born 1950), US fantasy novelist
• Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940), Swedish novelist and children's novelist, and 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature winner
• Jhumpa Lahiri (born 1967), Bengali-US short story writer and novelist; 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; Interpreter of Maladies
• Sinikka Laine (born 1945), Finnish writer of young adult literature
• Laila Lalami (born 1968), Moroccan US journalist, essayist and novelist; Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits
• Lalleshwari (also Lalla, Lal Ded or Lal Arifa; 1320–1392), mystic and poet; creator of the mystic vatsun poetry, the earliest compositions in the Kashmiri language
• Lady Caroline Lamb (1785–1828), English novelist
• Helen Lamb (1956–2017), Scottish poet
• Mary Lamb (1764–1847), co-author with her brother Charles Lamb
• Alice Elinor Lambert (1886–1981), US romance novelist
• Anne Lamott (born 1954), political activist and fiction and non-fiction author
• Beatrice Lamwaka (living), Ugandan writer
• Leena Lander (born 1955), Finnish novelist
• Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L., 1802–1838), English poet and novelist
• Margaret Landon (1903–1993), US novelist; Anna and the King of Siam
• Liliane Landor (born c. 1956), Lebanese-born journalist and broadcasting executive
• Michele Landsberg (born 1939), Canadian author, feminist and social activist
• Jane Lane (Elaine Kidner Dakers, 1905–1978), British historical novelist and biographer
• Katja Lange-Müller (born 1951), German novelist
• Elisabeth Langgässer (1899–1950), German poet and novelist
• Eve Langley (1908–1974), Australian novelist
• Aemilia Lanyer (1569–1645), English poet
• Alda Lara (1930–1962), Angolan poet
• Lucy Larcom (1824–1893), American mill girl and poet
• Rebecca Hammond Lard (1772–1855), US poet; first poet of Indiana
• Claudia Lars (1899–1974), Salvadoran poet
• Nella Larsen (1891–1964), US fiction writer
• Trude Brænne Larssen (born 1967), Norwegian novelist
• Else Lasker-Schüler (1869–1945), German poet and playwright
• Ana Irma Rivera Lassén (born 1955), Puerto Rican poet, feminist writer and lawyer
• Agnes Latham (1905–1996), English writer, editor and academic
• Irene Latham (born 1971) US poet and children's writer
• Mary Artemisia Lathbury (1841–1913) US hymn writer and poet
• Virginia Lathrop (1900–1974), US journalist
• Yulia Latynina (born 1966), Russian writer; The Insider
• Evelyn Lau (born 1971), Canadian poet and novelist
• Margaret Laurence (1926–1987), Canadian fiction writer; The Stone Angel
• Dorianne Laux (born 1952), US poet
• Christine Lavant (1915–1973), Austrian poet and novelist
• Mary Lavin (1912–1996), Irish fiction writer
• Emily Lawless (1845–1913), Irish novelist and poet
• Mary Lawson (born 1946), Canadian novelist; Crow Lake
• Emma Lazarus (1849–1887), US poet; "The New Colossus" (inscribed on the Statue of Liberty)
• Jane Leade (1624–1704), English mystic
• Louisa Leaman (born 1976), English writer on education
• Mary Leapor (1722–1746), English poet
• Diana Lebacs (born 1947), Curaçaoan author known for her children's literature
• Violette Leduc (1907–1972), French novelist and autobiographer
• Harper Lee (1926–2016), US novelist; To Kill a Mockingbird
• Harriet Lee (1757–1851), English novelist and playwright
• Muna Lee (1895–1965), US poet and translator
• Sophia Lee (1750–1824), English playwright and novelist
• Tanith Lee (born 1947), English novelist, poet and screenwriter
• Joy Leftow (living), US poet
• Tuija Lehtinen (born 1954), Finnish children's writer and novelist
• Leena Lehtolainen (born 1964), Finnish crime writer
• Katerina Lemmel (1466–1533), German letter-writer and nun
• Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007), US novelist and children's novelist; A Wrinkle in Time
• Sue Lenier (born 1957), English poet and playwright
• Rebecca Lenkiewicz (born 1968), English playwright
• Ellen Lenneck (1851–1880), German novelist and story writer
• Anna Maria Lenngren (1754–1817), Swedish writer, poet and translator
• Charlotte Lennox (1720–1804), English novelist, poet, and dramatist
• Charlotte Lennox (1730–1804), US-born English writer and poet
• Hélène Lenoir (born 1955), French writer
• Conchi León (born 1973), Mexican writer
• Donna Leon (born 1942), US-Italian mystery novelist
• Yva Léro (1912–2007), Afro-Martiniquais writer and artist
• Doris Leslie (1891–1982), English historical novelist and biographer
• Doris Lessing (1919–2013), English fiction writer, poet and biographer; 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature; The Golden Notebook
• Denise Levertov (1923–1997), English US poet and essayist
• Celia Moss Levetus (1819–1873), English poet and historical writer
• Gail Carson Levine (born 1947), US young-adult novelist; Ella Enchanted
• Andrea Levy (1956–2019), English novelist; Small Island
• Deborah Levy (born 1959), South African-English playwright, fiction writer and poet; Swimming Home
• Fanny Lewald (1811–1889), German novelist and feminist
• Alethea Lewis (1749–1827), English novelist
• Janet Lewis (1899–1998), US novelist
• Marina Lewycka (born 1946), British novelist of Ukrainian origin
• Anne Ley (c. 1599–1641), English writer, teacher and polemicist
• Portia Li (living), senior Chinese US reporter
• Marita Liabø (born 1971), Norwegian author
• Mechtilde Lichnowsky (1879–1958), German poet, playwright and essayist
• Erika Liebman (1738–1803), Swedish poet and academic
• Deborah Lifchitz (1907–1942), French Jewish expert on Semitic languages of Ethiopia
• Werewere Liking (born 1950), Côte d'Ivoire-based writer and playwright
• Rosa Liksom (born 1958), Finnish fiction and children's writer
• Suzanne Lilar (1901–1992), Belgian playwright, essayist and novelist writing in French
• Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002), Swedish children's novelist; Pippi Longstocking
• Merethe Lindstrøm (born 1963), Norwegian fiction writer; Days in the History of Silence
• Elizabeth Linington (1921–1988), US mystery novelist
• Kelly Link (born 1969), US short story writer and editor
• Baik Sou Linne (born 1982), South Korean fiction writer
• Rosina Lippi (born 1956), US writer
• Laura Lippman (born 1959), US crime fiction writer
• Helena Lisická (1930–2009), Czech ethnographer and writer of fairy tales and legends
• Clarice Lispector (1920–1977), Brazilian novelist; The Passion According to G.H.
• S. E. Lister (born 1988), English novelist
• Penelope Lively (born 1933), English novelist and children's writer; 1987 Booker Prize; Moon Tiger
• Dorothy Livesay (1909–1996), Canadian poet
• Teresa Lo (living), US author
• Liz Lochhead (born 1947), Scottish poet and dramatist
• Attica Locke (born 1974), US novelist
• Mirra Lokhvitskaya (1869–1905), Russian poet
• Lesley Lokko (living), Ghanaian-Scottish novelist and academic
• Pearl London (1916–2003), US supporter of literary arts and teacher of poetry
• Joan Long (born 1925), Australian screenwriter and producer
• Anita Loos (1888–1981), US screenwriter, playwright and novelist; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
• Josefina Lopez (born 1969), Chicana playwright, screenwriter and novelist; Real Women Have Curves
• Karen Lord (born 1968), Barbadian writer of speculative fiction
• Audre Lorde (1934–1992), US poet
• Emilie Loring (1864–1951), US romance novelist
• Isabel Losada (living), English writer, actress and singer
• Laura Glen Louis (living), US author, poet and essayist
• Regina Louise (born 1963), US author, child advocate and motivational speaker
• Amy Lowell (1874–1925), US poet; 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Lois Lowry (born 1937), US children's novelist; Number the Stars
• Mina Loy (1882–1966), English poet and artist
• Dulce María Loynaz (1902–1997), Cuban poet and novelist
• Clare Boothe Luce (1903–1987), US editor, playwright and journalist
• Maria Lugones (living), Argentine feminist philosopher, writer and academic
• Jane Lumley, Baroness Lumley (1537–1578), English translator
• Ulla-Lena Lundberg (born 1947), Finland-Swedish author
• Luo Luo (living), Chinese novelist and film director
• Alison Lurie (born 1926), US novelist and academic; Foreign Affairs
• Annabel Lyon (born 1971), Canadian fiction writer

M

• Rose Macaulay (1881–1958), English writer; The Towers of Trebizond
• Ann-Marie MacDonald (born 1958), Canadian novelist, playwright and actor; Fall on Your Knees
• Betty MacDonald (1908–1958), US writer; The Egg and I
• Helen Macdonald (born 1970) English writer, naturalist and academic; H is for Hawk
• Lilou Macé (born 1977), French-US author
• Gwendolyn MacEwen (1941–1987), Canadian novelist and poet
• Shena Mackay (born 1944), Scottish novelist
• Serena Mackesy (born 1960s), English novelist and journalist
• Mary Mackey (born 1945), US novelist, poet and academic
• Patricia MacLachlan (born 1938), US children's novelist; Sarah, Plain and Tall
• Mary MacLane (1881–1929), Canadian-US writer
• Charlotte MacLeod (1922–2005), Canadian-US novelist and mystery writer
• Debbie Macomber (born 1948), US novelist
• Katharine Sarah Macquoid (1824–1917), English novelist and travel writer
• Deirdre Madden (born 1960), Irish novelist
• Mechthild of Magdeburg (c. 1207 – c. 1282-1294), German mystic writing in Low German
• Audrey Magee (living), Irish novelist and journalist
• Nilah Magruder (living), US illustrator and writer
• Akka Mahadevi (12th century), Indian poet writing in Old Kannada
• Han Mahlsook (born 1931), Korean novelist
• Mahsati Ganjavi (c. 1089–post–1159), Persian poet
• Jennifer Maiden (born 1949), Australian poet
• Antonine Maillet (born 1929), Canadian novelist, playwright and scholar
• Barbara Makhalisa (born 1949), Zimbabwean novelist, editor and publisher
• Eudokia Makrembolitissa (c. 1021–1096), Byzantine poet and empress writing in Greek
• Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (living), Ugandan fiction writer
• Rosie Malek-Yonan (born 1965), Assyrian novelist, actor and filmmaker
• Gitta Mallasz (1907–1992), Hungarian author of esoteric dialogues
• Nathalie Mallet (living), Canadian science fiction and fantasy writer
• Françoise Mallet-Joris (born 1930), Belgian-French novelist and essayist
• Heather Mallick (born 1959), Canadian columnist, author and lecturer
• Emily St. John Mandel (born 1979), Canadian novelist; Station Eleven
• Richmal Mangnall (1769–1820), English schoolbook writer; Mangnall's Questions
• Delarivier Manley (c. 1670–1724), English novelist, playwrigh and political pamphleteer
• Erika Mann (1905–1969), German writer, screenwriter and actress
• Eeva-Liisa Manner (1921–1995), Finnish poet, playwright and translator
• Olivia Manning (1908–1980), English novelist; Fortunes of War
• Ruth Manning-Sanders (1886–1988), Welsh-born English poet, author and children's writer
• Chris Mansell (born 1953), Australian poet and publisher
• Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923), New Zealand-English short story writer
• Lisa Mantchev (living), US fantasy novelist
• Hilary Mantel (born 1952), English fiction writer, memoirist and essayist; 2009 and 2012 Booker Prize; Wolf Hall
• Sarah Ladipo Manyika (born 1968), British-Nigerian fiction writer and essayist
• Lee Maracle (born 1950), Canadian poet, novelist and storyteller
• Dacia Maraini (born 1936), Italian novelist, playwright, poet and journalist
• Emilie Maresse-Paul (1838–1900), Trinidadian intellectual and feminist writer
• Anna Margolin (1887–1952), Russian-US Yiddish-language poet
• Beryl Markham (1902–1986), English-born Kenyan aviator, adventurer and author; West with the Night
• Daphne Marlatt (born 1942), Canadian poet
• E. Marlitt (Eugenie John, 1825–1877), German novelist
• Monika Maron (born 1941), German essayist and political writer
• Anne de Marquets (c. 1533–1588), French poet
• Paula Contreras Márquez (1911–2008), Spanish novelist and author
• Ellen Marriage (1865–1946), English translator of Balzac's novels
• Ngaio Marsh (1895–1982), New Zealand mystery writer; Roderick Alleyn
• Paule Marshall (born 1929), US novelist
• Una Marson (1905–1965), Jamaican feminist, radio producer and poet
• Faith Martin (living), English thriller writer
• Harriet Martineau (1802–1876), English novelist and social theorist
• Lebogang Mashile (born 1979), South African actress, writer and performance poet
• Bobbie Ann Mason (born 1940), US fiction writer, essayist and critic; In Country
• Judi Ann Mason (1955–2009), US playwright, screenwriter and journalist; Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
• Beverly Matherne (born 1946), US writer and poet
• Ana María Matute (1925–2014), Spanish novelist
• Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989), English fiction writer; Rebecca
• Megan Maxwell (born 1965), romance novelist
• DeBarra Mayo (born 1953), US bodybuilder and fitness writer
• Eleanor Mayo (1920–1981), US novelist
• Imbolo Mbue (living), Cameroon-born fiction writer
• Bunny McBride (born 1950), US writer, journalist and anthropologist
• Eimear McBride (born 1976), Irish novelist; A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing
• Anne McCaffrey (1926–2011), US science fiction novelist; Dragonriders of Pern
• Mary McCarthy (1912–1989), US novelist, critic and memoir writer
• Shirla R. McClain (1935–1997), US educator
• Jen McClanaghan (living), US poet
• Nellie McClung (1873–1951), Canadian feminist, author and social activist
• Joanna McClure (born 1930), American poet
• Elizabeth McCracken (born 1966), US novelist and editor
• Sharyn McCrumb (born 1948), US fiction writer
• Carson McCullers (1917–1967), US novelist; The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
• Colleen McCullough (1937–2015) Australian novelist; The Thorn Birds
• Alice McDermott (born 1953), US fiction writer
• Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978), US children's writer and poet; 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Lisa McInerney (born 1981), Irish fiction writer and blogger
• Ami McKay (born 1968), Canadian novelist, playwright and journalist
• Elizabeth McKenzie (born 1958), US author and editor
• Patricia A. McKillip (born 1948), US sci-fi and fantasy writer
• Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983), US journalist and author
• Emma McLaughlin (born 1974), US novelist
• Terry McMillan (born 1951), US novelist; Waiting to Exhale
• Martha McPhee (born 1965), US novelist; Gorgeous Lies
• Richelle Mead (born 1976), US novelist; Vampire Academy
• Gwerful Mechain (fl. 1460–1500), Welsh poet
• Saint Mechtilde of Hackeborn (1240/1241–1298), German religious writer in Latin
• Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger (1924–1942), Romanian-born German poet
• Cecília Meireles (1901–1964), Brazilian writer and educator
• Tamta Melashvili (born 1979), Georgian novelist and feminist
• Ekaterine Melikishvili (1854–1928), Georgian translator and children's writer
• Maile Meloy (born 1972), US fiction writer
• Pauline Melville (born 1948), Guyanese-born British writer and actress
• Velma Caldwell Melville (1858–1924), US editor and writer
• Eva Menasse (born 1970), Austrian novelist and journalist
• Jane Mendelsohn (born 1965), US author
• Charlotte Mendelson (born 1972), English novelist and editor
• Sophie Mereau (1770–1806), German novelist and poet
• Edna Merey-Apinda (born 1976), Gabonese writer
• Marguerite Merington (1875–1951), English-US playwright and writer of fiction and non-fiction
• Alda Merini (1931–2009), Italian writer and poet
• Louise Meriwether (born 1923), US novelist, essayist and journalist
• Fatema Mernissi (born 1940), Moroccan feminist academic
• Helen Maud Merrill (1865–1943), US woman of letters and poet
• Elizabeth Messenger (1908–1965), New Zealand journalist, cookery writer and crime novelist
• Claire Messud (born 1966), US novelist and academic; The Emperor's Children
• Grace Metalious (1924–1964), US novelist; Peyton Place
• Charlotte Mew (1869–1928), English poet; The Farmer's Bride
• Stephenie Meyer (born 1973), US novelist; The Host, Twilight Saga
• Alice Meynell (1847–1922), English feminist critic and poet
• Esther Meynell (1878–1955), English author and local historian; The Little Chronicle of Magdalena Bach
• Malwida von Meysenbug (1816–1903), German political writer and memoirist
• Anne Michaels (born 1958), Canadian novelist and poet; Fugitive Pieces
• Agnes Miegel (1879–1964), German journalist, writer and poet
• Jo Mihaly (1902–1989), German diarist, novelist and dancer
• Mitsukazu Mihara (born 1970), Japanese manga writer and artist
• Jung Mi-kyung (born 1960), Korean novelist
• Grace Mildmay (1552–1620), English diarist
• Josephine Miles (1911–1985), US poet and literary critic
• Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950), US poet; 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Caroline Miller (1903–1992), US novelist; 1934 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
• Grażyna Miller (1957–2009), Polish poet, writer and translator
• Isabel Miller (Alma Routsong, 1924–1996), US novelist; Patience and Sarah
• Kirsten Miller (born 1973), US novelist; Kiki Strike series
• Leslie Adrienne Miller (born 1956), US poet
• Madeline Miller (born 1978), US novelist
• Rebecca Miller (born 1962), US novelist and writer; Jacob's Folly
• Kate Millett (1934–2017), US feminist
• Arthenia J. Bates Millican (1920–2012), US poet, short-story writer and educator
• Anchee Min (born 1957), Chinese US novelist and memoir writer; Red Azalea
• Mirabai (also Meera, Meera Bai; c. 1498–c. 1547), Hindu mystical poet
• Gabriela Mistral (Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, 1889–1957), Chilean poet, educator and feminist; first Latin US to win the Nobel Prize in Literature
• Dreda Say Mitchell (Louise Emma Joseph, born 1965), English novelist and journalist
• Gladys Mitchell (1901–1983), English mystery novelist
• Margaret Mitchell (1900–1949), US journalist and novelist; Gone with the Wind
• Susan Mitchell (born 1944), US poet, essayist and translator
• Naomi Mitchison (1897–1999), Scottish novelist and poet
• Jessica Mitford (1917–1996), English-US author, journalist and civil rights activist
• Mary Russell Mitford (1787–1855), English novelist and dramatist; Our Village
• Nancy Mitford (1904–1973), English novelist, biographer and letter writer; The Pursuit of Love
• Kim Mi-wol (born 1977)
• Minae Mizumura (born 1951), U.S.-educated Japanese novelist, critic and essayist
• Janet Mock (born 1983), US writer, transgender rights activist and author
• Moero or Myro (3rd century BC), Greek poet
• Nadifa Mohamed (born 1981), Somali-British novelist
• Natalia Molebatsi (living), South African poet
• Mary Louisa (Mrs) Molesworth (1839–1921), English children's novelist
• Grace Mera Molisa (1947–2002), ni-Vanuatu politician, poet and campaigner for women
• Lília Momplé (born 1935), Mozambican fiction writer
• Jenn Monroe (born 1970), poet, editor
• Pilar Burgués Monserrat, writer, of short story
• Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762), English poet, essayist, diarist and letter-writer
• Florence Montgomery (1843–1923), English children's writer
• Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942), Canadian fiction writer and poet; Anne of Green Gables
• Ruth Montgomery (1912–2001), US journalist, novelist and psychic
• Amy Monticello (born 1982), essayist and non-fiction writer
• Susanna Moodie (1803–1885), Canadian diarist, novelist and poet
• Anne Moody (born 1940), US autobiographer; Coming of Age in Mississippi
• Alison Moore (born 1971), English novelist; The Lighthouse
• C. L. Moore (1911–1987), US fantasy writer; Jirel of Joiry
• Lisa Moore (born 1964), Canadian fiction writer
• Lorrie Moore (born 1957), US short story writer
• Marianne Moore (1887–1972), US poet; 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Ruth Moore (1903–1989), US fiction writer and poet
• Elizabeth Moorhead (c. 1865–1955), US fiction writer
• Barbara Moraff (born 1939), US poet of the Beat generation
• Cherrie Moraga (born 1952), Chicana poet, playwright and essayist
• Aurora Levins Morales (born 1954), US-Puerto Rican essayist, poet and fiction writer
• Elsa Morante (1912–1985), Italian novelist; History
• Ann Moray (1909–1981), Irish-US novelist and singer
• Yolanda Morazzo (1928–2009), Cape Verdean poet
• Hannah More (1745–1833), English moralist, poet and playwright
• Helga Moreira (born 1950), Portuguese poet
• C. E. Morgan (born 1976), US author
• Erin Morgenstern (born 1978), US multimedia artist and novelist; The Night Circus
• Irmtraud Morgner (1933–1990), German novelist
• Margarita Morozova (1873–1958), Russian memoirist and publisher
• Jan Morris (born James Morris, 1926), Welsh historian and travel writer
• Mary McGarry Morris (born 1943), US novelist; finalist, National Book Award and Pen/Faulkner Award; Vanished
• Toni Morrison (1931–2019), US novelist, children's novelist and 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature winner; Beloved
• Donna Morrissey (born 1956), Canadian novelist and screenwriter
• Penelope Mortimer (1918–1999), Welsh-English novelist
• Nelle Morton (1905–1987), US theologian, professor and feminist civil rights leader
• Stefania Mosca (1957–2009), Venezuelan writer
• Hannah Moscovitch (born 1978), Canadian playwright
• Marie Moser (born 1948), Canadian fiction writer
• Ottessa Moshfegh (born 1981), US novelist, short story writer and essayist; Eileen
• Thylias Moss (born 1954), US poet, children's novelist and playwright
• Kate Mosse (born 1961), English fiction writer and broadcaster;Labyrinth
• Touhfat Mouhtare (living), Comorian writer
• Daphne Pochin Mould (born 1920), English-born geology, religion and history writer
• Julia Moulden (born 1956), Canadian non-fiction writer and speechwriter
• Esther Moyal (1878–1948), Lebanese Jewish writer, feminist and translator
• Lisel Mueller (1924–2020), German-US poet; 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Willa Muir (1890–1970), Scottish writer
• Bharati Mukherjee (born 1940), Indian-US fiction writer; Jasmine
• Lale Müldür (born 1956), Turkish poet and writer
• Harryette Mullen (born 1953), US poet, short story writer and literary scholar
• Herta Müller (born 1953), Romanian-born German novelist, poet and essayist; Nobel Prize winner
• Inge Müller (1925–1966), German poet
• Alice Munro (born 1931), Canadian short story writer; 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature; Runaway
• Iris Murdoch (1919–1999), Irish-English novelist and philosopher; 1978 Booker Prize; The Sea, the Sea
• Mary Noailles Murfree (1850–1922), US fiction writer
• Rosario Murillo (born 1951), Nicaraguan poet
• C. E. Murphy (born 1973), US author
• Margaret Murphy (born 1959), English crime novelist; The Dispossessed
• Eugénie Musayidire (born 1952), Rwandan-German writer; Mein Stein spricht (My Stone Speaks, covering the Rwandan genocide)
• Inga Muscio (born 1966), US writer; Cunt: A Declaration of Independence
• Susan Musgrave (born 1951), Canadian poet and children's writer
• Małgorzata Musierowicz (born 1945), Polish fiction writer for children and young adults
• Carol Muske-Dukes (born 1945), US poet, novelist and professor; California Poet Laureate
• Sugawara no Takasue no musume (born 1008), Japanese diarist
• Dagmar von Mutius (1919–2008), German writer
• Beverle Graves Myers (born 1951), US mystery fiction writer

N

• Farida Nabourema (born 1990), Togolese human rights activist, writer and blogger
• Constance Naden (1858–1889), English poet and philosopher
• Azar Nafisi (born 1948), Iranian writer and academic; Reading Lolita in Tehran
• Alice Nahon (1896–1933), Dutch-language poet
• Sarojini Naidu (Nightingale of India; 1879–1949), child prodigy, Indian independence activist and poet
• Zofia Nałkowska (1884–1954), Polish novelist, playwright
• Carolina Nairne (1766–1845), Scottish songwriter
• Cheng Naishan (1946–2013) Shanghainese-Hong Kongese novelist and non-fiction writer
• Shikishi Naishinnō (died 1201), Japanese classical poet
• Nakatsukasa (912–991), Japanese poet
• Bahiyyih Nakhjavani (living), Iranian novelist
• Anna Nakwaska (1781–1851), Polish memoirist, novelist and children's author
• Heo Nanseolheon (1563–1589), Korean poet
• Elma Napier (1892–1973), Scottish-born writer and politician in Dominica
• Ruth Narramore (1923–2010), editor
• Taslima Nasrin (born 1962), Bengali novelist and poet and essayist; Lajja
• Benedikte Naubert (1752–1819), German historical novelist
• Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549), French poet, playwright and short story writer; Heptameron
• Gloria Naylor (born 1950), US novelist; The Women of Brewster Place
• Marie NDiaye (born 1967), French novelist and playwright
• Alice Dunbar Nelson (1875–1935), US poet, journalist and political activist
• Božena Němcová (1820–1862), Czech writer of the Czech National Revival movement
• Irène Némirovsky (1903–1942), Ukrainian-French novelist; Suite française
• Adalgisa Nery (1905–1980), Brazilian poet, novelist and journalist
• E. Nesbit (1858–1924), English children's fiction writer; Five Children and It
• Friederike Caroline Neuber (1697–1760), German playwright and actress
• Aimee Nezhukumatathil (born 1974), Asian US poet and essayist
• Juliana Makuchi Nfah-Abbenyi (living), Cameroon professor and writer
• Lauretta Ngcobo (1931–2015), South African novelist and essayist
• Grace Nichols (born 1950), Guyanese poet
• Lorine Niedecker (1903–1970), US poet; only woman among the Objectivist poets
• Aīda Niedra (1899–1972), Latvian novelist and poet
• Charlotte Niese (1854–1935), German writer and poet
• Audrey Niffenegger (born 1963), US novelist and artist; The Time Traveler's Wife
• Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), English nurse, statistician and feminist
• Anaïs Nin (1903–1977), French eroticist, critic and diarist; Henry and June
• Sister Nivedita (1867–1911), English and Hindu writer
• Esther Nirina (1932–2004), Malagasy poet
• Rebeka Njau (born 1932), Kenyan playwright and novelist
• Nkiru Njoku (born c. 1980), Nigerian screenwriter
• Anna de Noailles (1876–1933), French-born Romanian writer in French
• Ingrid Noll (born 1935), German novelist
• Oodgeroo Noonuccal (also Kath Walker; 1920–1993), Australian poet, political activist and educator
• Kerstin Norborg (born 1961), Swedish writer and poet
• Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht (1718–1763), Swedish poet, feminist and salon hostess
• Clara Nordström (1886–1962), Swedish-born novelist writing in German
• Regine Normann (1867–1939), Norwegian fiction writer
• Kathleen Norris (1880–1966), US novelist
• Marisela Norte (living), US poet and writer
• Andre Norton (1912–2005), US writer of speculative fiction; Star Gate
• Caroline Norton (1808–1877), English author, social reformer and feminist
• Julian of Norwich (1342–1416), English mystic
• Nossis (fl. c. 300 BC), Greek epigrammist and poet
• Amélie Nothomb (born 1967), Belgian novelist
• Alice Notley (born 1945), US poet
• Helga M. Novak (born 1935), German poet and political writer
• Mary Novik (born 1945), Canadian novelist
• Perpétue Nshimirimana (born 1961), writer
• Princess Nukata (c. 630–690), Japanese poet
• Martina Nwakoby (born 1937), Nigerian children's writer and novelist
• Flora Nwapa (1931–1993), Nigerian novelist; Efuru
• Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (born 1976), Nigerian novelist, humorist and essayist
• Julia Nyberg (1784–1854), Swedish poet and songwriter

O

• Ann Oakley (born 1944), English feminist academic and novelist
• Joyce Carol Oates (born 1938), US fiction writer, poet and playwright; We Were the Mulvaneys
• María Olimpia de Obaldía (1891–1985), Panamanian poet
• Charlotta Öberg (also Lotta Öberg,; 1818–1856), Swedish poet
• Téa Obreht (born 1985), Serbian-US fiction writer; The Tiger's Wife
• Edna O'Brien (born 1930), Irish fiction writer
• Kate O'Brien (1897–1974), Irish novelist and playwright
• Silvina Ocampo (1903–1994), Argentine poet and short story writer
• Flannery O'Connor (1925–1964), US fiction writer
• Niamh O'Connor (active since 2000), Irish journalist, novelist
• Tyne O'Connell (born 1960), English novelist
• Mary O'Donnell (born 1954), Irish fiction writer and poet
• Mary O'Donoghue (born 1975), Irish novelist, poet and translator
• Taiwo Odubiyi (born 1965), Nigerian romance novelist, children's writer and religious columnist
• Julia O'Faolain (born 1932), Irish novelist
• Nuala O'Faolain (1940–2008), Irish novelist, critic and memoirist
• Catherine O'Flynn (born 1970), English fiction writer; What Was Lost
• Nana Oforiatta Ayim (living), Ghanaian writer, art historian and filmmaker
• Barbara Ogier (1648–1720), Flemish playwright
• Grace Ogot (born 1930), Kenyan fiction writer
• Molara Ogundipe (born 1940), Nigerian poet, critic and non-fiction writer
• Sheila O'Hagan (living), Irish poet
• Yeo Ok (15th to 1st century BC), Korean poet
• Nnedi Okorafor (born 1974), Nigerian US fiction writer
• Juliane Okot Bitek (living), Kenyan-born Ugandan diaspora poet
• Ifeoma Okoye (born 1937), Nigerian fiction and children's writer
• Chinelo Okparanta (born 1981), Nigerian-US fiction writer
• Sofi Oksanen (born 1977), Finnish novelist and playwright
• Princess Ōku (661–702), Japanese poet
• Sharon Olds (born 1942), US poet; 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Margaret Oliphant (1828–1897), Scottish novelist; Phoebe, Junior
• Ukamaka Olisakwe (born 1982), Nigerian feminist writer, short story writer and screenwriter
• Mary Oliver (born 1935), US poet; 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Tillie Olsen (1913–2007), US feminist fiction writer
• Lisa Olstein (living), US poet
• Nessa O'Mahony (living), Irish poet
• Mary O'Malley (born 1954), Irish poet
• Kathleen O'Meara (1839–1888), Irish journalist, novelist and biographer
• Yewande Omotoso (born 1980), South African-based novelist and designer, born in Barbados, raised in Nigeria
• Heather O'Neill (born 1973), Canadian fiction writer, poet and screenwriter
• Mary Devenport O'Neill (1898–1957), Irish poet and dramatist
• Moira O'Neill, pen name of Agnes Shakespeare Higginson (1864–1955), Irish-Canadian poet
• Makena Onjerika (living), Kenyan writer
• Fuyumi Ono (born 1960), Japanese novelist
• Nuzo Onoh (born 1962), Nigerian horror writer
• Chibundu Onuzo (born 1991), Nigerian novelist
• Osonye Tess Onwueme (born 1955), Nigerian playwright, scholar and poet
• Ifeoma Onyefulu (born 1959), Nigerian children's writer, novelist and photographer
• Amelia Opie (1769–1853), English novelist and biographer
• Mary Oppen (1908–1990), US artist, poet and writer
• Baroness Orczy (1865–1947), Hungarian-born English novelist, translator, and illustrator; The Scarlet Pimpernel
• Caitriona O'Reilly (born 1973), Irish poet, critic
• Bukola Oriola (born 1976), Nigerian-US journalist and autobiographer
• Iza Orjonikidze (1938–2010) Georgian poet, politician
• Margarita Ormotsadze (born 1981), Ukrainian journalist, poet and writer
• Hanne Ørstavik (born 1969), Norwegian novelist
• Virginia Elena Ortea (1866–1906) Dominican Republic journalist and novelist
• Helena Araújo Ortiz (born 1934), Colombian feminist author and literary critic
• Eliza Orzeszkowa (1841–1910), Polish writer
• Martha Ostenso (1900–1963), Norwegian-Canadian novelist and screenwriter; Wild Geese
• Maggie O'Sullivan (1908–1990), British poet, performer and visual artist associated with British Poetry Revival
• Maureen Donovan O'Sullivan (1887–1966), Irish educator, journal editor and historian
• Alice Oswald (born 1966), English poet
• Julie Otsuka (born 1962), US novelist; The Buddha in the Attic
• Ouida (1839–1908), English fiction writer; Under Two Flags
• Helen Ovbiagele (born 1944), Nigerian romance novelist
• Angelika Overath (born 1957), German author and journalist
• Sue Owen (born 1942), US dark humor poet
• Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor (born 1968), Kenyan fiction writer
• Helen Oyeyemi (born 1984), British fiction writer
• Emine Sevgi Özdamar (born 1956), Turkish-born German novelist and playwright
• Ruth Ozeki (born 1956), US-Canadian novelist, filmmaker and academic
• Cynthia Ozick (born 1928), US critic and novelist

P

• Ruth Padel (born 1946), English poet, critic and writer on nature
• Isabel Pagan (c. 1740–1821), Scottish poet
• Karen A. Page (born 1962), US food writer
• Elaine Pagels (born 1943), US religious historian and writer; The Gnostic Gospels
• Camille Paglia (born 1947), US feminist essayist; Sexual Personae
• Charlotte Painter (born 1926), US novelist and writer
• Marina Palei (born 1955), Russian writer; Rendezvous
• Grace Paley (1922–2007), US short story writer, poet and activist
• Nettie Palmer (1885–1964), Australian poet, essayist and literary critic
• Kirsti Paltto (born 1947), Sámi playwright, short story and children's writer
• Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928), English feminist activist, speaker and autobiography writer
• Sylvia Pankhurst (1882–1960), English suffragist, poet
• Vera Panova (1905–1973), Soviet fiction writer; Seryozha
• Sara Paretsky (born 1947), US mystery novelist
• Dorothy Parker (1893–1967), US poet, critic and short story writer
• Una-Mary Parker (born 1930), English journalist and novelist
• Adele Parks (born 1969), English fiction writer
• Suzan-Lori Parks (born 1964), US playwright and screenwriter
• Sophia Parnok (1885–1933), Russian Silver Age poet
• Catherine Parr (born 1512), Queen of England from 1543 to 1547, spouse of King Henry VIII
• Anne Parrish (1888–1957), US children's novelist
• Mona Parsa (born 1982), US author
• Sarah Willis Parton (Fanny Fern, 1811–1872), US novelist, columnist and children's writer
• Vesna Parun (1922–2010), Croatian poet
• Ann Patchett (born 1963), US novelist; Bel Canto
• Shailja Patel (living), Kenyan poet, playwright
• Evelyn Patuawa-Nathan (living), New Zealand Māori writer
• Irene Levine Paull (1908–1981), US writer and labor activist
• Karolina Pavlova (1807–1893), Russian writer; A Double Life
• Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska (1891–1945), Polish poet
• Edith Pearlman (born 1936), US short story and non-fiction writer
• Laura Pedersen (born 1965), US author, humorist and playwright; The Brightness of Heaven
• Erica Pedretti (born 1930), Czechoslovak-born Swiss writer in German
• Inês Pedrosa (born 1962), Portuguese journalist, fiction writer and playwright
• Janet Peery (born 1948), US fiction writer
• Kira Peikoff (born 1987), US thriller writer
• Kathleen Peirce (born 1956), US poet
• Louise Penny (born 1958), Canadian mystery novelist
• Emily Pepys (1833–1877), English child diarist (1844–45)
• Jennifer Percy (living), US writer
• Charmaine Pereira (living), Nigerian non-fiction writer
• Ana Mercedes Perez (born 1910), Venezuelan poet, writer and translator
• Aşıq Pəri (also as Ashiq Peri, c. 1811–c. 1847) Azerbaijani lyric poet
• Olga Perovskaya (1902–1961), Soviet children's literature writer
• Perpetua (died AD 203), Roman African writer of a prison diary, The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity
• Julia Peterkin (1880–1961), US fiction writer; 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
• Elizabeth Peters (born 1927), US mystery novelist; Amelia Peabody
• Ellis Peters (1913–1995), Welsh-English mystery fiction writer and translator; Brother Cadfael
• Marine Petrossian (born 1960), Armenian poet, essayist and columnist
• Lyudmila Petrushevskaya (born 1938), Russian writer and dramatist; Immortal Love
• Ann Petry (1908–1997), US journalist and fiction writer
• Katherine Philips (1631–1664), English poet
• Jayne Anne Phillips (born 1952), US fiction writer
• Phintys (or Phyntis, 4th or 3rd century BC), Greek philosopher
• Ife Piankhi (living), Uganda-born poet, singer and educator
• Karoline Pichler (also Caroline, 1769–1843), Austrian novelist; Agathocles
• Jodi Picoult (born 1966), US novelist
• Meredith Ann Pierce (born 1958), US fantasy writer
• Tamora Pierce (born 1954), US children's novelist; Alanna of Trebond
• Marge Piercy (born 1936), US poet, novelist, and social activist
• Rosamunde Pilcher (1924–2019), English romance fiction writer; The Shell Seekers
• Florencia del Pinar (15th century), Spanish poet
• Winsome Pinnock (born 1961), British playwright
• Ruth Pitter (1897–1992), English poet; first woman to receive the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, in 1955
• Mary Pix (1666–1709), English novelist and playwright
• Christine de Pizan (1364–1430), Venetian feminist poet and rhetorician in French; The Book of the City of Ladies
• Alejandra Pizarnik (1936–1972), Argentine poet
• Tamri Pkhakadze (born 1957) Georgian novelist and children's writer
• Josefina Pla (1903–1999), Spanish poet, playwright and painter
• Sylvia Plath (1932–1963), US poet, fiction writer and essayist; 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (posthumous)
• Ann Plato (born c. 1820), US essayist
• Karen Platt (fl. 2004 – present), English gardening writer
• Polly Platt (1927–2008), US author of books on living in France
• Anne Plumptre (1760–1818), English translator and fiction and political writer
• Aliénor de Poitiers (fl. late 15th century), French writer on court etiquette
• Elizabeth Polack (fl. 1830–1838), Anglo-Jewish playwright
• Velma Pollard (born 1937), Jamaican poet and fiction writer.
• Sarah Polley (born 1979), Canadian actress, screenwriter and political activist; Away from Her
• Katha Pollitt (born 1949), US feminist poet, essayist and critic
• Elizaveta Polonskaya (1890–1969), Russian Jewish poet, translator and journalist
• Hannah Azieb Pool (born 1974), British-Eritrean writer and journalist
• Olúmìdé Pópóọlá (living), Nigerian-German poet and novelist
• Elizabeth Polwheele (1651–c. 1691), British playwright
• Elena Poniatowska (born 1932), Polish-Mexican journalist and fiction writer
• Marie Ponsot (born 1921), US poet and essayist
• Azalais de Porcairagues (late 12th century), French poet writing in Occitan
• Anna Maria Porter (1780–1832), English poet and novelist
• Eleanor H. Porter (1868–1920), US children's writer; Pollyanna
• Jane Porter (1776–1850), English historical novelist and playwright
• Katherine Anne Porter (1890–1980), US journalist, essayist and novelist; 1966 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
• Suzanne Portnoy (born 1961), English writer and playwright
• Dina Posada (born 1946), Central American poet
• Francesca Bortolotto Possati (living), Italian entrepreneur and author
• Emily Post (1873–1960), US journalist and novelist; Etiquette
• Halina Poświatowska (1935–1967), Polish poet
• Beatrix Potter (1866–1943), English children's writer and illustrator; The Tale of Peter Rabbit
• Sarah Powell (1922–1941), French poet
• Dawn Powell (1896–1965), US fiction writer and playwright
• Patricia Powell (born 1966), Jamaican novelist
• Marguerite Agnes Power (1815–1867), Irish-English novelist, periodical writer and editor
• Rhoda Power (1890–1957), English educational and children's writer
• Praxilla (5th century BC), Greek poet
• Paula von Preradović (1887–1951), Austrian story writer and poet
• Jewel Prestage (1931–2014), first African-US woman to earn a political science Ph.D.
• Katharine Susannah Prichard (1883–1969), Australian fiction writer and playwright
• Diane di Prima (born 1934), US poet
• Mary Prince (c. 1788–after 1833), Bermuda-born writer of first account of the life an enslaved black woman published in the UK, The History of Mary Prince (1831)
• Pauline Prior-Pitt (living), Scottish poet
• Amrita Pritam (1919–2005), first prominent woman Punjabi poet, novelist and essayist
• Faltonia Betitia Proba (c. 306/315 – c. 353/366), Roman poet in Latin
• Adelaide Anne Procter (1825–1864), English poet
• Francine Prose (born 1947), US fiction and non-fiction writer and critic; Reading Like a Writer
• Annie Proulx (born 1935), US fiction writer and journalist; 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; The Shipping News
• Esther Pugh (1834–1908), US editor
• Carmen Montoriol Puig (1893–1966), Catalan poet, writer and playwright
• Barbara Pym (1913–1980), English novelist; Quartet in Autumn

Q

• Najwa Qassem (living), Lebanese journalist
• Li Qingzhao (1084–1151), Chinese poet
• Qiu Jin (1875–1907), Chinese revolutionary, feminist and writer
• Marjorie Quarton (born 1930), Irish children's writer and novelist
• Rachel de Queiroz (1910–2003), Brazilian novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer
• Catharina Questiers (1631–1669), Dutch poet and playwright
• Alison Quigan (fl. 1980s), New Zealand actress, theatre director and playwright
• Betty Quin (died 1993), Australian script writer
• Anna Quindlen (born 1953), US journalist and novelist; Black and Blue
• Rebeca Quintáns (born 1964), Spanish journalist and research writer
• Elena Quiroga (1921–1995), Spanish novelist
• Christine Qunta (born 1952), South African writer, lawyer and entrepreneur
• Anne Margrethe Qvitzow (1652–1700), Danish poet, translator and memoir writer

R

• Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné (1626–1696), French letter-writer
• Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823), English gothic novelist; The Mysteries of Udolpho
• Radegund (c. 520–586), Frankish princess and poet writing in Latin
• Janet Milne Rae (1844–1933), Scottish fiction writer
• Jennifer Rahim (born 1963), Trinidadian educator and writer
• Allen Raine (Anne Adaliza Beynon Puddicombe, 1836–1908), Welsh novelist; Queen of the Rushes
• Samina Raja (born 1961), Pakistani poet, writer and broadcaster
• Rajashree (living), Indian chick lit novelist; Trust Me
• Maraea Rakuraku (living), New Zealand Māori playwright
• Ayn Rand (1905–1982), Russian US novelist and philosopher; The Fountainhead; Atlas Shrugged
• Mary Randolph (1762–1828), US housekeeping and cookery book author; The Virginia House-Wife
• Jennifer Rankin (1941–1979), Australian poet and playwright
• Claudia Rankine (born 1963), US poet and playwright
• Ellen Raskin (1928–1984), US children's writer and illustrator; The Westing Game
• Elsa Rautee (1897–1987), Finnish poet
• Dahlia Ravikovitch (1936–2005), Israeli poet, translator and peace activist
• Angela Rawlings (born 1978), Canadian poet, editor and interdisciplinary artist
• Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896–1953), US novelist; 1939 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; The Yearling
• Sarah Rayner (living), English author and copywriter
• Angela Readman (born 1973), English poet
• Pauline Réage (1907–1998), French erotic novelist; Story of O
• Elisa von der Recke (Elisabeth Recke) (1754–1833), German writer and poet from Courland
• Jaclyn Reding (born 1966), US historical romance novelist
• Clara Reeve (1729–1807), English novelist; The Old English Baron
• Ruth Reichl (born 1948), US food and memoir writer
• Gayla Reid (born 1945), Australian-Canadian novelist
• Małgorzata Rejmer (born 1985), Polish fiction writer
• Mirkka Rekola (born 1931), Finnish poet
• Mary Renault (1905–1983), English historical novelist; Fire From Heaven
• Ruth Rendell (born 1930), English mystery novelist; A Fatal Inversion
• Ōtagaki Rengetsu (1791–1875), Japanese poet and calligrapher
• Empress Xu (1362–1407), Chinese bibliographer and empress consort
• Gabriele Reuter (1859–1941), German novelist, essayist and children's writer
• Fanny zu Reventlow (Franziska, 1871–1918), German political writer and feminist
• Yasmina Reza (born 1959), French playwright, actress and novelist; Art
• Regina Rheda (São Paulo, Brazil, 1957), fiction writer and animal rights advocate; Humana Festa
• Jean Rhys (1890–1979), Dominican novelist; Wide Sargasso Sea
• Mrs. Riazuddin (born 1928), Pakistani feminist activist and travelogue writer
• Catherine of Ricci (1522–1590), Italian religious writer and saint
• Marie Jeanne Riccoboni (1714–1792), French novelist
• Anne Rice (born 1941), US novelist; Vampire Chronicles
• Adrienne Rich (born 1929), US feminist poet
• Jo-Anne Richards, South African journalist and author
• Dorothy Richardson (1873–1957), English fiction writer, poet and essayist
• Elizabeth Richardson (1576/1577–1651), English religious writer
• Henry Handel Richardson (Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, 1870–1946), Australian novelist; The Fortunes of Richard Mahony
• Jutta Richter (born 1955), German author for children and young people
• Lola Ridge (1873–1941), anarchist poet and editor of avant-garde feminist and Marxist publications
• Laura Riding (1901–1991), US poet, critic and fiction writer
• Brigitte Riebe (also Laura Stern, born 1935), German novelist
• Alifa Rifaat (1930–1996), Egyptian short story writer
• Denise Riley (born 1948), English poet and philosopher
• Raza Naqvi Wahi (born 1914–2002), Urdu poet
• Joan Riley (born 1958), Jamaican novelist
• Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1958), US novelist, playwright and poet
• Luise Rinser (1911–2002), German novelist, autobiographer and children's writer
• Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie (1837–1919), English novelist
• Sarah Fraser Robbins (1911–2002), US writer and educator in natural history and environmentalism
• Antoinette Henriette Clémence Robert (1797–1872), French novelist and playwright
• Eigra Lewis Roberts (born 1939), Welsh dramatist and novelist in Welsh
• Emma Roberts (1794–1840), English travel writer and poet
• Kate Roberts (1891–1985), Welsh fiction writer in Welsh
• Michèle Roberts (born 1949), British novelist and poet
• Margaret Roberts (1937–2017), South African herbalist and author
• Nora Roberts (pen name J. D. Robb, born 1959), US romance and fantasy novelist; In Death series
• E. Arnot Robertson (1903–1961), English novelist
• Lisa Robertson (born 1961), Canadian poet
• Eden Robinson (born 1968), Canadian fiction writer; Monkey Beach
• Marilynne Robinson (born 1943), US novelist; 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; Gilead
• Mary Robinson (1757–1800), English poet, novelist and actress
• Kim Robinson-Walcott (living), Jamaican poet and editor
• Aïcha Mohamed Robleh (born 1965), Djiboutian writer
• Lucia St. Clair Robson (living), US novelist
• Charlotte Roche (born 1978), English-born novelist in German; Feuchtgebiete
• Mazo de la Roche (1885–1961), Canadian novelist in English; Jalna series
• Sophie von La Roche (1730–1807), German novelist
• Esther Rochon (born 1948), Canadian science fiction novelist
• Debbie Rodriguez (living), US author
• Helena Roerich (1879–1955), Russian mystic
• Monique Roffey (born 1965), Trinidadian novelist and memoirist
• Robin Romm (living), US writer
• Daphne Rooke (1914–2009), South African writer
• Ginny Rorby (born 1944), US young adult novelist
• Henrietta Rose-Innes (born 1971), South African novelist and short-story writer
• Barbara Rosiek (born 1959), Polish writer, poet and clinical psychologist
• Anna Ross, (born 1773), comic opera dramatist and actress
• Orna Ross (born 1960), Irish author and advocate for creativism
• Nancy Wilson Ross (1901–1986), US novelist
• Somerville and Ross (Edith Somerville, 1858–1949, and Violet Florence Martin, 1862–1915, writing as Martin Ross), Irish novelists; The Irish R. M.
• Christina Rossetti (1830–1894), English poet; Goblin Market and Other Poems
• Veronica Rossi (born 1973), US young adult novelist
• Judith Rossner (1935–2005), US novelist; Looking for Mr. Goodbar
• Maria Elizabeth Rothmann (1875–1975), South African writer
• Veronica Roth (born 1988), US novelist; Divergent trilogy
• Hannah Mary Rothschild (born 1962), English writer, philanthropist and documentary filmmaker
• Anne Rouse (born 1954), US-British poet
• Alma Routsong (Isabel Miller, 1924–1996), US novelist; Patience and Sarah
• Mary Rowlandson (1635–1711), US memoirist
• J. K. Rowling (born 1965), English novelist; Harry Potter series
• Susanna Rowson (1762–1824), English-US novelist, poet and playwright; Charlotte Temple, Lucy Temple
• Susanna Roxman (born 1946), English writer, poet and critic born in Sweden; Imagining Seals
• Arundhati Roy (born 1961), Indian novelist; 1997 Booker Prize; The God of Small Things
• Gabrielle Roy (1909–1983), Canadian novelist and journalist; The Tin Flute
• Lucinda Roy (born 1955), US-based British novelist
• S. J. Rozan (born 1950), US crime fiction writer; Winter and Night
• Pascale Roze (born 1954), French playwright and novelist
• Bernice Rubens (1928–2004), Welsh novelist; 1970 Booker Prize; The Elected Member
• Dina Rubina (born 1953), Russian writer; The Blackthorn
• Anne Rudloe (1947–2012), US marine biologist, Zen Buddhist
• Anneli Rufus (living), US journalist
• Muriel Rukeyser (1913–1980), US feminist poet
• Katherine Rundell (born 1987), English children's writer and dramatist
• Kristina Rungano (born 1963), Zimbabwean poet and short story writer
• Rona Rupert (1934–1995), South African writer
• Joanna Russ (born 1937), US fiction writer and essayist
• Diana E. H. Russell (born 1938), South African feminist writer and activist
• Karen Russell (born 1981), US fiction writer; Swamplandia!
• Rose Rwakasisi (born 1945), Ugandan editor, short story writer and educator
• Gig Ryan (born 1956), Australian poet
• Kay Ryan (born 1945), US poet and educator; 16th US Poet Laureate
• Marah Ellis Ryan (1860–1934), US novelist
• Nan Ryan (living), US writer of romance novels

S

• Nelly Sachs (1891–1970), German poet and playwright; 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Vita Sackville-West (1892–1962), English writer, poet and gardener
• Mary Sadler (born 1941), South African novelist
• Elif Safak (born 1971), Turkish writer
• Françoise Sagan (1935–2004), French playwright, novelist and screenwriter
• Mamta Sagar (born 1966), Kannada poet and playwright living in Bangalore
• Sarojini Sahoo (born 1956), Indian feminist writer and fiction writer; Sensible Sensuality, The Dark Abode
• Nandini Sahu (born 1973), Indian English poet, folklorist and academic
• Stéphanie Félicité du Crest de Saint-Aubin (1746–1830), novelist, playwright and children's writer: see Genlis
• Pirkko Saisio (born 1949), Finnish author, actress and director
• Arja Salafranca (born 1971), South African poet
• Nina Salaman (1877–1925), English poet and translator
• Excilia Saldaña (1946–1999), Afro-Cuban poet and children's writer
• Marta Salgado,(born 1947), Afro-Chilean non-fiction
• Nino Salia (1898–1992), Georgian émigré historian active in France
• Blanaid Salkeld (1880–1959), Irish poet, dramatist and salon hostess
• Jessica Amanda Salmonson (born 1950), US fiction writer, essayist and editor
• Lydie Salvayre (born 1948), French writer
• Fiona Sampson (born 1968), British poet and editor
• Lin Sampson (living), South African journalist
• Sonia Sanchez (born 1934), US poet, playwright and children's writer
• Milcha Sanchez-Scott (born 1953), US playwright
• George Sand (1804–1876), French novelist and playwright; Indiana
• Mari Sandoz (1896–1966), US fiction writer and biographer
• Sappho (c. 630–570 BC), Greek poet
• Dipti Saravanamuttu (born 1960), Sri Lankan-Australian poet and journalist
• Tibors de Sarenom (c. 1130–post–1198), French poet writing in Occitan
• Noo Saro-Wiwa (living), British-Nigerian travel writer
• Nathalie Sarraute (1900–1999), Russian-French novelist and essayist
• Homa Sarshar (living), Iranian-US author, feminist and journalist
• May Sarton (1912–1995), Belgian US poet, novelist and memoirist
• Marjane Satrapi (born 1969), Iranian graphic novelist
• Gerd Grønvold Saue (born 1930), Norwegian literary critic, novelist and hymnwriter
• Stephanie Saulter (living), Jamaican science fiction writer
• Sharon Savoy (living), US author
• Ruth Sawyer (1880–1970), US novelist and children's writer
• Robin Sax (born c. 1971), US true-crime author and commentator
• Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957), English mystery novelist, essayist, and short story writer; Whose Body?
• Oda Schaefer (1900–1988), German poet and journalist
• Riana Scheepers (born 1957), South African writer of children's books, short fiction and poetry
• Caroline Schelling (1763–1809), German essayist, critic and correspondent
• Stacy Schiff (born 1961), US non-fiction author and guest columnist; winner of the Pulitzer Prize
• Dorothea von Schlegel (1764–1839), German novelist and translator
• Eva Schloss (born 1929), Austrian Jewish memoirist and Holocaust survivor
• Elke Schmitter (born 1961), German novelist
• Pat Schneider (born 1934), US writer, poet and editor
• Diane Schoemperlen (born 1954), Canadian fiction writer
• Elizabeth of Schönau (1129–1165), German visionary writing in Latin
• Patricia Schonstein (born 1952), South African novelist, poet and children's author
• Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (1800–1842), US Indian writer of poetry and fiction
• Amalie Schoppe (1791–1858), German children's writer
• Olive Schreiner (1855–1920), South African novelist, allegorist and political writer
• Jenefer Shute (living), South African novelist
• Christine Schutt (born 1948), US fiction writer
• Simone Schwarz-Bart (born 1938), French playwright and novelist
• Sandra Scofield (born 1943), US novelist, essayist, and author of writers' guides
• Ann Scott (born 1965), French novelist
• Caroline Lucy Scott (1784–1857), English novelist and religious writer
• Cathy Scott (living), US true crime author, biographer and journalist; The Killing of Tupac Shakur
• Jane Scott (c. 1779–1839), English theatre manager, performer and playwright
• Madeleine de Scudéry (1607–1701), French novelist
• Mary Seacole (1805–1881), British-Jamaican nurse and autobiographer
• Molly Elliot Seawell (1860–1916), US essayist, novelist and short story writer
• Alice Sebold (born 1963), US novelist; The Lovely Bones
• Amy Sedaris (born 1961), US actress, screenwriter and humorist
• Catharine Sedgwick (1789–1867), US novelist
• Lisa See (born 1955), Chinese-US novelist; Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
• Edith Segal (1902–1997), Jewish-US choreographer, poet and songwriter
• Anna Seghers (1900–1983), German novelist; The Seventh Cross
• Comtesse de Ségur (1799–1874), Russian-French novelist
• Taiye Selasi (born 1979), Nigerian-Ghanaian novelist
• Odete Semedo (born 1959), writer and educator from Guinea-Bissau
• Olive Senior (born 1941), Jamaican poet and fiction writer
• Danzy Senna (born 1970), US novelist
• Raquel Señoret (1922–1990), Chilean poet
• Ha Seong-nan (born 1967), Korean author
• Kim Seon-wu (born 1970), Korean poet
• Ruta Sepetys (born 1967), Lithuanian-US writer of historical fiction
• Nina Serrano (born 1934), US poet, writer and storyteller
• Kadija Sesay (living), British short-story writer, poet and editor
• Anya Seton (1904–1990), US historical fiction novelist
• Cynthia Propper Seton (1926–1982), US novelist and essayist
• Diane Setterfield (born 1964), English novelist; The Thirteenth Tale
• Mary Lee Settle (1918–2005), US novelist and memoirist; Blood Tie
• Anna Seward (1747–1809), English Romantic poet
• Anna Sewell (1820–1887), English novelist; Black Beauty
• Elizabeth Sewell (1919–2001), British-US poet, novelist, professor and critic
• Elizabeth Missing Sewell (1815–1906), English writer of religious and educational texts
• Anne Sexton (1928–1974), US poet; 1967 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Miranda Seymour (born 1948), English fiction and non-fiction writer
• Ippolita Maria Sforza (1446–1484), Italian writer (also wrote in Latin)
• Mary Ann Shaffer (1934–2008), US writer, editor and librarian; The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
• Marietta Shaginyan (1888–1982), Soviet (Russian) writer and political activist; Mess-Mend
• Ruchoma Shain (1914–2013), author of All for the Boss
• Ntozake Shange (1948–2018), US playwright and novelist
• Jo Shapcott (born 1953), English poet, editor and lecturer
• Chava Shapiro (1876–1943), Ukrainian writer and journalist
• Emma Augusta Sharkey (1858–1802), US writer, journalist and novelist
• Tatiana Shchepkina-Kupernik (1874–1952), Russian writer and dramatist; Deborah
• Alice Sheldon (1915–1987), US fiction writer
• Mary Shelley (1797–1851), English novelist; Frankenstein
• Nan Shepherd (1893–1981), Scottish novelist and poet
• Verene Shepherd (born 1951), Jamaican academic
• Frances Sheridan (1724–1766), Irish novelist and playwright
• Dorothy Sherrill (1901–1990), US writer and illustrator of children's books
• Kate Brownlee Sherwood (1841–1914), US poet, journalist and translator
• Mary Martha Sherwood (1775–1851), English children's writer
• Carol Shields (1935–2003), US-Canadian novelist; 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; The Stone Diaries
• Izumi Shikibu (born c. 976), Japanese poet
• Murasaki Shikibu (c. 973–1014 or 1025), Japanese novelist and poet; The Tale of Genji
• Aki Shimazaki (born 1954), Canadian novelist and translator
• Kang Shin-jae (1924–2001), Korean novelist, essayist and playwright
• Sharon Shinn (born 1957), US novelist
• Irma Shiolashvili (born 1974), Georgian poet, translator and journalist
• Warsan Shire (born 1988), British writer, poet and editor
• Shirome (10th century), Japanese poet
• Maria Shkapskaya (1891–1952), Soviet poet and journalist
• Sei Shōnagon (965–1010), Japanese writer; The Pillow Book
• Lola Shoneyin (born 1974), Nigerian novelist and poet
• Fredegond Shove (1889–1949), English poet
• Zhu Shuzhen (c. 1135–1180), Chinese poet
• Marie-Louise Sibazuri (born 1960), Burundian writer
• Bapsi Sidhwa (born 1938), Pakistani novelist
• Mary Sidney (1561–1621), English translator, playwright and poet
• Gonnie Siegel (1928–2005), US feminist and business advisor
• Catherine of Siena (1347–1380), Italian nun, philosopher and theologian
• Joyce Sikakane (born 1943), South African journalist and activist
• Joan Silber (born 1945), US fiction writer
• Paula Slier (living), South African television, radio and print journalist
• Leslie Marmon Silko (born 1948), US-Laguna Pueblo fiction writer and poet; Almanac of the Dead
• Jindeok of Silla (fl. 647–654), Korean poet and queen
• Makeda Silvera (born 1955), Caribbean Canadian novelist and short-story writer
• Ruth Simpson (1926–2008), US lesbian author, founder of first lesbian community center
• Laura Sims, poet, author
• Jo Sinclair (1913–1995), pen name of Ruth Seid, Jewish-US writer
• May Sinclair (1862–1946), English novelist, poet and short story writer
• Ansuyah Ratipul Singh (1917–1978), South African medical doctor and writer
• Johanna Sinisalo (born 1958), Finnish science-fiction and fantasy writer
• Elinor Sisulu (born 1958), South African writer and activist
• Edith Sitwell (1887–1964), English poet
• Maj Sjöwall (born 1935), Swedish mystery novelist
• Rebecca Skloot (born 1972), US non-fiction science writer; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• Ann Masterman Skinn (1747–1789), English novelist
• Amalie Skram (1846–1905), Norwegian novelist and feminist; Madam Høiers leiefolk
• Vendela Skytte (1608–1627), Swedish writer
• Karin Slaughter (born 1971), US crime writer
• Barbara Sleigh (1906–1982), children's writer and broadcaster; Carbonel series
• Gillian Slovo (born 1952), South African novelist, playwright and memoirist
• Anna Smaill (born 1979), New Zealand poet and novelist; The Chimes
• Elizabeth Smart (1913–1986), Canadian novelist and poet; By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept
• Dorothea Smartt (born 1963), English poet
• Jane Smiley (born 1949), US novelist; 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; A Thousand Acres
• Ali Smith (born 1962), Scottish novelist
• Amanda Smith (1837–1915), US evangelist and autobiographer
• Betty Smith (1896–1972), US novelist; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
• Charlene Leonora Smith (living), South African journalist and biographer of Nelson Mandela
• Charlotte Turner Smith (1749–1806), English poet and novelist
• Dodie Smith (1896–1990), English novelist and playwright; I Capture the Castle
• Doris Buchanan Smith (1934–2002), US children's novelist; A Taste of Blackberries
• Georgina Castle Smith (1845–1933), English children's writer and novelist
• Maggie Smith (born 1977), US poet, editor and writer
• Patti Smith (born 1946), US singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist
• Pauline Smith (1882–1959), South African novelist
• Stevie Smith (1902–1971), English poet and novelist
• Tracy K. Smith (born 1972), African-US poet and educator; 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Zadie Smith (born 1975), English fiction writer and essayist; White Teeth
• Saundra Smokes (1954–2012), US journalist and playwright
• Laura J. Snyder (born 1964), historian and biographer
• Yan-kit So (1933–2001), Chinese food historian and cookery expert
• Gaele Sobott (born 1956), Australian short story, children's, and non-fiction author
• Edith Södergran (1892–1923), Finland-Swedish poet
• Zulu Sofola (1935–1995), Nigerian playwright and dramatist
• Kang Sok-Kyong (born 1961), Korean author
• Adeola Solanke (living), British-Nigerian playwright and screenwriter
• Elizabeth Solopova (born 1965), British philologist and academic
• Cathy Song (born 1955), US poet
• Susan Sontag (1933–2004), US essayist and novelist
• Oh Soo-yeon (born 1964), Korean author and essayist
• Fuyumi Soryo (born 1959), Japanese manga writer
• María de Zayas y Sotomayor (born 1590), Spanish novelist
• Muriel Spark (1918–2006), Scottish novelist; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
• Terry Spear (living), US romance novelist
• Vanessa Spence (born 1961), Jamaican novelist
• Anne Spencer (1882–1975), US poet
• Elizabeth Spencer (born 1921), US fiction writer
• Leonora Speyer (1872–1956), US poet and violinist; 1927 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Lina Spies (born 1939), South African poet
• Erica Spindler (1957), US writer of romantic thrillers and mystery novels
• Dana Spiotta (born 1966), US novelist
• Andrea Spofford (born 1986), poet and essayist
• Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford (1835–1921), US fiction writer and poet
• Johanna Spyri (1827–1901), Swiss children's writer; Heidi
• Mariah Srygler (born 1991), poet and short story writer
• Marilyn Stablein (born 1946), US poet, essayist and fiction writer
• Ilse von Stach (1879–1941), German playwright, novelist and poet
• Madame de Staël (1766–1817), Swiss-French novelist
• Jean Stafford (1915–1979), US fiction writer; 1970 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902), US feminist journalist and essayist
• Freya Stark (1893–1993), British travel writer
• Lilian Staveley (1878–1928), Christian writer and mystic publishing anonymously
• Christina Stead (1902–1983), Australian fiction writer; The Man Who Loved Children
• Danielle Steel (born 1947), US romance novelist
• Flora Annie Steel (1847–1929), English novelist
• Charlotte von Stein (1742–1827), German dramatist and friend of Goethe
• Gertrude Stein (1874–1946), US fiction writer, playwright and poet
• Joanne Stepaniak (born 1954), US vegan cookbook writer
• Jadene Felina Stevens (1947–2013), US poet
• Alzina Stevens (1849–1900), US labor leader and journalist
• Augusta Stevenson (1869–1976), writer of children's literature and a teacher
• Margo Taft Stever, US poet
• Maria W. Stewart (1803–1897), US feminist lecturer and journalist
• Mary Stewart (born 1916), English mystery and romance novelist
• Susan Stewart (born 1952), US poet, university professor and literary critic
• Maggie Stiefvater (born 1981), US young-adult fiction writer; The Raven Cycle series
• Ilka Stitz (born 1960), German historical thriller writer
• Wilma Stockenström (born 1933), South African writer, translator and actor
• Cynthia Stockley (1873–1936), South African novelist
• Ruth Stone (1915–2011), US poet
• Sam Stone (born 1965), English fiction writer and playwright
• Marie Stopes (1880–1958), English author, palaeobotanist and birth control advocate; Married Love
• Alfonsina Storni (1892–1938), Argentinian poet
• Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1836), US novelist; Uncle Tom's Cabin
• Susan Straight (born 1960), US fiction writer, essayist and academic
• Hesba Stretton (1832–1911), English children's writer
• Agnes Strickland (1796–1874), English history writer and poet
• Eva Strittmatter (1930–2011), German poet and children's writer
• Rashida Strober (living), US playwright
• Elizabeth Strout (born 1956), US fiction writer; 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; Olive Kitteridge
• Jan Struther (1901–1953), Scottish-English hymn writer and novelist; Mrs Miniver
• Andrea Stuart (born 1968), Barbadian-British historian, biographer and journalist
• Lady Louisa Stuart (1757–1851), English memoirist and letter writer
• Toni Stuart (born 1983), South African poet
• Mrs C. C. Stumm (born 1857), African-US journalist
• Sarah Stup (born 1983), US writer
• Meridel Le Sueur (1900–1996), US journalist and novelist
• Heo Su-gyeong (born 1964), Korean poet
• Azalia Suhaimi (born 1985), Malaysian poet, writer
• Sulpicia I (fl. 1st century BC), Augustan poet
• Sulpicia II (fl. 1st century AD), satirist
• Merna Summers (born 1933), Canadian short story writer
• Jacqueline Susann (1918–1974), US novelist
• Efua Sutherland (1924–1996), Ghanaian playwright, children's author and dramatist
• Esi Sutherland-Addy (living), academician, writer, educationalist and human rights activist
• Shahnaz Fatmi (born 1949), Urdu and Hindi poet
• Bertha von Suttner (1843–1914), Austrian novelist and Nobel Prize winner
• Han Suyin (1916–2012), Chinese novelist, memoirist and essayist; A Many-Splendoured Thing
• Anni Swan (1875–1958), Finnish author of children's books, journalist and translator
• May Swenson (1913–1989), US poet and playwright
• Sydney, Lady Morgan (1781–1859), Irish novelist; The Wild Irish Girl
• Magda Szabó (1917–2007), Hungarian novelist, poet and playwright; The Door
• Mária Szepes (1908–2007), Hungarian esoteric and science-fiction novelist
• Wisława Szymborska (1923–2012), Polish poet

T

• Gladys Taber (1899–1980), US novelist and nature writer
• Maria Tacu (1949–2010), Romanian poet and prose writer
• Véronique Tadjo (born 1955), Côte d'Ivoire poet, novelist and artist
• Valerie Tagwira (living), Zimbabwean novelist
• Ise no Taiu or Taifu (early 11th century), Japanese poet
• Princess Tajima (died 708), Japanese poet
• Lisa Takeba (born 1983), Japanese screenwriter
• Jill Talbot (born 1970), US fiction and non-fiction writer and poet
• Amy Tan (born 1952), US novelist; The Joy Luck Club
• Meca Tanaka (born 1976), Japanese manga writer
• Shelley Tanaka (living), Canadian non-fiction children's writer
• Xue Tao (768–831), Chinese poet
• Yelizaveta Tarakhovskaya (1891–1968), Soviet Russian poet, playwright and children's author
• Sooni Taraporevala (born 1957), Indian screenwriter and photographer
• Lisa Ysaye Tarleau (1885–1952), US short story author
• Judith Tarr (born 1955), US author; The Hound and the Falcon
• Donna Tartt (born 1963), US novelist; 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
• Glenda R. Taylor (born 1955), US scholar and poet
• Ann Taylor (1782–1866), English poet and critic
• Elizabeth Taylor (1912–1975), English fiction writer; Angel
• Jane Taylor (1783–1824), English poet and novelist; "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
• Susie Taylor (1848–1912), US teacher and memoir writer
• Teresia Teaiwa (1968–2017), I-Kiribati and US poet and academic
• Roma Tearne (born 1954), Sri Lankan novelist and artist
• Sara Teasdale (1884–1933), US lyrical poet
• Nadezhda Teffi (1872–1952), Russian-Soviet writer; Close Friends
• Anyte of Tegea (fl. early 3rd century BC), Greek poet
• Telesilla (fl. 510 BC), Greek poet
• Olena Teliha (1906–1942), Ukrainian poet
• Ana Tena (born 1966), Spanish writer in Ribagorçan Aragonese
• Claudine Guérin de Tencin (1682–1749), French literary patron and novelist
• Lourdes Teodoro (born 1946), Afro-Brazilian poet and academic
• Lisa St Aubin de Terán (born 1953), English novelist and memoirist; Keepers of the House
• Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954), African-US activist and journalist
• Josephine Tey (1896–1952), Scottish mystery novelist
• Celia Thaxter (1835–1894), US writer of poetry and stories
• Madeleine Thien (born 1974), Canadian fiction writer; Do Not Say We Have Nothing
• Audrey Thomas (born 1935), Canadian fiction writer
• Elean Thomas (1947–2004), Jamaican poet, novelist, journalist and activist
• Elizabeth Thomas (1770/1771–1855), English Gothic novelist and religious poet
• Louie Myfanwy Thomas (1908–68), Welsh writer and novelist
• Judith Thompson (born 1954), Canadian playwright; Lion in the Streets
• Samantha Thornhill (living), Trinidadian poet and author
• Margaret Farrand Thorp (1891–1970), author, English professor and journalist
• Rose Hartwick Thorpe (1850–1939), US poet and writer
• Torfhildur Þorsteinsdóttir (1845–1918), Icelandic fiction writer
• Hester Thrale (Mrs Piozzi, 1741–1821), English diarist and author; Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson
• Fu Tianlin (born 1946), Chinese poet
• Petronella Johanna de Timmerman (1723–1786), Dutch poet and scientist
• Lillian Tindyebwa (living), Ugandan writer
• Nino Tkeshelashvili (1874–1956) - Georgian (country) children's author and suffragist
• Miriam Tlali (born 1933), South African novelist
• Miriam Toews (born 1964), Canadian novelist
• Ekaterine Togonidze (born 1981) Georgian journalist, novelist and activist
• Laura Tohe (born 1952), Native US author
• Olga Tokarczuk (born 1962), Polish writer and poet; Nobel prizewinner (2018)
• Lynn Toler (born 1958), US lawyer and arbitrator in the court series Divorce Court
• Tatyana Tolstaya (born 1951), Russian TV presenter, novelist and essayist
• Angela Topping (born 1954), English poet, literary critic and author
• Elena Topuridze (1922–2004), Georgian philosopher and non-fiction writer
• Fatma Aliye Topuz (1862–1936), Turkish Muslim novelist
• Lucrezia Tornabuoni (1425–1482), Italian poet
• Catharine Parr Traill (1802–1899), English-Canadian author and naturalist
• Clara Augusta Jones Trask (1839–1905), US writer
• P. L. Travers (1889–1996), Australian-British writer of Mary Poppins books
• Carmen Clemente Travieso (1900–1983), Venezuelan journalist and women's biographer
• Natasha Trethewey (born 1966), US poet; Mississippi Poet Laureate, winner of 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Terra Trevor (living), US writer
• Adriana Trigiani (living), Italian-US writer and filmmaker
• Sarah Trimmer (1741–1810), English children's writer and critic
• Flora Tristan (1803–1844), French socialist writer, feminist and activist
• Frances Trollope (1779–1863), English novelist and travel writer; Domestic Manners of the Americans
• Joanna Trollope (born 1943), English novelist
• Catherine Trotter (1679–1749), Scottish-English novelist, playwright and philosopher
• Trotula (11th–12th century), Spanish writer on women's medicine in Latin
• Jean Trounstine, activist, author and professor emerita
• Meta Truscott (1917–2014), Australian diarist and Ashgrove historian
• Sojourner Truth (1797–1883), US feminist; Ain't I a Woman?
• Máire Mhac an tSaoi (born 1922), Irish-language scholar, poet and writer
• To-wen Tseng (living), Chinese-US writer, journalist and children's writer
• Mariam Tsiklauri (born 1960), Georgian poet, children's author and translator
• Marina Tsvetaeva (1892–1941), Russian poet
• Barbara W. Tuchman (1912–1989), US author and historian; The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam
• Lily Tuck (born 1938), US fiction writer; The News from Paraguay
• Anastasia Tumanishvili-Tsereteli (1849–1932), Georgian writer, educator and influential feminist
• Evgenia Tur (1815–1892), Russian novelist and literary critic; Antonina
• Megan Whalen Turner (born 1965), US fantasy writer
• Agata Tuszynska (born 1957), Polish writer, poet and journalist
• Flora May Woodard Tuttle (1868–1931) American writer and journalist
• Diana Tutton (1915–1991), English novelist
• Violet Tweedale (1862–1936), Scottish writer and poet
• Chase Twichell (born 1950), US poet, professor and publisher
• Hilda Twongyeirwe (living), Ugandan writer and editor
• Anne Tyler (born 1941), US fiction writer and literary critic; 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; The Accidental Tourist

U

• Rosana Ubanell (born 1958), Spanish journalist and detective novelist
• Bahriye Üçok (1919–1990), Turkish academic, writer and women's rights activist
• Julia Urquidi (1926–2010), Nigerian memoirist
• Brenda Ueland (1891–1985), US-Norwegian writer, journalist and teacher; If You Want to Write: A Book About Art, Independence, and Spirit
• Zoila Ugarte de Landívar (1864–1969), Ecuadorian journalist, editor and suffragist
• Jenny Uglow (born 1940s), English biographer
• Dubravka Ugrešić (born 1949), Croatian novelist
• Hebe Uhart (born 1936), Argentine fiction writer
• Uhwudong (c.1440–1480), Korean writer, poet and dancer
• Lesya Ukrainka (1871–1913), Ukrainian poet
• Adaora Lily Ulasi (born 1932), Nigerian novelist and journalist
• Leonora Christina Ulfeldt (1621–1698), Danish author; Jammers Minde
• Anya Ulinich (born 1973), Russian writer; Petropolis
• Lyudmila Ulitskaya (born 1943), Russian writer; Medea and Her Children
• Linn Ullmann (born 1966), Norwegian novelist, critic and journalist
• Regina Ullmann (1884–1961), Swiss poet writing in German
• Rosina Umelo (born 1930), Nigerian short story and children's writer
• Luz María Umpierre (born 1947), Puerto Rican poet, critic and human rights activist
• Lily Unden (1908–1989), Luxembourg poet and painter
• Marie Under (1883–1980), Estonian poet
• Terry Underwood (born 1944), Australian author
• Sigrid Undset (1882–1949), Norwegian novelist and 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature-winner; Kristin Lavransdatter
• Chika Unigwe (born 1974), Nigerian fiction writer
• Jane Unrue (living), US writer and educator
• Makerita Urale (fl. 1990s), New Zealand playwright, producer and documentary director
• Azucena Grajo Uranza (1929–2012), Filipino fiction writer and playwright
• Ellen Urbani (born 1969), US author
• Joan Ure (1918–1978), Scottish poet and playwright
• Ofelia Uribe de Acosta (1900–1988), Colombian suffragist, journalist and editor
• Jane Urquhart (born 1949), Canadian novelist and poet; The Stone Carvers
• Julia Urquidi (1926–2010), Bolivian memoirist
• Lourdes Urrea (born 1954), Mexican poet, novelist and young adult writer
• Arantxa Urretabizkaia (born 1947), Spanish Basque-language novelist, screenwriter and poet
• Matilde Urrutia (1912–1985), Chilean memoirist
• Shereen Usdin (born 1962), South African writer
• Carmina Useros (1928–2017), Spanish writer, ceramicist and painter
• O. V. Usha (born 1948), Malayalam poet and fiction writer
• Ayu Utami (born 1968), Indonesian novelist, short story writer
• Kaari Utrio (born 1942), Finnish novelist; Isabella
• Arja Uusitalo (born 1951), Finnish poet and journalist
• Bea Uusma (born 1966), Swedish children's and non-fiction writer and medical doctor
• Uvavnuk (fl. early 20th century), Canadian Inuit poet
• Mellie Uyldert (1908–2009), Dutch astrologer and esoteric writer
• Buket Uzuner (born 1955), Turkish fiction and travel writer

V

• Celestine Vaite (born 1966), Tahiti novelist
• Matrena Vakhrusheva (1918–2000), Soviet-Russian Mansi poet and storyteller
• Katri Vala (1901–1944), Finnish poet
• Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez (born 1969), US novelist, journalist and screenwriter
• Aline Valek (born 1986), Brazilian writer, novelist and illustrator
• Elcina Valencia (born 1963), Colombian teacher and poet
• Elvira Farreras i Valentí (1913–2005), Spanish writer
• Jean Valentine (born 1934), US poet; New York State Poet Laureate
• Luisa Valenzuela (born 1938), Argentinian fiction writer
• Jennifer Vanasco (born 1971), US columnist and journalist
• Jane Vandenburgh (born 1948), US novelist, memoirist and non-fiction writer
• Galina Varlamova (born 1951), Evenk philologist in Russian, Evenk and Yakut
• Mahadevi Varma (1906–1987), Indian Hindi poet, freedom fighter and educationist
• Rahel Varnhagen (1771–1833), German essayist and correspondent
• Ana Vásquez-Bronfman (1931–2009) Chilean-French novelist and sociologist
• Marie Vassiltchikov (1917–1978), wartime Berlin diarist
• Mâliâraq Vebæk (1917–2012), Greenlandic translator, ethnographer and novelist
• Tatiana Vedenska (born 1976), Russian novelist
• Janine Pommy Vega (1942–2010), US poet associated with Beat generation
• Yvonne Vera (1964–2005), Zimbabwean novelist
• Anastasiya Verbitskaya (1861–1928), Russian novelist and dramatist; Keys to Happiness
• Caroline Vermalle (born 1973), thriller and historical novelist
• Seda Vermisheva (born 1932), Armenian-born Russian poet, economist and activist
• Octavia Walton Le Vert (1811–1877), US writer
• Lidia Veselitskaya (1857–1936), Russian novelist; Mimi's Marriage
• Pilar de Vicente-Gella (1942–2016), Spanish writer
• Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand (1697–1780), French correspondent
• Soledad Fariña Vicuña (born 1943), Chilean poet
• Clara Viebig (1862–1952), German novelist and playwright
• Marie Vieux-Chauvet (1916–1973), Haitian novelist, poet and playwright
• Frida Vigdorova (1915–1965), Russian journalist and novelist
• Monica Vikström-Jokela (born 1960), Finnish-Swedish television scriptwriter and author
• Maruxa Vilalta (born 1932), Mexican playwright
• Mariya Vilinska (1833–1907), Russian-Ukrainian novelist and translator
• Clara Villarosa (born 1930), US entrepreneur and writer
• Marie-Catherine de Villedieu (1640–1683), French playwright and fiction writer
• Phillippa Yaa de Villiers (born 1966), South African poet and performance artist
• Louise Leveque de Vilmorin (1902–1969), French novelist, poet and journalist
• Elene Virsaladze (1911–1977), Georgian folklorist
• Jenny Visser-Hooft (1888–1939), Dutch traveler, mountaineer and writer
• Renée Vivien (1877–1909), French poet
• Helen Vlachos (1911–1995), Greek journalist, newspaper publisher and autobiographer
• Clara Voghan (born 1957), Argentinian romance writer
• Ellen Bryant Voigt (born 1943), US poet and essayist
• Zinaida Volkonskaya (1792–1862), Russian poet, short story writer and playwright
• Hava Volovich (1916–2000), Russian memoirist, actress and Gulag survivor
• Élisabeth Vonarburg (born 1947), French science fiction novelist
• Yekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova (1743–1810), Russian memoirist
• Marko Vovchok (1833–1907), Russian-Ukrainian writer; Ukrainian Folk Tales
• Julia Voznesenskaya (born 1940), Soviet-Russian writer; The Women's Decameron
• Susanna de Vries (born 1936), Australian biographer
• Jurgen Vsych (born 1966), US director and screenwriter
• Anna Vyrubova (1884–1964), Russian memoirist

W

• Kit de Waal (born 1960), British-Irish novelist
• Charity Waciuma (born 1936), Kenyan novelist
• Elizabeth Wagele (1939–2017), US author and cartoonist
• Diane Wakoski (born 1937), US poet
• Kate Walbert (born 1961), US fiction writer
• Anne Waldman (born 1945), US poet
• Rosmarie Waldrop (born 1935), US poet, translator and publisher
• Alice Walker (born 1944), US fiction writer and poet; The Color Purple
• Margaret Walker (1915–1998), US poet and novelist
• Mildred Walker (1905–1998), US novelist
• Rebecca Walker (born 1969), US writer, feminist and activist
• Doreen Wallace (1897–1989), English novelist
• Effie Waller Smith (1879–1960), African-US poet
• Jeannette Walls (born 1960), US writer and journalist; The Glass Castle
• María Elena Walsh (1930–2011), Argentine poet, novelist and playwright
• Ania Walwicz (born 1951), Australian poet
• Shangguan Wan'er (c. 664–710), Chinese poet and prose writer
• Ayeta Anne Wangusa (born 1971), Ugandan writer and activist
• Zukiswa Wanner (born 1976), South African journalist and novelist
• Harriet Ward (1808–1873), non-fiction and fiction set in South Africa
• Jesmyn Ward (born 1977), US novelist and academic; Salvage the Bones
• Mary Augusta Ward (Mrs Humphrey Ward, 1851–1920), English novelist
• Gertrude Chandler Warner (1890–1979), US children's writer
• Susan Warner (1819–1885), US children's writer and songwriter
• Myriam Warner-Vieyra (1939–2017), Guadeloupe poet and novelist
• Dianne Warren (born 1950), Canadian fiction writer and playwright
• Wendy Wasserstein (1950–2006), US playwright
• Sarah Waters (born 1966), Welsh novelist; Fingersmith
• Fiona Watt (living), English children's author
• Margaret Way (living), Australian author of romance novels
• Catherine Webb (born 1986), British novelist
• Mary Webb (1881–1927), English novelist; Precious Bane
• Delia Weber (1900–1982) Dominican Republic writer, artist and women's rights advocate
• Ellen Lenneck (Helene Weichardt, 1851–1880), German fiction writer
• Anna Weidenholzer (born 1984), Austrian writer and journalist
• Simone Weil (1909–1943), French mystic and philosopher
• Hannah Weiner (1928–1997), US poet
• Jane Meade Welch (1854–1931), US journalist and lecturer
• Fay Weldon (born 1931), English author, essayist and playwright; The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
• Dorothy Wellesley (1889–1956), English poet
• Charlotte Fowler Wells (1814–1901), US phrenologist and publisher
• Ida B. Wells (1862–1931), African-US journalist and sociologist
• Martha Wells (born 1964), US novelist
• Eudora Welty (1909–2001), US fiction writer and photographer
• Viola S. Wendt (1907–1986), US poet and educator
• Cai Wenji (born AD 177), Chinese poet and composer
• Zhuo Wenjun (Wen Jun, 2nd century BC), Chinese poet
• Timberlake Wertenbaker (born 1946), US-English playwright, screenwriter, and translator; Our Country's Good
• Dorothy West (1907–1998), US fiction writer
• Jane West (1758–1852), English novelist, poet and playwright
• Jessamyn West (1902–1984), US fiction writer; The Friendly Persuasion
• Rebecca West (1892–1983), English novelist, essayist, and travel writer; Black Lamb and Grey Falcon
• Amy Westervelt (born 1978), journalist and writer
• Anne Wharton (1659–1685), English poet
• Edith Wharton (1862–1937), US fiction writer; The Age of Innocence
• Leslie What (born 1955), US fiction writer
• Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784), US poet
• Dorothy Whipple (1893–1966), English novelist
• Evelyn Whitaker (1857–1903), English novelist
• Antonia White (1899–1980), English fiction writer
• Dorothy White (c. 1630–1686), English religious writer
• Ellen White (1827–1915), US evangelist and prophetess
• Lilian Whiting (1847–1942), US journalist and author
• Isabella Whitney (born c. 1540), English poet
• Phyllis A. Whitney (born 1903), US mystery novelist
• Nancy Wicker (living), US art historian
• Anna Wickham (1884–1947), English poet
• Zoë Wicomb (born 1948), South African fiction writer
• Margaret Widdemer (1884–1978), US poet and novelist
• Ulrika Widström (1764–1841), Swedish poet and translator
• Elisabeth of Wied (pen name Carmen Sylva, 1843–1916), poet, playwright and Queen Consort of Romania
• Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856–1923), US educator and children's author
• Marianne Wiggins (born 1947), US novelist
• Susan Wiggs (born 1958), US novelist
• Krysty Wilson-Cairns (born 1987), Scottish screenwriter
• Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919), US poet
• Lynn Wilder (born 1952), US author
• Charlotte Wilder (1898–1980), US poet
• Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957), US children's writer; Little House on the Prairie
• Kate Wilhelm (1928–2018), US fiction writer
• Sandrine Willems (born 1968), writer
• Helen Maria Williams (1762–1827), English novelist and poet
• Margery Williams (1881–1944) English-US children's writer; The Velveteen Rabbit
• Sherley Anne Williams (1944–1999), US poet and novelist
• Mabel Williamson (fl. mid–20th century), US missionary
• Connie Willis (born 1945), US science fiction writer
• Elizabeth Willis (born 1961), US poet, literary critic and professor
• Harriet E. Wilson (1825–1900), US novelist
• Hazel Hutchins Wilson (1898–1992), US children's writer and librarian
• Jacqueline Wilson (born 1945), English children's writer
• Margaret Wilson (1882–1973), US novelist; 1924 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
• Sarah Winnemucca (1841–1891), US lecturer and autobiographer
• Kathleen Winter (born 1960), Canadian fiction writer, columnist and television screenwriter
• Jeanette Winterson (born 1959), English novelist
• Jane Wiseman (c. 1682–1717), English poet and playwright
• Monique Wittig (1935–2003), French writer and feminist
• Maria Petronella Woesthoven (1760–1830), Dutch poet
• Gabriele Wohmann (1932–2015), German fiction writer
• Christa Wolf (1929–2011), German novelist, critic and essayist
• Leslie Wolfe (born 1967), US novelist
• Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797), English novelist and feminist; A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
• Claire Wolniewicz (born 1966), French writer and journalist
• Frances Garnet Wolseley, 2nd Viscountess Wolseley (1872–1936), English garden writer
• Buffalo Bird Woman (1839–1932), Native US Hidatsa writer
• Jade Snow Wong (1922–2006), US ceramic artist and autobiographer
• Nellie Wong (born 1934), Chinese-US feminist poet; Dreams in Harrison Railroad Park
• Ellen (Mrs Henry) Wood (1814–1887), English novelist; East Lynne
• Jacqueline Woodson (born 1963), US children's and young-adult writer; Miracle's Boys
• Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), English novelist and essayist; Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse
• Abba Goold Woolson (1838–1921), US writer
• Constance Fenimore Woolson (1840–1894), US fiction writer
• Chun Woon-young (born 1971), Korean author
• Dorothy Wordsworth (1771–1855), English poet and diarist
• Elizabeth Strong Worthington (1851–1916), US writer
• C. D. Wright (born 1949), US poet
• Judith Wright (1915–2000), Australian poet
• Mary Tappan Wright (1851–1916), US fiction writer
• Lady Mary Wroth (1587–1652), English poet
• Audrey Wurdemann (1911–1960), US poet; won 1935 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Elinor Wylie (1885–1928), US poet and novelist
• Sylvia Wynter (born 1928), Jamaican novelist, dramatist and critic

X

• Xi Xi (born 1938), Chinese novelist and poet
• Xia Jia (born 1984), Chinese science-fiction and fantasy writer
• Xiao Hong (1911–1942), Chinese writer
• Xie Daoyun (before 340 – after 399), Chinese poet and scholar
• Bing Xin (1900–1999), Chinese writer
• Yu Xuanji (844–869 or 871), Chinese poet
• Xu Hui (627–650), Chinese poet
• Xu Kun (born 1965), Chinese postmodern fiction writer
• Lady Xu Mu (fl. 7th century BC), Chinese poet
• Xu Zihua (1873–1935), Chinese poet
• Halima Xudoyberdiyeva (born 1947), Uzbek poet; People's Poet of Uzbekistan
• Xue Susu (c.1564–1650?), Chinese poet
• Xue Tao (768–831), Chinese poet and courtesan
• Xue Xinran (born 1958), Chinese journalist and author
• Rao Xueman (born 1972), Chinese fiction writer and essayist

Y

• Rama Yade (born 1976), Senegalese politician and non-fiction writer
• Elham Yaghoubian (living), Iranian novelist
• Hisaye Yamamoto (1921–2011), Japanese-US short story writer
• Karen Tei Yamashita (born 1951), US novelist, playwright and academic; Tropic of Orange
• Empress Yamato (fl. later 7th century), Japanese poet
• Wakako Yamauchi (1924–2018), Japanese-US writer
• Hanya Yanagihara (born 1974), US novelist and travel writer; A Little Life
• Yang Gui-ja (born 1955), Korean novelist
• Tiphanie Yanique (born 1978), Caribbean-US fiction writer, poet and essayist
• Laura Yasán (born 1960), Argentine poet
• Chista Yasrebi (born 1968), Iranian writer, critic and translator
• Paula Yates (1959–2000), English television presenter and non-fiction writer
• Yana Yazova (Lyuba Todorova Gancheva, 1912–1974), Bulgarian poet and historical novelist
• Ann Yearsley (1753–1806), English poet, novelist and playwright
• Tatyana Yesenina (1918–1992), Russian novelist, journalist and memoirist
• Anna Yevreinova (1844–1919), Russian feminist writer, editor and letter writer
• Anzia Yezierska (1883–1970), Polish-US fiction writer
• Yi Geun-hwa (born 1976), Korean poet, educator
• Yi Kyoung-ja (born 1948), Korean fiction writer
• Gullu Yologlu (born 1963), Azerbaijani non-fiction writer and ethnologist
• Charlotte M. Yonge (1823–1901), English novelist; The Heir of Redclyffe
• Yoo An-jin (born 1941), Korean poet, essayist and educator
• Akiko Yosano (1878–1942), Japanese poet
• Banana Yoshimoto (born 1964), Japanese novelist
• Ekaterina Petrova Yosifova (born 1941), Bulgarian journalist, essayist and poet
• Ella Young (1867–1956), poet, Celtic mythologist and children's writer
• Yolanda Young (born 1968), US author and journalist
• Marguerite Young (1908–1995), US novelist, poet and academic; Miss MacIntosh, My Darling
• So Young-en (born 1943), Korea author
• Kang Young-sook (born 1966), Korean author
• Marguerite Yourcenar (1903–1987), Belgian-French novelist and essayist; Memoirs of Hadrian
• Yovanna (born 1940), Greek poet, novelist and songwriter
• Mallika Yunis (living), Indian novelist
• Sim Yunkyung (born 1972), Korean novelist
• Rose al Yusuf (1898–1958), Egyptian actress and journalist

Z

• Oksana Zabuzhko (born 1960), Ukrainian poet, novelist and non-fiction writer
• Rachel Zadok (living), South African novelist
• Jessica Zafra (born 1965), Filipino essayist, columnist
• Helen Zahavi (born 1966), British writer; Dirty Weekend
• Anna Zahorska (1882–1942), Polish poet, novelist and playwright
• Stefania Zahorska (1890–1961), Polish novelist, historian and non-fiction writer
• Shama Zaidi (born 1938), Indian art critic, screenwriter and filmmaker
• Zahida Zaidi (1930–2011), Indian poet, playwright and educator
• Lyubov Zakharchenko (1961–2008), Russian poet and songwriter
• Maria Julia Zaleska (1831–1889), Polish fiction writer and essayist
• Māra Zālīte (born 1952), Latvian poet and publisher
• Dina Zaman (1969), Malaysian short story writer, essayist and columnist
• María Zambrano (1904–1991), Spanish essayist and philosopher
• Daisy Zamora (born 1950), Nicaraguan poet
• Fatma Zohra Zamoum (born 1967), Algerian writer, filmmaker and educator
• Adela Zamudio (1854–1928), Bolivian poet, feminist and educator
• Giovanna Zangrandi (1910–1988), Italian novelist
• Giselda Zani (1909–1975), Italian-born poet, fiction writer and critic
• Maya Zankoul (born 1986), Lebanese artist, cartoonist and novelist
• Léontine Zanta (1872–1942), French novelist and feminist
• Gabriela Zapolska (1860–1921), Polish novelist, playwright and naturalist
• Ayşe Nur Zarakolu (1946–2002), Turkish publisher and human rights advocate
• Carol Zardetto (living), Guatemalan novelist and theater critic
• Shaïda Zarumey (born 1938), Nigerian sociologist and poet
• Zyranna Zateli (born 1951), Greek fiction and non-fiction writer
• Marya Zaturenska (1902–1982), US poet; won 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Iris Zavala (born 1936), Puerto Rican poet, novelist and non-fiction writer
• María de Zayas (1590–1661), Spanish pioneer of literary feminism
• Amina Zaydan (born 1966), Egyptian fiction writer
• Katarzyna Ewa Zdanowicz-Cyganiak (born 1979), Polish poet, journalist and social scientist
• Zdenka Žebre (born 1929), Slovenian novelist and children's writer
• Alki Zei (born 1925), Greek novelist and children's writer
• Sylvia Aguilar Zéleny (born 1973), Mexican fiction writer
• Hana Zelinová (1914–2004), Slovak fiction writer and playwright
• Eva Zeller (born 1923), German poet and novelist
• Luisa Zeni (1896–1940), Italian writer
• Irena Žerjal (born 1940), Slovenian poet, novelist and translator
• Wu Zetian (624–705), Chinese poet, essayist and Empress regnant
• Zuzka Zguriška (1900–1984), Slovak novelist, playwright and translator
• Yulia Zhadovskaya (1824–1883), Russian poet and novelist
• Zhai Yongming (born 1955), Chinese poet
• Empress Zhangsun (601–636), Chinese moralist; Examples for Women
• Ban Zhao (45–116 CE), first female Chinese historian; Lessons for Women
• Vera Zhelikhovsky (1835–1896), Russian writer; The General's Will
• Polina Zherebtsova (born 1985), Russian poet and diarist; Ant in a Glass Jar
• Maria Zhukova (1804–1855), Russian writer; Evenings on the Karpovka
• Zhuo Wenjun (fl. 2nd century BC), Chinese poet
• Valentina Zhuravleva (1993–2004), Russian science fiction novelist
• Iryna Zhylenko (1941–2013), Ukrainian poet and essayist
• May Ziadeh (1886–1941), Lebanese-Palestinian poet, essayist and translator
• Annejet van der Zijl (born 1962), Dutch novelist and biographer
• Lydia Zimmermann (born 1966), Spanish filmmaker and screenwriter
• Alice Zimmern (1855–1939), English writer and translator
• Hedda Zinner (also Elisabeth Frank, 1905–1994), German political writer
• Marketa Zinnerová (born 1942), Czech novelist, screenwriter and children's writer
• Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal (1866–1907), Russian writer; The Tragic Menagerie
• Elvania Namukwaya Zirimu (1938–1979), Ugandan poet and dramatist
• Gertrude Bonnin (Zitkala-Sa, 1876–1938), Native US writer, editor and teacher
• Kathinka Zitz-Halein (1801–1877), German writer
• Nina Živančević (born 1957), Serbian-born playwright, poet and novelist
• Bina Štampe Žmavc (born 1951), Slovenian poet, playwright and children's writer
• Narcyza Żmichowska (1818–1876), Polish novelist and poet
• Inga Žolude (born 1984), Latvian fiction writer, playwright and translator
• Anna Zonová (born 1962), Czech fiction writer
• Halide Nusret Zorlutuna (1901–1984), Turkish poet, fiction writer and autobiographer
• Birgit Zotz (born 1979), Austrian non-fiction writer and essayist
• Vera Zouroff (born 1880), Chilean poet, novelist and writer
• Katarina Zrinska (c. 1625–1673), Croatian poet
• Pilar de Zubiaurre (1884–1970), Spanish essayist and letter writer
• Svetlana Žuchová (born 1976), Slovenian fiction writer and translator
• Berta Zuckerkandl (1864–1945), Austrian journalist, critic and non-fiction writer
• Zuo Fen (c. AD 255–300), Chinese poet
• Katka Zupančič (1889–1967), Slovenian children's poet, short story writer and playwright
• Unica Zürn (1916–1970), German poet and painter
• Cvijeta Zuzorić (1552–1648), Serbian lyric poet
• Rose Zwi (born 1928), Mexican-born South African-Australian fiction writer
• Fay Zwicky (1933–2017), Australian poet and academic
• Rajzel Żychlińsky (1910–2001), Polish-US Yiddish poet

See also

• Feminist literary criticism
• Feminist science fiction
• Feminist theory
• Gender in science fiction
• List of biographical dictionaries of female writers
• List of early-modern women playwrights (UK)
• List of early-modern women poets (UK)
• List of female detective/mystery writers
• List of female poets
• List of women cookbook writers
• List of feminist literature
• List of female rhetoricians
• List of women hymn writers
• Norton Anthology of Literature by Women
• Women in science fiction
• Women Writers Project
• Women's writing in English
• Sophie (digital lib)

External links

• A Celebration of Women Writers
• SAWNET: The South Asian Women's NETwork Bookshelf
• Victorian Women Writers Project
• Voices from the Gaps: Women Artists and Writers of Color
• The Women Writers Archive: Early Modern Women Writers Online
• SOPHIE: a digital library of works by German-speaking women
• REBRA: a list of women writers from Brazil. Biographies in Portuguese, English, and in Spanish
• Teena Lyons Website