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Famous Writers

The best-known novelists, poets and playwrights in our archive, ranked by historical popularity.

957 writers in our database, ranked by historical popularity. Page 17 of 20.

Most famous writer

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Highest historical popularity score (HPI 93.2)

Most common birth month

February

92 of 957 were born in February

Living vs deceased

119 / 838

12% are still living

Most common nationality

American

186 people, 19% of the list

Editor-written profiles

289

30% have a full original profile so far

The ranked list (from #801)

  1. 801Eino LeinoEino LeinoPoet who drew on Finnish folk tradition in the collection Helkavirsiä and is regarded as a national poet of Finland.🇫🇮Finnish · Born July 6, 1878 · Died January 10, 1926View profile
  2. 802Elizabeth Cady StantonElizabeth Cady StantonWomen's rights leader who drafted the Declaration of Sentiments for the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention and co-founded a suffrage association.🇺🇸American · Born November 12, 1815 · Died October 26, 1902View profile
  3. 803Lina KostenkoLina KostenkoWrote the historical verse novel Marusia Churai, and her poetry was suppressed under the Soviet regime.Ukraine · Born March 19, 1930View profile
  4. 804Edward AlbeeEdward AlbeePlaywright whose Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? became a landmark of postwar American theatre, alongside three Pulitzer-winning dramas.🇺🇸American · Born March 12, 1928 · Died September 16, 2016View profile
  5. 805Aleksandr KuprinAleksandr KuprinWrote The Duel, a novel criticising army life in imperial Russia, and the love story The Garnet Bracelet.🇷🇺Soviet · Born August 26, 1870 · Died August 25, 1938View profile
  6. 806Anne SextonAnne SextonConfessional poet who won the Pulitzer Prize for Live or Die, writing frankly about mental illness and family life.🇺🇸American · Born November 9, 1928 · Died October 4, 1974View profile
  7. 807Friedrich RückertFriedrich RückertPoet and Orientalist professor whose verse collection Kindertotenlieder was later set to music by Gustav Mahler.Kingdom of Bavaria · Born May 16, 1788 · Died January 31, 1866View profile
  8. 808Konstantin PaustovskyKonstantin PaustovskyProse writer best remembered for his autobiographical cycle Story of a Life, and nominated four times for the Nobel Prize.🇷🇺Soviet · Born May 19, 1892 · Died July 14, 1968View profile
  9. 809Denis FonvizinDenis FonvizinPlaywright whose satirical comedy The Minor helped establish a tradition of literary comedy on the Russian stage.🇷🇺Russian · Born April 14, 1745 · Died December 12, 1792View profile
  10. 810Camilla LäckbergCamilla LäckbergCrime novels set in Fjällbacka, beginning with The Ice Princess, made her a bestselling author across Europe.🇸🇪Swedish · Born August 30, 1974View profile
  11. 811Boris AkuninBoris AkuninWriter of the Erast Fandorin detective series, historical mysteries set in imperial Russia that became hugely popular.🇷🇺Russian · Born May 20, 1956View profile
  12. 812Edward LearEdward LearNonsense writer who popularised the limerick in A Book of Nonsense and wrote "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat".🇬🇧British · Born May 12, 1812 · Died January 29, 1888View profile
  13. 813Akiko YosanoAkiko YosanoPublished the tanka collection Midaregami in 1901, a bold celebration of female desire that made her a leading Meiji poet.🇯🇵Japanese · Born December 7, 1878 · Died May 29, 1942View profile
  14. 814Josep PlaJosep PlaCatalan journalist and writer of the diary The Gray Notebook.🇪🇸Spanish · Born March 8, 1897 · Died April 23, 1981View profile
  15. 815Rick RiordanRick RiordanAuthor who launched the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, bringing Greek myths to a young modern readership.🇺🇸American · Born June 5, 1964View profile
  16. 816Chinmoy Kumar GhoseChinmoy Kumar GhoseFounded the Sri Chinmoy Peace Run, a global torch relay, and led meditation sessions at the United Nations.British Raj · Born August 27, 1931 · Died October 11, 2007View profile
  17. 817Nora EphronNora EphronDirected Sleepless in Seattle and wrote the screenplay for When Harry Met Sally.🇺🇸American · Born May 19, 1941 · Died June 26, 2012View profile
  18. 818Aphra BehnAphra BehnRestoration playwright and among the first Englishwomen to earn a living by writing, famous for the novella Oroonoko.🇬🇧English · Born January 1, 1640 · Died April 16, 1689View profile
  19. 819R. L. StineR. L. StineCreated the Goosebumps series of children's horror novels, which have sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide.🇺🇸American · Born October 8, 1943View profile
  20. 820Upton SinclairUpton SinclairExposed the meatpacking industry in his novel The Jungle, which helped bring about food safety reform.🇺🇸American · Born September 20, 1878 · Died November 25, 1968View profile
  21. 821William Carlos WilliamsWilliam Carlos WilliamsModernist poet who wrote The Red Wheelbarrow and the long poem Paterson while working as a practising doctor in New Jersey.🇺🇸American · Born September 17, 1883 · Died March 4, 1963View profile
  22. 822Yaşar KemalYaşar KemalNovelist best known for Memed, My Hawk, a tale of a village outlaw that made him one of Turkey's most celebrated authors.🇹🇷Turkish · Born October 6, 1922 · Died February 28, 2015View profile
  23. 823Stephen CraneStephen CraneAuthor of The Red Badge of Courage, a Civil War novel praised for its psychological realism, written before he had seen combat.🇺🇸American · Born November 1, 1871 · Died June 5, 1900View profile
  24. 824Ted HughesTed HughesPoet who served as Poet Laureate from 1984 and wrote The Hawk in the Rain, Crow and Birthday Letters.🇬🇧British · Born August 17, 1930 · Died October 28, 1998View profile
  25. 825Algernon Charles SwinburneAlgernon Charles SwinburnePoet whose controversial collection Poems and Ballads shocked Victorian readers and made his name.🇬🇧British · Born April 5, 1837 · Died April 10, 1909View profile
  26. 826Dmitry MerezhkovskyDmitry MerezhkovskySymbolist writer whose historical trilogy Christ and Antichrist made him a leading figure of Russia's Silver Age.🇷🇺Russian · Born August 2, 1865 · Died December 7, 1941View profile
  27. 827Oliver GoldsmithOliver GoldsmithWrote the novel The Vicar of Wakefield and the comedy She Stoops to Conquer, both still widely read.Kingdom of Ireland · Born November 10, 1728 · Died April 4, 1774View profile
  28. 828Alexander GrinAlexander GrinRomantic storyteller who invented imaginary lands for tales such as the novel Scarlet Sails.🇷🇺Soviet · Born May 23, 1880 · Died July 8, 1932View profile
  29. 829Elizabeth BishopElizabeth BishopPoet admired for precise, understated verse, who won the Pulitzer Prize for her collection Poems: North & South – A Cold Spring.🇺🇸American · Born February 8, 1911 · Died October 6, 1979View profile
  30. 830Anthony TrollopeAnthony TrollopeVictorian novelist of the Chronicles of Barsetshire, who wrote while working for the Post Office.🇬🇧British · Born April 24, 1815 · Died December 6, 1882View profile
  31. 831Valery BryusovValery BryusovLeading figure of Russian Symbolism, who edited the journal Scales and championed new poetry.🇷🇺Soviet · Born December 1, 1873 · Died October 9, 1924View profile
  32. 832Jules Amédée Barbey d'AurevillyJules Amédée Barbey d'AurevillyWriter of dark, psychologically probing tales such as Les Diaboliques, a collection of six stories about passion and wrongdoing.🇫🇷French · Born November 2, 1808 · Died April 23, 1889View profile
  33. 833Nikolay DobrolyubovNikolay DobrolyubovRadical Russian literary critic of the 1850s, known for his essay on Oblomovism.🇷🇺Russian · Born January 24, 1836 · Died November 17, 1861View profile
  34. 834Joseph JoubertJoseph JoubertMoralist whose Pensées, published after his death, collected thoughtful aphorisms on literature, taste and human nature.🇫🇷French · Born May 7, 1754 · Died May 4, 1824View profile
  35. 835John GreenJohn GreenYoung adult novelist behind The Fault in Our Stars, who also co-created the Vlogbrothers channel and Crash Course videos.🇺🇸American · Born August 24, 1977View profile
  36. 836Georges DuhamelGeorges DuhamelDrew on his wartime medical service for Civilisation, a book of First World War stories that won the Prix Goncourt.🇫🇷French · Born June 30, 1884 · Died April 13, 1966View profile
  37. 837Zinaida GippiusZinaida GippiusPoet and critic who became a leading figure of Russian Symbolism, known for her sharp essays and salon in St Petersburg.🇫🇷French · Born November 8, 1869 · Died September 9, 1945View profile
  38. 838Frederik PohlFrederik PohlCo-wrote the satirical novel The Space Merchants with Cyril Kornbluth and later won major awards for Gateway.🇺🇸American · Born November 26, 1919 · Died September 2, 2013View profile
  39. 839E. E. CummingsE. E. CummingsPoet famed for his experimental typography and unconventional punctuation, as seen in collections such as Tulips and Chimneys.🇺🇸American · Born October 14, 1894 · Died September 3, 1962View profile
  40. 840Bella AkhmadulinaBella AkhmadulinaPoet of the Russian New Wave whose lyrical, apolitical verse made her one of the best-loved voices of the Soviet thaw.🇷🇺Russian · Born April 10, 1937 · Died November 29, 2010View profile
  41. 841Magnús SchevingMagnús SchevingIcelandic creator of the children's series LazyTown, in which he also played the athletic hero Sportacus.Iceland · Born November 10, 1964View profile
  42. 842A. S. ByattA. S. ByattWon the 1990 Booker Prize for Possession, a novel that weaves Victorian poetry and modern literary detection together.🇬🇧British · Born August 24, 1936 · Died November 16, 2023View profile
  43. 843Chuck PalahniukChuck PalahniukWrote the novel Fight Club, which David Fincher adapted into a 1999 film.🇺🇸American · Born February 21, 1962View profile
  44. 844Dorothy L. SayersDorothy L. SayersCrime novelist who created the aristocratic detective Lord Peter Wimsey, hero of Gaudy Night and The Nine Tailors.🇬🇧British · Born June 13, 1893 · Died December 17, 1957View profile
  45. 845Ludwig UhlandLudwig UhlandSwabian Romantic poet whose ballads and songs, including "Der gute Kamerad", became staples of German verse.Württembergian · Born April 26, 1787 · Died November 13, 1862View profile
  46. 846
    LM
    Laura MancinelliItalian medievalist and Germanist who also wrote novels, including the historical work The Dragon's Eyes, alongside scholarly studies.🇮🇹Italian · Born December 18, 1933 · Died July 7, 2016View profile
  47. 847László KrasznahorkaiLászló KrasznahorkaiHungarian novelist of long, dense sentences, whose Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance were filmed by Béla Tarr.🇭🇺Hungarian · Born January 5, 1954View profile
  48. 848Nicholas SparksNicholas SparksRomance novelist behind The Notebook, which became a hit film in 2004.🇺🇸American · Born December 31, 1965View profile
  49. 849Robert SoutheyRobert SoutheyRomantic poet who served as Poet Laureate from 1813 and wrote the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.🇬🇧British · Born August 12, 1774 · Died March 21, 1843View profile
  50. 850George MeredithGeorge MeredithVictorian novelist best known for The Egoist and the sonnet sequence Modern Love, noted for his intricate, witty style.🇬🇧British · Born February 12, 1828 · Died May 18, 1909View profile

How we rank and select

  • Ranking: people are ordered by their Historical Popularity Index (HPI) from Pantheon. HPI combines how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about a person, how many page views those articles get, how evenly the views are spread across languages and how long ago the person lived. People Pantheon does not yet cover are listed after them, ordered by our own popularity score (the number of Wikipedia language editions with an article about them).
  • Membership: each person appears in one occupation list only, based on their primary occupation as classified by Pantheon (for example, a queen who wrote poetry is listed as royalty, not as a writer). Kings, queens, emperors, sultans and royal consorts are not listed as politicians or writers: anyone who held a monarch's office on Wikidata, and never served as a president or head of government, counts as royalty. For the few people Pantheon does not cover, we use the primary field recorded in our database.
  • One-line summaries: each summary is an original line written for this site with AI assistance under our editorial rules, then checked against the Wikipedia introduction so no wording is copied.
  • Statistics: every figure on this page is calculated live from our database each time the page loads, so it changes as we add people.

Further reading

Reviewed by the Who Shares My Birthday editorial team.

Last reviewed: October 2026

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