Marie Under was one of the greatest Estonian poets. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 12 separate years.
Paul-Eerik Rummo is an Estonian poet, playwright, translator and politician who was the former Estonian Minister of Culture and Education, as well as the former Estonian Minister of Population Affairs.
Juhan Viiding, also known under the pseudonym of Jüri Üdi was an Estonian poet and actor.
Jaak Urmet is an Estonian writer.
Estonian literature is literature written in the Estonian language The domination of Estonia after the Northern Crusades, from the 13th century to 1918 by Germany, Sweden, and Russia resulted in few early written literary works in the Estonian language. The oldest records of written Estonian date from the 13th century. Originates Livoniae in Chronicle of Henry of Livonia contains Estonian place names, words and fragments of sentences. The Liber Census Daniae (1241) contains Estonian place and family names. The earliest extant samples of connected Estonian are the so-called Kullamaa prayers dating from 1524 and 1528. The first known printed book is a bilingual German-Estonian translation of the Lutheran catechism by S.Wanradt and J. Koell (1535). For the use of priests an Estonian grammar was printed in German in 1637. The New Testament was translated into southern Estonian in 1686. The two dialects were united by Anton Thor Helle in a form based on northern Estonian. Writings in Estonian became more significant in the 19th century during the Estophile Enlightenment Period (1750–1840).
Jüri Talvet is an Estonian poet and academic. He is the author of various literary works including poetry, criticism, and essays.
Vahur Afanasjev was an Estonian novelist, poet, musician and film director best known for his novel Serafima and Bogdan a story following the lives in a village of Russian Orthodox Old Believers on the shore of the lake Peipus from the end of the World War II to the nineties. The novel won the 2017 Estonian Writers' Union's Novel Competition.
Maarja Kangro is an Estonian poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist, nonfiction writer and librettist.
Rein Raud is an Estonian scholar and author.
Asko Künnap is an Estonian designer, writer, and artist.
Viivi Luik is an Estonian writer and poet.
Kalle Kurg is an Estonian poet, writer, critic, translator and editor. As a versatile figure in Estonian culture, he has also published caricatures and worked as a theatre director.
Merle Jääger is an Estonian television, stage and film actress, poet and author who frequently uses the pen name Merca. Initially associated with the burgeoning Estonian punk rock scene of the early to mid 1980s, she has been described as the "bard of protest". Her career as an actress began in her early 20s and she has received a number of high-profile awards for stage roles.
Marju Lepajõe was an Estonian classical philologist, translator and religious historian.
Mudlum is an Estonian writer and literary critic.
Kalju Kruusa is an Estonian poet, editor and translator.
Tatjana Kozlova-Johannes is an Estonian-Russian composer.
Hendrik Lindepuu is an Estonian translator, poet, and playwright. He has translated mainly from the Polish language.
Mati Sirkel is an Estonian translator and writer.
Veronika Kivisilla is an Estonian poet and literary critic, possibly best known for her publications Kallis kalender (2011), Cantus Firmus (2015), Kuni armastus peale tuleb (2018), and Salutatio (2019).
