List of English writers (A–C)

List of English writers lists writers in English, born or raised in England (or who lived in England for a lengthy period), who already have Wikipedia pages. References for the information here appear on the linked Wikipedia pages. The list is incomplete – please help to expand it by adding Wikipedia page-owning writers who have written extensively in any genre or field, including science and scholarship. Please follow the entry format. A seminal work added to a writer's entry should also have a Wikipedia page. This is a subsidiary to the List of English people. There are or should be similar lists of Irish, Scots, Welsh, Manx, Jersey, and Guernsey writers.

Abbreviations: AV = Authorized King James Version of the Bible, also as = also wrote/writes as, c. = circa; century, cc. = centuries; cleric = Anglican priest, fl. = floruit, RC = Roman Catholic, SF = science fiction, YA = young adult fiction

A
• A. W. (fl. 1602), poet

• Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838–1926), theologian and novelist

• Gilbert Abbott à Beckett (1811–1856), humorist

• George Abbot (1562–1633), writer, AV translator and cleric

• Kia Abdullah (born 1982), novelist and feature writer

• Lascelles Abercrombie (1881–1938), poet and critic

• Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (born 1998), novelist

• Paul Ableman (1927–2006), playwright and novelist

• J. R. Ackerley (1896–1967), autobiographer, novelist and playwright

• Rodney Ackland (1908–1991), playwright, actor and screenwriter

• Peter Ackroyd (born 1949), novelist and biographer

• Eliza Acton (1799–1859), poet and cookery writer

• Harold Acton (1904–1994), writer and scholar

• Hazel Adair (1900–1990), novelist

• Paul Adam (born 1958), novelist

• Ruth Adam (1907–1977), novelist and non-fiction writer

• Charles Warren Adams (also as Charles Felix, 1833–1903), novelist and lawyer

• Douglas Adams (1952–2001), novelist and scriptwriter

• Francis Adams (1862–1893), essayist and dramatist

• John Adams, (pre-1670–1738), cartographer and gazetteer compiler

• Poppy Adams (living), novelist and TV screenwriter

• Richard Adams (1920–2016), novelist, Watership Down

• Sarah Flower Adams (1805–1848), poet and hymnist

• Donald Adamson (born 1939), writer and historian

• John Adamson (1787–1855), antiquary, poet and translator

• Arthur St. John Adcock (1864–1930), novelist and editor

• Fleur Adcock (born 1934), poet

• Joseph Addison (1672–1719), essayist and poet, The Spectator

• Percy Addleshaw (wrote as Percy Hemingway, 1866–1916), writer and poet

• Diran Adebayo (born 1968), novelist and broadcaster

• Mark Adlard (born 1932), novelist

• James Agate (1877–1947), diarist and critic

• Bola Agbaje (living), playwright

• John Aglionby (died 1609/1610), scholar, AV translator and cleric

• Grace Aguilar (1816–1847), novelist and writer

• Allan Ahlberg (born 1939), children's writer

• Robert Aickman (1914–1981), novelist and conservationist

• Joan Aiken (1924–2004), novelist

• Arthur Aikin (1783–1854), science writer

• Lucy Aikin (1781–1864), children's writer, biographer and historian

• John Aikin (1747–1822), writer and physician

• Alfred Ainger (1837–1904), biographer and critic

• Ruth Ainsworth (1908–1984), children's writer

• William Harrison Ainsworth (1805–1882), novelist

• Catherine Aird (Kinn Hamilton McIntosh, living), crime fiction writer

• Mark Akenside (1721–1770), poet

• William Alabaster (1567–1640), poet, playwright and cleric

• James Albery (1838–1889), playwright

• Alice Albinia (born 1976), travel writer

• Mary Alcock (c. 1742–1798), poet and essayist

• Naomi Alderman (born 1974), novelist and game writer

• Thomas Aldham or Aldam, (c. 1616–1660), writer and Quaker

• Richard Aldington (1892–1962), novelist and poet

• Brian Aldiss (1925–2017), novelist

• Henry Aldrich (1647–1710), poet and theologian

• Horace Alexander (1889–1989), writer on India, ornithologist and Quaker

• Miriam Alexander (1879-19??), historical novelist

• Alan F. Alford (born 1961), writer on mythology

• Monica Ali (born 1967), novelist

• Cyril Alington (1872–1955), novelist and writer

• Nicholas Allan (living), children's writer

• Rupert Allason (also as Nigel West, b. 1951), historian and thriller writer

• James Allen (1864–1912), self-help writer and poet

• Walter Allen (1911–1995), novelist and critic

• Margery Allingham (1904–1966), novelist, Albert Campion

• Drummond Allison (1921–1943), poet

• Kenneth Allott (1912–1973), poet and anthologist

• Kenneth Allsop (1920–1973), writer and broadcaster

• E. M. Almedingen (1898–1971), novelist, biographer and children's writer

• John Almon (1737–1804), journalist and anthologist

• David Almond (born 1951), novelist and children's writer

• Vincent Alsop (c. 1630–1703), writer and dissenting minister

• Al Alvarez (1929–2019), poet and writer

• Moniza Alvi (born 1968), poet and writer

• Eric Ambler (1909–1998), novelist and screenwriter

• Isaac Ambrose (1604–1663/1664), writer, diarist and cleric

• Elizabeth Amherst (c. 1716–1779), poet and naturalist

• Kingsley Amis (1922–1995), poet and novelist, Lucky Jim

• Martin Amis (1949–2023), novelist

• Thomas Amory (c. 1691–1788), novelist and miscellanist

• Thomas Amory (1701–1774), poet and dissenting cleric

• Valerie Anand (also as Flora Buckley, b. 1937), novelist

• Patrick Anderson (1915–1979), poet

• Rachel Anderson (born 1943), children's writer

• Verily Anderson (1915–2010), writer

• Lancelot Andrewes (1555–1626), scholar, AV translator and cleric

• Roger Andrewes (fl. 1610s), scholar, AV translator and cleric

• Julie Andrews (born 1935), children's writer and actress

• Miles Peter Andrews (1742–1814), playwright and poet

• Norman Angell (1872–1967), Nobel Prize winner, political writer and economist

• Jane Anger (fl. 1589), pamphleteer

• Charlotte Anley (1796–1893), didactic novelist and writer

• George Anson, 1st Baron Anson (1697–1762), writer, explorer and admiral

• Christopher Anstey (1724–1805), writer and poet

• Evelyn Anthony (1926–2018) historical novelist and thriller writer

• Charles James Apperley (wrote as Nimrod, 1777–1843), hunting and racing writer

• Lisa Appignanesi (born 1946), writer and historian

• Roy Apps (born 1951), children's writer

• Arthur John Arberry (1905–1969), orientalist and translator

• Harriet Arbuthnot (1793–1834), political diarist

• John Arbuthnot (1667–1735), satirist and polymath

• Fred Archer (1915–1999), countryside writer

• Jeffrey Archer (born 1940), novelist and politician

• Philip Ardagh (born 1961), children's writer

• John Arden (1930–2012), playwright and novelist

• Edward Ardizzone (1900–1979), children's writer and illustrator

• Reginald Arkell (1882–1959), novelist, playwright and screenwriter

• Michael Arlen (originally Dikran Kouyoumdjian, 1895–1956), essayist, playwright and novelist

• John Arlott (1914–1991), cricket writer and commentator

• Robert Armin (c. 1563–1615), playwright and actor

• Simon Armitage (born 1963), poet, playwright and novelist

• Annie Armitt (1850–1933), novelist, poet and essayist

• Martin Armstrong (1882–1974), novelist and poet

• Peter Armstrong (born 1957), poet and psychotherapist

• Richard Armstrong (1903–1986), novelist, historian and children's writer

• Elizabeth von Arnim (also as Alice Cholmondeley, 1866–1941), novelist

• Edwin Arnold (1832–1904), poet and journalist

• Edwin Lester Arnold (1857–1935), writer and novelist

• Elizabeth Arnold (born 1944), children's writer

• Matthew Arnold (1822–1888), poet, Dover Beach

• Richard Arnold (died c. 1521), chronicler and merchant

• Thomas Arnold (1795–1842), educator and historian

• Thomas Walker Arnold (1864–1930), Islamist scholar

• William Delafield Arnold (1828–1859), novelist and colonial administrator

• Pat Arrowsmith (born 1930), novelist, poet and non-fiction writer

• Anthony Ascham (c. 1614–1650), scholar and politician

• Roger Ascham (c. 1515–1568), writer and scholar

• John Ash (1724–1779), lexicographer and Baptist minister

• John Ash (1948–2019), poet and travel writer

• Maurice Ash (1917–2003), writer on environment and planning

• Russell Ash (1946–2010), writer

• Timothy Garton Ash (born 1955), historian

• Elizabeth Ashbridge (1713–1755), autobiographer and Quaker

• Joseph Ashby-Sterry (1836 or 1838–1917), poet, novelist and journalist

• Geoffrey Ashe (1923–2022), cultural historian

• Thomas Ashe or Ash (fl. 1600–1618), legal writer

• Thomas Ashe (1770–1835), novelist and miscellanist

• Thomas Ashe (1836–1889), poet

• Michael Asher (born 1953) author and explorer

• Daisy Ashford (1881–1972), child author, The Young Visiters

• Lindsay Ashford (born 1959), crime novelist and journalist

• Elias Ashmole (1617–1692), antiquary and patron

• Carl Ashmore (born 1968), children's writer

• Will Ashon (born 1969), novelist and music writer

• Francis Leslie Ashton (1904–1994), novelist

• Andrea Ashworth (born 1969), writer and scholar

• Anne Askew (1521–1546), poet, writer and martyr

• Nadeem Aslam (born 1966), novelist

• Elizabeth Mary Aslin (1926–1989), art historian

• Cynthia Asquith (1887–1960), novelist and diarist

• Herbert Asquith (1881–1947), poet and novelist

• Margot Asquith (1864–1935), memoirist

• Nicholas Assheton (1590–1625), diarist

• Mary Astell (1666–1731), poet and writer

• Judy Astley (living), novelist and illustrator

• Edwin Atherstone (1788–1872), poet and novelist

• Diana Athill (1917–2019), editor, novelist and memoirist

• Blanche Atkinson (1847–1911), novelist and children's writer

• James Atkinson (1780–1852), scholar

• Kate Atkinson (born 1952), novelist

• William Atkinson (died 1509), translator

• David Attenborough (born 1926), writer, naturalist and broadcaster

• Francis Atterbury (1663–1732), writer and bishop

• Mabel Lucie Attwell (1879–1964), children's writer and illustrator

• Penelope Aubin (1679–1738), poet, novelist and translator

• John Aubrey (1626–1697), writer and antiquary, Brief Lives

• John Audelay or Awdelay, (died c. 1426), poet and cleric

• W. H. Auden (1907–1973), poet

• Stacy Aumonier (1877–1928), novelist, story writer and essayist

• Jane Austen (1775–1817), novelist, Pride and Prejudice

• Katherine Austen (1629 – c. 1683), diarist and poet

• Alfred Austin (1835–1913), Poet Laureate

• John Austin (1790–1859), legal philosopher

• John Langshaw Austin (1911–1960), philosopher and translator

• Sarah Austin (1793–1867), translator

• Edward Aveling (1849–1898), writer, pamphleteer and translator

• Peter Avery (1923–2008), scholar and translator

• Jack Avon (born 1967), financial writer and consultant

• Tash Aw (born 1971), novelist and non-fiction writer

• Christopher Awdry (born 1940), children's writer

• Wilbert Awdry (Rev. W. Awdry, 1911–1997), children's writer and cleric, Thomas the Tank Engine

• Alan Ayckbourn (born 1939), playwright

• A. J. Ayer (1910–1989), philosopher

• Pam Ayres (born 1947), poet and songwriter

• Michael Ayrton (1921–1975), writer and artist

• Shamim Azad, (born 1952), writer and translator

• Trezza Azzopardi, (born 1961), novelist

B
• Charles Babbage (1791–1871), polymath

• Gervase Babington (1549/1550–1610), theologian and bishop

• David Baddiel (born 1964), novelist and comedian

• Robert Baden-Powell (1857–1941), writer and army officer, Scouting for Boys

• Edmund Backhouse (1873–1944), orientalist and autobiographer

• Anne Bacon (c. 1528–1610), translator and correspondent

• Francis Bacon (1561–1626), essayist, New Atlantis

• Phanuel Bacon (1699–1783), playwright and poet

• John F. Baddeley (1854–1940), travel writer and journalist

• Robert Bage (1730–1801), novelist and radical

• Walter Bagehot (1826–1877), economist and essayist

• Desmond Bagley (1923–1983), horror novelist

• Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), novelist and playwright, National Velvet

• Richard Bagot (1860–1921), novelist and essayist

• David Bailey (living), story writer

• H. C. Bailey (1878–1961), novelist

• Hilary Bailey (1936–2017), biographer and editor

• Nathan Bailey (died 1742), philologist

• Paul Bailey (born 1937), novelist and dramatist

• Philip James Bailey (1816–1902), poet

• Samuel Bailey (1791–1870), philosopher and economist

• Beryl Bainbridge (1932–2010), novelist

• Denys Val Baker (1917–1984), novelist and story writer

• Henry Baker (1698–1774), naturalist and poet

• Samuel Baker (1821–1893), writer and explorer

• Rajeev Balasubramanyam (born 1974), novelist

• Nigel Balchin (1908–1970), novelist and screenwriter

• John Bale (1495–1563), playwright and bishop

• J. G. Ballard (1930–2009), novelist

• Dacre Balsdon (1901–1977), novelist and historian

• Samuel Bamford (1788–1872), writer and dialect poet

• John Codrington Bampfylde (1764–1796/1797), poet

• Richard Bancroft (1544–1610), AV translator and archbishop

• Isabella Banks (1821–1897), novelist and poet

• Lynne Reid Banks (born 1929), novelist

• Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743–1825), poet and children's writer

• W. N. P. Barbellion (real name Bruce Frederick Cummings, 1889–1919), diarist

• Margaret Barber (Michael Fairless, 1869–1901), novelist and children's writer

• Alexander Barclay (c. 1476–1552), poet and translator

• Florence L. Barclay (1862–1921), novelist

• James Barclay (born 1965), novelist

• John Baret (died c. 1580), lexicographer

• Owen Barfield (1898–1997), novelist, poet and philosopher

• Richard Harris Barham (wrote as Thomas Ingoldsby, 1788–1845), novelist and poet, The Ingoldsby Legends

• Maurice Baring (1874–1945), playwright, novelist and poet

• Sabine Baring-Gould (1834–1924), novelist, hymnist and cleric

• A. L. Barker (1918–2002), novelist

• Cicely Mary Barker (1895–1973), children's and religious writer and illustrator

• Clive Barker (born 1952), writer, film director and visual artist

• Elspeth Barker (1940–2022), novelist

• George Granville Barker (1913–1991), poet and novelist

• Jane Barker (1652–1732), poet and novelist

• Mary Anne Barker (1831–1911), writer and poet

• Nicola Barker (born 1966), novelist

• Pat Barker (born 1943), novelist

• Raffaella Barker (born 1964), novelist and journalist

• Sebastian Barker (1945–2014), poet

• Clement Barksdale (1609–1687), poet and cleric

• George Barlow (wrote as James Hinton, 1837–1913/1914), poet

• William Barlow (died 1613), scholar, AV translator and bishop

• Mordaunt Roger Barnard (1828–1906), translator and cleric

• Kitty Barne (1883–1961), children's writer

• Barnabe Barnes (1568 or 1569–1609), poet and playwright

• Ambrose Barnes (1627–1710), nonconformist and mayor

• Jonathan Barnes (born 1942), philosopher

• Julian Barnes (born 1946), novelist, Flaubert's Parrot

• William Barnes (1801–1886), dialect poet

• Correlli Barnett (1927–2022), historian

• Richard Barnfield (1574–1620), poet

• Alexander Baron (1917–1999), novelist and screenwriter

• Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr (1831–1919), novelist

• Geoffrey Barraclough (1908–1984), historian

• John Barret (1631–1713), writer and Presbyterian minister

• Joseph Barret (1665–1699), theological writer and merchant

• Leslie Barringer (1895–1968), editor and novelist

• Isaac Barrow (1630–1677), scholar and cleric

• John Barrow (fl. 1735–1774), lexicographer and historian

• William Barrow (1754–1836), writer and cleric

• Stan Barstow (1928–2011), novelist and dramatist

• William Bartholomew (1793–1867), librettist and composer

• Mike Bartlett (born 1980), playwright and director

• Bernard Barton (1784–1849), poet and Quaker

• Henry Howarth Bashford (1880–1961), novelist and physician

• William Basse (c. 1583–1653/1654), poet

• Jonathan Bate (born 1958), biographer and editor

• James Bateman (1811–1897), garden writer

• H. E. Bates (1905–1974), novelist, The Darling Buds of May

• Henry Walter Bates (1825–1892), naturalist and explorer

• Ralph Bates (1899–2000), novelist

• Elizabeth Bath (1772–1856), poet

• Richard Baxter (1615–1691), poet, hymnist and theologian

• Stephen Baxter (born 1957), novelist

• Basil Al Bayati (born 1946), writer and architect

• John Bayley (1925–2015), critic and novelist

• Peter Bayley (c. 1778–1883), poet and playwright

• Ada Ellen Bayly (wrote as Edna Lyall, 1857–1903), novelist

• Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797–1830), poet and playwright

• Martin Baynton (born 1953), children's writer and illustrator

• Jeremy John Beadle (1958–1995), critic

• John Beadle (died 1667), diarist and cleric

• Anne Beale (1816–1900), novelist and poet

• Richard Bean (born 1956), playwright

• Francis Beaumont (1584–1616), playwright

• John Beaumont (1583–1627), poet

• Joseph Beaumont (1616–1699), poet and cleric

• Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898), writer and illustrator

• Laura Beatty (living), biographer and novelist

• Samuel Beazley (1786–1851), novelist, playwright and architect

• Peter Beckford (1740–1811), writer and landowner

• William Beckford (1760–1844), novelist and patron

• Lillian Beckwith (born Lillian Comber, 1916–2004), novelist

• Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803–1849), poet

• William Bedwell (1561–1632), scholar, AV translator and cleric

• Henry Charles Beeching (1859–1919), poet and anthologist

• Patricia Beer (1919–1999), poet and critic

• Constance Beerbohm (1811–1892), writer

• Julius Beerbohm (1854–1906), travel writer and explorer

• Max Beerbohm (1872–1956), novelist and caricaturist, Zuleika Dobson

• Alfred Beesley (1800–1847), poet and topographer

• Mrs Beeton (born Isabella Mary Mayson, 1836–1865), cookery writer

• Antony Beevor (born 1946), historian and novelist

• Aphra Behn (1640–1689), novelist and playwright

• Daubridgecourt Belchier (1580–1621), dramatist

• Adrian Bell (1901–1980), countryside writer

• Clive Bell (1881–1964), art critic

• Florence Bell (1851–1930), playwright and editor

• Gertrude Bell (1868–1926), writer and traveller

• Josephine Bell (also as David Wintringham, 1897–1987), novelist

• Julian Bell (1908–1937), poet

• Mary Hayley Bell (1911–2005), novelist, playwright and actress

• Quentin Bell (1910–1996), critic and biographer

• Thomas Bell (1792–1880), zoologist and writer

• John Bellers (1654–1725), writer and Quaker

• Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953), writer and poet

• Thomas Belt (1832–1878), naturalist and geologist

• Elizabeth Benger (1775–1827), poet, novelist and biographer

• Edward Benlowes (1603–1676), poet

• Alan Bennett (born 1934), playwright and broadcaster

• Anna Maria Bennett (c. 1760–1808), novelist

• Arnold Bennett (1867–1931), novelist

• Edwin Keppel Bennett (wrote as Francis Bennett, 1887–1958), writer, poet and scholar

• A. C. Benson (1862–1925), poet and diarist

• E. F. Benson (1867–1940), novelist and story writer

• Peter Benson (born 1956), novelist

• Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914), novelist, writer and cleric

• Stella Benson (1892–1933), novelist, poet and travel writer

• George Bentham (1800–1884), botanist

• Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), philosopher

• Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875–1956), novelist, humorist and poet

• Elizabeth Bentley (1767–1839), poet

• Nicolas Bentley (1907–1978), writer and illustrator

• Phyllis Bentley (1894–1977), novelist and biographer

• Richard Bentley (1662–1742), theologian and poet

• Edward Berdoe (1836–1916), critic, novelist and physician

• Richard Berengarten (born 1943), poet

• Elisabeth Beresford (1928–2010), children's writer, the Wombles

• J. D. Beresford (1873–1947), novelist

• James Beresford (1764–1840), satirist, translator and cleric

• Leila Berg (1917–2012), children's writer

• John Berger (1926–2017), novelist, G.

• Reginald Berkeley (1890–1935), playwright and screenwriter

• John Berkenhout (1726–1791), naturalist

• Steven Berkoff (born 1937), playwright and actor

• William Bayle Bernard (1807–1875), playwright, critic and novelist

• John Bourchier Berners (1467–1533), translator and statesman

• Juliana Berners (Bernes, b. c. 1388), writer on heraldry, hawking etc., The Book of Saint Albans

• Elizabeth Berridge (1919–2009), English novelist

• Francis Berry (1915–2006), poet and critic

• Mary Berry (1763–1852), writer and editor

• Mary Berry (born 1935), cookery writer

• Tess Berry-Hart (born 1978), playwright and novelist

• Charles Bertram (1723–1765), literary forger

• Annie Besant (1847–1933), writer and campaigner

• Walter Besant (1836–1901), novelist and historian

• Charles Best (1570–1627), poet

• Alfred Bestall (1892–1986), children's writer and illustrator, Rupert Bear

• Henry Digby Beste (1768–1836), religious writer

• Matilda Betham-Edwards (1836–1919), novelist, poet and travel writer

• Nicholas Bethell (1938–2007), writer, translator and politician

• John Betjeman (1906–1984), Poet Laureate and writer

• Thomas Betterton (1635–1710), playwright and actor

• Edwyn Bevan (1870–1943), philosopher and historian

• Elizabeth Beverley (fl. 1815–30), pamphleteer and actress

• L. S. Bevington (1845–1895), essayist, anarchist and poet

• Elizabeth Bibesco (1897–1945), novelist and poet

• Tessa Biddington (born 1954), poet

• Hester Biddle (c. 1629–1697), Quaker pamphleteer and preacher

• Elizabeth Biddulph, Baroness Biddulph (1834-1916), biographer and Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria

• John Stanyan Bigg (1828–1865), poet

• Mark Billingham (born 1961), novelist

• William Billington (1825–1884), poet

• Thomas Bilson(1547–1616), theologian, AV translator and bishop

• Andrew Bing (1574–1652), scholar, AV translator and cleric

• Margaret Bingham (1740–1814), poet and painter

• Laurence Binyon (1869–1943), poet and art historian

• T.J. Binyon (1936–2004), novelist, translator and biographer

• Carol Birch (born 1951), novelist and critic

• Thomas Birch (1705–1766), historian

• Caroline Bird (born 1986), poet and playwright

• Isabella Bird (1831–1904), travel writer and naturalist

• Dea Birkett (born 1958), writer

• John Birtwhistle (born 1946), poet and librettist

• Samuel Bishop (1731–1795), poet and essayist

• Clementina Black (1853–1922), novelist and political writer

• Robert Black (1829–1915), novelist, story writer and translator

• Sarah Blackborow (fl. 1650s – 1660s), Quaker writer and preacher

• John Blackburn (1923–1993), novelist

• Thomas Blackburn (1916–1977), poet

• Malorie Blackman (born 1962), children's writer and screenwriter

• R. D. Blackmore (1825–1900), novelist, Lorna Doone

• Richard Blackmore (1654–1729), poet and religious writer

• William Blackstone (1723–1780), legal writer

• Algernon Blackwood (1869–1951), novelist and story writer

• Caroline Blackwood (1931–1996), novelist and critic

• Helen Blackwood, Lady Dufferin (1807–1867), poet and songwriter

• Max Blagg (living), poet and writer

• Quentin Blake (born 1932), children's writer and illustrator

• William Blake (1757–1827), poet and artist, Songs of Innocence and of Experience

• Helen Blakeman (born 1971), playwright and screenwriter

• Susanna Blamire (1747–1794), poet

• Edward Blanchard (1820–1899), playwright and songwriter

• Samuel Laman Blanchard (1804–1845), writer, journalist and poet

• Robert Blatchford (wrote as Nunquam, 1851–1943), journalist, writer and campaigner

• Barbara Blaugdone (c. 1609–1705), Quaker autobiographer

• Nicholas Blincoe (born 1965), novelist and screenwriter

• Mathilde Blind (1841–1896), poet and biographer

• Edward Blishen (1920–1996), writer and broadcaster

• Eliot Bliss (Emily Bliss, 1903–1990), novelist and poet

• Walter Blith (1605–1654), writer on husbandry

• Robert Bloomfield (1766–1823), poet

• Charles Blount (1654–1693), polemicist

• Elizabeth Blower (c. 1757/1763 – post–1816), novelist, poet and actress

• Evelyn, Princess Blücher (1876–1960), diarist and memoirist

• Nicholas Blundell (1669–1737), diarist

• Edmund Blunden (1896–1974), poet, author and critic

• Anthony Blunt (1907–1983), art historian and spy

• Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840–1922), poet and author

• Ronald Blythe (1922–2023), writer and editor,

• Enid Blyton (1897–1968), children's writer, Noddy

• James Boaden (1762–1839), biographer, playwright and journalist

• Frederick S. Boas (1862–1957), literary historian

• John Ernest Bode (1816–1874), poet, hymnist and cleric

• John Bodenham (1569–1610), anthologist

• Barbara Bodichon (1827–1891), educator and feminist

• John Bois (1560–1643), scholar, AV translator and cleric

• Osbern Bokenam (c. 1393 – c. 1463), literary historian and cleric

• Robert Bolt (1924–1995), dramatist and screenwriter, A Man For All Seasons

• Sharon Bolton, mystery fiction writer

• Michael Bond (1926–2017), children's writer, Paddington Bear

• Elizabeth Bonhôte (1744–1818), novelist

• Christopher Booker (1937–2019), writer and journalist

• Luke Booker (1762–1835), poet, antiquary and cleric

• George Boole (1815–1864), mathematician and logician

• Mary Everest Boole (1832–1916), schoolbook writer

• Barton Booth (1681–1733), actor and poet

• Charles Booth (1840–1916), social researcher, Life and Labour of the People in London

• Martin Booth (1944–2004), novelist, poet and editor

• Stephen Booth (born 1952), novelist

• Brooke Boothby (1744–1824), scholar and poet

• Frances Boothby (fl. 1669–70), playwright

• Basil Boothroyd (1910–1988), writer and humorist

• George Borrow (1803–1881), novelist and travel writer, Romany Rye

• Lucy M. Boston (1892–1990), children's writer

• Clifford Edmund Bosworth (1928–2015), historian and Arabist

• Joseph Bosworth (1789–1876), lexicographer and Anglo-Saxon scholar

• Phyllis Bottome (1884–1963), novelist and psychoanalyst

• Gordon Bottomley (1874–1948), poet and dramatist

• Ronald Bottrall (1906–1989), poet and academic

• Marjorie Boulton (1924–2017), writer and Esperantist

• Francis William Bourdillon (1852–1921), poet

• Thomas Edward Bowdich (1791–1824), traveller and writer

• Henrietta Maria Bowdler ("Harriet", 1750–1830), religious writer and expurgator

• Jane Bowdler (1743–1784), poet and essayist

• John Bowdler (1746–1823), religious writer and pamphleteer

• John Bowdler (1783–1815), writer and poet

• Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825), writer and expurgator

• Thomas Bowdler 1782–1856), writer and cleric

• Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973), novelist and story writer

• John Griffith Bowen (1924–2019), novelist and screenwriter

• Marjorie Bowen (real name Gabrielle Margaret Vere Long, 1885–1952), novelist and writer

• Emily Bowes (1806–1857), religious poet and artist

• Mary Bowes (1749–1800), playwright and botanist

• Tim Bowler (living), children's writer

• William Lisle Bowles (1762–1850), poet and critic

• Maurice Bowra (1898–1971), scholar and wit

• Frank Cottrell Boyce (born 1959), children's writer and screenwriter

• William Binnington Boyce (1804–1889), philologist and Methodist minister

• Abel Boyer (c. 1667–1729), journalist, miscellanist and translator

• Charles Boyle (1674–1731), writer and playwright

• Charles Boyle (born 1951), poet

• John Boyle (1707–1762), writer and translator

• Roger Boyle (1621–1679), playwright and statesman

• Charles Vernon Boys (1855–1944), physicist and polymath

• Ernest Franklin Bozman (1895–1968), writer and editor

• Michael Bracewell (born 1958), writer and novelist

• Alison Brackenbury (born 1953), poet

• Paula Brackston (living), genre novelist

• Jason Bradbury (living), children's writer and TV presenter

• Malcolm Bradbury (1932–2000), novelist

• Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1837–1915), novelist, Lady Audley's Secret

• Henry J. Bradfield (1805–1852), poet, writer and colonial officer

• Barbara Taylor Bradford (born 1933), novelist

• Ernle Bradford (1922–1986), historian and writer

• Walter Bradick (1706-1794)

• Charles Bradlaugh (1833–1891), writer and freethinker

• A. C. Bradley (1851–1935), literary critic

• Charles Bradley (1789–1871), writer and preacher

• Edward Bradley (wrote as Cuthbert M. Bede, BA, 1827–1889), novelist and cleric

• F. H. Bradley (1846–1924), philosopher

• Henry Bradley (1845–1923), philologist and lexicographer

• Henry Bradshaw (c. 1450–1513), poet and monk

• Nicholas Bradshawe (c. 1635), writer

• Hilary Bradt (born 1941), travel writer and publisher

• John Brady (died 1814), miscellanist

• Melvyn Bragg (born 1939), novelist, biographer and broadcaster

• John Braine (1922–1986), novelist, Room at the Top

• Richard Braithwaite or Brathwait, (1588–1673), poet

• Ernest Bramah (born Ernest Bramah Smith, 1868–1942), novelist and humorist

• James Bramston (1694–1744), poet and satirist

• Barbarina Brand Lady Dacre, (1768–1854), poet, playwright and translator

• Christianna Brand (real name Mary Christianna Milne, 1907–1988), novelist and children's writer

• Hannah Brand (1754–1821), playwright, poet and actress

• Jo Brand (born 1957), writer and comedian

• William Branthwaite (died 1620), scholar, AV translator and cleric

• Anna Brassey (1839–1887), travel writer

• Anna Eliza Bray (1790–1883), novelist and topographer

• Charles Bray (1811–1884), philosopher and phrenologist

• Angela Brazil (1868–1947), novelist

• Wallace Breem (1926–1990), novelist and librarian

• John Brent (1808–1882), novelist and antiquary

• Elinor Brent-Dyer (1894–1969), children's writer, Chalet School

• Frederick Sadleir Brereton (1852–1957), writer for boys

• John Brereton (1571 or 1572 – c. 1632), travel writer and explorer

• Nicholas Breton (c. 1545–1626), poet and tractarian

• Richard Brett (1567–1637), scholar, AV translator and cleric

• Simon Brett (born 1945), novelist and playwright

• E. Cobham Brewer (1810–1897), writer and cleric, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

• George Brewer (1766–18??), miscellanist

• James Norris Brewer (fl. 1799–1829), topographer and novelist

• John Brewster (1753–1842), writer and cleric

• Shane Briant (1946–2021), novelist and actor

• John Bridges (1536–1618), tractarian and bishop

• Robert Bridges (1844–1930), Poet Laureate

• Victor Bridges (1878–1972), novelist and playwright

• Katharine Mary Briggs (1898–1980), folklore writer

• Raymond Briggs (1934–2022), children's writer and illustrator

• John Bright (1811–1889), orator and politician

• Joanna Briscoe (born 1963), novelist and journalist

• Sophia Briscoe (fl. 1770s), novelist

• Vera Brittain (1893–1970), writer and pacifist

• Edwin Brock (1927–1997), poet

• William Brock (1807–1875), biographer and Baptist minister

• Alexander Brome (1620–1666), poet

• Richard Brome (c. 1590 – c. 1653), playwright

• Vincent Brome (1910–2004), biographer and novelist

• Eliza Bromley (fl. 1784–1803), novelist and translator

• Eleanor Bron (born 1938), writer and actress

• Anne Brontë (1820–1849), novelist, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

• Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855), novelist, Jane Eyre

• Emily Brontë (1818–1848), novelist and poet, Wuthering Heights

• Patrick Brontë (originally Brunty, 1777–1861), poet, writer and cleric

• Rhidian Brook (born 1964), novelist and screenwriter

• Arthur de Capell Brooke (1791–1858), travel writer

• Christopher N. L. Brooke (living), historian

• Frances Brooke (1724–1789), novelist and playwright

• Jocelyn Brooke (1908–1966), novelist, poet and biographer

• John Brooke (died 1582), religious writer and translator

• Rupert Brooke (1887–1915), poet

• Anita Brookner (1928–2016), novelist

• Kevin Brooks (born 1959), children's writer

• Shirley Brooks (1816–1874), novelist, playwright and poet

• Ralph Broome (1742–1835), pamphleteer and poet

• William Broome (1689–1745), poet and translator

• Robert Barnabas Brough (1828–1864), writer and poet

• George Brown (1835–1917), ethnographer and diarist

• John Brown (1715–1766), essayist and cleric

• Pamela Brown (1924–1989), children's writer

• Pete Brown (1940–2023), performance poet and songwriter

• Pete Brown (born 1968), beer writer and columnist

• Stewart Brown (born 1951), poet and scholar

• Tom Brown (1663–1704), satirist and translator

• Anthony Browne (born 1946), children's writer and illustrator

• Edward Browne (1862–1926), orientalist and writer

• Isaac Hawkins Browne (1705–1760), poet

• Moses Browne (1704–1787), poet and cleric

• Thomas Browne (1705–1782), polymath, Religio Medici

• William Browne (c. 1590 – c. 1645), poet

• Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861), poet

• Oscar Browning (1837–1923), writer and scholar

• Robert Browning (1812–1889), poet

• Alan Brownjohn (born 1931), poet and novelist

• Dorita Fairlie Bruce (1885–1970), children's writer

• Henry James Bruce (1880–1951), autobiographer and diplomat

• Francis Bryan (c. 1490–1550), poet and courtier

• Arthur Bryant (1899–1985), historian

• Samuel Egerton Brydges (1762–1836), bibliographer and editor

• Bryher (real name Annie Winifred Ellerman, 1894–1983), novelist, poet and memoirist

• Charles Bucke (1781–1846), writer and poet

• Anthony Buckeridge (1912–2004), children's writer, Jennings

• James Silk Buckingham (1786–1855), journalist and travel writer

• Leicester Silk Buckingham (1825–1867), playwright and historian

• Francis Trevelyan Buckland (1826–1880), natural historian

• Raymond Buckland (1934–2017), occultist

• William Buckland (1784–1856), geologist, palaeontologist and cleric

• Henry Thomas Buckle (1821–1862), historian

• Catherine Mary Buckton (1826-1904), campaigner and writer

• Maria Elizabeth Budden (c. 1780–1832), children's writer

• Eustace Budgell (1686–1737), writer and politician

• Frank Thomas Bullen (1857–1915), novelist and autobiographer

• A. H. Bullen (1857–1920), scholar

• J. B. Bullen (living), critic

• Gerald Bullett (1893–1958), novelist, critic and poet

• Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873), novelist, poet and playwright

• Robert Bulwer-Lytton (wrote as Owen Meredith, 1831–1891), poet

• Basil Bunting (1900–1985), poet

• John Bunyan (1628–1688), writer, The Pilgrim's Progress

• Josiah Burchett (c. 1666–1746), naval historian

• George Burges (1786–1864), classicist

• Anthony Burgess (originally John Burgess Wilson, 1917–1993), novelist, A Clockwork Orange

• Melvin Burgess (born 1954), children's writer

• John William Burgon (1813–1888), poet and theologian

• John Burgoyne (1722–1792), playwright and army officer

• Thomas Burke (1886–1945), novelist and writer

• William Burke (died 1798), pamphleteer and official

• Francis Burleigh (fl. 1590–1610), AV translator and cleric

• Michael Burleigh (born 1955), historian

• Andrew Burnaby (1732–1812), travel writer and cleric

• Francis Burnand (1836–1917), humorist and dramatist

• Thomas Burnet (c. 1635–1715), theologian

• Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924), children's writer, The Secret Garden

• Caroline Burney (fl. early 19th century), novelist

• Charles Burney (1726–1814), music scholar and composer

• Charles Burney (1757–1817), scholar, educator and cleric

• Fanny Burney (also as Frances, Mme d'Arblay, 1752–1840), novelist and diarist, Evelina

• Frances Burney (1776–1828), dramatist

• James Burney (1750–1821), travel writer and admiral

• Sarah Burney (1772–1844), novelist

• Myles Burnyeat (1939–2019), philosopher and classicist

• James Burr (born 1971), fiction writer

• Sophia Burrell (1753–1802), poet and playwright

• James Burrow (1701–1782), scholar, scientist and lawyer

• Montagu Burrows (1819–1905), naval historian and officer

• Hester Burton (1913–2000), historical novelist and children's writer

• Maurice Burton (1898–1992), science writer and zoologist

• Richard Francis Burton (1821–1890), writer, translator and explorer

• Robert Burton (1577–1640), polymath, The Anatomy of Melancholy

• Charlotte Bury (1775–1861), novelist and poet

• Elizabeth Bury (1644–1720), diarist and polymath

• Alban Butler (1710–1773), writer and cleric

• Catherine Butler (earlier Charles Butler, born 1963), children's writer and academic

• Gwendoline Butler (1922–2013), novelist

• Joseph Butler (1692–1752), theologian and bishop

• Josephine Butler (1828–1906), writer and campaigner

• Samuel Butler (1612–1680), poet and satirist, Hudibras

• Samuel Butler (1835–1902), writer and satirist, Erewhon

• Herbert Butterfield (1900–1979), historian

• Jez Butterworth (born 1969), playwright

• Mary Butts (1890–1937), writer and poet

• Bertha Henry Buxton (1844–1881), novelist and children's writer

• Nigel Buxton (1924–2015), travel writer and wine critic

• Thomas Buxton (1786–1845), political writer

• A. S. Byatt (born 1936), novelist

• John Byrom (1692–1763), poet

• John Byron (1723–1786), memoirist and admiral

• Lord Byron (1788–1824), poet, Don Juan

• Robert Byron (1905–1941), travel writer

• Ingram Bywater (1840–1914), scholar and editor

• Michael Bywater (born 1953), writer and broadcaster

C
• Florence Caddy (1837–1923), writer

• Hall Caine (1853–1931), novelist and playwright

• Mona Caird (1854–1932), essayist, novelist and feminist

• John Caius the Elder or Kay (fl. 1480), narrative poet

• Maria Callcott (1785–1842), children's writer, travel writer, and illustrator

• Brian Callison (born 1932), novelist

• Charles Stuart Calverley (1831–1884), poet and translator

• Roland Camberton (real name Henry Cohen, 1921–1965), novelist

• Ada Cambridge (1844–1926), novelist and poet

• William Camden (1551–1623), historian and antiquary

• Richard Cameron (living), playwright

• Thomas Campion (1567–1620), poet and composer

• Bruce Campbell (1912–1993), ornithologist

• W. H. Canaway (1925–1988), novelist

• James Cancellar, (fl. 1564), English theological writer

• Hugh Candidus (c. 1095 – c. 1160), historian in Latin and monk

• Denis Cannan (1919–2011), playwright and screenwriter

• Gilbert Cannan (1884–1955), novelist and translator

• Joanna Cannan (1898–1961), novelist and children's writer

• May Wedderburn Cannan (1893–1973), poet and autobiographer

• Dorothy Cannell (born 1943), novelist

• Victor Canning (1911–1986), novelist, essayist and children's writer

• William Canton (1845–1926), poet and children's writer

• Edward Capell (1713–1781), Shakespearean

• Edward Capern (1819–1894), poet and postman

• John Capgrave (1393–1464), theologian and historian

• Neville Cardus (1888–1975), cricket writer and music critic

• Thomas Carew (1595–1640), poet

• Henry Carey (1687–1743), poet, playwright and song-writer

• Mary Carey, Lady Carey (c. 1609 – c. 1680), poet

• Rosa Nouchette Carey (1840–1909), novelist and children's writer

• Robert Carliell (died c. 1622), poet

• John Carne (1789–1844), travel writer and biographer

• Edward Carpenter (1844–1929), poet and philosopher

• Humphrey Carpenter (1946–2005), biographer, broadcaster and children's writer

• Barbara Comyns Carr (1907–1992), novelist and artist

• J. L. Carr (1912–1994), novelist and schoolbook writer

• Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, 1832–1898), children's writer and mathematician, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

• Angela Carter (1940–1992), novelist

• Elizabeth Carter (17171806), poet, translator and bluestocking

• Barbara Cartland (1901–2000), novelist

• George Cartwright (1739–1819), diarist and explorer

• Justin Cartwright (1945–2018), novelist

• William Cartwright (1611–1643), playwright

• Elizabeth Cary (1585–1639), poet and playwright, The Tragedy of Mariam

• Henry Francis Cary (1772–1844), translator and critic

• Lucius Cary (Lord Falkland, 1610–1643), poet, writer and politician

• Patrick Cary or Carey, (c. 1624–1658), poet

• John Caryll (1625–1711), poet, playwright and diplomat

• Juanita Casey (1925–2012), poet and novelist

• Cathy Cassidy (born 1962), children's writer

• Egerton Castle (1858–1920), novelist (with wife Agnes)

• Helen Castor (living), historian and broadcaster

• Sarah Caudwell (real name Sarah Cockburn, 1939–2000), novelist

• Charles Causley (1917–2003), poet and editor

• David Caute (born 1936), novelist and historian

• Tiberius Cavallo (1749–1809), natural philosopher

• George Cavendish (1494 – c. 1652), biographer and poet

• Jane Cavendish (later Jane Cheyne, 1621–1669), poet and playwright

• Margaret Cavendish Duchess of Newcastle, (1623–1673), poet, novelist and playwright

• William Cavendish (1592–1676), polymath

• William Caxton (c. 1415/1422 – c. 1492), printer and translator

• Lord David Cecil (1902–1986), scholar and biographer

• Dorothea Celesia (originally Mallet, 1738–1790), poet and translator

• Susanna Centlivre (also as Susanna Carroll, c. 1667–1723), playwright, poet and actress

• Mark Chadbourn (born 1960), genre novelist

• Laurence Chaderton (c. 1536–1640), theologian, AV translator and cleric

• Henry Chadwick (1920–2008), theologian, historian and cleric

• John Chalkhill (fl. c. 1600), poet

• Annie Emma Challice (1821–1875), author

• Thomas Chaloner (1521–1565), poet, translator and statesman

• Edward Chamberlayne (1616–1703), writer, historian and translator

• William Chamberlayne (1619–1689), poet

• Shaun Chamberlin (living), author and activist

• Aidan Chambers (born 1934), children's writer

• Ephraim Chambers (c. 1680–1740), writer and encyclopedist

• Frederick Chamier (1796–1870), novelist and sea captain

• Meira Chand (living), novelist

• Mary Chandler (1687–1745), poet

• Raymond Chandler (1888–1959), crime writer

• Samuel Chandler (1693–1766), theologian and Presbyterian minister

• Henry Channon ("Chips", 1897–1958), writer and diarist

• George Chapman (1559–1634), poet, playwright and translator

• Guy Chapman (1889–1972), writer and historian

• Pat Chapman (1940–2022), food writer

• Hester Chapone (1727–1801), writer and bluestocking

• Charlotte Charke (originally Cibber, 1713–1760), writer and actress

• Elizabeth Charles (1828–1896), novelist and religious writer

• Gerda Charles (real name Edna Lipson, 1914–1996), novelist and anthologist

• Maria Louisa Charlesworth (1819–1880), children's writer

• Leslie Charteris (born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, 1907–1993), novelist, Simon Templar

• James Hadley Chase, b. Rene Brabazon Raymond, also as James L. Docherty, Ambrose Grant, etc., (1906–1985), novelist

• Debjani Chatterjee (born 1952), poet, translator and children's writer

• Georgiana Chatterton (1806–1876), travel writer, novelist and poet

• Thomas Chatterton (wrote as Thomas Rowley, 1752–1770), poet

• Beth Chatto (1923–2018), garden writer

• William Andrew Chatto (also as Stephen Oliver, 1799–1864), travel and general writer

• Bruce Chatwin (1940–1989), novelist and travel writer

• Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–1400), poet, The Canterbury Tales

• Cris Cheek (born 1955), poet and performer

• Mavis Cheek (living), novelist

• John Cheke (1514–1557), classicist and translator

• George Tomkyns Chesney (1830–1895), novelist and army officer

• G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936), novelist, poet and essayist, Father Brown

• Henry Chettle (c. 1564 – c. 1607), playwright

• William Rufus Chetwood (died 1766), playwright, novelist and publisher

• Peter Cheyney (1896–1951), novelist

• Josiah Child (1630–1699), political economist and merchant

• Lee Child (real name Jim Grant, b. 1954), thriller writer

• Wilfred Rowland Childe (1890–1952), poet

• Erskine Childers (1870–1922), novelist and politician

• William Chillingworth (1602–1644), religious writer

• Mary Cholmondeley (1859–1925), novelist

• Charles Chorley (c. 1810–1874), man of letters

• Agatha Christie (1891–1976), mystery writer

• Mary Chudleigh (1656–1710), poet and polemicist

• Alfred John Church (1829–1912), scholar, poet and translator

• Richard Church (1893–1972), poet

• Richard William Church (1815–1890), biographer, historian and cleric

• Caryl Churchill (born 1938), playwright and translator

• Charles Churchill (1731–1764), poet and satirist

• Winston Churchill (1874–1965), writer, prime minister and Nobel Prize winner

• Thomas Churchyard (c. 1520–1604), poet and soldier

• Colley Cibber (1671–1757), Poet Laureate, playwright and bowdlerizer

• Horatio Clare (born 1973), writer

• John Clare (1793–1864), poet

• Emily Clark (fl. 1798–1819), novelist and poet

• Amy Clarke (1892–1980), poet and school historian

• Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008), SF novelist

• Bob Clarke (born 1964), archaeologist and historian

• Charles Cowden Clarke (1787–1877), writer and scholar

• Mrs. Henry Clarke (Amy, 1853–1908), historical novelist and children's writer

• Jane Clarke, biochemist and academic

• Jane E. Clarke (born 1954), children's writer

• Lindsay Clarke (born 1939), novelist and poet

• Mary Cowden Clarke (originally Novello, 1809–1898), writer and scholar

• Pauline Clarke (1921–2013), children's writer

• Richard Clarke (died 1634), scholar, AV translator and cleric

• Roy Clarke (born 1930), screenwriter and playwright

• Samuel Clarke (1675–1729), philosopher and cleric

• Susanna Clarke (born 1959), novelist, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

• T. E. B. Clarke (1907–1989), screenwriter and novelist

• Laurence Clarkson or Claxton (1615–1667), writer and theologian

• John Clavell (1601–1643), writer, playwright and highwayman

• Chris Cleave (born 1973), novelist and journalist

• Brian Cleeve (1921–2003), novelist

• Lucas Cleeve (also as Mrs Howard Kingscote, 1868–1908), novelist

• John Cleland (1709–1789), novelist, Fanny Hill

• Dick Clement (born 1937), scriptwriter

• Jack Clemo (1916–1994), poet and novelist

• John Cleveland (1613–1658), poet

• Barbara Cleverly (born 1940), novelist

• Anne Clifford (1590–1676), diarist

• Lucy Clifford (wrote as Mrs. W. K. Clifford, 1846–1929), novelist, playwright and children's writer

• William Kingdon Clifford (1846–1879), philosopher and children's writer

• Caroline Clive (wrote as "V", 1801–1872), novelist and poet

• John Clive (1933–2012), novelist and actor

• Kitty Clive (born Catherine Raftor, 1711–1785), playwright and actress

• Arthur Hugh Clough (1819–1861), poet

• Bryan Clough (born 1932), writer

• William Cobbett (1763–1835), writer and pamphleteer, Rural Rides

• Bob Cobbing (1920–2002), poet and artist

• Richard Cobbold (1797–1877), novelist and writer

• Richard Cobden (1804–1865), pamphleteer

• Aston Cockayne (1605–1684), poet and playwright

• Catherine Trotter Cockburn (1679–1749), novelist and playwright

• Edward Cocker (1631–1676), writer and engraver

• Richard Cocks (1566–1624), diarist

• Henry Cockton (1807–1853), novelist

• Jonathan Coe (born 1961), novelist

• Lady Mary Coke (1727–1811), correspondent and diarist

• Barry Cole (1936–2014), poet and novelist

• G. D. H. Cole (1889–1959), economist, historian and novelist

• Margaret Cole (1893–1980), politician and novelist

• Olivia Cole (born 1982), poet

• John William Colenso (1814–1883), writer and bishop

• Christabel Rose Coleridge (1843–1921), novelist and editor

• Derwent Coleridge (1800–1883), writer, scholar and cleric

• Ernest Hartley Coleridge (1846–1920), critic, editor and poet

• Hartley Coleridge (1796–1849), poet and critic

• Mary Elizabeth Coleridge (1861–1907), novelist and poet

• Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834), poet, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

• Sara Coleridge (1802–1852), author and translator

• Stephen Coleridge (1854–1936), writer, poet and campaigner

• Jane Collier (1714–1755), satirist

• Jeremy Collier (1650–1726), pamphleteer and cleric

• John Collier (wrote as Tim Bobbin, 1708–1786), dialect poet and caricaturist

• John Collier (1901–1980), story writer and screenwriter

• John Payne Collier (1789–1883), literary critic, editor and forger

• Mary Collier (c. 1688–1762), poet

• R. G. Collingwood (1889–1943), philosopher and historian

• W. G. Collingwood (1854–1932), writer and artist

• An Collins (fl. 1653), religious poet

• Anthony Collins (1676–1729), philosopher

• Charles James Collins (1820–1864), novelist and journalist

• Jackie Collins (1937–2015), novelist

• John Collins (1625–1683), mathematician

• John Collins (1742–1808), poet and lyricist

• John Churton Collins (1848–1908), literary critic

• Mortimer Collins (1827–1876), novelist and poet

• Norman Collins (1907–1982), novelist

• Warwick Collins (1948–2013), novelist and screenwriter

• Wilkie Collins (1824–1889), novelist, The Moonstone

• William Collins (1721–1759), poet

• John Stewart Collis (1900–1984), biographer and countryside writer

• Maurice Collis (1889–1973), writer and biographer

• Mary Collyer (c. 1716–1762), translator and novelist.

• George Colman (1732–1794), playwright

• George Colman (1762–1836), playwright and poet

• Jock Colville (1915–1987), diarist and civil servant

• Howard Colvin (1919–2007), architectural historian

• William Combe (1741–1823), miscellanist and poet

• Alex Comfort (1920–2000), novelist, poet and writer

• Jack Common (1903–1968), novelist

• Ivy Compton-Burnett (1884–1969), novelist

• William Congreve (1670–1729), playwright and poet, Erewhon

• Thomas Coningsby (died 1625), diarist, soldier and politician

• Paul Conneally (born 1959), poet, artist and musician

• Charlie Connelly (born 1970), football and travel writer

• Cyril Connolly (1903–1974), writer and critic

• Joseph Connolly (born 1950), writer and novelist

• Tony Connor (born 1930), poet and playwright

• Robert Conquest (1917–2015), historian and poet

• Henry Constable (1562–1613), poet

• Hugh Conway (real name Frederick John Fargus, 1847–1885), novelist

• Robert Seymour Conway (1864–1933), classicist

• John Conybeare (1692–1755), theologian and bishop

• John Josias Conybeare (1779–1824), scholar, translator and cleric

• William Daniel Conybeare (1787–1857), writer and cleric

• William John Conybeare (1815–1857), writer, novelist and cleric

• David Cook (1940–2015), novelist and screenwriter

• Edward Dutton Cook (1829–1883), novelist and critic

• Eliza Cook (1818–1889), poet

• James Cook (1728–1779), travel writer and mariner

• Judith Cook (1933–2004), novelist

• Dorian Cooke (1916–2005), poet and intelligence officer

• Thomas Cooke (1703–1756), poet, playwright and translator

• Catherine Cookson (1906–1998), novelist

• William Henry Coombes (1767–1850), writer and RC priest

• Artemis Cooper (born 1953), writer and editor

• Duff Cooper (1890–1954), writer, diarist and politician

• Jilly Cooper (born 1937), writer and novelist

• Lettice Cooper (1897–1994), novelist and critic

• Thomas Cooper (1805–1892), poet and novelist

• William Cooper (real name H. S. Hoff, 1910–2002), novelist

• Isabel Cooper-Oakley (1853/1854–1914), theosophist

• Wendy Cope (born 1945), poet

• Esther Copley (1786–1851) children's and housekeeping writer

• A. E. Coppard (1878–1957) poet and story writer

• Abiezer Coppe (1619–1672) religious writer

• Richard Corbet or Corbett (1582–1635), poet and bishop

• Jim Corbett (1875–1955), writer and conservationist

• Julian Corbett (1854–1922), naval historian

• Michael Cordy (living), novelist

• Marie Corelli (1855–1924), novelist

• Alan Coren (1938–2007), writer, satirist and broadcaster

• Hilary Corke (1921–2001), poet

• Adam Cornford (born 1950), poet and essayist

• Frances Cornford (1886–1960), poet

• Francis M. Cornford (1874–1943), scholar and poet

• John Cornford (1915–1936), poet

• Caroline Cornwallis (1786–1858), writer and polyglot

• Jane Cornwallis (1581–1659), correspondent

• Bernard Cornwell (born 1944), novelist

• William Cornysh or Cornish (1465–1523), dramatist, poet and composer

• Felicitas Corrigan (1908–2003), writer and nun

• Annie Sophie Cory (wrote as Victoria Cross, 1868–1952), novelist

• William Johnson Cory (1823–1892), poet and educator

• Thomas Coryat or Coryate (c. 1577–1617), travel writer and poet

• Louisa Stuart Costello (1799–1870), travel writer, novelist and poet

• John Cosin (1594–1672), polemicist and bishop

• Randle Cotgrave (died 1634 or 1652), lexicographer

• Joseph Cottle (1770–1853), poet and essayist

• Colin Cotterill (born 1952), author and cartoonist

• Charles Cotton (1630–1687), poet and writer

• Robert Bruce Cotton (1570/1571 – 1631), antiquary and political writer

• Oswald Couldrey (1882–1958), poet and artist

• Stephen Coulter (also as James Mayo, b. 1914), novelist

• G. G. Coulton (1858–1947), historian and polemicist

• William John Courthope (1842–1917), critic and poet

• Polly Courtney (living), novelist

• Francis Coventry (1725–1754 or 1759), novelist

• Miles Coverdale (c. 1488–1569), Bible translator

• Noël Coward (1899–1973), playwright, Blithe Spirit

• Abraham Cowley (1618–1667), poet

• Hannah Cowley (1743–1809), playwright

• Dorothy Cowlin (1911–2010), novelist and poet

• E. E. Cowper (1859–1933), novelist

• Frank Cowper (1849–1930), yachtsman and author

• William Cowper (1731–1800), poet, John Gilpin

• Anthony Berkeley Cox (also as Anthony Berkeley, etc., 1893–1971), novelist

• Edward Coxere (1633–1694), autobiographer and seaman

• George Crabbe (1754–1832), poet and naturalist

• Jim Crace (born 1946), novelist

• Hubert Crackanthorpe (originally Cookson, 1870–1896), essayist and story writer

• Nicholas Crafts (born 1949), economic historian

• Albert Craig (the Surrey Poet, 1849–1909), sports poet

• Amanda Craig (born 1959), novelist

• Dinah Craik (also as Miss Mulock, 1826–1887), novelist and poet

• Edward Crankshaw (1909–1984), writer, historian and translator

• Richard Crashaw (1613–1649), poet

• Elizabeth Craven (1750–1828), travel writer and playwright

• John Creasey (1908–1973), novelist

• Edward Shepherd Creasy (1812–1878), historian

• Thomas Creech (1659–1700), translator

• Thomas Creevey (1768–1838), diarist and politician

• Mandell Creighton (1843–1901), historian and bishop

• Helen Cresswell (1934–2005), children's writer and screenwriter

• Jasmine Cresswell (born 1941), novelist

• Nicholas Cresswell (1750–1804), diarist and farmer

• Bernard Crick (1929–2008), political scientist

• Martin Crimp (born 1956), playwright

• Arthur Shearly Cripps (1869–1952), story writer and poet

• Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt, 1908–1999), writer and raconteur

• Ann Batten Cristall (1769–1848), poet

• Herbert Croft (1751–1815), novelist

• Rupert Croft-Cooke (wrote as Leo Bruce, 1903–1979), novelist

• Andrew Crofts (born 1953), ghost writer

• Bithia Mary Croker (1849–1920), novelist

• Thomas Francis Dillon Croker (wrote as T. F. Dillon Croker, 1831–1912), antiquary and poet

• Richmal Crompton (real name Richmal Crompton Lamburn, 1890–1969), novelist, Just William

• Vincent Cronin (1924–2011), historian and biographer

• Camilla Dufour Crosland (1812–1895), poet, novelist and historical writer

• A. F. Cross (1863–1940), poet, playwright and journalist

• Gillian Cross (born 1945), children's writer

• Kevin Crossley-Holland (born 1941), children's writer, poet and editor

• Catherine Crowe (1790–1872), novelist and playwright

• William Crowe (1745–1829), poet

• Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), writer, mystic and occultist

• John Crowne (1641–1712), playwright

• Andrew Crozier (1943–2008), poet and scholar

• Andrew Crumey (born 1961), novelist

• Barry Cryer (1935–2022), writer

• J. A. Cuddon (1928–1996), novelist, playwright and lexicographer

• Annie Hall Cudlip (1838–1918), novelist

• Pender Hodge Cudlip (1834–1911), writer and cleric

• John Cullum (1733–1785), antiquary, historian and cleric

• Hannah Cullwick (1833–1909), diarist and servant

• Nathaniel Culverwell (1619–1651), philosopher and theologian

• Nigel Cumberland (born 1967), self-help and leadership non-fiction author

• Richard Cumberland (1631–1718), philosopher and bishop

• Richard Cumberland (1732–1811), playwright, poet and novelist

• Nancy Cunard (1896–1965), poet and memoirist

• Joseph Cundall (wrote as Stephen Percy, 1818–1895), children's writer and publisher

• John Cunliffe (1933–2018), children's writer

• Roland Curram (born 1932), novelist and actor

• R. N. Currey (1907–2001), poet

• Lionel George Curtis (1872–1955), writer on world government

• William Curtis (1746–1799), botanist

• Alice Curwen (c. 1619–1679), Quaker writer and preacher

• Henry Cust (1861–1917), writer and editor

• Catherine Cuthbertson (pre–1780 – post–1830), novelist

• Judith Cutler (born 1946), novelist

• John Cutts (1661–1707), poet, writer and soldier