Authors of the 20th Century

Authors who started their careers in the 20th century.

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American

Lloyd Alexander
Sherman Alexie
Jo Harvey Allen
Steve Allen
Aaron Allston
Steve Alten
Catherine Anderson
Kevin J. Anderson
Matthew Tobin Anderson
Poul Anderson
V. C. Andrews: You can tell the books are popular when they keep being written after the author's death.
Maya Angelou
Piers Anthony: Creator of Xanth and the Incarnations of Immortality.
K. A. Applegate: Creator of Animorphs, Everworld, and Remnants.
Catherine Asaro
Isaac Asimov: Prolific founder of modern Science Fiction.
Janet Asimov
Robert Asprin
Sonny Barger: Outlaw biker, occasional actor and author known for his guest appearances on motorcycling-related media such as Sons of Anarchy and novels centered around the outlaw biker subculture.
Polly Bergen
Anne Bishop
Holly Black
James Blish
Judy Blume: (born February 12, 1938), Author of teen-age novels dealing straight-forwardly with the problems of growing up. The best known are Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Dale Brown
Dan Brown: (born June 22, 1964) Author of mystery-thrillers; Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code are the best-known. Particularly noted in some circles for his insistence that his books are factually accurate even though they are riddled with factual errors.
David Brin
Brom
Fredric Brown
Algis Budrys
Erma Bombeck: Newspaper columnist and author of humor books
Anthony Boucher
Joseph Payne Brennan: Creator of the Occult Detective Lucius Leffing.
Jimmy Buffett
Charles Bukowski
Emma Bull
Edward Bunker
Edgar Rice Burroughs: Creator of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars, among other works.
Candace Bushnell: Author of Sex and the City, better known for its successful TV series adaptation, also a journalist and television producer.
Jim Butcher
Bill Bryson: American-born author raised in England.
Betsy Byars
James Branch Cabell
Paolo Bacigalupi
David Baldacci
James Baldwin
Dave Barry: Syndicated newspaper humor columnist, he is largely responsible for the popularization of the memes "I am not making this up!" and "..., which would be A Good Name for a Rock Band."
Wayne Barlowe
John Barth
L. Frank Baum: Creator of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Peter S. Beagle
Greg Bear
John Bellairs: Author of The Face in the Frost, a work mixing humor and horror, and many scary novels for children.
Carl Bernstein
Peter Benchley: Author of Jaws and numerous other maritime novels.
Gregory Benford
Alfred Bester
James P. Blaylock
Robert Bloch
Lawrence Block
Larry Bond: Author of Possible War and spy-thriller novels; a sometime associate of Tom Clancy.
Sandra Boynton: Children's books
Leigh Brackett: Speculative fiction, crime, and western author; also, screenwriter.
Ray Bradbury: prolific in a wide number of media, but best known for his speculative fiction like Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles.
Marion Zimmer Bradley: (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) Speculative fiction author, most well-known for the Darkover series and The Mists of Avalon, her version of the Arthurian legend told from the perspective of the female characters.
Richard Brautigan
Patricia Briggs
Poppy Z. Brite
Tom Brokaw
Terry Brooks: American fantasy author, best known for the Shannara franchise.
Steven Brust
Pearl S. Buck
William F. Buckley Jr.
Lois McMaster Bujold
William S. Burroughs: Author of the influential but incredibly controversial Naked Lunch, a novel that ended literary censorship in the United States.
Octavia E. Butler
Meg Cabot
Anne McCaffrey: Author of the Dragonriders of Pern series.
Martin Caidin
James M. Cain
Rachel Caine
John W. Campbell, author of Who Goes There? and influential editor of Astounding Science Fiction
Janell Cannon
Truman Capote
Eric Carle
John Dickson Carr
Orson Scott Card, author of Ender's Game and its continuation series.
Lin Carter
Diana Serra Cary, a.k.a. Baby Peggy, author of Hollywood's Posse and several biographies for former child actors, herself included.
Michael Chabon
Jack Chalker
Raymond Chandler
Paddy Chayefsky
C. J. Cherryh
Tom Clancy: While not the first to write techno-thrillers (that was Craig Thomas), Clancy defined the genre.
Chris Claremont
Mary Higgins Clark
Jo Clayton: Speculative Fiction author.
Beverly Cleary
Hal Clement
Harlan Coben
Walt Coburn
Nancy A. Collins
Suzanne Collins
Aaron Cometbus
Michael Connelly
Caroline B. Cooney
Stephen Coonts
Glen Cook
Robert Cormier
Patricia Cornwell
Greg Costikyan
Robert Coover
Bruce Coville
Michael Crichton: Author of Jurassic Park and various other techno-thrillers.
Jennifer Crusie
Henry Darger: Author of the longest novel in history, the 15,145-page In the Realms of the Unreal, which wasn't discovered until after his death.
E. E. Cummings
Clive Cussler
Brian Daley
Paula Danziger
Peter David
Avram Davidson
Ossie Davis
Pamela Dean
L. Sprague de Camp
Lester del Rey
Samuel R. Delany
Don DeLillo
Troy Denning
Tomie dePaola
August Derleth
Sarah Dessen
Kate DiCamillo
Philip K. Dick
Eric Jerome Dickey
Gordon R. Dickson
Thomas M. Disch
Stephen R. Donaldson
Tim Dorsey: Just barely squeezes in here, publishing his first book in 1999. His works primarily concern an eccentric Floridian Serial Killer named Serge Storms.
David Drake: Scifi and fantasy author. Known for his realistic portrayal of combat.
Sharon Draper
Diane Duane: Fantasy author most well-known for her Young Wizards series and several of Star Trek's best (and best-loved) novels, including Spock's World, The Wounded Sky, Doctor's Orders, and the Rihannsu series.
Lois Duncan
Roger Ebert: Extremely well-known film critic; also a screenwriter, and wrote several books about film.
David Eddings: Took most of the High Fantasy tropes, smushed them together, and wrote four rather excellent quintets with them. They're so good mostly because he knows he's using them, so he doesn't take himself very seriously. Airport Fantasy at its finest.
Clifford Martin Eddy Jr: A minor horror writer who was a friend of H. P. Lovecraft's from childhood.
Teresa Edgerton
Edward Eager
George Alec Effinger
Michael Eisner
T. S. Eliot
Bret Easton Ellis
Harlan Ellison: Noted not only for his works and influence, but also for his temper and tendency to sue at the drop of a hat. He once posted a dead gopher to a New York publisher because said publisher placed cigarette ads in a collection of short stories, in violation of contract.
Ralph Ellison
James Ellroy
David Farland
Nancy Farmer
Philip José Farmer: Taboo-busting sci-fi and fantasy writer with a wild array of original ideas. Best known for the Riverworld and World of Tiers series.
William Faulkner
Raymond E. Feist, author of The Riftwar Cycle
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Sid Fleischman: Author of children's books including the Newbery winner The Whipping Boy.
Eric Flint
Michael Flynn
Vince Flynn
James Fogle
Phil Foglio
Mick Foley – Most famous as a professional wrestler, but wrote three best-selling autobiographies and several well-received novels.
Betty Ford
John M. Ford
William R. Forstchen: Author of science fiction and historical fiction novels.
Robert L. Forward
Al Franken: Comedy writer, political satirist, U.S. senator.
Leo Frankowski
Jonathan Franzen
Kinky Friedman
Ben Friesen (Alexander Wales)
Esther Friesner
Robert Frost: Poet, probably best known for "two roads diverged in a yellow wood."
Alan Dean Foster: Sci-fi author, and responsible for some truly awesome novelizations
Alan Furst
William Gaddis
Stefan Gagne
Erle Stanley Gardner
Randall Garrett
Henry Louis Gates Jr..
Jean Craighead George
Tess Gerritsen: Best known for the book series that inspired Rizzoli & Isles.
David Gerrold
William Gibson: Grandfather of Cyberpunk.
Dorothy Gilman
Allen Ginsberg: Poet, creator of "Howl".
Newt Gingrich: Also a former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Louise Glück
John Grisham
William Goldman
Barry Goldwater
Terry Goodkind, author of the popular fantasy series Sword of Truth.
Dick Goodwin
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Michael Grant - Wrote the Gone and BZRK series on his own, and co-wrote Animorphs, Everworld, and Remnants with his wife, K. A. Applegate.
Jess Gulbranson
James E. Gunn
Ernest Hemingway: Those who consider Purple Prose as the cardinal writing sin can take refuge in his work.
Frank Herbert, author of the epic Dune series and more.
Carl Hiaasen
Tony Hillerman
Edward D. Hoch
Holling C. Holling
Evan Hunter, a.k.a. Ed McBain
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Mary Downing Hahn
Joe Haldeman
Barbara Hambly
Dashiell Hammett
Edmond Hamilton
Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket
Victor Davis Hanson: Classicist, Military Historian, Farmer and Political Columnist. Writes mostly nonfiction but at least one fiction, The End of Sparta.
Jack Handey: Humorist best known for his Deep Thoughts series.
Lyndon Hardy
Thomas Harlan
Charlaine Harris
Harry Harrison
L.P. Hartley
Robert A. Heinlein: Dean of Science Fiction; the man who perfected the young adult SF novel, assuming you believe he didn't invent it. Defined time loop/time paradox stories with —All You Zombies—.
Joseph Heller
Lillian Hellman
Zenna Henderson: Best known for her series of short stories about "The People."
- His intellectual property is now under the auspices of Herbert Properties LLC, with Brian Herbert writing additional books.
Joe Hill
Sandra Hill
Jim C. Hines
Kenneth Hite
Robin Hobb: Author of the Low Fantasy trilogy-of-trilogies the Realm of the Elderlings
John Hodgman
M.C.A. Hogarth
Robert E. Howard: Widely regarded as the father of the Sword and Sorcery genre, he was the creator of Conan the Barbarian, Solomon Kane (long before he was a comic book character), Kull the Conqueror, and Bran Mak Morn, as well as making contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos. Along with J.R.R. Tolkien, he is one of the most influential figures in modern fantasy.
Sarah A. Hoyt
L. Ron Hubbard
Arianna Huffington
Langston Hughes
Zora Neale Hurston
John Irving
David Ives
Shirley Jackson, best known for her creepy but influential story "The Lottery".
J.A. Jance.
Gary Jennings: American author of Historical Fiction.
K. W. Jeter
James Jones: Lived through the worst of World War II and wrote prolifically about it.
Erica Jong: Author of feminist erotica, best known for the term "zipless fuck".
Robert Jordan
William Joyce
Janet Kagan
Ezra Jack Keats
Harry Stephen Keeler: Prolific writer of very odd books.
Brian Keene
William H. Keith, Jr.: Prolific author of science and military fiction.
Helen Keller: Blind and deaf activist.
Jack Kerouac: Spiritual father of the Beatnik counterculture movement.
Ken Kesey: Author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Also major player in 1960s psychedelic culture.
Jack Ketchum: American horror author.
Alexander Key
Alan King
Stephen King: Hugely successful author of modern horror and fantasy.
James Kirkwood
Henry Kissinger
Annette Curtis Klause (born in England, immigrated to and currently lives in America)
Andrew Klavan
T.E.D. Klein
Richard A. Knaak
Damon Knight
E. L. Konigsburg
Dean Koontz: Not quite so popular as Stephen King, but still, a successful author of modern horror and fantasy.
Cyril M. Kornbluth: Science fiction author
Nancy Kress
Ellen Kushner: Fantasy author
Henry Kuttner: Science fiction and fantasy author
Michael Kurland: Writes mystery and speculative fiction.
Katherine Kurtz: Writes historical fantasy, most notably the Deryni novels.
Mercedes Lackey: Does fantasy (Heralds of Valdemar) and Urban Fantasy.
R. A. Lafferty
Tim LaHaye: Influential author of Christian techno-thrillers and science fiction.
Donald Westlake
Louis L'Amour: Western novelist.
L. Jagi Lamplighter: Fantasy writer
Ring Lardner: Best known as a sportswriter, his 1916 book You Know Me Al is considered one of the high-water marks in American humor.
Erik Larson
Keith Laumer
Stephen R. Lawhead
Richard Laymon: Prolific splatter-horror author from 1980 to 2000
Ursula K. Le Guin: Prolific and influential science fiction writer and feminist.
Dennis Lehane, best known for Mystic River and Shutter Island.
Fritz Leiber
Murray Leinster: Prolific science fiction author, pioneer of Alternate History fiction, coiner of the term "First Contact", and predicter of the Internet.
Madeleine L'Engle
Elmore Leonard: The Lay's Potato Chip of crime fiction — you can't read just one. His terse prose and chatty dialog make for effortlessly enjoyable reading.
Helen Lester
Julius Lester
Jonathan Lethem
Ira Levin
Gail Carson Levine
Sinclair Lewis
Thomas Ligotti
Rush Limbaugh: Better known for his talk radio career, but wrote two top-selling political commentaries in the 1990s and a series of children's novels in the 2010s.
Jane Lindskold
Holly Lisle
Bentley Little
Hugh Lofting
Lois Lowry
Frank Belknap Long
H. P. Lovecraft: "Weird fiction" author who had a major impact on the horror genre; created the Cosmic Horror Story, and changed how we see "monsters".
David Lubar: Young adult fiction writer.
Robert Ludlum
Zoë Lund
David Macaulay
R. A. MacAvoy
Gavin MacLeod
Elliot S! Maggin
Gregory Maguire
Norman Mailer
Leonard Maltin: Film critic and animation historian; author of Maltin's Movie Guide and Leonard Maltin's Classic Film Guide.
David Mamet: Pretty fuckin' good playwright/screenwriter.
George R. R. Martin: Famous for A Song of Ice and Fire. He also helped kick-start the Wild Cards series.
Lisa Mason
Ann M. Martin: most famous for The Baby-Sitters Club series.
Richard Matheson
R. Jean Mathieu
Julian May
Mercer Mayer: Author of the Little Critter books.
Robert R. McCammon : Author of Swan Song and Boy's Life, among many other novels.
Cormac McCarthy
Scott McCloud
Carson McCullers
Lurlene McDaniel
Jack McDevitt
Michael Mc Dowell
Vonda N. McIntyre
Patricia A. McKillip
Robin McKinley
Patrick McManus
Terry McMillan
Clare McNally
Robert McNamara: 8th US Secretary of Defense.
H. L. Mencken
Miss Manners: Pen name of etiquette expert Judith Martin
Fern Michaels
Melisa Michaels
James Michener
Arthur Miller
L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Devon Monk
Elizabeth Moon
Christopher Moore
C. L. Moore
John Moore
Daniel Keys Moran
Toni Morrison
Robert Munsch
Walter Dean Myers
Ogden Nash: poet, noted for wordplay and odd rhymes.
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Larry Niven: Author of Ringworld and the Known Space universe.
Andre Norton
Bill Nye: He wrote some nonfiction books.
Flannery O’Connor
Eugene O'Neill: acclaimed playwright.
Jack Paar
Alexei Panshin
Chuck Palahniuk
Robert B. Parker: Spenser (started in the 1970's); Jesse Stone (1997); Sunny Randall (1999). All three continued until his death in 2010, with other authors continuing the storylines after.
Dorothy Parker: Poet, screenwriter, comedian, journalist and short story author.
Katherine Paterson: Children's book author.
James Patterson: Thriller writer.
Gary Paulsen: Children's book author.
Bill Peet
S. J. Perelman: Humorist. Know that he wrote scripts for the Marx Brothers, and you get a pretty clear picture of his style.
Frank Peretti: Author of Christian suspense/horror novels. Might be considered the codifier of the (Christian) genre, if not the founder.
Tom Perrotta
Steve Perry
Julie Anne Peters
Jodi Picoult
Tamora Pierce: Fantasy author known for inverting The Smurfette Principle. Really likes writing quartets, although not so much lately.
Christopher Pike
Dav Pilkey
Daniel Pinkwater
H. Beam Piper: Science fiction writer; worked out an extensive future history as well as several Alternate History stories. Committed suicide in 1964 because of financial problems. A check was literally in the mail.
Sylvia Plath
George Plimpton
Frederik Pohl
Ezra Pound
Jerry Pournelle
Tim Powers
Mark Prindle
W.H. Pugmire
Thomas Pynchon
Ellery Queen
Julia Quinn: Regency romance novelist.
Seabury Quinn
Dan Rather
Melanie Rawn
Ishmael Reed
Robert Reed
Laura Resnick
Mike Resnick
Michael Rex
Mack Reynolds
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Anne Rice
John Ridley
John Ringo: Started with Military Science Fiction works (the first book of the Legacy of the Aldenata was his authorial debut), but has branched out to other genres, including fantasy (urban and traditional) and adventure stories.
Rick Riordan
Geraldo Rivera
Tom Robbins
Nora Roberts: Synonymous with well-written romance.
Kim Stanley Robinson
Richard Roeper
Fred Rogers
Reginald Rose
Philip Roth
Laura Joh Rowland
Greg Rucka: crime novelist, also noted for his work on Batman, Wonder Woman and his own comic book titles, such as Whiteout and Queen and Country.
Rudy Rucker
Matt Ruff
Damon Runyon
Kristine Kathryn Rusch (also pen names Kris Rusch, Kris Nelscott, Kristine Grayson, Sandy Schofield [joint works with husband Dean Wesley Smith], and Kathryn Wesley)
Fred Saberhagen
Louis Sachar
Carl Sagan
J. D. Salinger
R.A. Salvatore: Primarily fantasy.
Carl Sandburg
John Sandford
John Saul
Dan Savage
Richard Scarry
James H. Schmitz
Jon Scieszka
Melissa Scott
David Sedaris
Erich Segal
Hubert Selby Jr
Maurice Sendak
Dr. Seuss: The definitive picture-book author.
Anne Sexton
Ntozake Shange
Roger Sharpe
Richard Sharpe Shaver
Robert Sheckley
Sidney Sheldon: His tales of treachery amongst The Beautiful Elite made his books blockbusters from The '70s through the Turn of the Millennium.
Sam Shepard: Cowboy playwright
Jean Shepherd
Josepha Sherman
Neal Shusterman
Robert Silverberg
Shel Silverstein
Clifford Simak: one of the best SF writers.
Dan Simmons: Former public-school English teacher turned writer, he is responsible for the sci-fi epic, The Hyperion Cantos, as well as Ilium. Olympos, The Terror, and most recently Drood — among many others.
Neil Simon: Playwright, screenwriter, and memoirist.
Linnea Sinclair
Gene Siskel
William Sleator
Jane Smiley: Pulitzer-prize winning author whose work often revolves around farming and horses
Clark Ashton Smith: Known best for his dark fantasy short stories, but also wrote horror, science fiction, and poetry.
Cordwainer Smith: Classic author of Science Fiction, also wrote the first definitive book on modern psychological warfare. His style is a generally excerpts from the Days of Future Past, and is nearly all set in his 'verse: The Instrumentality of Mankind. Philosophically, he fused Christian symbolism with Chinese philosophy. Studio Gainax have an affinity for his work and keep naming things after it.
E. E. "Doc" Smith, author of the Lensman series. One of the first major science fiction writers. Ultimately responsible for, or provided some of the earliest descriptions of, a fair amount of the weaponry and gadgetry seen in modern SF, and some in reality as well.
L. J. Smith, author of Night World, The Vampire Diaries, and The Secret Circle.
Roland Smith
Thomas Lee Joseph Smith
Margaret Snyder
Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Suzanne Somers
Mickey Spillane: Pulp crime author and creator of private eye Mike Hammer.
Jerry Spinelli
Norman Spinrad
Michael Stackpole
John Steakley
Allen Steele
Danielle Steel
William Steig
John Steinbeck: Pulitzer and Noble Peace Prize-winning author of many books such as The Grapes of Wrath commonly used in School Study Media. Influential in both his views and writing style. Responsible for traumatizing generations of schoolchildren forever more.
Neal Stephenson: Cyberpunk author, Trope Maker of The Metaverse
Bruce Sterling
Caroline Stevermer: Historical fantasy, author of A College of Magics and co-author of Sorcery and Cecelia
R. L. Stine
S. M. Stirling
Rex Stout
Matt Stover: Writer of The Acts of Caine series as well as many fine Star Wars novels
Peter Straub
Theodore Sturgeon: Speculative Fiction writer, and the man who gave us Sturgeon's Law.
Michael Swanwick
Amy Tan
Donna Tartt
Mildred D. Taylor: Author of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and the rest of the Logan family sage.
William Tenn: Prolific writer of 1950s and 1960s science-fiction short stories.
Sheri S. Tepper
Cate Tiernan Young Adult fantasy author, best known as the author of Sweep.
Hunter S. Thompson: Madcap drug-addled journalist best known for writing Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. One of the main reasons Rolling Stone magazine took off instead of folding early like many other magazines of the time.
Jim Thompson: Pulp writer known for his hard-boiled style and bleak worldview. Known for works such as The Killer Inside Me, The Grifters, Pop. 1280, and After Dark, My Sweet. Many of his books have been adapted for film.
Ruth Plumly Thompson
Barbara Tuchman: A historian who gave great examples of real-life idiotic tropes. Her March of Folly is especially noteworthy in that respect.
James Thurber
Harry Turtledove: Alternative-fiction author probably best-known for his Timeline 191 series.
Jonathan Tweet
John Updike
Steven Utley
Andrew Vachss
Chris Van Allsburg: Picture book author and illustrator.
Jack Vance: Author of the stories of The Dying Earth, which served as the inspiration for the magic system of D&D, called "Vancian magic". Also wrote several SF series, and stand-alones.
Melvin Van Peebles
John Varley
Brian K. Vaughan
Vivian Vande Velde
Gore Vidal
Vernor Vinge
William T. Vollmann
Kurt Vonnegut
Sarah Vowell
Karl Edward Wagner
Howard Waldrop
Alice Walker
David Foster Wallace
John Waters
Jude Watson
Lawrence Watt-Evans
David Weber
Margaret Weis: co-creator of the Dragonlance setting and co-author of a number of books in that setting. Also author of numerous other fantasy novels.
Manly Wade Wellman
Martha Wells
Rosemary Wells: Prolific picture book author of Max and Ruby, Timothy Goes to School, Bunny Planet and many others; occasionally writes titles for older audiences
K. D. Wentworth
Mae West
Scott Westerfeld
Edith Wharton
E. B. White
Edward Lucas White
Colson Whitehead
Thornton Wilder
Melissa Wiley
Gregory Alan Williams
Tad Williams
Tennessee Williams
Walter Jon Williams
William Carlos Williams
Jack Williamson
Connie Willis
F. Paul Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson: Master of the Mind Screw
Jess Winfield: Co-founder of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, writing The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) as part of the group. Later known for his screenwriting work in several animated television series.
Gary Wolf: Author of Who Censored Roger Rabbit? and Space Vulture
Gene Wolfe: Author of The Book of the New Sun and other works.
Thomas Wolfe: Author of Look Homeward, Angel and other works (not to be confused with Tom Wolfe).
Tom Wolfe: Author of The Right Stuff and The Bonfire of the Vanities (not to be confused with Thomas Wolfe).
Michael Wolff
Scott Wolter
Bob Woodward
Cornell Woolrich
John C. Wright
Richard Wright
Patricia C. Wrede
Janny Wurts
Laurence Yep
Jane Yolen
Eliezer Yudkowsky
Timothy Zahn
Roger Zelazny: Poetic sci-fi and fantasy writer: The Chronicles of Amber, Damnation Alley, Lord of Light and Doorways in the Sand. Winner of 6 Hugos, 3 Nebulas, and 2 Locus Awards, among other awards.

Argentinian

Jorge Luis Borges: (August 24, 1899 – June 14, 1986), Writer, essayist, and poet. He helped to create the genre of "Magical Realism" with his woks like The Aleph and Ficciones.
Julio Cortázar
Roberto Fontanarrosa
Angélica Gorodischer
Mauro Mantella
Maria Elena Walsh
Rodolfo Walsh

Australian

Austrian

Thomas Bernhard: Austrian author and playwright known for his highly critical, nihilistic views and causing the biggest theatre scandal in Austrian history.
Martin Buber
Sigmund Freud
Rainer Maria Rilke
Ludwig Wittgenstein

Belgian

Herman Brusselmans: A columnist, poet, novelist, and playwright.
Georges Simenon, prolific Belgian-French writer of pulp novels, detective fiction and psychological fiction, creator of Inspector Maigret.

Brazilian

British (United Kingdom)

Dan Abnett: Comic book writer for 2000AD and Marvel (along with a few DC pieces), who is also known for writing a number of Warhammer 40,000 novels, particularly the Gaunt's Ghosts series.
Douglas Adams: author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in its many, many mediums.
Richard Adams
Brian W. Aldiss
Martin Amis
Julie Andrews
Wilbert Awdry: AKA the Rev. W. Awdry. Wrote The Railway Series, the basis for Thomas & Friends.
Alan Ayckbourn
JG Ballard
Iain Banks: major science fiction author, known for grand Space Opera — particularly his The Culture novels.
Lynne Reid Banks
Clive Barker
Stephen Baxter
Hilaire Belloc
Alan Bennett
Robert Hugh Benson
Louis de Bernières
Algernon Blackwood
Enid Blyton - possibly the most prolific and famous (or infamous, depending on your viewpoint) children's authors ever.
Robert Bolt
Madeleine Brent, author of romantic suspense novels
Raymond Briggs
Christopher Brookmyre
D.K. Broster
John Brunner
John Buchan
Anthony Burgess
Ramsey Campbell
John le Carré: Master of the Cold War spy thriller, he was instrumental in creating the spy anti-hero in counterpoint to the high-adventure James Bond-type spy. Notable works include The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, The Tailor Of Panama, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Angela Carter
Andrew Cartmel: Writer of television, novels and comics.
G. K. Chesterton: English writer who is the Christian apologist to know, probably second in popularity only to C. S. Lewis. Known primarily for his witty essays and use of paradoxical statements, but also for his "Father Brown" Mysteries.
Lee Child: Writer of Jack Reacher book series.
Agatha Christie: Epitomises the classic age of mystery fiction. See her bibliography also.
John Christopher
Arthur C. Clarke
Ann Cleeves: Crime author, known for writing the books that were adapted into Vera and Shetland.
John Clive
Jackie Collins: Author of many bestselling soap opera novels about rich, beautiful people.
John Connolly: Writer of The Book of Lost Things, the Charlie Parker series, the Samuel Johnson trilogy, horror short stories and a co-authored sci-fi series, among other projects.
Storm Constantine
Susan Cooper: The Dark is Rising.
Paul Cornell: Writer for the Doctor Who New Adventures, creator of Bernice Summerfield and also did a few Doctor Who Magazine comics.
Bernard Cornwell
Judy Cornwell
Aleister Crowley: Author of Moonchild, founder of the magical and religious school of Thelema, and seminal contributor to modern occult thought. Put the "k" in "magick", to the chagrin of many.
Ben Counter
Roald Dahl: A highly influential children's author, known for his macabre sense of humour. After all, "Violence accompanied by wit is much loved."
Andrew Davies
Candy Davis
Richard Dawkins: Author of several scientific books, and the well-known The God Delusion. Known for his political activism on behalf of atheism.
Len Deighton: British spy writer and historian.
Peter Dickinson
Terrance Dicks: Prolific Doctor Who novelisation author.
Dougal Dixon: Set the stage for speculative biology.
Gerald Durrell: Naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, and the author of many books (most of them being autobiographical).
Julia Donaldson A children’s writer known for The Gruffalo
J.T. Edson: Prolific British author of Westerns.
Warren Ellis: Vitriolic comic book writer best-known for writing the Transmetropolitan series.
Ben Elton
Garth Ennis: co-created the Preacher comic book series and revived The Punisher line.
Lionel Fanthorpe
Nicholas Fisk
Ian Fleming: Creator of James Bond and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
E. M. Forster
Frederick Forsyth
Dick Francis: British jockey and crime/mystery writer.
George MacDonald Fraser: Creator of Flashman.
Stephen Fry
Neil Gaiman: Creator of The Sandman (1989) as well as accomplished novelist and screenplay writer.
Alan Garner
David Gemmell
Mary Gentle
Simon R. Green
Graham Greene
Philippa Gregory
Arthur Hailey: Lived mostly in Canada and the Bahamas
Peter F. Hamilton: Author of The Night's Dawn Trilogy, Greg Mandel, Commonwealth Saga and Void Trilogies.
Irene Handl
Sophie Hannah: Crime-psychological author.
Thomas Hardy: By the beginning of the 20th century, Hardy stopped writing novels and exclusively wrote poetry for the rest of his life.
L.P. Hartley
Stephen Hawking: Non-fiction, plus a children's fiction series co-authored with his daughter.
R. Chetwynd-Hayes
James Herbert
James Herriot: The archetypal Kindly Vet.
Georgette Heyer: Does Regency Romance. Heavily inspired by Jane Austen.
Jack Higgins
Tom Holt
William Hope Hodgson
Anthony Horowitz
Stephen Hunt
Aldous Huxley
Eva Ibbotson
David Icke: Conspiracy theorist.
Eric Idle
Michael Innes
Jill Ireland
Kazuo Ishiguro: Novelist born in Japan but raised from childhood in England; 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature. His most famous works include The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go.
Brian Jacques
Robin Jarvis
Terry Jones: Former Monty Python member who wrote novels about medieval topics as well as children's fantasy novels.
Judith Kerr
Garry Kilworth
Ronald Knox
Lynda La Plante
David Langford
Philip Larkin
T. E. Lawrence: He wrote extensively about his archaeological and wartime experiences.
Nigella Lawson: Journalist, restaurant critic, food writer and author of several bestselling cookery books.
Tanith Lee
C. S. Lewis: Best known for writing The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters. A good friend of J. R. R. Tolkien, with whom he had a friendly rivalry.
Brian Lumley
Ken MacLeod
Ian Marter
John Masefield
Graham Masterton
Daphne du Maurier
Phil Masters
Ian McDonald
Robert McNair Wilson
Martin Millar
A. A. Milne
David Mitchell (Author)
Nancy Mitford
Michael Moorcock
Alan Moore: Comic book writer and novelist. Best known for his work on Swamp Thing as well as his stories such as the The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta, and Watchmen.
Hector Hugh Munro (Saki)
Patrick Ness: Moved to England at 28 years old.
Kim Newman
George Orwell: Political writer and journalist. Creator of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm. Has contributed several well-known phrases to the English language, including "Orwellian" as a byword for authoritarianism and censorship. Trope Namer for Big Brother Is Watching.
K. J. Parker
Bill Pertwee
Ellis Peters
Alan Plater: Wrote Misterioso (1987) and Oliver's Travels (1994).
Marc Platt
Beatrix Potter: Writer and illustrator of much-loved morality tales for children, including a series revolving around the feisty Civilized Animal Peter Rabbit.
Christopher Priest (novelist) The British author, as distinct from the American comic book writer of the same name.
Harold Pinter
Terry Pratchett: Author of the Discworld series.
Anthony Price
J. B. Priestley
Philip Pullman, author of the controversial fantasy series His Dark Materials.
Robert Rankin: Author of self-described "Far-fetched fiction".
Mary Renault
Ruth Rendell
Derek Robinson
Zoe Kirk-Robinson
Bertrand Russell: Tremendously influential philosopher and mathematician who focused on essay writing in his later years, and apparently kicked enough ass at it to win the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature. Famous for his vigorous skepticism and anti-war work.
Salman Rushdie
Edward Rutherfurd
Eric Frank Russell
Alastair Reynolds: Sci-fi/Space Opera author, creator of the Revelation Space universe.
Michael Rosen
J. K. Rowling: The creator of Harry Potter.
Rosie Rushton
Rafael Sabatini
Saki (pen name of H.H. Munro)
Siegfried Sassoon
Dorothy L. Sayers
Karl Schroeder
Charles Sheffield
Peter Simple (a pseudonym of Michael Wharton)
Nevil Shute
Michael Marshall Smith
Nicholas Sparks
Lewis Spence: Scottish journalist, poet, author, folklorist and occult scholar.
Ludwig Wittgenstein: Became a British citizen in 1939.
Olaf Stapledon
Tom Sharpe
Mary Stewart
Tom Stoppard
Noel Streatfeild
Rosemary Sutcliff: writer of historical fiction; best known for The Eagle of the Ninth.
Robert Swindells
Josephine Tey
Dylan Thomas
J. R. R. Tolkien: Oxford professor and linguist who created the Middle-Earth legendarium, The Lord of the Rings. The father of modern fantasy. Good friends with C. S. Lewis.
Elleston Trevor, who wrote under several pseudonyms, including Adam Hall (author of the Quiller espionage novels).
Sue Townsend
Jean Ure, a children's/young adult author who writes books similar to the style of Jacqueline Wilson.
Sarah Waters
Evelyn Waugh
Irvine Welsh
Robert Westall
Dennis Wheatley
T. H. White, author of the Arthurian retelling The Once and Future King.
Charles Williams
Colin Wilson
Jacqueline Wilson: Popular author of children's and teenage fiction.
P. G. Wodehouse: Prolific and enormously entertaining comic writer, helped shape the image of the Genteel Interbellum Setting.
Virginia Woolf: Modernist, famous for her feminist politics and being the Trope Maker for "stream of consciousness" writing.
John Wyndham
Diana Wynne Jones

Canadian

Margaret Atwood
Mary Graham Bonner
Paulette Bourgeois
Sigmund Brouwer
Eleanor Cameron
Douglas Coupland
Julie E. Czerneda
Steven Erikson: Fantasy writer.
Cory Doctorow
Timothy Findley
Lawrence Hill
Nalo Hopkinson
Tanya Huff
William Gibson
Barbara Gowdy
Guy Gavriel Kay
W.P. Kinsella
Gordon Korman
Margaret Laurence: Award-winning Canadian author.
Robin Laws
Charles de Lint
Ann Marie MacDonald: Canadian author and playwright.
L. M. Montgomery
Alice Munro: Short story author and winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature
Kenneth Oppel
Mordecai Richler (Author of darkly humourous books, with characters drawn from the Montreal Jewish community and beyond.)
Spider Robinson (Science Fiction writer who gives Piers Anthony a run for his money when it comes to the puns).
Richard Rohmer
Joel Rosenberg
Robert J. Sawyer : Sci-fi writer whose work often explores issues with artificial intelligence and consciousness.
Patrick Senécal (horror/mystery/suspense suthor from Quebec)
Michael Slade : Author of horror/crime fiction, often called the "Canadian Stephen King.
A.E. van Vogt (another sci-fi writer with a thing for ugly monsters, corrupt monarchies, and Aristotelian philosophy.)
Eric Walters (started in 1993)
Peter Watts
Robert Charles Wilson

Chilean

Chinese

Jin Yong: Prolific author, and one of, if not the biggest author in the genre of Wuxia.
Lu Xun: Founder of modern Chinese literature.
Mo Yan: Nobel Prize in Literature winning author.

Colombian

Gabriel García Márquez: Man whose name is engraved in Magic Realism.

Czech

Jiří Kulhánek: Author of vampire fiction
Karel Čapek: A very influential writer, intellectual, journalist, playwright, translator and an amateur photographer.

Danish

Henrik Drescher, author of Pat the Beastie.
Sven Hassel

Dutch

Finnish

Tove Jansson

French

René Barjavel, science-fiction and anticipation writer
Roland Barthes, literary critic and academic, pioneer of structuralism and post-structuralism.
Albert Camus, existentialist and absurdist writer. His best-known novel is The Stranger.
Francis Carsac, geologist and science fiction writer
Jacques Derrida, pioneer of the concept of Deconstruction
Charles Exbrayat
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince
Jean Genet, author of Querelle de Brest.
Joris Karl Huysmans
Milan Kundera, born Czech but a citizen of France who considers himself a French writer, known for The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
Gabriel Marcel
Robert Merle
Marcel Pagnol, author of the Marseille Trilogy and the Souvenirs d'enfance cycle.
Charles Peguy
Marcel Proust, author of A La Recherche du Temps Perdu (English title: In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past)
Jean-Paul Sartre
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Bernard Werber, author of Les Fourmis

German

Bertolt Brecht
Michael Ende
Cornelia Funke
Gunter Grass
Hermann Hesse: Nobel Prize winning author of books like Siddhartha, Steppenwolf, Demian, and The Glass Bead Game.
Dietrich Von Hildebrand
Janosch
Ernst Jünger: A veteran of both world wars turned novelist.
Franz Kafka: A german-writing author of surrealist literature. Considered a rather influential writer despite completing and publishing very little. Best known for The Metamorphosis and The Trial.
Walter Moers
Otfried Preußler
Rafik Schami
WG Sebald
Kurt Tucholsky

Indian

Jhumpa Lahiri (Indian-American writer, writes mostly about Indian immigrants to America)
Salman Rushdie
Vikram Shandra

Irish

Maeve Binchy
Eoin Colfer
John Connolly
Lord Dunsany: Early and prolific fantasy author best known for The Gods of Pegāna. Highly admired by H. P. Lovecraft and also influenced authors ranging from Tolkien to Gaiman.
James Joyce: Not too shabby: in 1998, Modern Library ranked Ulysses No. 1, and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man No. 3, on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
Marian Keyes: pioneer of Chick Lit.
Paul Kearney, fantasy author, often compared to David Gemmell.
Spike Milligan
Flann O'Brien
Ardal O'Hanlon
George Bernard Shaw, a prolific writer of plays and social activist.
Henry De Vere Stacpoole
William Butler Yeats

Israeli

Ephraim Kishon

Italian

Japanese

Fumiko Enchi
Shūsaku Endō
Shuhei Fujisawa
Shigesato Itoi - he's published quite a few books, but it's not his primary profession.
Yukio Mishima
Ryo Mizuno - novelist and game designer
Haruki Murakami
Ryu Murakami
Fuyumi Ono
Yoshiki Tanaka
Nahoko Uehashi
Takashi Yanase: Japanese children's book author and illustrator, known for touching on darker and heavier subject matter for children and families. His best-known works are Anpanman, which spawned an entire franchise, and Chirin no Suzu (Chirin's Bell) ^note, which gained a film adaptation in 1978 by Sanrio.
Murasaki Yukiya

New Zealand

Nigerian

Chinua Achebe

Norwegian

Gerd Brantenberg

Peruvian

Mario Vargas Llosa

Polish

Joseph Conrad: Polish-born English writer who did not speak English fluently until his twenties.
Jacek Dukaj
Stefan Grabiński
Stanisław Lem
Andrzej Sapkowski

Portuguese

José Saramago

Russian

Mikhail Akhmanov
Andrei Belyanin
Joseph Brodsky
Kir Bulychev: Creator of Science Fiction series such as Alice, Girl from the Future.
Oleg Divov: Popular modern scifi author.
Yulia Latynina
Andrey Livadny
Sergey Lukyanenko: Night Watch (Series).
Vladimir Nabokov: Wrote a lot of stuff worth seeking out, but best known for "that novel with the pervy old guy".
Victor Pelevin
Nick Perumov
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
The Strugatsky Brothers: Authors of Soviet Science Fiction and satire.
Vladimir Vasilyev: co-wrote the Day Watch with Lukyanenko, but is also the author of many original works.

Spanish

Juan Ferrándiz
Federico García Lorca: Famous Andalusian playwright and poet full of angst. Killed right at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
Arturo Pérez-Reverte
Carlos Ruiz Zafón

South African

Swedish

Swiss

Carl Jung

Thai

S. P. Somtow

Turkish

Orhan Pamuk

West Indian

Anthony Winkler: Jamaican-born author and lecturer, he is the writer of several novels set in Jamaica, including The Lunatic, The Painted Canoe, and his autobiographical work Going Home to Teach.

Authors of the 20th Century

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