Ini an mga lista kan mga bistadong babaeng parasurat na igwang pahina sa Wikipedia.
- Hilngon man an indibidwal na lista kan ma babaeng parasurat kada nasyonalidad
- 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
- 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[1]
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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.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[2]
- 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
- 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
- Noni Jabavu (1931–2008), South African memoirist and journalist
- Helen Hunt Jackson (1830–1885), US novelist; Ramona
- Shelley Jackson (born 1963), Filipino US fiction writer and essayist; Patchwork Girl
- Shirley Jackson (1916–1965), US fiction writer; The Lottery
- Harriet Jacobs (1813–1897), US memoir writer; Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
- Annie Jacobsen (born 1967), US investigative journalist and non-fiction author; Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base
- Josephine Jacobsen (1908–2003), US poet, short story writer and critic; 21st US Poet Laureate
- Agnes E. Jacomb (1866–1949), English novelist
- Frances Jacson (1754–1842), English novelist
- Kim Jae-Young (born 1966), South Korean writer and academic
- Ada Jafarey (born 1924), Pakistani Urdu poet
- Rona Jaffe (1932–2005), US novelist; The Best of Everything
- Dorta Jagić (born 1974), Croatian poet and writer
- Meenakshi Jain (living), Indian historian
- Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004), Icelandic playwright and short story writer
- Alice James (1848–1892), US diarist
- P. D. James (born 1920), English mystery novelist; Cover Her Face
- Anna Brownell Jameson (1794–1860), Irish-born English writer on art and literature
- Elizabeth Janeway (1913–2005), US novelist
- Éva Janikovszky (1926–2003), Hungarian author of children's books
- Tama Janowitz (born 1957), US novelist, short story writer and screenwriter; Slaves of New York
- Anja Jantschik (born 1969), German writer and journalist
- Florence Page Jaques (1890–1972), US writer of nature and travel books
- Lisa Jarnot (born 1967), US poet
- Bella Jarrett (1926–2007), romance author and actress
- Jefimija (1349–1405), Serbian poet
- Andrea Jeftanovic (born 1970), Chilean author, sociologist and academic
- Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932), English garden writer
- Elfriede Jelinek (born 1946), Austrian playwright and novelist; 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature; The Piano Teacher
- Joyce Angela Jellison (born 1969), US author
- Gish Jen (born 1956), US writer
- Elizabeth Jennings (1926–2001), English poet
- Choi Jeong-rye (born 1955), Korean poet
- Ana de Jesús (1545–1621), Spanish writer, poet and nun
- Lisa Jewell (born 1968), English author of popular fiction.
- Sarah Orne Jewett (1849–1909), US fiction writer
- Geraldine Jewsbury (1812–1880), English novelist
- Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (born 1927), German-US novelist and screenwriter; Heat and Dust
- Paulette Jiles (born 1943), US-Canadian poet and novelist
- Qiu Jin (1875–1907), Chinese revolutionary, feminist and writer
- Hao Jingfang (born 1984), Chinese novelist
- Chen Jingrong (1917–1989), Chinese poet
- Empress Jitō (645–702), Japanese poet and empress
- Rita Joe (born 1932), Canadian poet
- Oddvør Johansen (born 1941), Faroese novelist
- Catherine Johnson (born 1962), English author and screenwriter
- Catherine Johnson (born 1957), English playwright
- Diane Johnson (born 1934), US novelist and essayist; Le Divorce
- Georgia Douglas Johnson (1877–1966), US poet
- Helene Johnson (1906–1995), US poet
- Josephine Johnson (1910–1990), US novelist, poet, and essayist; 1935 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Kate Johnson (born c. 1980), English novelist
- Pauline Johnson (1861–1913), Canadian poet
- Susannah Willard Johnson (1729–1810), US memoirist
- Velda Johnston (1912–1997), US writer of Gothic romance novels
- Mary Johnston (1870–1936), US novelist
- Diana Wynne Jones (born 1934), English novelist, primarily of fantasy
- Gayl Jones (born 1949), US novelist
- Sandy Jones (born 1943), US parenting writer
- Tayari Jones (born 1970), US novelist
- Erica Jong (born 1942), US novelist; Fear of Flying
- Ingrid Jonker (1933–1965), South African poet
- Kishi Joō (929–985), Japanese poet
- June Jordan (1936–2002), US poet, novelist and autobiographer
- Irena Jordanova (born 1980), Macedonian author
- Jenny Joseph (born 1932), English poet
- Irma Joubert (born 1947), South African author
- Heidi Julavits (born 1968), US journalist and novelist
- Lucie Julia (born 1927), Guadeloupean poet and novelist
- Miranda July (born 1974), US writer and performance artist
- Hwang Jung-eun (born 1976), South Korean author and podcaster
- Dorothy Misener Jurney (1909–2002), US journalist writing on women's issues
- 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[3]
- Lila Rose Kaplan (born 1980), playwright
- Anna Louisa Karsch (1722–1791), German poet and letter writer
- Lady Kasa (early 8th century), Japanese poet
- Marie Luise Kaschnitz (1901–1974), German novelist and poet
- Nina Kasniunas (born 1972), US political scientist, author and professor
- Kassia (810 – pre-865), Byzantine poet and composer writing in Greek
- Hoda Katebi, Iranian-American fashion blogger and activist
- Gina Kaus (1893–1985), Austrian novelist and screenwriter
- Julia Kavanagh (1824–1877), Irish novelist
- Jackie Kay (born 1961), Scottish poet and novelist; Trumpet
- M. M. Kaye (1908–2004), British novelist, editor and illustrator; The Far Pavilions
- Susanna Kaysen (born 1948), US author and memoirist; Girl, Interrupted
- Susanna Kearsley (born 1966), Canadian novelist
- Annie Keary (1825–1879), English novelist and poet
- Henrietta Keddie (1827–1914), Scottish novelist and children's writer
- Janice Kulyk Keefer (born 1952), Canadian novelist and poet
- Antigone Kefala (born 1935), Australian poet and prose-writer of Greek-Romanian heritage
- Helen Keller (1880–1968), US lecturer, essayist and autobiographer; Light in my Darkness
- Linda Kelly (born 1936), English historian of 18th–19th-century romanticism
- Gene Kemp (1926–2015), English children's writer
- Oonya Kempadoo (born 1966), British novelist
- Margery Kempe (c. 1373–1438), English autobiographer and mystic
- Latofat Kenjaeva (born 1950), Tajik poet, writer and journalist
- Betty Kennedy (1926–2017), Canadian broadcaster, journalist and author
- Margaret Kennedy (1896–1967), English novelist; The Constant Nymph
- Pagan Kennedy (born c. 1963), US columnist and author
- Hannah Kent (born 1985), Australian writer
- Joan Haverty Kerouac (1931–1990), US autobiographer
- Judith Kerr (1923–1919), German-born children's writer in English
- Jessie Kesson (1916–1994), Scottish writer
- Irmgard Keun (1905–1982), German novelist
- Farida Khalaf (born c. 1995), ISIS escapee and author
- Dalal Khario (born c. 1997), ISIS survivor, memoirist
- Babilina Khositashvili (1884–1973), Georgian poet, feminist
- Vénus Khoury-Ghata (born 1937), Lebanese-French writer; former Miss Beirut
- Mariam Khutsurauli (born 1960), Georgian poet and short story writer
- Nadezhda Khvoshchinskaya (1824–1889), Russian novelist; The Boarding School Girl
- Sue Monk Kidd (born 1948), US writer; The Secret Life of Bees
- Susan Nalugwa Kiguli (born 1969), Ugandan poet and literary scholar
- Emelihter Kihleng (living), Micronesian poet writing in English
- Lali Kiknavelidze (born 1969), Georgian sreenwriter and film director
- Anne Killigrew (1660–1685), English poet
- Dorothy Kilner (1755–1836), English children's writer
- Ronyoung Kim (1926–1987), Korean US writer
- Jamaica Kincaid (born 1949), Antiguan US novelist; Annie John
- Aby King (born 1977), British author and fantasy novelist
- Grace King (1852–1932), US short story writer and historian
- Tabitha King (born 1949), US novelist
- Mary Kingsley (1862–1900), English explorer and scientific writer
- Barbara Kingsolver (born 1955), US fiction writer, poet and essayist
- Maxine Hong Kingston (born 1940), Chinese US novelist and academic
- Eleanor Kirk (1831–1908), US writer and publisher
- Sarah Kirsch (born 1935), German poet and translator
- Ossip Schubin (real name Aloisia Kirschner, 1854–1934), Austrian novelist
- Madhu Kishwar (born 1951), Indian feminist
- Karin Kiwus (born 1942), German poet
- Carolyn Kizer (1925–2014), US poet; 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs (born 1974), Faroese children's writer, poet and short story writer
- Naomi Klein (born 1970), Canadian author, social activist and filmmaker; The Shock Doctrine
- Anne Knight (1792–1860), English children's writer
- Mary Norbert Körte (born 1934), American poet, teacher and environmentalist
- Joy Kogawa (born 1935), Canadian novelist and poet; Obasan
- Annette Kolb (1870–1967), German writer
- Alexandra Kollontai (1872–1952), Russian-Soviet writer and political figure; A Great Love
- Gertrud Kolmar (1894–1943), German poet
- Ono no Komachi (825–900), Japanese poet
- Anna Komnene (1083–1183), Byzantine chronicler and emperor's daughter writing in Greek; Alexiad
- Amalia Wilhelmina Königsmarck (1663–1740), Swedish noble, known as a painter, actor and poet
- Maria Konopnicka (1842–1910), Polish novelist, poet, translator and essayist
- Evgenia Konradi (1838–1898), Russian writer, essayist and journalist
- Ana Kordzaia-Samadashvili (born 1968), Georgian novelist and literary journalist
- Alice Graeme Korff (1904–1975), US art critic
- Lina Kostenko (born 1930), Ukrainian poet
- Elizabeth Kostova (born 1964), US novelist; The Historian
- Helene Kottannerin (fl. 1430s), Hungarian memoirist writing in German
- Sofia Kovalevskaya (1859–1891), Russian writer and major mathematician; Nihilist Girl
- Hanna Krall (born 1937), Polish writer, novelist and journalist
- Judith Krantz (1928–2019), US author and journalist
- Nicole Krauss (born 1974), US fiction writer, essayist and journalist; The History of Love
- Uma Krishnaswami (born 1956), children's writer
- Julia Kristeva (born 1941), Bulgarian-French critic, philosopher and novelist
- Gerður Kristný (born 1970), Icelandic poet and novelist
- Agota Kristof (1935–2011), Hungarian novelist writing in French
- Nestan Kvinikadze (born 1980), Georgian scriptwriter and dramatist
- Lidia Kulikovski (born 1951), Moldovan librarian, bibliographer and editor
- Maxine Kumin (1925–2014), US poet and children's novelist; 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Xu Kun (born 1965), Chinese postmodern fiction writer
- Rachel Kushner (born 1968), US novelist and journalist; The Flamethrowers
- Jean Kwok, Chinese US novelist
- Shin Kyeong-nim (born 1936), South Korean writer
- Joanne Kyger (1934–2017), US poet
- Goretti Kyomuhendo (born 1965), Ugandan novelist and literary activist
- Mercedes Lackey (born 1950), US fantasy novelist
- Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940), Swedish novelist and children's novelist, and 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature winner
- Jhumpa Lahiri (born 1967), Bengali-US short story writer and novelist; 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; Interpreter of Maladies
- Sinikka Laine (born 1945), Finnish writer of young adult literature
- Laila Lalami (born 1968), Moroccan US journalist, essayist and novelist; Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits
- Lalleshwari (also Lalla, Lal Ded or Lal Arifa; 1320–1392), mystic and poet; creator of the mystic vatsun poetry, the earliest compositions in the Kashmiri language
- Lady Caroline Lamb (1785–1828), English novelist
- Helen Lamb (1956–2017), Scottish poet
- Mary Lamb (1764–1847), co-author with her brother Charles Lamb
- Alice Elinor Lambert (1886–1981), US romance novelist
- Anne Lamott (born 1954), political activist and fiction and non-fiction author
- Beatrice Lamwaka (living), Ugandan writer
- Leena Lander (born 1955), Finnish novelist
- Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L., 1802–1838), English poet and novelist
- Margaret Landon (1903–1993), US novelist; Anna and the King of Siam
- Liliane Landor (born c. 1956), Lebanese-born journalist and broadcasting executive
- Michele Landsberg (born 1939), Canadian author, feminist and social activist
- Jane Lane (Elaine Kidner Dakers, 1905–1978), British historical novelist and biographer
- Katja Lange-Müller (born 1951), German novelist
- Elisabeth Langgässer (1899–1950), German poet and novelist
- Eve Langley (1908–1974), Australian novelist
- Aemilia Lanyer (1569–1645), English poet
- Alda Lara (1930–1962), Angolan poet
- Lucy Larcom (1824–1893), American mill girl and poet
- Rebecca Hammond Lard (1772–1855), US poet; first poet of Indiana
- Claudia Lars (1899–1974), Salvadoran poet
- Nella Larsen (1891–1964), US fiction writer
- Trude Brænne Larssen (born 1967), Norwegian novelist
- Else Lasker-Schüler (1869–1945), German poet and playwright
- Ana Irma Rivera Lassén (born 1955), Puerto Rican poet, feminist writer and lawyer
- Agnes Latham (1905–1996), English writer, editor and academic
- Irene Latham (born 1971) US poet and children's writer
- Mary Artemisia Lathbury (1841–1913) US hymn writer and poet
- Virginia Lathrop (1900–1974), US journalist
- Yulia Latynina (born 1966), Russian writer; The Insider
- Evelyn Lau (born 1971), Canadian poet and novelist
- Margaret Laurence (1926–1987), Canadian fiction writer; The Stone Angel
- Dorianne Laux (born 1952), US poet
- Christine Lavant (1915–1973), Austrian poet and novelist
- Mary Lavin (1912–1996), Irish fiction writer
- Emily Lawless (1845–1913), Irish novelist and poet
- Mary Lawson (born 1946), Canadian novelist; Crow Lake
- Emma Lazarus (1849–1887), US poet; "The New Colossus" (inscribed on the Statue of Liberty)
- Jane Leade (1624–1704), English mystic
- Louisa Leaman (born 1976), English writer on education
- Mary Leapor (1722–1746), English poet
- Diana Lebacs (born 1947), Curaçaoan author known for her children's literature
- Violette Leduc (1907–1972), French novelist and autobiographer
- Harper Lee (1926–2016), US novelist; To Kill a Mockingbird
- Harriet Lee (1757–1851), English novelist and playwright
- Muna Lee (1895–1965), US poet and translator
- Sophia Lee (1750–1824), English playwright and novelist
- Tanith Lee (born 1947), English novelist, poet and screenwriter
- Joy Leftow (living), US poet
- Tuija Lehtinen (born 1954), Finnish children's writer and novelist
- Leena Lehtolainen (born 1964), Finnish crime writer
- Katerina Lemmel (1466–1533), German letter-writer and nun
- Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007), US novelist and children's novelist; A Wrinkle in Time
- Sue Lenier (born 1957), English poet and playwright
- Rebecca Lenkiewicz (born 1968), English playwright
- Ellen Lenneck (1851–1880), German novelist and story writer
- Anna Maria Lenngren (1754–1817), Swedish writer, poet and translator
- Charlotte Lennox (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 Notebook
- Denise Levertov (1923–1997), English US poet and essayist
- Celia Moss Levetus (1819–1873), English poet and historical writer
- Gail Carson Levine (born 1947), US young-adult novelist; Ella Enchanted
- Andrea Levy (1956–2019), English novelist; Small Island
- Deborah Levy (born 1959), South African-English playwright, fiction writer and poet; Swimming Home
- Fanny Lewald (1811–1889), German novelist and feminist
- Alethea Lewis (1749–1827), English novelist
- Janet Lewis (1899–1998), US novelist
- Marina Lewycka (born 1946), British novelist of Ukrainian origin
- Anne Ley (c. 1599–1641), English writer, teacher and polemicist
- Portia Li (living), senior Chinese US reporter
- Marita Liabø (born 1971), Norwegian author
- Mechtilde Lichnowsky (1879–1958), German poet, playwright and essayist
- Erika Liebman (1738–1803), Swedish poet and academic
- Deborah Lifchitz (1907–1942), French Jewish expert on Semitic languages of Ethiopia
- Werewere Liking (born 1950), Côte d'Ivoire-based writer and playwright
- Rosa Liksom (born 1958), Finnish fiction and children's writer
- Suzanne Lilar (1901–1992), Belgian playwright, essayist and novelist writing in French
- Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002), Swedish children's novelist; Pippi Longstocking
- Merethe Lindstrøm (born 1963), Norwegian fiction writer; Days in the History of Silence
- Elizabeth Linington (1921–1988), US mystery novelist
- Kelly Link (born 1969), US short story writer and editor
- Baik Sou Linne (born 1982), South Korean fiction writer
- Rosina Lippi (born 1956), US writer
- Laura Lippman (born 1959), US crime fiction writer
- Helena Lisická (1930–2009), Czech ethnographer and writer of fairy tales and legends
- Clarice Lispector (1920–1977), Brazilian novelist; The Passion According to G.H.
- S. E. Lister (born 1988), English novelist
- Penelope Lively (born 1933), English novelist and children's writer; 1987 Booker Prize; Moon Tiger
- Dorothy Livesay (1909–1996), Canadian poet
- Teresa Lo (living), US author
- Liz Lochhead (born 1947), Scottish poet and dramatist
- Attica Locke (born 1974), US novelist
- Mirra Lokhvitskaya (1869–1905), Russian poet
- Lesley Lokko (living), Ghanaian-Scottish novelist and academic
- Pearl London (1916–2003), US supporter of literary arts and teacher of poetry
- Joan Long (born 1925), Australian screenwriter and producer
- Anita Loos (1888–1981), US screenwriter, playwright and novelist; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
- Josefina Lopez (born 1969), Chicana playwright, screenwriter and novelist; Real Women Have Curves
- Karen Lord (born 1968), Barbadian writer of speculative fiction
- Audre Lorde (1934–1992), US poet
- Emilie Loring (1864–1951), US romance novelist
- Isabel Losada (living), English writer, actress and singer
- Laura Glen Louis (living), US author, poet and essayist
- Regina Louise (born 1963), US author, child advocate and motivational speaker
- Amy Lowell (1874–1925), US poet; 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Lois Lowry (born 1937), US children's novelist; Number the Stars
- Mina Loy (1882–1966), English poet and artist
- Dulce María Loynaz (1902–1997), Cuban poet and novelist
- Clare Boothe Luce (1903–1987), US editor, playwright and journalist
- Maria Lugones (living), Argentine feminist philosopher, writer and academic
- Jane Lumley, Baroness Lumley (1537–1578), English translator
- Ulla-Lena Lundberg (born 1947), Finland-Swedish author
- Luo Luo (living), Chinese novelist and film director
- Alison Lurie (born 1926), US novelist and academic; Foreign Affairs
- Annabel Lyon (born 1971), Canadian fiction writer
- Rose Macaulay (1881–1958), English writer; The Towers of Trebizond
- Ann-Marie MacDonald (born 1958), Canadian novelist, playwright and actor; Fall on Your Knees
- Betty MacDonald (1908–1958), US writer; The Egg and I
- Helen Macdonald (born 1970) English writer, naturalist and academic; H is for Hawk
- Lilou Macé (born 1977), French-US author
- Gwendolyn MacEwen (1941–1987), Canadian novelist and poet
- Shena Mackay (born 1944), Scottish novelist
- Serena Mackesy (born 1960s), English novelist and journalist
- Mary Mackey (born 1945), US novelist, poet and academic
- Patricia MacLachlan (born 1938), US children's novelist; Sarah, Plain and Tall
- Mary MacLane (1881–1929), Canadian-US writer
- Charlotte MacLeod (1922–2005), Canadian-US novelist and mystery writer
- Debbie Macomber (born 1948), US novelist
- Katharine Sarah Macquoid (1824–1917), English novelist and travel writer
- Deirdre Madden (born 1960), Irish novelist
- Mechthild of Magdeburg (c. 1207 – c. 1282-1294), German mystic writing in Low German
- Audrey Magee (living), Irish novelist and journalist
- Nilah Magruder (living), US illustrator and writer
- Akka Mahadevi (12th century), Indian poet writing in Old Kannada
- Han Mahlsook (born 1931), Korean novelist
- 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 Eleven
- Richmal Mangnall (1769–1820), English schoolbook writer; Mangnall's Questions
- Delarivier Manley (c. 1670–1724), English novelist, playwrigh and political pamphleteer
- Erika Mann (1905–1969), German writer, screenwriter and actress
- Eeva-Liisa Manner (1921–1995), Finnish poet, playwright and translator
- Olivia Manning (1908–1980), English novelist; Fortunes of War
- Ruth Manning-Sanders (1886–1988), Welsh-born English poet, author and children's writer
- Chris Mansell (born 1953), Australian poet and publisher
- Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923), New Zealand-English short story writer
- Lisa Mantchev (living), US fantasy novelist
- Hilary Mantel (born 1952), English fiction writer, memoirist and essayist; 2009 and 2012 Booker Prize; Wolf Hall
- Sarah Ladipo Manyika (born 1968), British-Nigerian fiction writer and essayist
- Lee Maracle (born 1950), Canadian poet, novelist and storyteller
- Dacia Maraini (born 1936), Italian novelist, playwright, poet and journalist
- Emilie Maresse-Paul (1838–1900), Trinidadian intellectual and feminist writer
- Anna Margolin (1887–1952), Russian-US Yiddish-language poet
- Beryl Markham (1902–1986), English-born Kenyan aviator, adventurer and author; West with the Night
- Daphne Marlatt (born 1942), Canadian poet
- E. Marlitt (Eugenie John, 1825–1877), German novelist
- Monika Maron (born 1941), German essayist and political writer
- Anne de Marquets (c. 1533–1588), French poet
- Paula Contreras Márquez (1911–2008), Spanish novelist and author
- Ellen Marriage (1865–1946), English translator of Balzac's novels
- Ngaio Marsh (1895–1982), New Zealand mystery writer; Roderick Alleyn
- Paule Marshall (born 1929), US novelist
- Una Marson (1905–1965), Jamaican feminist, radio producer and poet
- Faith Martin (living), English thriller writer
- Harriet Martineau (1802–1876), English novelist and social theorist
- Lebogang Mashile (born 1979), South African actress, writer and performance poet
- Bobbie Ann Mason (born 1940), US fiction writer, essayist and critic; In Country
- Judi Ann Mason (1955–2009), US playwright, screenwriter and journalist; Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
- Beverly Matherne (born 1946), US writer and poet
- Ana María Matute (1925–2014), Spanish novelist
- Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989), English fiction writer; Rebecca
- Megan Maxwell (born 1965), romance novelist
- DeBarra Mayo (born 1953), US bodybuilder and fitness writer
- Eleanor Mayo (1920–1981), US novelist
- Imbolo Mbue (living), Cameroon-born fiction writer
- Bunny McBride (born 1950), US writer, journalist and anthropologist
- Eimear McBride (born 1976), Irish novelist; A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing
- Anne McCaffrey (1926–2011), US science fiction novelist; Dragonriders of Pern
- Mary McCarthy (1912–1989), US novelist, critic and memoir writer
- Shirla R. McClain (1935–1997), US educator
- Jen McClanaghan (living), US poet
- Nellie McClung (1873–1951), Canadian feminist, author and social activist
- Joanna McClure (born 1930), American poet
- Elizabeth McCracken (born 1966), US novelist and editor
- Sharyn McCrumb (born 1948), US fiction writer
- Carson McCullers (1917–1967), US novelist; The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
- Colleen McCullough (1937–2015) Australian novelist; The Thorn Birds
- Alice McDermott (born 1953), US fiction writer
- Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978), US children's writer and poet; 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Lisa McInerney (born 1981), Irish fiction writer and blogger
- Ami McKay (born 1968), Canadian novelist, playwright and journalist
- Elizabeth McKenzie (born 1958), US author and editor
- Patricia A. McKillip (born 1948), US sci-fi and fantasy writer
- Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983), US journalist and author
- Emma McLaughlin (born 1974), US novelist
- Terry McMillan (born 1951), US novelist; Waiting to Exhale
- Martha McPhee (born 1965), US novelist; Gorgeous Lies
- Richelle Mead (born 1976), US novelist; Vampire Academy
- Gwerful Mechain (fl. 1460–1500), Welsh poet
- Saint Mechtilde of Hackeborn (1240/1241–1298), German religious writer in Latin
- Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger (1924–1942), Romanian-born German poet
- Cecília Meireles (1901–1964), Brazilian writer and educator
- Tamta Melashvili (born 1979), Georgian novelist and feminist
- Ekaterine Melikishvili (1854–1928), Georgian translator and children's writer
- Maile Meloy (born 1972), US fiction writer
- Pauline Melville (born 1948), Guyanese-born British writer and actress
- Velma Caldwell Melville (1858–1924), US editor and writer
- Eva Menasse (born 1970), Austrian novelist and journalist
- Jane Mendelsohn (born 1965), US author
- Charlotte Mendelson (born 1972), English novelist and editor
- Sophie Mereau (1770–1806), German novelist and poet
- Edna Merey-Apinda (born 1976), Gabonese writer
- Marguerite Merington (1875–1951), English-US playwright and writer of fiction and non-fiction
- Alda Merini (1931–2009), Italian writer and poet
- Louise Meriwether (born 1923), US novelist, essayist and journalist
- Fatema Mernissi (born 1940), Moroccan feminist academic
- Helen Maud Merrill (1865–1943), US woman of letters and poet
- Elizabeth Messenger (1908–1965), New Zealand journalist, cookery writer and crime novelist
- Claire Messud (born 1966), US novelist and academic; The Emperor's Children
- Grace Metalious (1924–1964), US novelist; Peyton Place
- Charlotte Mew (1869–1928), English poet; The Farmer's Bride
- Stephenie Meyer (born 1973), US novelist; The Host, Twilight Saga
- Alice Meynell (1847–1922), English feminist critic and poet
- Esther Meynell (1878–1955), English author and local historian; The Little Chronicle of Magdalena Bach
- Malwida von Meysenbug (1816–1903), German political writer and memoirist
- Anne Michaels (born 1958), Canadian novelist and poet; Fugitive Pieces
- Agnes Miegel (1879–1964), German journalist, writer and poet
- Jo Mihaly (1902–1989), German diarist, novelist and dancer
- Mitsukazu Mihara (born 1970), Japanese manga writer and artist
- Jung Mi-kyung (born 1960), Korean novelist
- Grace Mildmay (1552–1620), English diarist
- Josephine Miles (1911–1985), US poet and literary critic
- Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950), US poet; 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Caroline Miller (1903–1992), US novelist; 1934 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Grażyna Miller (1957–2009), Polish poet, writer and translator
- Isabel Miller (Alma Routsong, 1924–1996), US novelist; Patience and Sarah
- Kirsten Miller (born 1973), US novelist; Kiki Strike series
- Leslie Adrienne Miller (born 1956), US poet
- Madeline Miller (born 1978), US novelist
- Rebecca Miller (born 1962), US novelist and writer; Jacob's Folly
- Kate Millett (1934–2017), US feminist
- Arthenia J. Bates Millican (1920–2012), US poet, short-story writer and educator
- Anchee Min (born 1957), Chinese US novelist and memoir writer; Red Azalea
- Mirabai (also Meera, Meera Bai; c. 1498–c. 1547), Hindu mystical poet
- Gabriela Mistral (Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, 1889–1957), Chilean poet, educator and feminist; first Latin US to win the Nobel Prize in Literature
- Dreda Say Mitchell (Louise Emma Joseph, born 1965), English novelist and journalist
- Gladys Mitchell (1901–1983), English mystery novelist
- Margaret Mitchell (1900–1949), US journalist and novelist; Gone with the Wind
- Susan Mitchell (born 1944), US poet, essayist and translator
- Naomi Mitchison (1897–1999), Scottish novelist and poet
- Jessica Mitford (1917–1996), English-US author, journalist and civil rights activist
- Mary Russell Mitford (1787–1855), English novelist and dramatist; Our Village
- Nancy Mitford (1904–1973), English novelist, biographer and letter writer; The Pursuit of Love
- Kim Mi-wol (born 1977)
- Minae Mizumura (born 1951), U.S.-educated Japanese novelist, critic and essayist
- Janet Mock (born 1983), US writer, transgender rights activist and author
- Moero or Myro (3rd century BC), Greek poet
- Nadifa Mohamed (born 1981), Somali-British novelist
- Natalia Molebatsi (living), South African poet
- Mary Louisa (Mrs) Molesworth (1839–1921), English children's novelist
- Grace Mera Molisa (1947–2002), ni-Vanuatu politician, poet and campaigner for women
- Lília Momplé (born 1935), Mozambican fiction writer
- Jenn Monroe (born 1970), poet, editor
- Pilar Burgués Monserrat, writer, of short story
- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762), English poet, essayist, diarist and letter-writer
- Florence Montgomery (1843–1923), English children's writer
- Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942), Canadian fiction writer and poet; Anne of Green Gables
- Ruth Montgomery (1912–2001), US journalist, novelist and psychic
- Amy Monticello (born 1982), essayist and non-fiction writer
- Susanna Moodie (1803–1885), Canadian diarist, novelist and poet
- Anne Moody (born 1940), US autobiographer; Coming of Age in Mississippi
- Alison Moore (born 1971), English novelist; The Lighthouse
- C. L. Moore (1911–1987), US fantasy writer; Jirel of Joiry
- Lisa Moore (born 1964), Canadian fiction writer
- Lorrie Moore (born 1957), US short story writer
- Marianne Moore (1887–1972), US poet; 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Ruth Moore (1903–1989), US fiction writer and poet
- Elizabeth Moorhead (c. 1865–1955), US fiction writer
- Barbara Moraff (born 1939), US poet of the Beat generation
- Cherrie Moraga (born 1952), Chicana poet, playwright and essayist
- Aurora Levins Morales (born 1954), US-Puerto Rican essayist, poet and fiction writer
- Elsa Morante (1912–1985), Italian novelist; History
- Ann Moray (1909–1981), Irish-US novelist and singer
- Yolanda Morazzo (1928–2009), Cape Verdean poet
- Hannah More (1745–1833), English moralist, poet and playwright
- Helga Moreira (born 1950), Portuguese poet
- C. E. Morgan (born 1976), US author
- Erin Morgenstern (born 1978), US multimedia artist and novelist; The Night Circus
- Irmtraud Morgner (1933–1990), German novelist
- Margarita Morozova (1873–1958), Russian memoirist and publisher
- Jan Morris (born James Morris, 1926), Welsh historian and travel writer
- Mary McGarry Morris (born 1943), US novelist; finalist, National Book Award and Pen/Faulkner Award; Vanished
- Toni Morrison (1931–2019), US novelist, children's novelist and 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature winner; Beloved
- Donna Morrissey (born 1956), Canadian novelist and screenwriter
- Penelope Mortimer (1918–1999), Welsh-English novelist
- Nelle Morton (1905–1987), US theologian, professor and feminist civil rights leader
- Stefania Mosca (1957–2009), Venezuelan writer
- Hannah Moscovitch (born 1978), Canadian playwright
- Marie Moser (born 1948), Canadian fiction writer
- Ottessa Moshfegh (born 1981), US novelist, short story writer and essayist; Eileen
- Thylias Moss (born 1954), US poet, children's novelist and playwright
- Kate Mosse (born 1961), English fiction writer and broadcaster;Labyrinth
- Touhfat Mouhtare (living), Comorian writer
- Daphne Pochin Mould (born 1920), English-born geology, religion and history writer
- Julia Moulden (born 1956), Canadian non-fiction writer and speechwriter
- Esther Moyal (1878–1948), Lebanese Jewish writer, feminist and translator
- Lisel Mueller (1924–2020), German-US poet; 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Willa Muir (1890–1970), Scottish writer
- Bharati Mukherjee (born 1940), Indian-US fiction writer; Jasmine
- Lale Müldür (born 1956), Turkish poet and writer
- Harryette Mullen (born 1953), US poet, short story writer and literary scholar
- Herta Müller (born 1953), Romanian-born German novelist, poet and essayist; Nobel Prize winner
- Inge Müller (1925–1966), German poet
- Alice Munro (born 1931), Canadian short story writer; 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature; Runaway
- Iris Murdoch (1919–1999), Irish-English novelist and philosopher; 1978 Booker Prize; The Sea, the Sea
- Mary Noailles Murfree (1850–1922), US fiction writer
- Rosario Murillo (born 1951), Nicaraguan poet
- C. E. Murphy (born 1973), US author
- Margaret Murphy (born 1959), English crime novelist; The Dispossessed
- Eugénie Musayidire (born 1952), Rwandan-German writer; Mein Stein spricht (My Stone Speaks, covering the Rwandan genocide)
- Inga Muscio (born 1966), US writer; Cunt: A Declaration of Independence
- Susan Musgrave (born 1951), Canadian poet and children's writer
- Małgorzata Musierowicz (born 1945), Polish fiction writer for children and young adults
- Carol Muske-Dukes (born 1945), US poet, novelist and professor; California Poet Laureate
- Sugawara no Takasue no musume (born 1008), Japanese diarist
- Dagmar von Mutius (1919–2008), German writer
- Beverle Graves Myers (born 1951), US mystery fiction writer
- Farida Nabourema (born 1990), Togolese human rights activist, writer and blogger
- Constance Naden (1858–1889), English poet and philosopher
- Azar Nafisi (born 1948), Iranian writer and academic; Reading Lolita in Tehran
- Alice Nahon (1896–1933), Dutch-language poet
- Sarojini Naidu (Nightingale of India; 1879–1949), child prodigy, Indian independence activist and poet
- Zofia Nałkowska (1884–1954), Polish novelist, playwright
- Carolina Nairne (1766–1845), Scottish songwriter
- Cheng Naishan (1946–2013) Shanghainese-Hong Kongese novelist and non-fiction writer
- Shikishi Naishinnō (died 1201), Japanese classical poet
- Nakatsukasa (912–991), Japanese poet
- Bahiyyih Nakhjavani (living), Iranian novelist
- Anna Nakwaska (1781–1851), Polish memoirist, novelist and children's author
- Heo Nanseolheon (1563–1589), Korean poet
- Elma Napier (1892–1973), Scottish-born writer and politician in Dominica
- Ruth Narramore (1923–2010), editor
- Taslima Nasrin (born 1962), Bengali novelist and poet and essayist; Lajja
- Benedikte Naubert (1752–1819), German historical novelist
- Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549), French poet, playwright and short story writer; Heptameron
- Gloria Naylor (born 1950), US novelist; The Women of Brewster Place
- Marie NDiaye (born 1967), French novelist and playwright
- Alice Dunbar Nelson (1875–1935), US poet, journalist and political activist
- Božena Němcová (1820–1862), Czech writer of the Czech National Revival movement
- Irène Némirovsky (1903–1942), Ukrainian-French novelist; Suite française
- Adalgisa Nery (1905–1980), Brazilian poet, novelist and journalist
- E. Nesbit (1858–1924), English children's fiction writer; Five Children and It
- Friederike Caroline Neuber (1697–1760), German playwright and actress
- Aimee Nezhukumatathil (born 1974), Asian US poet and essayist
- Juliana Makuchi Nfah-Abbenyi (living), Cameroon professor and writer
- Lauretta Ngcobo (1931–2015), South African novelist and essayist
- Grace Nichols (born 1950), Guyanese poet
- Lorine Niedecker (1903–1970), US poet; only woman among the Objectivist poets
- Aīda Niedra (1899–1972), Latvian novelist and poet
- Charlotte Niese (1854–1935), German writer and poet
- Audrey Niffenegger (born 1963), US novelist and artist; The Time Traveler's Wife
- Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), English nurse, statistician and feminist
- Anaïs Nin (1903–1977), French eroticist, critic and diarist; Henry and June
- Sister Nivedita (1867–1911), English and Hindu writer
- Esther Nirina (1932–2004), Malagasy poet
- Rebeka Njau (born 1932), Kenyan playwright and novelist
- Nkiru Njoku (born c. 1980), Nigerian screenwriter
- Anna de Noailles (1876–1933), French-born Romanian writer in French
- Ingrid Noll (born 1935), German novelist
- Oodgeroo Noonuccal (also Kath Walker; 1920–1993), Australian poet, political activist and educator
- Kerstin Norborg (born 1961), Swedish writer and poet
- Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht (1718–1763), Swedish poet, feminist and salon hostess
- Clara Nordström (1886–1962), Swedish-born novelist writing in German
- Regine Normann (1867–1939), Norwegian fiction writer
- Kathleen Norris (1880–1966), US novelist
- Marisela Norte (living), US poet and writer
- Andre Norton (1912–2005), US writer of speculative fiction; Star Gate
- Caroline Norton (1808–1877), English author, social reformer and feminist
- Julian of Norwich (1342–1416), English mystic
- Nossis (fl. c. 300 BC), Greek epigrammist and poet
- Amélie Nothomb (born 1967), Belgian novelist
- Alice Notley (born 1945), US poet
- Helga M. Novak (born 1935), German poet and political writer
- Mary Novik (born 1945), Canadian novelist
- Perpétue Nshimirimana (born 1961), writer
- Princess Nukata (c. 630–690), Japanese poet
- Martina Nwakoby (born 1937), Nigerian children's writer and novelist
- Flora Nwapa (1931–1993), Nigerian novelist; Efuru
- Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (born 1976), Nigerian novelist, humorist and essayist
- Julia Nyberg (1784–1854), Swedish poet and songwriter
- Ann Oakley (born 1944), English feminist academic and novelist
- Joyce Carol Oates (born 1938), US fiction writer, poet and playwright; We Were the Mulvaneys
- María Olimpia de Obaldía (1891–1985), Panamanian poet
- Charlotta Öberg (also Lotta Öberg,; 1818–1856), Swedish poet
- Téa Obreht (born 1985), Serbian-US fiction writer; The Tiger's Wife
- Edna O'Brien (born 1930), Irish fiction writer
- Kate O'Brien (1897–1974), Irish novelist and playwright
- Silvina Ocampo (1903–1994), Argentine poet and short story writer
- Flannery O'Connor (1925–1964), US fiction writer
- Niamh O'Connor (active since 2000), Irish journalist, novelist
- Tyne O'Connell (born 1960), English novelist
- Mary O'Donnell (born 1954), Irish fiction writer and poet
- Mary O'Donoghue (born 1975), Irish novelist, poet and translator
- Taiwo Odubiyi (born 1965), Nigerian romance novelist, children's writer and religious columnist
- Julia O'Faolain (born 1932), Irish novelist
- Nuala O'Faolain (1940–2008), Irish novelist, critic and memoirist
- Catherine O'Flynn (born 1970), English fiction writer; What Was Lost
- Nana Oforiatta Ayim (living), Ghanaian writer, art historian and filmmaker
- Barbara Ogier (1648–1720), Flemish playwright
- Grace Ogot (born 1930), Kenyan fiction writer
- Molara Ogundipe (born 1940), Nigerian poet, critic and non-fiction writer
- Sheila O'Hagan (living), Irish poet
- Yeo Ok (15th to 1st century BC), Korean poet
- Nnedi Okorafor (born 1974), Nigerian US fiction writer
- Juliane Okot Bitek (living), Kenyan-born Ugandan diaspora poet
- Ifeoma Okoye (born 1937), Nigerian fiction and children's writer
- Chinelo Okparanta (born 1981), Nigerian-US fiction writer
- Sofi Oksanen (born 1977), Finnish novelist and playwright
- Princess Ōku (661–702), Japanese poet
- Sharon Olds (born 1942), US poet; 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Margaret Oliphant (1828–1897), Scottish novelist; Phoebe, Junior
- Ukamaka Olisakwe (born 1982), Nigerian feminist writer, short story writer and screenwriter
- Mary Oliver (born 1935), US poet; 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Tillie Olsen (1913–2007), US feminist fiction writer
- Lisa Olstein (living), US poet
- Nessa O'Mahony (living), Irish poet
- Mary O'Malley (born 1954), Irish poet
- Kathleen O'Meara (1839–1888), Irish journalist, novelist and biographer
- Yewande Omotoso (born 1980), South African-based novelist and designer, born in Barbados, raised in Nigeria
- Heather O'Neill (born 1973), Canadian fiction writer, poet and screenwriter
- Mary Devenport O'Neill (1898–1957), Irish poet and dramatist
- Moira O'Neill, pen name of Agnes Shakespeare Higginson (1864–1955), Irish-Canadian poet
- Makena Onjerika (living), Kenyan writer
- Fuyumi Ono (born 1960), Japanese novelist
- Nuzo Onoh (born 1962), Nigerian horror writer
- Chibundu Onuzo (born 1991), Nigerian novelist
- Osonye Tess Onwueme (born 1955), Nigerian playwright, scholar and poet
- Ifeoma Onyefulu (born 1959), Nigerian children's writer, novelist and photographer
- Amelia Opie (1769–1853), English novelist and biographer
- Mary Oppen (1908–1990), US artist, poet and writer
- Baroness Orczy (1865–1947), Hungarian-born English novelist, translator, and illustrator; The Scarlet Pimpernel
- Caitriona O'Reilly (born 1973), Irish poet, critic
- Bukola Oriola (born 1976), Nigerian-US journalist and autobiographer
- Iza Orjonikidze (1938–2010) Georgian poet, politician
- Margarita Ormotsadze (born 1981), Ukrainian journalist, poet and writer
- Hanne Ørstavik (born 1969), Norwegian novelist
- Virginia Elena Ortea (1866–1906) Dominican Republic journalist and novelist
- Helena Araújo Ortiz (born 1934), Colombian feminist author and literary critic
- Eliza Orzeszkowa (1841–1910), Polish writer
- Martha Ostenso (1900–1963), Norwegian-Canadian novelist and screenwriter; Wild Geese
- Maggie O'Sullivan (1908–1990), British poet, performer and visual artist associated with British Poetry Revival
- Maureen Donovan O'Sullivan (1887–1966), Irish educator, journal editor and historian
- Alice Oswald (born 1966), English poet
- Julie Otsuka (born 1962), US novelist; The Buddha in the Attic
- Ouida (1839–1908), English fiction writer; Under Two Flags
- Helen Ovbiagele (born 1944), Nigerian romance novelist
- Angelika Overath (born 1957), German author and journalist
- Sue Owen (born 1942), US dark humor poet
- Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor (born 1968), Kenyan fiction writer
- Helen Oyeyemi (born 1984), British fiction writer
- Emine Sevgi Özdamar (born 1956), Turkish-born German novelist and playwright
- Ruth Ozeki (born 1956), US-Canadian novelist, filmmaker and academic
- Cynthia Ozick (born 1928), US critic and novelist
- Ruth Padel (born 1946), English poet, critic and writer on nature
- Isabel Pagan (c. 1740–1821), Scottish poet
- Karen A. Page (born 1962), US food writer
- Elaine Pagels (born 1943), US religious historian and writer; The Gnostic Gospels
- Camille Paglia (born 1947), US feminist essayist; Sexual Personae
- Charlotte Painter (born 1926), US novelist and writer
- Marina Palei (born 1955), Russian writer; Rendezvous
- Grace Paley (1922–2007), US short story writer, poet and activist
- Nettie Palmer (1885–1964), Australian poet, essayist and literary critic
- Kirsti Paltto (born 1947), Sámi playwright, short story and children's writer
- Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928), English feminist activist, speaker and autobiography writer
- Sylvia Pankhurst (1882–1960), English suffragist, poet
- Vera Panova (1905–1973), Soviet fiction writer; Seryozha
- Sara Paretsky (born 1947), US mystery novelist
- Dorothy Parker (1893–1967), US poet, critic and short story writer
- Una-Mary Parker (born 1930), English journalist and novelist
- Adele Parks (born 1969), English fiction writer
- Suzan-Lori Parks (born 1964), US playwright and screenwriter
- Sophia Parnok (1885–1933), Russian Silver Age poet
- Catherine Parr (born 1512), Queen of England from 1543 to 1547, spouse of King Henry VIII
- Anne Parrish (1888–1957), US children's novelist
- Mona Parsa (born 1982), US author
- Sarah Willis Parton (Fanny Fern, 1811–1872), US novelist, columnist and children's writer
- Vesna Parun (1922–2010), Croatian poet
- Ann Patchett (born 1963), US novelist; Bel Canto
- Shailja Patel (living), Kenyan poet, playwright
- Evelyn Patuawa-Nathan (living), New Zealand Māori writer
- Irene Levine Paull (1908–1981), US writer and labor activist
- Karolina Pavlova (1807–1893), Russian writer; A Double Life
- Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska (1891–1945), Polish poet
- Edith Pearlman (born 1936), US short story and non-fiction writer
- Laura Pedersen (born 1965), US author, humorist and playwright; The Brightness of Heaven
- Erica Pedretti (born 1930), Czechoslovak-born Swiss writer in German
- Inês Pedrosa (born 1962), Portuguese journalist, fiction writer and playwright
- Janet Peery (born 1948), US fiction writer
- Kira Peikoff (born 1987), US thriller writer
- Kathleen Peirce (born 1956), US poet
- Louise Penny (born 1958), Canadian mystery novelist
- Emily Pepys (1833–1877), English child diarist (1844–45)
- Jennifer Percy (living), US writer
- Charmaine Pereira (living), Nigerian non-fiction writer
- Ana Mercedes Perez (born 1910), Venezuelan poet, writer and translator
- Aşıq Pəri (also as Ashiq Peri, c. 1811–c. 1847) Azerbaijani lyric poet
- Olga Perovskaya (1902–1961), Soviet children's literature writer
- Perpetua (died AD 203), Roman African writer of a prison diary, The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity
- Julia Peterkin (1880–1961), US fiction writer; 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Elizabeth Peters (born 1927), US mystery novelist; Amelia Peabody
- Ellis Peters (1913–1995), Welsh-English mystery fiction writer and translator; Brother Cadfael
- Marine Petrossian (born 1960), Armenian poet, essayist and columnist
- Lyudmila Petrushevskaya (born 1938), Russian writer and dramatist; Immortal Love
- Ann Petry (1908–1997), US journalist and fiction writer
- 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; Agathocles
- Jodi Picoult (born 1966), US novelist
- Meredith Ann Pierce (born 1958), US fantasy writer
- Tamora Pierce (born 1954), US children's novelist; Alanna of Trebond
- Marge Piercy (born 1936), US poet, novelist, and social activist
- Rosamunde Pilcher (1924–2019), English romance fiction writer; The Shell Seekers
- Florencia del Pinar (15th century), Spanish poet
- Winsome Pinnock (born 1961), British playwright
- Ruth Pitter (1897–1992), English poet; first woman to receive the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, in 1955
- Mary Pix (1666–1709), English novelist and playwright
- Christine de Pizan (1364–1430), Venetian feminist poet and rhetorician in French; The Book of the City of Ladies
- Alejandra Pizarnik (1936–1972), Argentine poet
- Tamri Pkhakadze (born 1957) Georgian novelist and children's writer
- Josefina Pla (1903–1999), Spanish poet, playwright and painter
- Sylvia Plath (1932–1963), US poet, fiction writer and essayist; 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (posthumous)
- Ann Plato (born c. 1820), US essayist
- Karen Platt (fl. 2004 – present), English gardening writer
- Polly Platt (1927–2008), US author of books on living in France
- Anne Plumptre (1760–1818), English translator and fiction and political writer
- Aliénor de Poitiers (fl. late 15th century), French writer on court etiquette
- Elizabeth Polack (fl. 1830–1838), Anglo-Jewish playwright
- Velma Pollard (born 1937), Jamaican poet and fiction writer.
- Sarah Polley (born 1979), Canadian actress, screenwriter and political activist; Away from Her
- Katha Pollitt (born 1949), US feminist poet, essayist and critic
- Elizaveta Polonskaya (1890–1969), Russian Jewish poet, translator and journalist
- Hannah Azieb Pool (born 1974), British-Eritrean writer and journalist
- Olúmìdé Pópóọlá (living), Nigerian-German poet and novelist
- Elizabeth Polwheele (1651–c. 1691), British playwright
- Elena Poniatowska (born 1932), Polish-Mexican journalist and fiction writer
- Marie Ponsot (born 1921), US poet and essayist
- Azalais de Porcairagues (late 12th century), French poet writing in Occitan
- Anna Maria Porter (1780–1832), English poet and novelist
- Eleanor H. Porter (1868–1920), US children's writer; Pollyanna
- Jane Porter (1776–1850), English historical novelist and playwright
- Katherine Anne Porter (1890–1980), US journalist, essayist and novelist; 1966 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Suzanne Portnoy (born 1961), English writer and playwright
- Dina Posada (born 1946), Central American poet
- Francesca Bortolotto Possati (living), Italian entrepreneur and author
- Emily Post (1873–1960), US journalist and novelist; Etiquette
- Halina Poświatowska (1935–1967), Polish poet
- Beatrix Potter (1866–1943), English children's writer and illustrator; The Tale of Peter Rabbit
- Sarah Powell (1922–1941), French poet
- Dawn Powell (1896–1965), US fiction writer and playwright
- Patricia Powell (born 1966), Jamaican novelist
- Marguerite Agnes Power (1815–1867), Irish-English novelist, periodical writer and editor
- Rhoda Power (1890–1957), English educational and children's writer
- Praxilla (5th century BC), Greek poet
- Paula von Preradović (1887–1951), Austrian story writer and poet
- Jewel Prestage (1931–2014), first African-US woman to earn a political science Ph.D.
- Katharine Susannah Prichard (1883–1969), Australian fiction writer and playwright
- Diane di Prima (born 1934), US poet
- Mary Prince (c. 1788–after 1833), Bermuda-born writer of first account of the life an enslaved black woman published in the UK, The History of Mary Prince (1831)
- Pauline Prior-Pitt (living), Scottish poet
- Amrita Pritam (1919–2005), first prominent woman Punjabi poet, novelist and essayist
- Faltonia Betitia Proba (c. 306/315 – c. 353/366), Roman poet in Latin
- Adelaide Anne Procter (1825–1864), English poet
- Francine Prose (born 1947), US fiction and non-fiction writer and critic; Reading Like a Writer
- Annie Proulx (born 1935), US fiction writer and journalist; 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; The Shipping News
- Esther Pugh (1834–1908), US editor
- Carmen Montoriol Puig (1893–1966), Catalan poet, writer and playwright
- Barbara Pym (1913–1980), English novelist; Quartet in Autumn
- Najwa Qassem (living), Lebanese journalist
- Li Qingzhao (1084–1151), Chinese poet
- Qiu Jin (1875–1907), Chinese revolutionary, feminist and writer
- Marjorie Quarton (born 1930), Irish children's writer and novelist
- Rachel de Queiroz (1910–2003), Brazilian novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer
- Catharina Questiers (1631–1669), Dutch poet and playwright
- Alison Quigan (fl. 1980s), New Zealand actress, theatre director and playwright
- Betty Quin (died 1993), Australian script writer
- Anna Quindlen (born 1953), US journalist and novelist; Black and Blue
- Rebeca Quintáns (born 1964), Spanish journalist and research writer
- Elena Quiroga (1921–1995), Spanish novelist
- Christine Qunta (born 1952), South African writer, lawyer and entrepreneur
- Anne Margrethe Qvitzow (1652–1700), Danish poet, translator and memoir writer
- Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné (1626–1696), French letter-writer
- Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823), English gothic novelist; The Mysteries of Udolpho
- Radegund (c. 520–586), Frankish princess and poet writing in Latin
- Janet Milne Rae (1844–1933), Scottish fiction writer
- Jennifer Rahim (born 1963), Trinidadian educator and writer
- Allen Raine (Anne Adaliza Beynon Puddicombe, 1836–1908), Welsh novelist; Queen of the Rushes
- Samina Raja (born 1961), Pakistani poet, writer and broadcaster
- Rajashree (living), Indian chick lit novelist; Trust Me
- Maraea Rakuraku (living), New Zealand Māori playwright
- Ayn Rand (1905–1982), Russian US novelist and philosopher; The Fountainhead; Atlas Shrugged
- Mary Randolph (1762–1828), US housekeeping and cookery book author; The Virginia House-Wife
- Jennifer Rankin (1941–1979), Australian poet and playwright
- Claudia Rankine (born 1963), US poet and playwright
- Ellen Raskin (1928–1984), US children's writer and illustrator; The Westing Game
- Elsa Rautee (1897–1987), Finnish poet
- Dahlia Ravikovitch (1936–2005), Israeli poet, translator and peace activist
- Angela Rawlings (born 1978), Canadian poet, editor and interdisciplinary artist
- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896–1953), US novelist; 1939 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; The Yearling
- Sarah Rayner (living), English author and copywriter
- Angela Readman (born 1973), English poet
- Pauline Réage (1907–1998), French erotic novelist; Story of O
- Elisa von der Recke (Elisabeth Recke) (1754–1833), German writer and poet from Courland
- Jaclyn Reding (born 1966), US historical romance novelist
- Clara Reeve (1729–1807), English novelist; The Old English Baron
- Ruth Reichl (born 1948), US food and memoir writer
- Gayla Reid (born 1945), Australian-Canadian novelist
- Małgorzata Rejmer (born 1985), Polish fiction writer
- Mirkka Rekola (born 1931), Finnish poet
- Mary Renault (1905–1983), English historical novelist; Fire From Heaven
- Ruth Rendell (born 1930), English mystery novelist; A Fatal Inversion
- Ōtagaki Rengetsu (1791–1875), Japanese poet and calligrapher
- Empress Xu (1362–1407), Chinese bibliographer and empress consort
- Gabriele Reuter (1859–1941), German novelist, essayist and children's writer
- Fanny zu Reventlow (Franziska, 1871–1918), German political writer and feminist
- Yasmina Reza (born 1959), French playwright, actress and novelist; Art
- Regina Rheda (São Paulo, Brazil, 1957), fiction writer and animal rights advocate; Humana Festa
- Jean Rhys (1890–1979), Dominican novelist; Wide Sargasso Sea
- Mrs. Riazuddin (born 1928), Pakistani feminist activist and travelogue writer
- Catherine of Ricci (1522–1590), Italian religious writer and saint
- Marie Jeanne Riccoboni (1714–1792), French novelist
- Anne Rice (born 1941), US novelist; Vampire Chronicles
- Adrienne Rich (born 1929), US feminist poet
- Jo-Anne Richards, South African journalist and author
- Dorothy Richardson (1873–1957), English fiction writer, poet and essayist
- Elizabeth Richardson (1576/1577–1651), English religious writer
- Henry Handel Richardson (Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, 1870–1946), Australian novelist; The Fortunes of Richard Mahony
- Jutta Richter (born 1955), German author for children and young people
- Lola Ridge (1873–1941), anarchist poet and editor of avant-garde feminist and Marxist publications
- Laura Riding (1901–1991), US poet, critic and fiction writer
- Brigitte Riebe (also Laura Stern, born 1935), German novelist
- Alifa Rifaat (1930–1996), Egyptian short story writer
- Denise Riley (born 1948), English poet and philosopher
- Raza Naqvi Wahi (born 1914–2002), Urdu poet
- Joan Riley (born 1958), Jamaican novelist
- Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1958), US novelist, playwright and poet
- Luise Rinser (1911–2002), German novelist, autobiographer and children's writer
- Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie (1837–1919), English novelist
- Sarah Fraser Robbins (1911–2002), US writer and educator in natural history and environmentalism
- Antoinette Henriette Clémence Robert (1797–1872), French novelist and playwright
- Eigra Lewis Roberts (born 1939), Welsh dramatist and novelist in Welsh
- Emma Roberts (1794–1840), English travel writer and poet
- Kate Roberts (1891–1985), Welsh fiction writer in Welsh
- Michèle Roberts (born 1949), British novelist and poet
- Margaret Roberts (1937–2017), South African herbalist and author
- Nora Roberts (pen name J. D. Robb, born 1959), US romance and fantasy novelist; In Death series
- E. Arnot Robertson (1903–1961), English novelist
- Lisa Robertson (born 1961), Canadian poet
- Eden Robinson (born 1968), Canadian fiction writer; Monkey Beach
- Marilynne Robinson (born 1943), US novelist; 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; Gilead
- Mary Robinson (1757–1800), English poet, novelist and actress
- Kim Robinson-Walcott (living), Jamaican poet and editor
- Aïcha Mohamed Robleh (born 1965), Djiboutian writer
- Lucia St. Clair Robson (living), US novelist
- Charlotte Roche (born 1978), English-born novelist in German; Feuchtgebiete
- Mazo de la Roche (1885–1961), Canadian novelist in English; Jalna series
- Sophie von La Roche (1730–1807), German novelist
- Esther Rochon (born 1948), Canadian science fiction novelist
- Debbie Rodriguez (living), US author
- Helena Roerich (1879–1955), Russian mystic
- Monique Roffey (born 1965), Trinidadian novelist and memoirist
- Robin Romm (living), US writer
- Daphne Rooke (1914–2009), South African writer
- Ginny Rorby (born 1944), US young adult novelist
- Henrietta Rose-Innes (born 1971), South African novelist and short-story writer
- Barbara Rosiek (born 1959), Polish writer, poet and clinical psychologist
- Anna Ross, (born 1773), comic opera dramatist and actress
- Orna Ross (born 1960), Irish author and advocate for creativism
- Nancy Wilson Ross (1901–1986), US novelist
- Somerville and Ross (Edith Somerville, 1858–1949, and Violet Florence Martin, 1862–1915, writing as Martin Ross), Irish novelists; The Irish R. M.
- Christina Rossetti (1830–1894), English poet; Goblin Market and Other Poems
- Veronica Rossi (born 1973), US young adult novelist
- Judith Rossner (1935–2005), US novelist; Looking for Mr. Goodbar
- Maria Elizabeth Rothmann (1875–1975), South African writer
- Veronica Roth (born 1988), US novelist; Divergent trilogy
- Hannah Mary Rothschild (born 1962), English writer, philanthropist and documentary filmmaker
- Anne Rouse (born 1954), US-British poet
- Alma Routsong (Isabel Miller, 1924–1996), US novelist; Patience and Sarah
- Mary Rowlandson (1635–1711), US memoirist
- J. K. Rowling (born 1965), English novelist; Harry Potter series
- Susanna Rowson (1762–1824), English-US novelist, poet and playwright; Charlotte Temple, Lucy Temple
- Susanna Roxman (born 1946), English writer, poet and critic born in Sweden; Imagining Seals
- Arundhati Roy (born 1961), Indian novelist; 1997 Booker Prize; The God of Small Things
- Gabrielle Roy (1909–1983), Canadian novelist and journalist; The Tin Flute
- Lucinda Roy (born 1955), US-based British novelist
- S. J. Rozan (born 1950), US crime fiction writer; Winter and Night
- Pascale Roze (born 1954), French playwright and novelist
- Bernice Rubens (1928–2004), Welsh novelist; 1970 Booker Prize; The Elected Member
- Dina Rubina (born 1953), Russian writer; The Blackthorn
- Anne Rudloe (1947–2012), US marine biologist, Zen Buddhist
- Anneli Rufus (living), US journalist
- Muriel Rukeyser (1913–1980), US feminist poet
- Katherine Rundell (born 1987), English children's writer and dramatist
- Kristina Rungano (born 1963), Zimbabwean poet and short story writer
- Rona Rupert (1934–1995), South African writer
- Joanna Russ (born 1937), US fiction writer and essayist
- Diana E. H. Russell (born 1938), South African feminist writer and activist
- Karen Russell (born 1981), US fiction writer; Swamplandia!
- Rose Rwakasisi (born 1945), Ugandan editor, short story writer and educator
- Gig Ryan (born 1956), Australian poet
- Kay Ryan (born 1945), US poet and educator; 16th US Poet Laureate
- Marah Ellis Ryan (1860–1934), US novelist
- Nan Ryan (living), US writer of romance novels
- Nelly Sachs (1891–1970), German poet and playwright; 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature
- Vita Sackville-West (1892–1962), English writer, poet and gardener
- Mary Sadler (born 1941), South African novelist
- Elif Safak (born 1971), Turkish writer
- Françoise Sagan (1935–2004), French playwright, novelist and screenwriter
- Mamta Sagar (born 1966), Kannada poet and playwright living in Bangalore
- Sarojini Sahoo (born 1956), Indian feminist writer and fiction writer; Sensible Sensuality, The Dark Abode
- Nandini Sahu (born 1973), Indian English poet, folklorist and academic
- Stéphanie Félicité du Crest de Saint-Aubin (1746–1830), novelist, playwright and children's writer: see Genlis
- Pirkko Saisio (born 1949), Finnish author, actress and director
- Arja Salafranca (born 1971), South African poet
- Nina Salaman (1877–1925), English poet and translator
- Excilia Saldaña (1946–1999), Afro-Cuban poet and children's writer
- Marta Salgado,(born 1947), Afro-Chilean non-fiction
- Nino Salia (1898–1992), Georgian émigré historian active in France
- Blanaid Salkeld (1880–1959), Irish poet, dramatist and salon hostess
- Jessica Amanda Salmonson (born 1950), US fiction writer, essayist and editor
- Lydie Salvayre (born 1948), French writer
- Fiona Sampson (born 1968), British poet and editor
- Lin Sampson (living), South African journalist
- Sonia Sanchez (born 1934), US poet, playwright and children's writer
- Milcha Sanchez-Scott (born 1953), US playwright
- George Sand (1804–1876), French novelist and playwright; Indiana
- Mari Sandoz (1896–1966), US fiction writer and biographer
- Sappho (c. 630–570 BC), Greek poet
- Dipti Saravanamuttu (born 1960), Sri Lankan-Australian poet and journalist
- Tibors de Sarenom (c. 1130–post–1198), French poet writing in Occitan
- Noo Saro-Wiwa (living), British-Nigerian travel writer
- Nathalie Sarraute (1900–1999), Russian-French novelist and essayist
- Homa Sarshar (living), Iranian-US author, feminist and journalist
- May Sarton (1912–1995), Belgian US poet, novelist and memoirist
- Marjane Satrapi (born 1969), Iranian graphic novelist
- Gerd Grønvold Saue (born 1930), Norwegian literary critic, novelist and hymnwriter
- Stephanie Saulter (living), Jamaican science fiction writer
- Sharon Savoy (living), US author
- Ruth Sawyer (1880–1970), US novelist and children's writer
- Robin Sax (born c. 1971), US true-crime author and commentator
- Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957), English mystery novelist, essayist, and short story writer; Whose Body?
- Oda Schaefer (1900–1988), German poet and journalist
- Riana Scheepers (born 1957), South African writer of children's books, short fiction and poetry
- Caroline Schelling (1763–1809), German essayist, critic and correspondent
- Stacy Schiff (born 1961), US non-fiction author and guest columnist; winner of the Pulitzer Prize
- Dorothea von Schlegel (1764–1839), German novelist and translator
- Eva Schloss (born 1929), Austrian Jewish memoirist and Holocaust survivor
- Elke Schmitter (born 1961), German novelist
- Pat Schneider (born 1934), US writer, poet and editor
- Diane Schoemperlen (born 1954), Canadian fiction writer
- Elizabeth of Schönau (1129–1165), German visionary writing in Latin
- Patricia Schonstein (born 1952), South African novelist, poet and children's author
- Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (1800–1842), US Indian writer of poetry and fiction
- Amalie Schoppe (1791–1858), German children's writer
- Olive Schreiner (1855–1920), South African novelist, allegorist and political writer
- Jenefer Shute (living), South African novelist
- Christine Schutt (born 1948), US fiction writer
- Simone Schwarz-Bart (born 1938), French playwright and novelist
- Sandra Scofield (born 1943), US novelist, essayist, and author of writers' guides
- Ann Scott (born 1965), French novelist
- Caroline Lucy Scott (1784–1857), English novelist and religious writer
- Cathy Scott (living), US true crime author, biographer and journalist; The Killing of Tupac Shakur
- Jane Scott (c. 1779–1839), English theatre manager, performer and playwright
- Madeleine de Scudéry (1607–1701), French novelist
- Mary Seacole (1805–1881), British-Jamaican nurse and autobiographer
- Molly Elliot Seawell (1860–1916), US essayist, novelist and short story writer
- Alice Sebold (born 1963), US novelist; The Lovely Bones
- Amy Sedaris (born 1961), US actress, screenwriter and humorist
- Catharine Sedgwick (1789–1867), US novelist
- Lisa See (born 1955), Chinese-US novelist; Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
- Edith Segal (1902–1997), Jewish-US choreographer, poet and songwriter
- Anna Seghers (1900–1983), German novelist; The Seventh Cross
- Comtesse de Ségur (1799–1874), Russian-French novelist
- Taiye Selasi (born 1979), Nigerian-Ghanaian novelist
- Odete Semedo (born 1959), writer and educator from Guinea-Bissau
- Olive Senior (born 1941), Jamaican poet and fiction writer
- Danzy Senna (born 1970), US novelist
- Raquel Señoret (1922–1990), Chilean poet
- Ha Seong-nan (born 1967), Korean author
- Kim Seon-wu (born 1970), Korean poet
- Ruta Sepetys (born 1967), Lithuanian-US writer of historical fiction
- Nina Serrano (born 1934), US poet, writer and storyteller
- Kadija Sesay (living), British short-story writer, poet and editor
- Anya Seton (1904–1990), US historical fiction novelist
- Cynthia Propper Seton (1926–1982), US novelist and essayist
- Diane Setterfield (born 1964), English novelist; The Thirteenth Tale
- Mary Lee Settle (1918–2005), US novelist and memoirist; Blood Tie
- Anna Seward (1747–1809), English Romantic poet
- Anna Sewell (1820–1887), English novelist; Black Beauty
- Elizabeth Sewell (1919–2001), British-US poet, novelist, professor and critic
- Elizabeth Missing Sewell (1815–1906), English writer of religious and educational texts
- Anne Sexton (1928–1974), US poet; 1967 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Miranda Seymour (born 1948), English fiction and non-fiction writer
- Ippolita Maria Sforza (1446–1484), Italian writer (also wrote in Latin)
- Mary Ann Shaffer (1934–2008), US writer, editor and librarian; The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
- Marietta Shaginyan (1888–1982), Soviet (Russian) writer and political activist; Mess-Mend
- Ruchoma Shain (1914–2013), author of All for the Boss
- Ntozake Shange (1948–2018), US playwright and novelist
- Jo Shapcott (born 1953), English poet, editor and lecturer
- Chava Shapiro (1876–1943), Ukrainian writer and journalist
- Emma Augusta Sharkey (1858–1802), US writer, journalist and novelist
- Tatiana Shchepkina-Kupernik (1874–1952), Russian writer and dramatist; Deborah
- Alice Sheldon (1915–1987), US fiction writer
- Mary Shelley (1797–1851), English novelist; Frankenstein
- Nan Shepherd (1893–1981), Scottish novelist and poet
- Verene Shepherd (born 1951), Jamaican academic
- Frances Sheridan (1724–1766), Irish novelist and playwright
- Dorothy Sherrill (1901–1990), US writer and illustrator of children's books
- Kate Brownlee Sherwood (1841–1914), US poet, journalist and translator
- Mary Martha Sherwood (1775–1851), English children's writer
- Carol Shields (1935–2003), US-Canadian novelist; 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; The Stone Diaries
- Izumi Shikibu (born c. 976), Japanese poet
- Murasaki Shikibu (c. 973–1014 or 1025), Japanese novelist and poet; The Tale of Genji
- Aki Shimazaki (born 1954), Canadian novelist and translator
- Kang Shin-jae (1924–2001), Korean novelist, essayist and playwright
- Sharon Shinn (born 1957), US novelist
- Irma Shiolashvili (born 1974), Georgian poet, translator and journalist
- Warsan Shire (born 1988), British writer, poet and editor
- Shirome (10th century), Japanese poet
- Maria Shkapskaya (1891–1952), Soviet poet and journalist
- Sei Shōnagon (965–1010), Japanese writer; The Pillow Book
- Lola Shoneyin (born 1974), Nigerian novelist and poet
- Fredegond Shove (1889–1949), English poet
- Zhu Shuzhen (c. 1135–1180), Chinese poet
- Marie-Louise Sibazuri (born 1960), Burundian writer
- Bapsi Sidhwa (born 1938), Pakistani novelist
- Mary Sidney (1561–1621), English translator, playwright and poet
- Gonnie Siegel (1928–2005), US feminist and business advisor
- Catherine of Siena (1347–1380), Italian nun, philosopher and theologian
- Joyce Sikakane (born 1943), South African journalist and activist
- Joan Silber (born 1945), US fiction writer
- Paula Slier (living), South African television, radio and print journalist
- Leslie Marmon Silko (born 1948), US-Laguna Pueblo fiction writer and poet; Almanac of the Dead
- Jindeok of Silla (fl. 647–654), Korean poet and queen
- Makeda Silvera (born 1955), Caribbean Canadian novelist and short-story writer
- Ruth Simpson (1926–2008), US lesbian author, founder of first lesbian community center
- Laura Sims, poet, author
- Jo Sinclair (1913–1995), pen name of Ruth Seid, Jewish-US writer
- May Sinclair (1862–1946), English novelist, poet and short story writer
- Ansuyah Ratipul Singh (1917–1978), South African medical doctor and writer
- Johanna Sinisalo (born 1958), Finnish science-fiction and fantasy writer
- Elinor Sisulu (born 1958), South African writer and activist
- Edith Sitwell (1887–1964), English poet
- Maj Sjöwall (born 1935), Swedish mystery novelist
- Rebecca Skloot (born 1972), US non-fiction science writer; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
- Ann Masterman Skinn (1747–1789), English novelist
- Amalie Skram (1846–1905), Norwegian novelist and feminist; Madam Høiers leiefolk
- Vendela Skytte (1608–1627), Swedish writer
- Karin Slaughter (born 1971), US crime writer
- Barbara Sleigh (1906–1982), children's writer and broadcaster; Carbonel series
- Gillian Slovo (born 1952), South African novelist, playwright and memoirist
- Anna Smaill (born 1979), New Zealand poet and novelist; The Chimes
- Elizabeth Smart (1913–1986), Canadian novelist and poet; By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept
- Dorothea Smartt (born 1963), English poet
- Jane Smiley (born 1949), US novelist; 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; A Thousand Acres
- Ali Smith (born 1962), Scottish novelist
- Amanda Smith (1837–1915), US evangelist and autobiographer
- Betty Smith (1896–1972), US novelist; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
- Charlene Leonora Smith (living), South African journalist and biographer of Nelson Mandela
- Charlotte Turner Smith (1749–1806), English poet and novelist
- Dodie Smith (1896–1990), English novelist and playwright; I Capture the Castle
- Doris Buchanan Smith (1934–2002), US children's novelist; A Taste of Blackberries
- Georgina Castle Smith (1845–1933), English children's writer and novelist
- Maggie Smith (born 1977), US poet, editor and writer
- Patti Smith (born 1946), US singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist
- Pauline Smith (1882–1959), South African novelist
- Stevie Smith (1902–1971), English poet and novelist
- Tracy K. Smith (born 1972), African-US poet and educator; 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Zadie Smith (born 1975), English fiction writer and essayist; White Teeth
- Saundra Smokes (1954–2012), US journalist and playwright
- Laura J. Snyder (born 1964), historian and biographer
- Yan-kit So (1933–2001), Chinese food historian and cookery expert
- Gaele Sobott (born 1956), Australian short story, children's, and non-fiction author[4]
- Edith Södergran (1892–1923), Finland-Swedish poet
- Zulu Sofola (1935–1995), Nigerian playwright and dramatist
- Kang Sok-Kyong (born 1961), Korean author
- Adeola Solanke (living), British-Nigerian playwright and screenwriter
- Elizabeth Solopova (born 1965), British philologist and academic
- Cathy Song (born 1955), US poet
- Susan Sontag (1933–2004), US essayist and novelist
- Oh Soo-yeon (born 1964), Korean author and essayist
- Fuyumi Soryo (born 1959), Japanese manga writer
- María de Zayas y Sotomayor (born 1590), Spanish novelist
- Muriel Spark (1918–2006), Scottish novelist; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
- Terry Spear (living), US romance novelist
- Vanessa Spence (born 1961), Jamaican novelist
- Anne Spencer (1882–1975), US poet
- Elizabeth Spencer (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; Heidi
- Mariah Srygler (born 1991), poet and short story writer
- Marilyn Stablein (born 1946), US poet, essayist and fiction writer
- Ilse von Stach (1879–1941), German playwright, novelist and poet
- Madame de Staël (1766–1817), Swiss-French novelist
- Jean Stafford (1915–1979), US fiction writer; 1970 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902), US feminist journalist and essayist
- Freya Stark (1893–1993), British travel writer
- Lilian Staveley (1878–1928), Christian writer and mystic publishing anonymously
- Christina Stead (1902–1983), Australian fiction writer; The Man Who Loved Children
- Danielle Steel (born 1947), US romance novelist
- Flora Annie Steel (1847–1929), English novelist
- Charlotte von Stein (1742–1827), German dramatist and friend of Goethe
- Gertrude Stein (1874–1946), US fiction writer, playwright and poet
- Joanne Stepaniak (born 1954), US vegan cookbook writer
- Jadene Felina Stevens (1947–2013), US poet
- Alzina Stevens (1849–1900), US labor leader and journalist
- Augusta Stevenson (1869–1976), writer of children's literature and a teacher
- Margo Taft Stever, US poet
- Maria W. Stewart (1803–1897), US feminist lecturer and journalist
- Mary Stewart (born 1916), English mystery and romance novelist
- Susan Stewart (born 1952), US poet, university professor and literary critic
- Maggie Stiefvater (born 1981), US young-adult fiction writer; The Raven Cycle series
- Ilka Stitz (born 1960), German historical thriller writer
- Wilma Stockenström (born 1933), South African writer, translator and actor
- Cynthia Stockley (1873–1936), South African novelist
- Ruth Stone (1915–2011), US poet
- Sam Stone (born 1965), English fiction writer and playwright
- Marie Stopes (1880–1958), English author, palaeobotanist and birth control advocate; Married Love
- Alfonsina Storni (1892–1938), Argentinian poet
- Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1836), US novelist; Uncle Tom's Cabin
- Susan Straight (born 1960), US fiction writer, essayist and academic
- Hesba Stretton (1832–1911), English children's writer
- Agnes Strickland (1796–1874), English history writer and poet
- Eva Strittmatter (1930–2011), German poet and children's writer
- Rashida Strober (living), US playwright
- Elizabeth Strout (born 1956), US fiction writer; 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; Olive Kitteridge
- Jan Struther (1901–1953), Scottish-English hymn writer and novelist; Mrs Miniver
- Andrea Stuart (born 1968), Barbadian-British historian, biographer and journalist
- Lady Louisa Stuart (1757–1851), English memoirist and letter writer
- Toni Stuart (born 1983), South African poet
- Mrs C. C. Stumm (born 1857), African-US journalist
- Sarah Stup (born 1983), US writer
- Meridel Le Sueur (1900–1996), US journalist and novelist
- Heo Su-gyeong (born 1964), Korean poet
- Azalia Suhaimi (born 1985), Malaysian poet, writer
- Sulpicia I (fl. 1st century BC), Augustan poet
- Sulpicia II (fl. 1st century AD), satirist
- Merna Summers (born 1933), Canadian short story writer
- Jacqueline Susann (1918–1974), US novelist
- Efua Sutherland (1924–1996), Ghanaian playwright, children's author and dramatist
- Esi Sutherland-Addy (living), academician, writer, educationalist and human rights activist
- Shahnaz Fatmi (born 1949), Urdu and Hindi poet
- Bertha von Suttner (1843–1914), Austrian novelist and Nobel Prize winner
- Han Suyin (1916–2012), Chinese novelist, memoirist and essayist; A Many-Splendoured Thing
- Anni Swan (1875–1958), Finnish author of children's books, journalist and translator
- May Swenson (1913–1989), US poet and playwright
- Sydney, Lady Morgan (1781–1859), Irish novelist; The Wild Irish Girl
- Magda Szabó (1917–2007), Hungarian novelist, poet and playwright; The Door
- Mária Szepes (1908–2007), Hungarian esoteric and science-fiction novelist
- Wisława Szymborska (1923–2012), Polish poet
- Gladys Taber (1899–1980), US novelist and nature writer
- Maria Tacu (1949–2010), Romanian poet and prose writer
- Véronique Tadjo (born 1955), Côte d'Ivoire poet, novelist and artist
- Valerie Tagwira (living), Zimbabwean novelist
- Ise no Taiu or Taifu (early 11th century), Japanese poet
- Princess Tajima (died 708), Japanese poet
- Lisa Takeba (born 1983), Japanese screenwriter
- Jill Talbot (born 1970), US fiction and non-fiction writer and poet
- Amy Tan (born 1952), US novelist; The Joy Luck Club
- Meca Tanaka (born 1976), Japanese manga writer
- Shelley Tanaka (living), Canadian non-fiction children's writer
- Xue Tao (768–831), Chinese poet
- Yelizaveta Tarakhovskaya (1891–1968), Soviet Russian poet, playwright and children's author
- Sooni Taraporevala (born 1957), Indian screenwriter and photographer
- Lisa Ysaye Tarleau (1885–1952), US short story author
- Judith Tarr (born 1955), US author; The Hound and the Falcon
- Donna Tartt (born 1963), US novelist; 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Glenda R. Taylor (born 1955), US scholar and poet
- Ann Taylor (1782–1866), English poet and critic
- Elizabeth Taylor (1912–1975), English fiction writer; Angel
- Jane Taylor (1783–1824), English poet and novelist; "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
- Susie Taylor (1848–1912), US teacher and memoir writer
- Teresia Teaiwa (1968–2017), I-Kiribati and US poet and academic
- Roma Tearne (born 1954), Sri Lankan novelist and artist
- Sara Teasdale (1884–1933), US lyrical poet
- Nadezhda Teffi (1872–1952), Russian-Soviet writer; Close Friends
- Anyte of Tegea (fl. early 3rd century BC), Greek poet
- Telesilla (fl. 510 BC), Greek poet
- Olena Teliha (1906–1942), Ukrainian poet
- Ana Tena (born 1966), Spanish writer in Ribagorçan Aragonese
- Claudine Guérin de Tencin (1682–1749), French literary patron and novelist
- Lourdes Teodoro (born 1946), Afro-Brazilian poet and academic
- Lisa St Aubin de Terán (born 1953), English novelist and memoirist; Keepers of the House
- Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954), African-US activist and journalist
- Josephine Tey (1896–1952), Scottish mystery novelist
- Celia Thaxter (1835–1894), US writer of poetry and stories
- Madeleine Thien (born 1974), Canadian fiction writer; Do Not Say We Have Nothing
- Audrey Thomas (born 1935), Canadian fiction writer
- Elean Thomas (1947–2004), Jamaican poet, novelist, journalist and activist
- Elizabeth Thomas (1770/1771–1855), English Gothic novelist and religious poet
- Louie Myfanwy Thomas (1908–68), Welsh writer and novelist
- Judith Thompson (born 1954), Canadian playwright; Lion in the Streets
- Samantha Thornhill (living), Trinidadian poet and author
- Margaret Farrand Thorp (1891–1970), author, English professor and journalist
- Rose Hartwick Thorpe (1850–1939), US poet and writer
- Torfhildur Þorsteinsdóttir (1845–1918), Icelandic fiction writer
- Hester Thrale (Mrs Piozzi, 1741–1821), English diarist and author; Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson
- Fu Tianlin (born 1946), Chinese poet
- Petronella Johanna de Timmerman (1723–1786), Dutch poet and scientist
- Lillian Tindyebwa (living), Ugandan writer
- Nino Tkeshelashvili (1874–1956) - Georgian (country) children's author and suffragist
- Miriam Tlali (born 1933), South African novelist
- Miriam Toews (born 1964), Canadian novelist
- Ekaterine Togonidze (born 1981) Georgian journalist, novelist and activist
- Laura Tohe (born 1952), Native US author
- Olga Tokarczuk (born 1962), Polish writer and poet; Nobel prizewinner (2018)
- Lynn Toler (born 1958), US lawyer and arbitrator in the court series Divorce Court
- Tatyana Tolstaya (born 1951), Russian TV presenter, novelist and essayist
- Angela Topping (born 1954), English poet, literary critic and author
- Elena Topuridze (1922–2004), Georgian philosopher and non-fiction writer
- Fatma Aliye Topuz (1862–1936), Turkish Muslim novelist
- Lucrezia Tornabuoni (1425–1482), Italian poet
- Catharine Parr Traill (1802–1899), English-Canadian author and naturalist
- Clara Augusta Jones Trask (1839–1905), US writer
- P. L. Travers (1889–1996), Australian-British writer of Mary Poppins books
- Carmen Clemente Travieso (1900–1983), Venezuelan journalist and women's biographer
- Natasha Trethewey (born 1966), US poet; Mississippi Poet Laureate, winner of 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Terra Trevor (living), US writer
- Adriana Trigiani (living), Italian-US writer and filmmaker
- Sarah Trimmer (1741–1810), English children's writer and critic
- Flora Tristan (1803–1844), French socialist writer, feminist and activist
- Frances Trollope (1779–1863), English novelist and travel writer; Domestic Manners of the Americans
- Joanna Trollope (born 1943), English novelist
- Catherine Trotter (1679–1749), Scottish-English novelist, playwright and philosopher
- Trotula (11th–12th century), Spanish writer on women's medicine in Latin
- Jean Trounstine, activist, author and professor emerita
- Meta Truscott (1917–2014), Australian diarist and Ashgrove historian
- Sojourner Truth (1797–1883), US feminist; Ain't I a Woman?
- Máire Mhac an tSaoi (born 1922), Irish-language scholar, poet and writer
- To-wen Tseng (living), Chinese-US writer, journalist and children's writer
- Mariam Tsiklauri (born 1960), Georgian poet, children's author and translator
- Marina Tsvetaeva (1892–1941), Russian poet
- Barbara W. Tuchman (1912–1989), US author and historian; The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam
- Lily Tuck (born 1938), US fiction writer; The News from Paraguay
- Anastasia Tumanishvili-Tsereteli (1849–1932), Georgian writer, educator and influential feminist
- Evgenia Tur (1815–1892), Russian novelist and literary critic; Antonina
- Megan Whalen Turner (born 1965), US fantasy writer
- Agata Tuszynska (born 1957), Polish writer, poet and journalist
- Flora May Woodard Tuttle (1868–1931) American writer and journalist
- Diana Tutton (1915–1991), English novelist
- Violet Tweedale (1862–1936), Scottish writer and poet
- Chase Twichell (born 1950), US poet, professor and publisher
- Hilda Twongyeirwe (living), Ugandan writer and editor
- Anne Tyler (born 1941), US fiction writer and literary critic; 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; The Accidental Tourist
- Rosana Ubanell (born 1958), Spanish journalist and detective novelist
- Bahriye Üçok (1919–1990), Turkish academic, writer and women's rights activist
- Julia Urquidi (1926–2010), Nigerian memoirist
- Brenda Ueland (1891–1985), US-Norwegian writer, journalist and teacher; If You Want to Write: A Book About Art, Independence, and Spirit
- Zoila Ugarte de Landívar (1864–1969), Ecuadorian journalist, editor and suffragist
- Jenny Uglow (born 1940s), English biographer
- Dubravka Ugrešić (born 1949), Croatian novelist
- Hebe Uhart (born 1936), Argentine fiction writer
- Uhwudong (c.1440–1480), Korean writer, poet and dancer
- Lesya Ukrainka (1871–1913), Ukrainian poet
- Adaora Lily Ulasi (born 1932), Nigerian novelist and journalist
- Leonora Christina Ulfeldt (1621–1698), Danish author; Jammers Minde
- Anya Ulinich (born 1973), Russian writer; Petropolis
- Lyudmila Ulitskaya (born 1943), Russian writer; Medea and Her Children
- Linn Ullmann (born 1966), Norwegian novelist, critic and journalist
- Regina Ullmann (1884–1961), Swiss poet writing in German
- Rosina Umelo (born 1930), Nigerian short story and children's writer
- Luz María Umpierre (born 1947), Puerto Rican poet, critic and human rights activist
- Lily Unden (1908–1989), Luxembourg poet and painter
- Marie Under (1883–1980), Estonian poet
- Terry Underwood (born 1944), Australian author
- Sigrid Undset (1882–1949), Norwegian novelist and 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature-winner; Kristin Lavransdatter
- Chika Unigwe (born 1974), Nigerian fiction writer
- Jane Unrue (living), US writer and educator
- Makerita Urale (fl. 1990s), New Zealand playwright, producer and documentary director
- Azucena Grajo Uranza (1929–2012), Filipino fiction writer and playwright
- Ellen Urbani (born 1969), US author
- Joan Ure (1918–1978), Scottish poet and playwright
- Ofelia Uribe de Acosta (1900–1988), Colombian suffragist, journalist and editor
- Jane Urquhart (born 1949), Canadian novelist and poet; The Stone Carvers
- Julia Urquidi (1926–2010), Bolivian memoirist
- Lourdes Urrea (born 1954), Mexican poet, novelist and young adult writer
- Arantxa Urretabizkaia (born 1947), Spanish Basque-language novelist, screenwriter and poet
- Matilde Urrutia (1912–1985), Chilean memoirist
- Shereen Usdin (born 1962), South African writer
- Carmina Useros (1928–2017), Spanish writer, ceramicist and painter
- O. V. Usha (born 1948), Malayalam poet and fiction writer
- Ayu Utami (born 1968), Indonesian novelist, short story writer
- Kaari Utrio (born 1942), Finnish novelist; Isabella
- Arja Uusitalo (born 1951), Finnish poet and journalist
- Bea Uusma (born 1966), Swedish children's and non-fiction writer and medical doctor
- Uvavnuk (fl. early 20th century), Canadian Inuit poet
- Mellie Uyldert (1908–2009), Dutch astrologer and esoteric writer
- Buket Uzuner (born 1955), Turkish fiction and travel writer
- Celestine Vaite (born 1966), Tahiti novelist
- Matrena Vakhrusheva (1918–2000), Soviet-Russian Mansi poet and storyteller
- Katri Vala (1901–1944), Finnish poet
- Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez (born 1969), US novelist, journalist and screenwriter
- Aline Valek (born 1986), Brazilian writer, novelist and illustrator
- Elcina Valencia (born 1963), Colombian teacher and poet
- Elvira Farreras i Valentí (1913–2005), Spanish writer
- Jean Valentine (born 1934), US poet; New York State Poet Laureate
- Luisa Valenzuela (born 1938), Argentinian fiction writer
- Jennifer Vanasco (born 1971), US columnist and journalist
- Jane Vandenburgh (born 1948), US novelist, memoirist and non-fiction writer
- Galina Varlamova (born 1951), Evenk philologist in Russian, Evenk and Yakut
- Mahadevi Varma (1906–1987), Indian Hindi poet, freedom fighter and educationist
- Rahel Varnhagen (1771–1833), German essayist and correspondent
- Ana Vásquez-Bronfman (1931–2009) Chilean-French novelist and sociologist
- Marie Vassiltchikov (1917–1978), wartime Berlin diarist
- Mâliâraq Vebæk (1917–2012), Greenlandic translator, ethnographer and novelist
- Tatiana Vedenska (born 1976), Russian novelist
- Janine Pommy Vega (1942–2010), US poet associated with Beat generation
- Yvonne Vera (1964–2005), Zimbabwean novelist
- Anastasiya Verbitskaya (1861–1928), Russian novelist and dramatist; Keys to Happiness
- Caroline Vermalle (born 1973), thriller and historical novelist
- Seda Vermisheva (born 1932), Armenian-born Russian poet, economist and activist
- Octavia Walton Le Vert (1811–1877), US writer
- Lidia Veselitskaya (1857–1936), Russian novelist; Mimi's Marriage
- Pilar de Vicente-Gella (1942–2016), Spanish writer
- Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand (1697–1780), French correspondent
- Soledad Fariña Vicuña (born 1943), Chilean poet
- Clara Viebig (1862–1952), German novelist and playwright
- Marie Vieux-Chauvet (1916–1973), Haitian novelist, poet and playwright
- Frida Vigdorova (1915–1965), Russian journalist and novelist
- Monica Vikström-Jokela (born 1960), Finnish-Swedish television scriptwriter and author
- Maruxa Vilalta (born 1932), Mexican playwright
- Mariya Vilinska (1833–1907), Russian-Ukrainian novelist and translator
- Clara Villarosa (born 1930), US entrepreneur and writer
- Marie-Catherine de Villedieu (1640–1683), French playwright and fiction writer
- Phillippa Yaa de Villiers (born 1966), South African poet and performance artist
- Louise Leveque de Vilmorin (1902–1969), French novelist, poet and journalist
- Elene Virsaladze (1911–1977), Georgian folklorist
- Jenny Visser-Hooft (1888–1939), Dutch traveler, mountaineer and writer
- Renée Vivien (1877–1909), French poet
- Helen Vlachos (1911–1995), Greek journalist, newspaper publisher and autobiographer
- Clara Voghan (born 1957), Argentinian romance writer
- Ellen Bryant Voigt (born 1943), US poet and essayist
- Zinaida Volkonskaya (1792–1862), Russian poet, short story writer and playwright
- Hava Volovich (1916–2000), Russian memoirist, actress and Gulag survivor
- Élisabeth Vonarburg (born 1947), French science fiction novelist
- Yekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova (1743–1810), Russian memoirist
- Marko Vovchok (1833–1907), Russian-Ukrainian writer; Ukrainian Folk Tales
- Julia Voznesenskaya (born 1940), Soviet-Russian writer; The Women's Decameron
- Susanna de Vries (born 1936), Australian biographer
- Jurgen Vsych (born 1966), US director and screenwriter
- Anna Vyrubova (1884–1964), Russian memoirist
- Kit de Waal (born 1960), British-Irish novelist
- Charity Waciuma (born 1936), Kenyan novelist
- Elizabeth Wagele (1939–2017), US author and cartoonist
- Diane Wakoski (born 1937), US poet
- Kate Walbert (born 1961), US fiction writer
- Anne Waldman (born 1945), US poet
- Rosmarie Waldrop (born 1935), US poet, translator and publisher
- Alice Walker (born 1944), US fiction writer and poet; The Color Purple
- Margaret Walker (1915–1998), US poet and novelist
- Mildred Walker (1905–1998), US novelist
- Rebecca Walker (born 1969), US writer, feminist and activist
- Doreen Wallace (1897–1989), English novelist
- Effie Waller Smith (1879–1960), African-US poet
- Jeannette Walls (born 1960), US writer and journalist; The Glass Castle
- María Elena Walsh (1930–2011), Argentine poet, novelist and playwright
- Ania Walwicz (born 1951), Australian poet
- Shangguan Wan'er (c. 664–710), Chinese poet and prose writer
- Ayeta Anne Wangusa (born 1971), Ugandan writer and activist
- Zukiswa Wanner (born 1976), South African journalist and novelist
- Harriet Ward (1808–1873), non-fiction and fiction set in South Africa
- Jesmyn Ward (born 1977), US novelist and academic; Salvage the Bones
- Mary Augusta Ward (Mrs Humphrey Ward, 1851–1920), English novelist
- Gertrude Chandler Warner (1890–1979), US children's writer
- Susan Warner (1819–1885), US children's writer and songwriter
- Myriam Warner-Vieyra (1939–2017), Guadeloupe poet and novelist
- Dianne Warren (born 1950), Canadian fiction writer and playwright
- Wendy Wasserstein (1950–2006), US playwright
- Sarah Waters (born 1966), Welsh novelist; Fingersmith
- Fiona Watt (living), English children's author
- Margaret Way (living), Australian author of romance novels
- Catherine Webb (born 1986), British novelist
- Mary Webb (1881–1927), English novelist; Precious Bane
- Delia Weber (1900–1982) Dominican Republic writer, artist and women's rights advocate
- Ellen Lenneck (Helene Weichardt, 1851–1880), German fiction writer
- Anna Weidenholzer (born 1984), Austrian writer and journalist
- Simone Weil (1909–1943), French mystic and philosopher
- Hannah Weiner (1928–1997), US poet
- Jane Meade Welch (1854–1931), US journalist and lecturer
- Fay Weldon (born 1931), English author, essayist and playwright; The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
- Dorothy Wellesley (1889–1956), English poet
- Charlotte Fowler Wells (1814–1901), US phrenologist and publisher
- Ida B. Wells (1862–1931), African-US journalist and sociologist
- Martha Wells (born 1964), US novelist
- Eudora Welty (1909–2001), US fiction writer and photographer
- Viola S. Wendt (1907–1986), US poet and educator
- Cai Wenji (born AD 177), Chinese poet and composer
- Zhuo Wenjun (Wen Jun, 2nd century BC), Chinese poet
- Timberlake Wertenbaker (born 1946), US-English playwright, screenwriter, and translator; Our Country's Good
- Dorothy West (1907–1998), US fiction writer
- Jane West (1758–1852), English novelist, poet and playwright
- Jessamyn West (1902–1984), US fiction writer; The Friendly Persuasion
- Rebecca West (1892–1983), English novelist, essayist, and travel writer; Black Lamb and Grey Falcon
- Amy Westervelt (born 1978), journalist and writer
- Anne Wharton (1659–1685), English poet
- Edith Wharton (1862–1937), US fiction writer; The Age of Innocence
- Leslie What (born 1955), US fiction writer
- Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784), US poet
- Dorothy Whipple (1893–1966), English novelist
- Evelyn Whitaker (1857–1903), English novelist
- Antonia White (1899–1980), English fiction writer
- Dorothy White (c. 1630–1686), English religious writer
- Ellen White (1827–1915), US evangelist and prophetess
- Lilian Whiting (1847–1942), US journalist and author
- Isabella Whitney (born c. 1540), English poet
- Phyllis A. Whitney (born 1903), US mystery novelist
- Nancy Wicker (living), US art historian
- Anna Wickham (1884–1947), English poet
- Zoë Wicomb (born 1948), South African fiction writer
- Margaret Widdemer (1884–1978), US poet and novelist
- Ulrika Widström (1764–1841), Swedish poet and translator
- Elisabeth of Wied (pen name Carmen Sylva, 1843–1916), poet, playwright and Queen Consort of Romania
- Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856–1923), US educator and children's author
- Marianne Wiggins (born 1947), US novelist
- Susan Wiggs (born 1958), US novelist
- Krysty Wilson-Cairns (born 1987), Scottish screenwriter
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919), US poet
- Lynn Wilder (born 1952), US author
- Charlotte Wilder (1898–1980), US poet
- Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957), US children's writer; Little House on the Prairie
- Kate Wilhelm (1928–2018), US fiction writer
- Sandrine Willems (born 1968), writer
- Helen Maria Williams (1762–1827), English novelist and poet
- Margery Williams (1881–1944) English-US children's writer; The Velveteen Rabbit
- Sherley Anne Williams (1944–1999), US poet and novelist
- Mabel Williamson (fl. mid–20th century), US missionary
- Connie Willis (born 1945), US science fiction writer
- Elizabeth Willis (born 1961), US poet, literary critic and professor
- Harriet E. Wilson (1825–1900), US novelist
- Hazel Hutchins Wilson (1898–1992), US children's writer and librarian
- Jacqueline Wilson (born 1945), English children's writer
- Margaret Wilson (1882–1973), US novelist; 1924 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Sarah Winnemucca (1841–1891), US lecturer and autobiographer
- Kathleen Winter (born 1960), Canadian fiction writer, columnist and television screenwriter
- Jeanette Winterson (born 1959), English novelist
- Jane Wiseman (c. 1682–1717), English poet and playwright
- Monique Wittig (1935–2003), French writer and feminist
- Maria Petronella Woesthoven (1760–1830), Dutch poet
- Gabriele Wohmann (1932–2015), German fiction writer
- Christa Wolf (1929–2011), German novelist, critic and essayist
- Leslie Wolfe (born 1967), US novelist
- Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797), English novelist and feminist; A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
- Claire Wolniewicz (born 1966), French writer and journalist
- Frances Garnet Wolseley, 2nd Viscountess Wolseley (1872–1936), English garden writer
- Buffalo Bird Woman (1839–1932), Native US Hidatsa writer
- Jade Snow Wong (1922–2006), US ceramic artist and autobiographer
- Nellie Wong (born 1934), Chinese-US feminist poet; Dreams in Harrison Railroad Park
- Ellen (Mrs Henry) Wood (1814–1887), English novelist; East Lynne
- Jacqueline Woodson (born 1963), US children's and young-adult writer; Miracle's Boys
- Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), English novelist and essayist; Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse
- Abba Goold Woolson (1838–1921), US writer
- Constance Fenimore Woolson (1840–1894), US fiction writer
- Chun Woon-young (born 1971), Korean author
- Dorothy Wordsworth (1771–1855), English poet and diarist
- Elizabeth Strong Worthington (1851–1916), US writer
- C. D. Wright (born 1949), US poet
- Judith Wright (1915–2000), Australian poet
- Mary Tappan Wright (1851–1916), US fiction writer
- Lady Mary Wroth (1587–1652), English poet
- Audrey Wurdemann (1911–1960), US poet; won 1935 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Elinor Wylie (1885–1928), US poet and novelist
- Sylvia Wynter (born 1928), Jamaican novelist, dramatist and critic
- 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
- Rama Yade (born 1976), Senegalese politician and non-fiction writer
- Elham Yaghoubian (living), Iranian novelist
- Hisaye Yamamoto (1921–2011), Japanese-US short story writer
- Karen Tei Yamashita (born 1951), US novelist, playwright and academic; Tropic of Orange
- Empress Yamato (fl. later 7th century), Japanese poet
- Wakako Yamauchi (1924–2018), Japanese-US writer
- Hanya Yanagihara (born 1974), US novelist and travel writer; A Little Life
- Yang Gui-ja (born 1955), Korean novelist
- Tiphanie Yanique (born 1978), Caribbean-US fiction writer, poet and essayist
- Laura Yasán (born 1960), Argentine poet
- Chista Yasrebi (born 1968), Iranian writer, critic and translator
- Paula Yates (1959–2000), English television presenter and non-fiction writer
- Yana Yazova (Lyuba Todorova Gancheva, 1912–1974), Bulgarian poet and historical novelist
- Ann Yearsley (1753–1806), English poet, novelist and playwright
- Tatyana Yesenina (1918–1992), Russian novelist, journalist and memoirist
- Anna Yevreinova (1844–1919), Russian feminist writer, editor and letter writer
- Anzia Yezierska (1883–1970), Polish-US fiction writer
- Yi Geun-hwa (born 1976), Korean poet, educator
- Yi Kyoung-ja (born 1948), Korean fiction writer
- Gullu Yologlu (born 1963), Azerbaijani non-fiction writer and ethnologist
- Charlotte M. Yonge (1823–1901), English novelist; The Heir of Redclyffe
- Yoo An-jin (born 1941), Korean poet, essayist and educator
- Akiko Yosano (1878–1942), Japanese poet
- Banana Yoshimoto (born 1964), Japanese novelist
- Ekaterina Petrova Yosifova (born 1941), Bulgarian journalist, essayist and poet
- Ella Young (1867–1956), poet, Celtic mythologist and children's writer
- Yolanda Young (born 1968), US author and journalist
- Marguerite Young (1908–1995), US novelist, poet and academic; Miss MacIntosh, My Darling
- So Young-en (born 1943), Korea author
- Kang Young-sook (born 1966), Korean author
- Marguerite Yourcenar (1903–1987), Belgian-French novelist and essayist; Memoirs of Hadrian
- Yovanna (born 1940), Greek poet, novelist and songwriter
- Mallika Yunis (living), Indian novelist
- Sim Yunkyung (born 1972), Korean novelist
- Rose al Yusuf (1898–1958), Egyptian actress and journalist
- Oksana Zabuzhko (born 1960), Ukrainian poet, novelist and non-fiction writer
- Rachel Zadok (living), South African novelist
- Jessica Zafra (born 1965), Filipino essayist, columnist
- Helen Zahavi (born 1966), British writer; Dirty Weekend
- Anna Zahorska (1882–1942), Polish poet, novelist and playwright
- Stefania Zahorska (1890–1961), Polish novelist, historian and non-fiction writer
- Shama Zaidi (born 1938), Indian art critic, screenwriter and filmmaker
- Zahida Zaidi (1930–2011), Indian poet, playwright and educator
- Lyubov Zakharchenko (1961–2008), Russian poet and songwriter
- Maria Julia Zaleska (1831–1889), Polish fiction writer and essayist
- Māra Zālīte (born 1952), Latvian poet and publisher
- Dina Zaman (1969), Malaysian short story writer, essayist and columnist
- María Zambrano (1904–1991), Spanish essayist and philosopher
- Daisy Zamora (born 1950), Nicaraguan poet
- Fatma Zohra Zamoum (born 1967), Algerian writer, filmmaker and educator
- Adela Zamudio (1854–1928), Bolivian poet, feminist and educator
- Giovanna Zangrandi (1910–1988), Italian novelist
- Giselda Zani (1909–1975), Italian-born poet, fiction writer and critic
- Maya Zankoul (born 1986), Lebanese artist, cartoonist and novelist
- Léontine Zanta (1872–1942), French novelist and feminist
- Gabriela Zapolska (1860–1921), Polish novelist, playwright and naturalist
- Ayşe Nur Zarakolu (1946–2002), Turkish publisher and human rights advocate
- Carol Zardetto (living), Guatemalan novelist and theater critic
- Shaïda Zarumey (born 1938), Nigerian sociologist and poet
- Zyranna Zateli (born 1951), Greek fiction and non-fiction writer
- Marya Zaturenska (1902–1982), US poet; won 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
- Iris Zavala (born 1936), Puerto Rican poet, novelist and non-fiction writer
- María de Zayas (1590–1661), Spanish pioneer of literary feminism
- Amina Zaydan (born 1966), Egyptian fiction writer
- Katarzyna Ewa Zdanowicz-Cyganiak (born 1979), Polish poet, journalist and social scientist
- Zdenka Žebre (born 1929), Slovenian novelist and children's writer
- Alki Zei (born 1925), Greek novelist and children's writer
- Sylvia Aguilar Zéleny (born 1973), Mexican fiction writer
- Hana Zelinová (1914–2004), Slovak fiction writer and playwright
- Eva Zeller (born 1923), German poet and novelist
- Luisa Zeni (1896–1940), Italian writer
- Irena Žerjal (born 1940), Slovenian poet, novelist and translator
- Wu Zetian (624–705), Chinese poet, essayist and Empress regnant
- Zuzka Zguriška (1900–1984), Slovak novelist, playwright and translator
- Yulia Zhadovskaya (1824–1883), Russian poet and novelist
- Zhai Yongming (born 1955), Chinese poet
- Empress Zhangsun (601–636), Chinese moralist; Examples for Women
- Ban Zhao (45–116 CE), first female Chinese historian; Lessons for Women
- Vera Zhelikhovsky (1835–1896), Russian writer; The General's Will
- Polina Zherebtsova (born 1985), Russian poet and diarist; Ant in a Glass Jar
- Maria Zhukova (1804–1855), Russian writer; Evenings on the Karpovka
- Zhuo Wenjun (fl. 2nd century BC), Chinese poet
- Valentina Zhuravleva (1993–2004), Russian science fiction novelist
- Iryna Zhylenko (1941–2013), Ukrainian poet and essayist
- May Ziadeh (1886–1941), Lebanese-Palestinian poet, essayist and translator
- Annejet van der Zijl (born 1962), Dutch novelist and biographer
- Lydia Zimmermann (born 1966), Spanish filmmaker and screenwriter
- Alice Zimmern (1855–1939), English writer and translator
- Hedda Zinner (also Elisabeth Frank, 1905–1994), German political writer
- Marketa Zinnerová (born 1942), Czech novelist, screenwriter and children's writer
- Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal (1866–1907), Russian writer; The Tragic Menagerie
- Elvania Namukwaya Zirimu (1938–1979), Ugandan poet and dramatist
- Gertrude Bonnin (Zitkala-Sa, 1876–1938), Native US writer, editor and teacher
- Kathinka Zitz-Halein (1801–1877), German writer
- Nina Živančević (born 1957), Serbian-born playwright, poet and novelist
- Bina Štampe Žmavc (born 1951), Slovenian poet, playwright and children's writer
- Narcyza Żmichowska (1818–1876), Polish novelist and poet
- Inga Žolude (born 1984), Latvian fiction writer, playwright and translator
- Anna Zonová (born 1962), Czech fiction writer
- Halide Nusret Zorlutuna (1901–1984), Turkish poet, fiction writer and autobiographer
- Birgit Zotz (born 1979), Austrian non-fiction writer and essayist
- Vera Zouroff (born 1880), Chilean poet, novelist and writer
- Katarina Zrinska (c. 1625–1673), Croatian poet
- Pilar de Zubiaurre (1884–1970), Spanish essayist and letter writer
- Svetlana Žuchová (born 1976), Slovenian fiction writer and translator
- Berta Zuckerkandl (1864–1945), Austrian journalist, critic and non-fiction writer
- Zuo Fen (c. AD 255–300), Chinese poet
- Katka Zupančič (1889–1967), Slovenian children's poet, short story writer and playwright
- Unica Zürn (1916–1970), German poet and painter
- Cvijeta Zuzorić (1552–1648), Serbian lyric poet
- Rose Zwi (born 1928), Mexican-born South African-Australian fiction writer
- Fay Zwicky (1933–2017), Australian poet and academic
- Rajzel Żychlińsky (1910–2001), Polish-US Yiddish poet