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.

A

 * 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)
 * Candace Allen (born 1950), novelist, cultural critic and screenwriter
 * Clarissa Minnie Thompson Allen (1859–1941), author and educator
 * Robert L. Allen (born 1942), activist, writer and academic
 * Garland Anderson (1886–1939), playwright
 * Maya Angelou (1928–2014), author and poet
 * Tina McElroy Ansa (born 1949), 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 (born 1926), musician, playwright and poet
 * William Attaway (1911–1986), novelist, short-story writer, essayist, songwriter, playwright and screenwriter

B

 * Calvin Baker (born 1972), novelist
 * James Baldwin (1924–1987), novelist, playwright, essayist, poet and activist
 * Toni Cade Bambara (1939–1995)
 * Leslie Esdaile Banks (1959–2011)
 * Amiri Baraka (1934–2014)
 * 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)
 * Gwendolyn Bennett (1902–1981)
 * Hal Bennett (1936–2004)
 * 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)
 * Arna Bontemps (1902–1973)
 * 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)
 * 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)

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)
 * Kashana Cauley (living)
 * 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
 * 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)
 * Pearl Cleage (born 1948)
 * Eldridge Cleaver (1935–1998)
 * Michelle Cliff (1946–2016)
 * Lucille Clifton (1936–2010)
 * Wendy Coakley-Thompson (born 1966)
 * Ta-Nehisi Coates (born 1975)
 * Wanda Coleman (1946–2013)
 * Marvel Cooke (1903–2000)
 * Anna J. Cooper (1858–1964)
 * J. California Cooper (1931–2014), 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 (1945–2020)
 * Harold Cruse (1916–2005)
 * Countee Cullen (1903–1946)
 * Waring Cuney (1906–1976)
 * Christopher Paul Curtis (born 1953)

D

 * Jeffrey Daniels (living), poet
 * Meri Nana-Ama Danquah (born 1967)
 * Christopher Darden (born 1956)
 * Angela Davis (born 1944) political activist, writer, and professor.
 * 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)
 * 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.
 * Sharon Draper (born 1948)
 * W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963) writer, sociologist, and activist, who was a founding member of the NAACP His most notable work is The Souls of Black Folk.
 * Tananarive Due (born 1966) writer specializing in Black speculative fiction, and professor of Black Horror and Afrofuturism
 * 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

 * 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)
 * Eve Ewing (born 1986), author, educator, poet, and sociologist

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 (born 1943)
 * 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
 * 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

 * 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 (born 1933)
 * 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
 * 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)
 * 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
 * Detrick Hughes (born 1966)
 * 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.
 * 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)
 * 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

 * 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)
 * 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)
 * Brent Leggs, historian and preservationist, writer, academic
 * Andrea Lee (born 1953), novelist and memoirist
 * Julius Lester (1939–2018)
 * David Levering Lewis (born 1936)
 * 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, abolitionist educator and writer
 * Glenville Lovell (born 1955), novelist and playwright

M

 * 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)
 * 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)
 * 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 (living)
 * Gloria Naylor (1950–2016)
 * 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
 * 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)
 * Rita Omokha (living), journalist and author
 * Terry a. O'Neal (born 1973)
 * 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)
 * 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
 * Debra Phillips (born 1959)
 * 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.
 * Ann Plato (born c. 1824), educator and author
 * Sterling Plumpp (born 1940), educator and author
 * Carlene Hatcher Polite (1932–2009)
 * Alvin F. Poussaint (born 1934)
 * 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 (born 1942), 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)
 * Fran Ross (1935–1985)
 * Shawn Stewart Ruff, 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)
 * Mildred D. Taylor (born 1943)
 * Susie Taylor (1848–1912)
 * Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954)
 * Lucy Terry (c. 1730–1821)
 * Michael Thelwell (born 1939)
 * Angie Thomas (born 1988)
 * Clarence Thomas (born 1948)
 * Joyce Carol Thomas (1938–2016), author, poet, playwright, and motivational speaker
 * Lorenzo Thomas (1944–2005)
 * Piri Thomas (1928–2011)
 * Truth Thomas (living)
 * 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)
 * 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)
 * 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

 * Dwyane Wade (born 1982)
 * Alice Walker (born 1944)
 * Frank X. Walker (born 1961), founding member of Affrilachian poets
 * Margaret Walker (1915–1998), novelist, poet and writer
 * Christopher George Latore Wallace (1972–1997)
 * Michele Wallace (born 1952)
 * Eric Walrond (1898–1966)
 * Leonard Pitts, novelist, commentator, journalist, and columnist
 * Mildred Pitts Walter (born 1922)
 * Marilyn Nelson Waniek (born 1946)
 * Douglas Turner Ward (1930–2021)
 * Jesmyn Ward (born 1977)
 * 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)
 * 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 (born 1946), playwright
 * Sherley Anne Williams (1944–1999)
 * Walter E. Williams (1936–2020)
 * August Wilson (1945–2005)
 * Harriet E. Wilson (1825–1900), author of Our Nig and the first African-American novelist
 * Kathy Y. Wilson (d. 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)
 * Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950)
 * 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), writer of novels, short stories, poems and non-fiction
 * Sarah E. Wright, novelist
 * David F. Walker, comic book writer and novelist

X

 * Malcolm X (1925–1965)
 * Marian X (born 1944)

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