List of African-American writers

This is a list of Black American authors and writers, all of whom are considered part of African-American literature, and who already have Wikipedia articles. The list also includes non-American authors resident in the US and American writers of African descent.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

Contents: 

• Top
• 0–9
• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z

A

Maya Angelou

• Aberjhani (born 1957), historian, columnist, novelist, poet, artist and editor
• Mumia Abu-Jamal (born 1954), political activist and journalist
• Linda Addison (born 1952), author and poet
• Tomi Adeyemi (born 1993), author and creative writing coach
• Ai, aka Ai Ogawa, birth name Florence Anthony (1947–2010), poet, NBA for poetry, 1999
• Rochelle Alers (born 1943), author and artist
• Elizabeth Alexander (born 1962), poet, essayist and playwright
• Kwame Alexander (born 1968), writer of poetry and children's fiction
• Larry D. Alexander (born 1953), author and artist
• Lewis Grandison Alexander (1898–1945), poet, actor and playwright
• Candace Allen (born 1950), novelist, cultural critic and screenwriter
• Clarissa Minnie Thompson Allen (1859–1941), author and educator
• Robert L. Allen (1942–2024), activist, writer and academic
• Garland Anderson (1886–1939), playwright
• Maya Angelou (1928–2014), author and poet
• Tina McElroy Ansa (1949–2024), novelist, filmmaker, teacher and journalist
• Ray Aranha (1939–2011), actor, playwright and stage director
• Chalmers Archer (1928–2014), author, veteran and educator
• M. K. Asante, Jr. (born 1982), author, poet, screenwriter, professor
• Jabari Asim (born 1962), poet, playwright, professor
• Russell Atkins (1926–2024), musician, playwright and poet
• William Attaway (1911–1986), novelist, short-story writer, essayist, songwriter, playwright and screenwriter

B

James Baldwin

• Calvin Baker (born 1972), novelist
• James Baldwin (1924–1987), novelist, playwright, essayist, poet and activist
• Toni Cade Bambara (1939–1995), author, filmmaker and activist
• Leslie Esdaile Banks (1959–2011)
• Amiri Baraka (1934–2014), writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism
• Aja Barber (living), fashion activist and writer
• Shauna Barbosa (born c. 1988), poet
• Steven Barnes (born 1952)
• Lindon W. Barrett (1961–2008)
• Samuel Alfred Beadle (1857–1932)
• Paul Beatty (born 1962)
• Robert Beck (1918–1992)
• Christopher C. Bell (born 1933)
• Derrick Bell (1930–2011)
• Brit Bennett (living), novelist
• Gwendolyn Bennett (1902–1981)
• Hal Bennett (1936–2004), novelist
• Lerone Bennett, Jr. (1928–2018)
• Bertice Berry (born 1960)
• Venise T. Berry (living), novelist
• Henry Bibb (1815–1854)
• Eleanor Taylor Bland (1944–2010), writer of crime fiction
• Marita Bonner (1899–1971), essayist and playwright
• Arna Bontemps (1902–1973), poet, novelist and librarian
• James Boggs (1919–1993)
• Demico Boothe (living), writer on civil rights
• 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)
• Roseanne A. Brown (born 1995), writer of fantasy, science fiction and young adult fiction
• 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 (1853)
• Anatole Broyard (1920–1990)
• Ashley Bryan (1923–2022)
• Niobia Bryant (born 1972), author of romance and mainstream fiction novels
• Ed Bullins (1935–2021)
• Olivia Ward Bush (1869–1944)
• Octavia Butler (1947–2006)
• Roderick D. Bush (1945–2013), sociologist, activist and author

C

• George Cain (1943–2010), novelist
• Bebe Moore Campbell (1950–2006), author, journalist and teacher
• Stokely Carmichael (1941–1998)
• Ben Carson (born 1951)
• Jennie Carter (1830–1881), journalist and essayist
• Stephen L. Carter (born 1954), legal scholar
• Cyrus Cassells (born 1957), poet and professor
• Kashana Cauley (living), comedy writer and novelist
• Lady Chablis (1957–2016), actress, author, drag performer
• Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932), novelist and short-story writer
• Alice Childress (1916–1994), playwright and novelist
• Paulette Childress (born 1948), poet and short story writer
• Breena Clarke (living)
• Cheril N. Clarke (born 1980)
• Cheryl Clarke (born 1947)
• John Henrik Clarke (1915–1998)
• Stanley Bennett Clay (born 1950), writer, director, actor, publisher
• Troy CLE (living), fiction writer
• Pearl Cleage (born 1948), playwright, essayist, novelist, poetm and activist
• Eldridge Cleaver (1935–1998)
• Michelle Cliff (1946–2016), novelist
• Lucille Clifton (1936–2010), poet and educator
• Wendy Coakley-Thompson (born 1966)
• Ta-Nehisi Coates (born 1975), author, journalist, and activist
• Wanda Coleman (1946–2013), poet
• Marvel Cooke (1903–2000), journalist, writer and civil rights activist
• Anna J. Cooper (1858–1964)
• Clarence Cooper Jr. (1934–1978), novelist
• J. California Cooper (1931–2014), playwright
• James Corrothers (1869–1917), poet and journalist
• Jayne Cortez (1934–2012), poet and activist
• Bill Cosby (born 1937)
• Joseph Seamon Cotter, Sr. (1861–1949)
• Donald Crews (born 1938), children's book author
• Stanley Crouch (1945–2020), poet, critic, columnist, novelist and biographer
• Harold Cruse (1916–2005), academic and social critic
• Countee Cullen (1903–1946), poet, novelist, children's writer and playwright
• Waring Cuney (1906–1976), poet
• Christopher Paul Curtis (born 1953), children's book author

D

Frederick Douglass

W. E. B. Du Bois

• Jeffrey Daniels (living), poet
• Meri Nana-Ama Danquah (born 1967)
• Christopher Darden (born 1956)
• Angela Davis (born 1944) political activist, writer, and professor. ^{[1] [2]}
• Frank Marshall Davis (1905–1987)
• Kyra Davis (born 1972), novelist
• Milton Davis (living)
• George Dawson (1898–2001)
• Samuel R. Delany, novelist, author, editor, professor, and literary critic
• Eric Jerome Dickey (1961–2021)
• Anita Doreen Diggs (born 1966)
• Nahshon Dion (born 1978) creative non-fiction writer ^[3]
• Lonnie Dixon (1932–2011)
• Frederick Douglass (1818–1895)
• Rita Dove (born 1952), poet and educator. Youngest person and first Black American to be the U.S. Poet Laureate and Consultant in Poetry at the Library of Congress. ^{[4] [5]}
• Sharon Draper (born 1948)
• W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963) writer, sociologist, and activist, who was a founding member of the NAACP ^[6] His most notable work is The Souls of Black Folk . ^[7]
• Tananarive Due (born 1966) writer specializing in Black speculative fiction, and professor of Black Horror and Afrofuturism ^[8]
• Henry Dumas (1934–1968)
• Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906), poet
• Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875–1935)
• David Anthony Durham (born 1969)
• Richard Durham, (1917–1984), wrote radio series Destination Freedom
• Michael Eric Dyson (born 1958)

E

Ralph Ellison

• Cornelius Eady (born 1954)
• Sarah Jane Woodson Early (1825–1907), educator, activist and author
• Junius Edwards (1929–2008)
• Ralph Ellison (1913–1994), novelist, best known as author of Invisible Man
• Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745–1797)
• Don Evans (1938–2003), playwright
• Mari Evans (1919–2017), poet
• Percival Everett (born 1956), novelist
• Eve Ewing (born 1986), author, educator, poet, and sociologist ^{[9] [10] [11] [12]}

F

• Sarah Webster Fabio (1928–1979)
• Ronald Fair (1932–2018)
• Sarah Farro, 19th-century novelist
• John M. Faucette (1943–2003), science-fiction author
• Arthur Huff Fauset (1899–1983)
• Jessie Fauset (1882–1961), editor, poet, essayist and novelist
• London R. Ferebee (1849–1883), preacher and author
• Lolita Files (living), author, screenwriter and producer
• Antwone Fisher (born 1959)
• Rudolph Fisher (1897–1934), novelist, short story writer and dramatist
• Sharon G. Flake (born 1955), writer of young adult literature
• Robert Fleming (living), journalist and writer of erotic fiction and horror fiction
• Mary Weston Fordham (c. 1862–1905), poet
• Namina Forna (born 1987), author and screen writer
• Leon Forrest (1937–1997), novelist
• Tonya Foster (living), poet, essayist and educator
• J. E. Franklin (born 1937), playwright
• John Hope Franklin (1915–2009), historian, sociologist, memoirist
• Hoyt W. Fuller (1923–1981)
• Nina Foxx (living), novelist, playwright and screenwriter

G

• Ernest Gaines (1933–2019), fiction writer
• Ruth Gaines-Shelton (1872–1938), educator and playwright
• Marcus Garvey (1887–1940)
• Tony Gaskins (born 1984), motivational, inspirational, self-help writer
• Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (born 1950)
• Roxane Gay (born 1974)
• Nikki Giovanni (1943–2024)
• Roy Glenn (1914–1971), fiction writer, Is It A Crime, Payback
• Donald Goines (1936–1974)
• Marita Golden (born 1950)
• Edythe Mae Gordon (c. 1897–1980), poet, fiction writer
• Eugene Gordon (1891–1972), journalist
• Charles Gordone (1925–1995), playwright
• Amanda Gorman (born 1998), poet
• Lawrence Otis Graham (born 1962)
• Moses Grandy (born c. 1786)
• Victor Hugo Green (1892–1960), travel writer
• Eloise Greenfield (1929–2021), 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 (1932–2017)
• Sutton E. Griggs (1872–1933)
• Nikki Grimes (born 1950), children's book author and poet ^[13]
• Angelina Weld Grimke (1880–1958)
• Charlotte Forten Grimké (1837–1914)
• Rosa Guy (1922–2012)
• John Langston Gwaltney (1928–1998), anthropologist, author of Drylongso
• Yaa Gyasi (born 1989), Ghanaian-American novelist, author of Homegoing.

H

Langston Hughes

Zora Neale Hurston

• 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
• Joyce Hansen (born 1942), author of children's books
• Vincent Harding (1931–2014), historian and social activist
• Edward W. Hardy (born 1992), playwright
• Nathan Hare (1933–2024), sociologist, activist, academic and psychologist
• Frances Harper (1825–1911), poet and abolitionist
• E. Lynn Harris (1955–2009)
• Juanita Harrison (1891–?)
• Saidiya Hartman (born 1961) writer and academic, known for her seminal work Scenes of Subjection ^{[14] [15]}
• Robert Hayden (1913–1980), poet, essayist, educator
• Essex Hemphill (1957–1995), poet and activist
• David Henderson (poet) (born 1942)
• Safiya Henderson-Holmes (1950–2001), poet
• Chester Himes (1909–1984), novelist
• Kameisha Jerae Hodge (born 1989), poet and publisher
• Corey J. Hodges (born 1970)
• Karla F. C. Holloway (born 1949)
• bell hooks (1952—2021), 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 (1798–after 1867)
• Roberta Hoskie, real-estate broker, writer, and media personality
• Tracie Howard, fiction writer ^[16]
• Detrick Hughes (born 1966), poet
• Langston Hughes (1901–1967), poet, social activist, novelist, playwright and columnist
• Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960), folklorist, anthropologist, author of novels short stories, plays and essays

I

• Jordan Ifueko (born 1993)
• Rashidah Ismaili (born 1941), poet, fiction writer, essayist and playwright

J

• Brenda Jackson (born 1953)
• Jesse C. Jackson (1908–1983), young-adult novelist
• Mae Jackson (born 1946), poet
• Harriet Jacobs (1813 or 1815–1897), 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 (1773–after 1817)
• N. K. Jemisin (born 1972), writer of speculative fiction. First person to win three consecutive Hugo Awards for Best Novel. ^{[17] [18]}
• Beverly Jenkins (born 1951)
• Joseph Jewell (living)
• Terri L. Jewell (1954–1995), poet, writer and Black lesbian activist
• Alaya Dawn Johnson (born 1982)
• Angela Johnson (born 1961)
• Charles R. Johnson (born 1948)
• Georgia Douglas Johnson (1880–1966), poet
• Helene Johnson (1906–1995), poet
• James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938), writer and civil rights activist
• Mat Johnson (born 1970), fiction writer
• Varian Johnson (born 1977)
• Edward P. Jones (born 1950), novelist and short-story writer
• Gayl Jones (born 1949), novelist
• Tayari Jones (born 1970), author and academic
• June Jordan (1936–2002), poet, essayist and activist

K

Martin Luther King Jr.

• Ron Karenga (born 1941)
• Bob Kaufman (1925–1986), poet
• Elizabeth Keckley (1818–1907)
• William Melvin Kelley (1937–2017), novelist
• Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins (1863–1938), novelist
• Randall Kenan (1963–2020)
• Adrienne Kennedy (born 1931), playwright
• Nina Kennedy (born 1960), memoirist, screenwriter
• John Oliver Killens (1916–1987), novelist
• Jamaica Kincaid (born 1949), novelist and essayist
• Emeline King (born 1957)
• Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968)
• Woodie King Jr. (born 1937)
• Etheridge Knight (1931–1991), poet
• Yusef Komunyakaa (born 1941)

L

• Pinkie Gordon Lane (1923–2008), poet, editor and teacher
• Nella Larsen (1891–1964), novelist
• Victor LaValle (born 1972), fiction writer
• Brent Leggs (born 1972), historian and preservationist, writer, academic
• Andrea Lee (born 1953), novelist and memoirist
• Julius Lester (1939–2018), writer and academic
• David Levering Lewis (born 1936), historian
• Willie Little (born 1961) author, multimedia artist
• Alain Locke (1885–1954) writer
• Attica Locke (born 1974), novelist
• Audre Lorde (1934–1992), author, poet, activist
• Bettina L. Love (living), abolitionist educator and writer
• Glenville Lovell (born 1955), novelist and playwright

M

Toni Morrison

• Christopher Mwashinga (born 1965), poet, theologian, essayist
• Nathaniel Mackey (born 1947), poet, novelist, anthologist, literary critic and editor
• Naomi Long Madgett (1923–2020), poet
• Haki R. Madhubuti (born 1942), author, educator, poet, and publisher
• Clarence Major (born 1936), poet, painter and novelist
• Raynetta Manees (living), novelist
• Manning Marable (1950–2011)
• John Marrant (1755–1791)
• Paule Marshall (1929–2019)
• Ora Mae Lewis Martin (1889–1977), journalist and writer
• Hans Massaquoi (1926–2013)
• Brandon Massey (born 1973)
• Victoria Earle Matthews (1861–1907), essayist, newspaperwoman, activist
• Julian Mayfield (1928–1984)
• James McBride (writer) (born 1957)
• Nathan McCall (born 1955)
• Bernice McFadden (born 1965), novelist
• Claude McKay (1889–1948)
• Patricia McKissack (1944–2017)
• Reginald McKnight (born 1956)
• Kim McLarin (born 1964), novelist
• Terry McMillan (born 1951), novelist
• James Alan McPherson (1943–2016)
• Louise Meriwether (1923–2023), novelist, essayist, journalist and activist
• Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951)
• E. Ethelbert Miller (born 1950), poet
• May Miller (1899–1995), poet and playwright
• Arthenia J. Bates Millican (1920–2012), poet, essayist and educator
• Mary Monroe (living), novelist
• Anne Moody (1940–2015)
• Jessica Care Moore (born 1971), poet
• Toni Morrison (1931–2019), author, Nobel laureate 1993
• E. Frederic Morrow (c.1909–1994), first black American appointed to a president's administration (1955–60)
• Walter Mosley (born 1952), novelist
• Thylias Moss (born 1954), poet, filmmaker and playwright
• Willard Motley (1909–1965)
• Jess Mowry (born 1960)
• Albert Murray (1916–2013)
• Pauli Murray (1910–1985), civil rights activist, legal scholar, and author
• Walter Dean Myers (1937–2014), writer of children's books

N

• Tariq Nasheed (living)
• Gloria Naylor (1950–2016), novelist
• Larry Neal (1937–1981)
• Barbara Neely (1941–2020), novelist, short-story writer and activist
• Huey P. Newton (1942–1989)
• Richard Bruce Nugent (1906–1987)

O

• Mwatabu S. Okantah (born 1952) poet and professor ^{[19] [20]}
• Gabriel Okara (1921–2019), poet and novelist
• Nnedi Okorafor (born 1974), writer of science fiction and fantasy
• Marc Olden (1933–2003), author of mystery and suspense
• Porsha Olayiwola (born 1988), poet
• Rita Omokha (living), journalist and author
• Terry a. O'Neal (born 1973), poet, novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and educator
• Tochi Onyebuchi (born 1987), science fiction and fantasy writer and former civil rights lawyer
• Roscoe Orman (born 1944)
• Ewuare Osayande (living)
• Brenda Marie Osbey (born 1957), poet
• Candace Owens (born 1989), political activist

P

• ZZ Packer (born 1973), writer of short fiction
• Gordon Parks (1912–2006), photographer, composer, author, poet, and film directo
• Suzan-Lori Parks (born 1963), playwright, screenwriter, musician and novelist
• Tyler Perry (born 1969), actor, filmmaker and playwright
• Eric Pete (living), novelist and short-story writer
• Ann Petry (1908–1997), writer of novels, short stories, children's books and journalism
• Delores Phillips (1950–2014), poet and novelist
• Steve Phillips (born 1964), author, columnist, political thought leader
• William Pickens (1881–1954), orator, educator, journalist, and essayist
• Leonard Pitts (born 1957), novelist, commentator, journalist, and columnist
• Ann Plato (c. 1824–unknown), educator and author
• Sterling Plumpp (born 1940), educator and author
• Carlene Hatcher Polite (1932–2009)
• Alvin F. Poussaint (1934–2025), author, psychiatrist, and academic
• Jewel Prestage (1931–2014), first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in political science, former Dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern University
• Robert Earl Price (1942–2025), playwright and poet

R

• Aishah Rahman (1936–2014), playwright
• Alice Randall (born 1959), author and songwriter
• Dudley Randall (1914–2000), poet and publisher
• Cordelia Ray (1852–1916), poet and teacher
• Francis Ray (1944–2013), writer of romance fiction
• Andy Razaf (1895–1973), poet, composer and lyricist
• Ishmael Reed (born 1938), poet, essayist and novelist
• Kiley Reid (born 1987), novelist
• Jason Reynolds (born 1983), YA/Middle-Grade novelist/poet
• Willis Richardson (1889–1977), playwright
• Florida Ruffin Ridley (1861–1943), essayist and short-story writer
• Harrison David Rivers (born 1981), playwright
• Cliff Roquemore (1948–2002), writer, producer and director
• Carolyn Rodgers (1940–2010), poet
• Octavia V. Rogers Albert (1853–c. 1890)
• Al Roker (born 1954), journalist and author
• Fran Ross (1935–1985), novelist
• Shawn Stewart Ruff (born 1959), novelist
• Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin (1842–1924), journalist
• Malinda Russell (c. 1812–?), author of the first known cookbook by a Black woman in the United States
• Rachel Renee Russell (born 1959), author of the Dork Diaries series of children's novels
• Carl Hancock Rux, poet, essayist, playwright, novelist
• Rupaul (born 1960), actor, author, drag performer, TV show host

S

• Kalamu ya Salaam (born 1947), poet, author, filmmaker, teacher, activist
• Sonia Sanchez (born 1934), poet
• Dori Sanders (born 1934) novelist
• Sapphire (born 1950)
• Charles R. Saunders (1946–2020), 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), poet and musician
• Clara Johnson Scroggins (1931–2019), author, collector
• Sandra Seaton (living), playwright and librettist
• Victor Séjour (1817–1874)
• Fatima Shaik (living), author
• Tupac Shakur (1971–1996)
• Ntozake Shange (1948–2018), playwright and poet
• Nisi Shawl (born 1955)
• Sister Souljah (born 1964)
• Iceberg Slim (1918–1992)
• Amanda Smith (1837–1915)
• Danez Smith (living), poet
• 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 (1803–1879), journalist, lecturer, abolitionist, women's rights activist
• Jeffrey C. Stewart (born 1950), professor and Pulitzer prize winner
• Nic Stone (born 1985)

T

• Ellen Tarry (1906–2008), journalist and author
• Mildred D. Taylor (born 1943)
• Susie Taylor (1848–1912)
• Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954)
• Lucy Terry (c. 1730–1821)
• Michael Thelwell (born 1939), novelist and essayist
• Angie Thomas (born 1988), young adult author
• Clarence Thomas (born 1948)
• Joyce Carol Thomas (1938–2016), author, poet, playwright, and motivational speaker
• Lorenzo Thomas (1944–2005)
• Piri Thomas (1928–2011), writer and poet
• Truth Thomas (living), poet
• Pamela Thomas-Graham (born 1963)
• Era Bell Thompson (1905–1986)
• Howard Thurman (1899–1981)
• Wallace Thurman (1902–1934)
• Ruth D. Todd (1878–?)
• Lynn Toler (born 1959)
• Melvin B. Tolson (1898–1966)
• Jean Toomer (1894–1967)
• Touré (born 1971), journalist
• Askia M. Touré (born 1938), poet, essayist, leading voice of the Black Arts Movement
• Quincy Troupe (born 1939)
• Sojourner Truth (c.1797–1883)
• Omar Tyree (born 1969), novelist
• Neil deGrasse Tyson (born 1958)

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

• Alice Walker (born 1944)
• Frank X. Walker (born 1961), founding member of Affrilachian poets
• Margaret Walker (1915–1998), novelist, poet and writer
• Michele Wallace (born 1952)
• Eric Walrond (1898–1966)
• Mildred Pitts Walter (born 1922)
• Marilyn Nelson Waniek (born 1946)
• Douglas Turner Ward (1930–2021)
• Jesmyn Ward (born 1977), novelist
• Booker T. Washington (1856–1915)
• Frank J. Webb (1828–c.1894), novelist, poet, essayist
• 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 , The Underground Railroad ) 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)
• Isabel Wilkerson (born 1961), journalist and author
• Crystal Wilkinson (living)
• Alicia D. Williams (born 1970), children's novelist
• Chancellor Williams (1893–1992), historian and sociologist
• John Alfred Williams (1925–2015), author, journalist and academic
• Samm-Art Williams (1946–2024), playwright
• Sherley Anne Williams (1944–1999)
• Walter E. Williams (1936–2020)
• August Wilson (1945–2005), playwright
• Harriet E. Wilson (1825–1900), author of Our Nig and the first African-American novelist
• Kathy Y. Wilson (died 2022), journalist, columnist, playwright, and commentator
• William Julius Wilson (born 1935), author of When Work Disappears, The Truly Disadvantaged, and The Declining Significance of Race
• Oprah Winfrey (born 1954), talk-show host, actress, author and media proprietor
• Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950), historian, author and journalist
• Jacqueline Woodson (born 1963), award-winning author of books for children and adolescents, including "Brown Girl Dreaming"
• David Wright (born 1964)
• Jay Wright (born 1934), poet
• Kelly Wright, author of Outed Obsession and Fatal Fixation
• Richard Wright (1908–1960), writer of novels, short stories, poems and non-fiction
• Sarah E. Wright (1928–2009), novelist
• David F. Walker, comic book writer and novelist

X

• Malcolm X (1925–1965)
• Marian X (born 1944), playwright

Y

• Camille Yarbrough (born 1938)
• Frank Yerby (1916–1991), historical novelist
• Al Young (1939–2021), poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter and professor

Z

• Zane (born 1966/67), author of erotic fiction
• Ahmos Zu-Bolton (1948–2005), activist, poet and playwright

See also

• Literature portal

• List of African-American nonfiction writers
• List of Black New York Times Best Selling Authors
• African-American literature
• Lists of writers
• Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States
• Before Columbus Foundation
• List of Mexican-American writers

References

1. Davis, Angela Y. (2022). Angela Davis : an autobiography. [London]. ISBN   978-0-241-55125-7. OCLC   1250601845.
2. "Directory". humanities.ucsc.edu. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
3. "New York State Council on the Arts Grants Award List" (PDF). arts.ny.gov/. November 6, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
4. "Rita Dove - Ohio History Central". ohiohistorycentral.org. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
5. "Rita Dove". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
6. "W.E.B. Du Bois | NAACP". naacp.org. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
7. Du Bois, W. E. B. (2014). The souls of Black folk. [North Charleston, SC]. ISBN   978-1-5052-2337-8. OCLC   915084092.
8. "Bio + Contact". Tananarive Due. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
9. "Eve L. Ewing". Eve L. Ewing. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
10. Foundation, Poetry (March 19, 2023). "Eve L. Ewing". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
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