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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
Nettie Lee Benson (1905–1993), American archivist and historian
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
Eliza Brightwen (1830–1906), Scottish writer and naturalist
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
Maria A. Chalon (1797–1877), British miniature portrait painter
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)
Anna Harriett Drury (1824–1912), English poet and novelist
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 DivorceGeorgia 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 FlyingIngrid 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; TrumpetM. M. Kaye (1908–2004), British novelist, editor and illustrator; The Far PavilionsSusanna Kaysen (born 1948), US author and memoirist; Girl, InterruptedSusanna 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 DarknessLinda 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 NymphPagan 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 GirlSue Monk Kidd (born 1948), US writer; The Secret Life of BeesSusan 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 JohnAby 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 DoctrineAnne 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; ObasanAnnette Kolb (1870–1967), German writer
Alexandra Kollontai (1872–1952), Russian-Soviet writer and political figure; A Great LoveGertrud 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; AlexiadAmalia 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 HistorianHelene Kottannerin (fl. 1430s), Hungarian memoirist writing in German
Sofia Kovalevskaya (1859–1891), Russian writer and major mathematician; Nihilist GirlHanna 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 LoveUma 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 FlamethrowersJean 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 MaladiesSinikka Laine (born 1945), Finnish writer of young adult literature
Laila Lalami (born 1968), Moroccan US journalist, essayist and novelist; Hope and Other Dangerous PursuitsLalleshwari (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 SiamLiliane 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 InsiderEvelyn Lau (born 1971), Canadian poet and novelist
Margaret Laurence (1926–1987), Canadian fiction writer; The Stone AngelDorianne 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 LakeEmma 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 MockingbirdHarriet 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 TimeSue 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 (c. 1730–1804), US-born English writer, poet, and dramatist
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 NotebookDenise 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 EnchantedAndrea Levy (1956–2019), English novelist; Small IslandDeborah Levy (born 1959), South African-English playwright, fiction writer and poet; Swimming HomeFanny 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 LongstockingMerethe Lindstrøm (born 1963), Norwegian fiction writer; Days in the History of SilenceElizabeth 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 TigerDorothy 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 BlondesJosefina Lopez (born 1969), Chicana playwright, screenwriter and novelist; Real Women Have CurvesKaren 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 StarsMina 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 AffairsAnnabel Lyon (born 1971), Canadian fiction writer

M

Rose Macaulay (1881–1958), English writer; The Towers of TrebizondAnn-Marie MacDonald (born 1958), Canadian novelist, playwright and actor; Fall on Your KneesBetty MacDonald (1908–1958), US writer; The Egg and IHelen Macdonald (born 1970) English writer, naturalist and academic; H is for HawkLilou 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 TallMary 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
Bríd Mahon (1922–2008), Irish novelist and folklorist
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 ElevenRichmal Mangnall (1769–1820), English schoolbook writer; Mangnall's QuestionsDelarivier 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 WarRuth 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 HallSarah 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 NightDaphne 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 AlleynPaule 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 CountryJudi Ann Mason (1955–2009), US playwright, screenwriter and journalist; Sister Act 2: Back in the HabitBeverly Matherne (born 1946), US writer and poet
Ana María Matute (1925–2014), Spanish novelist
Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989), English fiction writer; RebeccaMegan 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 ThingAnne McCaffrey (1926–2011), US science fiction novelist; Dragonriders of PernMary 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 HunterColleen McCullough (1937–2015) Australian novelist; The Thorn BirdsAlice 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 ExhaleMartha McPhee (born 1965), US novelist; Gorgeous LiesRichelle Mead (born 1976), US novelist; Vampire AcademyGwerful 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 ChildrenGrace Metalious (1924–1964), US novelist; Peyton PlaceCharlotte Mew (1869–1928), English poet; The Farmer's BrideStephenie Meyer (born 1973), US novelist; The Host, Twilight SagaAlice Meynell (1847–1922), English feminist critic and poet
Esther Meynell (1878–1955), English author and local historian; The Little Chronicle of Magdalena BachMalwida von Meysenbug (1816–1903), German political writer and memoirist
Anne Michaels (born 1958), Canadian novelist and poet; Fugitive PiecesAgnes 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 SarahKirsten 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 FollyKate 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 AzaleaMirabai (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 WindSusan 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 VillageNancy Mitford (1904–1973), English novelist, biographer and letter writer; The Pursuit of LoveKim 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 GablesRuth 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 MississippiAlison Moore (born 1971), English novelist; The LighthouseC. L. Moore (1911–1987), US fantasy writer; Jirel of JoiryLisa 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; HistoryAnn 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 CircusIrmtraud 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; VanishedToni Morrison (1931–2019), US novelist, children's novelist and 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature winner; BelovedDonna 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; EileenThylias Moss (born 1954), US poet, children's novelist and playwright
Kate Mosse (born 1961), English fiction writer and broadcaster;LabyrinthTouhfat 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; JasmineLale 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; RunawayIris Murdoch (1919–1999), Irish-English novelist and philosopher; 1978 Booker Prize; The Sea, the SeaMary 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 DispossessedEugénie 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 IndependenceSusan 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 TehranAlice 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; LajjaBenedikte Naubert (1752–1819), German historical novelist
Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549), French poet, playwright and short story writer; HeptameronGloria Naylor (born 1950), US novelist; The Women of Brewster PlaceMarie 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 françaiseAdalgisa Nery (1905–1980), Brazilian poet, novelist and journalist
E. Nesbit (1858–1924), English children's fiction writer; Five Children and ItFriederike 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 WifeFlorence Nightingale (1820–1910), English nurse, statistician and feminist
Anaïs Nin (1903–1977), French eroticist, critic and diarist; Henry and JuneSister 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 GateCaroline 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; EfuruAdaobi 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 MulvaneysMaría 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 WifeEdna 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 LostNana 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, JuniorUkamaka 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 PimpernelCaitriona 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 GeeseMaggie 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 AtticOuida (1839–1908), English fiction writer; Under Two FlagsHelen 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 GospelsCamille Paglia (born 1947), US feminist essayist; Sexual PersonaeCharlotte Painter (born 1926), US novelist and writer
Marina Palei (born 1955), Russian writer; RendezvousGrace 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; SeryozhaSara 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 CantoShailja 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 LifeMaria 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 HeavenErica 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 FelicityJulia Peterkin (1880–1961), US fiction writer; 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Elizabeth Peters (born 1927), US mystery novelist; Amelia PeabodyEllis Peters (1913–1995), Welsh-English mystery fiction writer and translator; Brother CadfaelMarine Petrossian (born 1960), Armenian poet, essayist and columnist
Lyudmila Petrushevskaya (born 1938), Russian writer and dramatist; Immortal LoveAnn Petry (1908–1997), US journalist and fiction writer
Sophie Petzal (born 1990), English screenwriter
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; AgathoclesJodi Picoult (born 1966), US novelist
Meredith Ann Pierce (born 1958), US fantasy writer
Tamora Pierce (born 1954), US children's novelist; Alanna of TrebondMarge Piercy (born 1936), US poet, novelist, and social activist
Rosamunde Pilcher (1924–2019), English romance fiction writer; The Shell SeekersFlorencia 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 LadiesAlejandra 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 HerKatha 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; PollyannaJane 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; EtiquetteHalina Poświatowska (1935–1967), Polish poet
Beatrix Potter (1866–1943), English children's writer and illustrator; The Tale of Peter RabbitSarah 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 WriterAnnie Proulx (born 1935), US fiction writer and journalist; 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; The Shipping NewsEsther 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 BlueRebeca 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 UdolphoRadegund (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 RushesSamina Raja (born 1961), Pakistani poet, writer and broadcaster
Rajashree (living), Indian chick lit novelist; Trust MeMaraea Rakuraku (living), New Zealand Māori playwright
Ayn Rand (1905–1982), Russian US novelist and philosopher; The Fountainhead; Atlas ShruggedMary Randolph (1762–1828), US housekeeping and cookery book author; The Virginia House-WifeJennifer 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 GameElsa 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 YearlingSarah Rayner (living), English author and copywriter
Angela Readman (born 1973), English poet
Pauline Réage (1907–1998), French erotic novelist; Story of OElisa 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 BaronRuth 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 HeavenRuth Rendell (born 1930), English mystery novelist; A Fatal InversionŌtagaki 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; ArtRegina Rheda (São Paulo, Brazil, 1957), fiction writer and animal rights advocate; Humana FestaJean Rhys (1890–1979), Dominican novelist; Wide Sargasso SeaMrs. 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 ChroniclesAdrienne 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 MahonyJutta 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 BeachMarilynne Robinson (born 1943), US novelist; 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; GileadMary 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; FeuchtgebieteMazo 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 PoemsVeronica Rossi (born 1973), US young adult novelist
Judith Rossner (1935–2005), US novelist; Looking for Mr. GoodbarMaria Elizabeth Rothmann (1875–1975), South African writer
Veronica Roth (born 1988), US novelist; Divergent trilogyHannah 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 SarahMary 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 TempleSusanna Roxman (born 1946), English writer, poet and critic born in Sweden; Imagining SealsArundhati Roy (born 1961), Indian novelist; 1997 Booker Prize; The God of Small ThingsGabrielle Roy (1909–1983), Canadian novelist and journalist; The Tin FluteLucinda Roy (born 1955), US-based British novelist
S. J. Rozan (born 1950), US crime fiction writer; Winter and NightPascale Roze (born 1954), French playwright and novelist
Bernice Rubens (1928–2004), Welsh novelist; 1970 Booker Prize; The Elected MemberDina Rubina (born 1953), Russian writer; The BlackthornAnne 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 AbodeNandini 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; IndianaMari 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 ShakurJane 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 BonesAmy 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 FanEdith Segal (1902–1997), Jewish-US choreographer, poet and songwriter
Anna Seghers (1900–1983), German novelist; The Seventh CrossComtesse 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 TaleMary Lee Settle (1918–2005), US novelist and memoirist; Blood TieAnna Seward (1747–1809), English Romantic poet
Anna Sewell (1820–1887), English novelist; Black BeautyElizabeth 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 SocietyMarietta Shaginyan (1888–1982), Soviet (Russian) writer and political activist; Mess-MendRuchoma Shain (1914–2013), author of All for the BossNtozake 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; DeborahAlice Sheldon (1915–1987), US fiction writer
Mary Shelley (1797–1851), English novelist; FrankensteinNan 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 DiariesIzumi Shikibu (born c. 976), Japanese poet
Murasaki Shikibu (c. 973–1014 or 1025), Japanese novelist and poet; The Tale of GenjiAki 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 BookLola 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 DeadJindeok 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 LacksAnn Masterman Skinn (1747–1789), English novelist
Amalie Skram (1846–1905), Norwegian novelist and feminist; Madam Høiers leiefolkVendela 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 ChimesElizabeth Smart (1913–1986), Canadian novelist and poet; By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and WeptDorothea Smartt (born 1963), English poet
Jane Smiley (born 1949), US novelist; 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; A Thousand AcresAli Smith (born 1962), Scottish novelist
Amanda Smith (1837–1915), US evangelist and autobiographer
Betty Smith (1896–1972), US novelist; A Tree Grows in BrooklynCharlene 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 CastleDoris Buchanan Smith (1934–2002), US children's novelist; A Taste of BlackberriesGeorgina 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 TeethSaundra 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 BrodieTerry Spear (living), US romance novelist
Vanessa Spence (born 1961), Jamaican novelist
Anne Spencer (1882–1975), US poet
Elizabeth Spencer (1921–2019), 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; HeidiMariah 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 ChildrenDanielle 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 seriesIlka 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 LoveAlfonsina Storni (1892–1938), Argentinian poet
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1836), US novelist; Uncle Tom's CabinSusan 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 KitteridgeJan Struther (1901–1953), Scottish-English hymn writer and novelist; Mrs MiniverAndrea 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 ThingAnni 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 GirlMagda Szabó (1917–2007), Hungarian novelist, poet and playwright; The DoorMária 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 ClubMeca 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 FalconDonna 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; AngelJane 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 FriendsAnyte 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 HouseMary 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 NothingAudrey 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 StreetsSamantha 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 JohnsonFu 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 CourtTatyana 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 AmericansJoanna 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 VietnamLily Tuck (born 1938), US fiction writer; The News from ParaguayAnastasia Tumanishvili-Tsereteli (1849–1932), Georgian writer, educator and influential feminist
Evgenia Tur (1815–1892), Russian novelist and literary critic; AntoninaMegan 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 SpiritZoila 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 MindeAnya Ulinich (born 1973), Russian writer; PetropolisLyudmila Ulitskaya (born 1943), Russian writer; Medea and Her ChildrenLinn 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 LavransdatterChika 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 CarversJulia 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; IsabellaArja 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 HappinessCaroline 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 MarriagePilar 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 TalesJulia Voznesenskaya (born 1940), Soviet-Russian writer; The Women's DecameronSusanna 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 PurpleMargaret 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 CastleMaría 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 BonesMary 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; FingersmithFiona 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 BaneDelia 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-DevilDorothy 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 GoodDorothy West (1907–1998), US fiction writer
Jane West (1758–1852), English novelist, poet and playwright
Jessamyn West (1902–1984), US fiction writer; The Friendly PersuasionRebecca West (1892–1983), English novelist, essayist, and travel writer; Black Lamb and Grey FalconAmy Westervelt (born 1978), journalist and writer
Anne Wharton (1659–1685), English poet
Edith Wharton (1862–1937), US fiction writer; The Age of InnocenceLeslie 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 PrairieKate 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 RabbitSherley 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 WomanClaire 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 ParkEllen (Mrs Henry) Wood (1814–1887), English novelist; East LynneJacqueline Woodson (born 1963), US children's and young-adult writer; Miracle's BoysVirginia Woolf (1882–1941), English novelist and essayist; Mrs. Dalloway, To the LighthouseAbba 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 OrangeEmpress 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 LifeYang 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 RedclyffeYoo 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 DarlingSo Young-en (born 1943), Korea author
Kang Young-sook (born 1966), Korean author
Marguerite Yourcenar (1903–1987), Belgian-French novelist and essayist; Memoirs of HadrianYovanna (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 WeekendAnna 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 WomenBan Zhao (45–116 CE), first female Chinese historian; Lessons for WomenVera Zhelikhovsky (1835–1896), Russian writer; The General's WillPolina Zherebtsova (born 1985), Russian poet and diarist; Ant in a Glass JarMaria Zhukova (1804–1855), Russian writer; Evenings on the KarpovkaZhuo 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 MenagerieElvania 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

 Hilnga pa 

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 writersNorton Anthology of Literature by Women''
Women in science fiction
Women Writers Project
Women's writing in English
Sophie (digital lib)

Toltolan

Mga panluwas na takod 

 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

Mga parasurat