List of African American writers

A

Aberjhani

Mumia Abu-Jamal (born 1954)

Linda Addison (born 1952), author and poet

Rochelle Alers (born 1963), author and artist

Kwame Alexander

Larry D. Alexander (born 1953), author and artist

Clarissa Minnie Thompson Allen, author and educator

Robert L. Allen (born 1942)

Nahshon Dion Anderson (born 1978), is an award-winning writer, former actor and model

Maya Angelou (1928–2014), author and poet

Tina McElroy Ansa (born 1949), novelist, filmmaker, teacher and journalist

Chalmers Archer (1928–2014), author, veteran and educator

M. K. Asante, Jr. (1982), author, poet, screenwriter, professor

Jabari Asim (born 1962), poet, playwright, professor

William Attaway (1911–1986)

B

Michael Baisden (born 1963)

Calvin Baker, novelist

James Baldwin (1924–1987)

Toni Cade Bambara (1939–1995)

Leslie Esdaile Banks (1959–2011)

Amiri Baraka (1934–2014)

Steven Barnes (born 1952)

Carol S. Batey (born 1955)

Samuel Alfred Beadle (1857–1932)

Paul Beatty (born 1962)

Robert Beck (1918–1992)

Christopher C. Bell (born 1933)

Derrick Bell (1930–2011)

Gwendolyn Bennett (1902-1981)

Hal Bennett (1936–2004)

Lerone Bennett, Jr. (born 1928)

Bertice Berry (born 1960)

Venise T. Berry, novelist

Henry Bibb (1815–1854)

Kole Black (born 1975)

Eleanor Taylor Bland (1944–2010), writer of crime fiction

Marita Bonner (1899–1971)

Arna Bontemps (1902–1973)

David Bradley (born 1950)

William Stanley Braithwaite (1878–1962), poet and literary critic

Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000)

Claude Brown (1937–2002)

Hallie Quinn Brown (1849–1949)

Sterling A. Brown (1901–1989), poet, literary critic, professor, poet laureate of the District of Columbia

William Wells Brown (1814–1884) wrote first novel published by an African American, Clotel

Ashley Bryan (born 1923)

Niobia Bryant, author of romance and mainstream fiction novels

Ed Bullins (born 1935)

Olivia Ward Bush (1869–1944)

Octavia Butler (1947–2004)

Roderick D. Bush (1945-2013)

C

George Cain (1943–2010)

Bebe Moore Campbell (1950–2006)

Stokely Carmichael (1941–1998)

Ben Carson (born 1951)

Jennie Carter (1830-1881)

Stephen L. Carter (born 1954)

Cyrus Cassells (born 1957)

Lady Chablis (1957 – 2016 Actress, Author, drag performer

Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932), novelist and short-story writer

Alice Childress (1912–1994), playwright and novelist

Cheril N. Clarke (born 1980)

John Henrik Clarke (1915–1998)

Stanley Bennett Clay (born 1950), writer, director, actor, publisher

Troy CLE

Pearl Cleage (born 1948)

Eldridge Cleaver (1935–1998)

Michelle Cliff (born 1946)

Lucille Clifton (1936–2010)

Wendy Coakley-Thompson (born 1966)

Wanda Coleman (1946–2013)

Marvel Cooke (1903–2000)

Anna J. Cooper (1858–1964)

J. California Cooper, playwright

James Corrothers (1869–1917)

Jayne Cortez (1934–2012)

Bill Cosby (born 1937)

Joseph Seamon Cotter, Sr. (1861–1949)

Donald Crews (born 1938), children's book author

Stanley Crouch (born 1945)

Countee Cullen (1903–1946)

Christopher Paul Curtis (born 1953)

D

Jeffrey Daniels, poet

Meri Nana-Ama Danquah (born 1967)

Christopher Darden (born 1956)

Angela Davis (born 1944)

Frank Marshall Davis (1905–1987)

Kyra Davis, novelist

Milton Davis

George Dawson (1898–2001)

Samuel R. Delany (born 1942), novelist

Eric Jerome Dickey (born 1961)

Anita Doreen Diggs (born 1966)

Lonnie Dixon (1932–2011)

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895)

Rita Dove (born 1952), poet

Sharon Draper (born 1948)

W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963)

Tananarive Due (born 1966)

Henry Dumas (1934–1968)

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1918), poet

Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875–1935)

David Anthony Durham (born 1969)

Michael Eric Dyson (born 1958)

E

Cornelius Eady (born 1954)

Sarah Jane Woodson Early (1825–1907), educator, activist and author

Junius Edwards (1929–2008)

Ralph Ellison (1914–1994), novelist, best known as author of Invisible Man

Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745–1797)

Mari Evans (born 1923), poet

Percival Everett (born 1956)

F

Ronald Fair (born 1932)

John M. Faucette (1943–2003), science-fiction author

Jessie Fauset (1882–1961), editor, poet, essayist and novelist

Lolita Files (born 1963), author, screenwriter, and producer

Antwone Fisher (born 1959)

Rudolph Fisher (1897–1934), novelist, short story writer, dramatist

Sharon G. Flake (born 1955), writer of young adult literature

Robert Fleming, journalist and writer of erotic fiction and horror fiction

Mary Weston Fordham (1844–1905), poet

Leon Forrest (1937–1997), novelist

J. E. Franklin (born 1937), playwright

G

Ernest Gaines (born 1933), fiction writer

Marcus Garvey (1887–1940)

Tony Gaskins, motivational, inspirational, self-help writer

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (born 1950)

Nikki Giovanni (born 1943)

Roy Glenn (1914–1971), fiction writer, Is It A Crime, Payback

Donald Goines (1936–1974)

Marita Golden (born 1950)

Edythe Mae Gordon (ca. 1897–1980), poet, fiction writer

Eugene Gordon (writer) (1891-1972), journalist

Charles Gordone (1925–1995), playwright

Lawrence Otis Graham (born 1962)

Moses Grandy (born c. 1786)

Eloise Greenfield (born 1929), children's book author

Sam Greenlee (1930–2014), novelist, poet, best known as author of The Spook Who Sat by the Door

Bonnie Greer (born 1948), novelist, playwright, critic

Deborah Gregory, author of The Cheetah Girls book series

Dick Gregory (born 1932)

Sutton E. Griggs (1872–1933)

Nikki Grimes (born 1950), children's book author and poet

Angelina Weld Grimke (1880–1958)

Charlotte Forten Grimké (1837–1914)

Rosa Guy (1922–2012)

John Langston Gwaltney (1928–1998), anthropologist, author of Drylongso

H

Alex Haley (1921–1992), author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family

Virginia Hamilton (1934–2002), author of children's books

Henry Hampton (1940–1998)

Lorraine Hansberry (1930–1965), playwright

Vincent Harding (1931–2014), historian and social activist

Frances Harper (1825–1922), poet and abolitionist

E. Lynn Harris (1955–2009)

Robert Hayden (1913–1980), poet, essayist, educator

Essex Hemphill (1957–1995), poet and activist

Chester Himes (1909–1984), novelist

Kameisha Jerae Hodge (born 1989)

Corey J. Hodges (born 1970)

Karla F. C. Holloway (born 1949)

bell hooks (born 1952), feminist, and social activist

Pauline Hopkins (1859–1930), novelist, journalist, playwright, historian and editor

Nalo Hopkinson (born 1960) Jamaican Canadian, currently based in California

George Moses Horton (1797–1884)

Detrick Hughes (born 1966)

Langston Hughes (1902–1967), poet, social activist, novelist, playwright and columnist

Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960), folklorist, anthropologist, author of novels short stories, plays and essays

J

Brenda Jackson (born c. 1953)

Jesse C. Jackson (born 1908), young-adult novelist

Harriet Jacobs (1813–1897), author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861)

T.D. Jakes (born 1957)

Ayize Jama-Everett (born 1974) science fiction and speculative fiction writer

John Jea (born 1773)

N. K. Jemisin (born 1972)

Beverly Jenkins (born 1951)

Alaya Dawn Johnson (born 1982)

Charles R. Johnson (born 1948)

Georgia Douglas Johnson (1880–1966), poet

Helene Johnson (1906–1995), poet

James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938)

Mat Johnson (born 1970)

Edward P. Jones (born 1950), novelist and short-story writer

Gayl Jones (born 1949), novelist

Tayari Jones (born 1970)

June Jordan (1936–2002), poet, essayist and activist

K

Ron Karenga (born 1941)

Bob Kaufman (1925–1986), poet

Elizabeth Keckley (1818–1907)

William Melvin Kelley (born 1937), novelist

Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins (1863–1938), novelist

Randall Kenan (born 1963)

Adrienne Kennedy, playwright

John Oliver Killens (1916–1987), novelist

Jamaica Kincaid (born 1949)

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968)

Woodie King Jr. (born 1937)

Etheridge Knight (1931–1991), poet

Yusef Komunyakaa (born 1947)

L

Pinkie Gordon Lane (1923-2008), poet, editor and teacher

Nella Larsen (1891–1964), novelist

Victor LaValle (born 1972)

Andrea Lee, novelist and memoirist

Julius Lester (born 1939)

David Levering Lewis (born 1936)

Alain Locke (1885-1954)

Attica Locke (born 1974), novelist

Audre Lorde (1934–1992), author, poet, activist

Glenville Lovell (born 1955), novelist and playwright

M

Nathaniel Mackey, poet, novelist, anthologist, literary critic and editor

Naomi Long Madgett (born 1923), poet

Haki R. Madhubuti (born 1942)

Clarence Major (born 1936), poet, painter and novelis

Raynetta Manees, novelist

Manning Marable (1950–2011)

John Marrant (1755–1791)

Paule Marshall (born 1929)

Hans Massaquoi (1926–2013)

Brandon Massey (born 1973)

Victoria Earle Matthews (1861–1907), essayist, newspaperwoman, activist

Julian Mayfield (1928–1984)

Nathan McCall (born 1955)

Claude McKay (1889–1948)

Patricia McKissack (born 1944)

Reginald McKnight (born 1956)

Kim McLarin, novelist

Terry McMillan (born 1951), novelist

James Alan McPherson (1943–2016)

Tony Medina

Louise Meriwether (born 1923), novelist, essayist, journalist and activist

Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951)

E. Ethelbert Miller (born 1950), poet

May Miller, poet and playwright

Mary Monroe, novelist

Anne Moody (1940–2015)

Jessica Care Moore (born 1971), poet

Toni Morrison (born 1931), author, Nobel laureate 1993

E. Frederic Morrow, first black American appointed to a president's administration (1955-1960)

Walter Mosley (born 1952), novelist

Thylias Moss (born 1954)

Willard Motley (1909–1965)

Jess Mowry (born 1960)

Albert Murray (1916–2013)

Pauli Murray (1910–1985)

Walter Dean Myers (1937–2014), writer of children's books

N

Tariq Nasheed (born 1977)

Gloria Naylor (born 1950)

Larry Neal (1937–1981)

Barbara Neely, novelist, short-story writer and activist

Huey P. Newton (1942–1989)

Richard Bruce Nugent (1906–1987)

O

Barack Obama (born 1961)

Bayo Ojikutu (born 1971)

Mwatabu S. Okantah (born 1952)

Gabriel Okara (born 1921)

Nnedi Okorafor (born 1974)

Roscoe Orman (born 1944)

Ewuare Osayande

Brenda Marie Osbey (born 1957), poet

P

ZZ Packer (born 1973)

Gordon Parks (1912–2006)

Tyler Perry (born 1969)

Eric Pete, novelist and short-story writer

Ann Petry (1908–1997)

William Pickens (1881–1954)

Ann Plato (born c. 1824)

Sterling Plumpp (born 1940), educator and author

Carlene Hatcher Polite (1932–2009)

Alvin F. Poussaint (born 1934)

R

Aishah Rahman (born 1936), playwright

Alice Randall, author and songwriter

Dudley Randall (1914–2000), poet and publisher

Francis Ray, fiction, romance, mainstream, women's fiction

Andy Razaf (1895–1973), poet, composer and lyricist

Ishmael Reed (born 1938), poet, essayist and novelist

Christopher Reel (born 1979), novelist

Willis Richardson (1889–1977), playwright

Florida Ruffin Ridley (1861–1943), essayist and short story writer

Carolyn Rodgers (1940–2010), poet

Octavia V. Rogers Albert (1853–c. 1890)

Al Roker (born 1954)

Fran Ross (1935–1985)

Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin (1842–1924), journalist

Rachel Renee Russell (born 1959), author of the Dork Diaries series of children's novels

Carl Hancock Rux, poet, essayist, playwright, novelist

Rupaul actor, author, drag performer, TV show host

S

Kalamu ya Salaam (born 1947)

Sonia Sanchez (born 1934), poet

Dori Sanders, (born 1935?) novelist

Sapphire (born 1950)

Charles R. Saunders, (born 1946) author and journalist

Arturo Alfonso Schomburg (1874–1938), historian, writer, and activist

George Schuyler (1895–1977), author, journalist and social commentator

Gil Scott-Heron (1949–2011)

Sandra Seaton, playwright and librettist

Victor Séjour (1817–1874)

Fatima Shaik (born 1952), author

Tupac Shakur (1971–1996)

Ntozake Shange (born 1948), playwright and poet

Nisi Shawl (born 1955)

Sister Souljah (born 1964)

Iceberg Slim (1918–1992)

Amanda Smith (1837–1915)

Effie Waller Smith (1879–1960), poet

William Gardner Smith (1927–1974), journalist, novelist, and editor

Thomas Sowell (born 1930), economist, social theorist, political philosopher

A. B. Spellman (born 1935)

Anne Spencer (1882–1975), poet

Aurin Squire (born 1979), producer, playwright, screenwriter and reporter

Theophilus Gould Steward (1843–1924)

Maria W. Stewart (1803–1880), journalist, lecturer, abolitionist, women's rights activist

T

Ellen Tarry (1906–2008)

Mildred D. Taylor (born 1943)

Susie Taylor (1848–1912)

Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954)

Lucy Terry (c. 1730–1821)

Michael Thelwell (born 1939)

Joyce Carol Thomas (1938–2016), author, poet, playwright, and motivational speaker

Lorenzo Thomas (1944–2005)

Piri Thomas (1928–2011)

Truth Thomas

Pamela Thomas-Graham (born 1963)

Era Bell Thompson (1905–1986)

Wallace Thurman (1902–1934)

Lynn Toler (born 1959)

Melvin B. Tolson (1898–1966)

Jean Toomer (1894–1967)

Touré (born 1971)

Askia M. Touré (born 1938), poet, essayist, leading voice of the Black Arts Movement

Quincy Troupe (born 1939)

Sojourner Truth (died 1883)

Harriet Tubman (c. 1822–1913)

Omar Tyree (born 1969)

V

Henry Van Dyke (1928–2011), novelist, editor, teacher and musician

Ivan Van Sertima (1935–2009), professor, author, historian, linguist and anthropologist at Rutgers University

Bethany Veney (c. 1813–1916), author of Aunt Betty's Story: The Narrative of Bethany Veney, A Slave Woman (1889)

Olympia Vernon (born 1973), novelist

W

Dwyane Wade (born 1982)

Alice Walker (born 1944)

Frank X. Walker (born 1961), founding member of Affrilachian poets

Margaret Walker (1915–1998)

Christopher George Latore Wallace (1972–1997)

Michele Wallace (born 1952)

Eric Walrond (1898–1966)

Marilyn Nelson Waniek (born 1946)

Douglas Turner Ward (born 1930)

Jesmyn Ward (born 19??)

Booker T. Washington (1856–1913)

Frank J. Webb (1828–1894), novelist, poet, essayist

Carl Weber

Ida B. Wells (1862–1931)

Richard Wesley (born 1945), playwright, screenwriter

Valerie Wilson Wesley (born 1947)

Cornel West (born 1953)

Dorothy West (1907–1998), novelist

Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784), first published African-American poet

Walter Francis White (1893–1955)

Colson Whitehead (born 1969), novelist (The Intuitionist) and journalist

Steven Whitehurst (born 1967), award-winning author

Albery Allson Whitman (1851–1901), poet, minister and orator

Anthony Whyte, writer of urban and hip-hop literature

John Edgar Wideman (born 1941)

Crystal Wilkinson (born 1962)

Chancellor Williams (1893–1992), historian and sociologist

John Alfred Williams (born 1925), author, journalist and academic

Samm-Art Williams (born 1946), playwright

Sherley Anne Williams (1944–1999)

Walter E. Williams (born 1936)

August Wilson (1945–2005)

Harriet E. Wilson (1825–1900), author of Our Nig and the first African-American novelist

William Julius Wilson (born 1935), author of When Work Disappears, The Truly Disadvantaged, and The Declining Significance of Race

Oprah Winfrey (born 1954)

Carter G. Woodson (1895–1950)

Jacqueline Woodson (born 1963), award-winning author of books for children and adolescents, including "Brown Girl Dreaming"

David Wright (born 1964)

Jay Wright (born 1935), poet

Kelly Wright, author of Outed Obsession and Fatal Fixation

Richard Wright (1908–1960)

X

Malcolm X (1925–1965)

Y

Camille Yarbrough (born 1938)

Frank Yerby (1916–1991), historical novelist

Al Young (born 1939), poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter and professor

Z

Zane (born 1966/67), author of erotic fiction

Ahmos Zu-Bolton (1948–2005), activist, poet and playwright