List of French women writers

This is a list of women writers born in France or whose writings are closely associated with France.

A

 * Geneviève Aclocque (1884–1967), historian
 * Juliette Adam (1836–1936), novelist, non-fiction writer and magazine editor
 * Marie d'Agoult, pen name Daniel Stern (1805–1876), novelist, essayist and history writer
 * Mathilde Alanic (1864-1948), novelist, short story writer
 * Anne-Marie Albiach (1937–2012), poet and translator
 * Hortense Allart (1801–1879), feminist writer and essayist
 * Almucs de Castelnau (12th c.), troubadour poet writing in Occitan
 * Catherine d'Amboise (1475–1550), semi-autobiographical novelist and poet
 * Virginie Ancelot (1792–1875), painter and playwright
 * Alix André (1909-2000), romance novelist
 * Christine Angot (born 1959), novelist and playwright
 * Leili Anvar (born 1967), Persian-French writer and translator
 * Azalaïs d'Arbaud (1834–1917), Occitan-language writer
 * Sophie d'Arbouville (1810–1850), poet and short story writer
 * Catherine Arley, pen name of Pierrette Pernot (1922–2016), novelist and actress
 * Marie Célestine Amélie d'Armaillé (1830–1918), writer, biographer and historian
 * Angélique Arnaud (1799–1884), novelist, essayist and feminist
 * Madeleine de l’Aubespine (1546–1596), poet, literary patron, and one of the earliest female erotic poets
 * Gwenaëlle Aubry (born 1971), novelist, philosopher and non-fiction writer
 * Colette Audry (1906–1990), novelist, screenwriter and critic
 * Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy (c. 1650–1705), writer of fairy tales and historical novels
 * Félicie d'Ayzac (1801–1881), poet, art historian
 * Azalais de Porcairagues (12th century), Occitan-language troubadour

B

 * Victoire Babois (1760–1839), writer of elegies.
 * Marie-Claire Bancquart (1932–2019), poet, essayist, critic and educator
 * Tristane Banon (born 1979), novelist, journalist and television presenter
 * Arvède Barine (1840–1908), non-fiction writer, historian and literary critic
 * Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972), American-born poet, playwright and novelist, who wrote mainly in French
 * Lauren Bastide (born 1981), French journalist
 * Sophie Bawr (1773–1860), playwright, non-fiction writer
 * Fanny de Beauharnais (1737–1813), poet, novelist, playwright and salonist
 * Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986), novelist, essayist, existentialist philosopher and feminist
 * Béatrix Beck (1914–2008), novelist, short story writer and poet of Belgian origin
 * Alice Becker-Ho (born 1941), poet and non-fiction writer
 * Claude de Bectoz (1490–1547), poet and letter writer
 * Géraldine Beigbeder, novelist, screen-writer
 * Maud de Belleroche (1922–2017), bestselling novelist, memoirist and biographer
 * Loleh Bellon (1925–1999), actress and playwright
 * Yannick Bellon (1924–2019), film director and screenwriter
 * Juliette Benzoni (1920–2016), novelist
 * Catherine Bernard (1662–1712), poet, playwright and novelist
 * Paulette Bernège (1896–1973), journalist, housework specialist and prolific non-fiction writer
 * Emmanuèle Bernheim (1955–2017), novelist and screenwriter
 * Carmen Bernos de Gasztold (1919–1995), poet
 * Louise Bertin (1805–1877), composer and poet
 * Mireille Best (1943–2005), novelist, often featuring lesbian characters
 * Nella Bielski (1930s – 2020), Ukrainian-born French novelist and actress
 * Gisèle Bienne (born 1946), novelist and writer for young adults
 * Raphaële Billetdoux (born 1951), novelist
 * Augustine-Malvina Blanchecotte (1830–1897), poet
 * Stella Blandy (1836-1925), writer and feminist
 * Janine Boissard (born 1932), writer
 * Lucie Boissonnas (1839-1877), author
 * Marie Bonaparte-Wyse (1831–1902), novelist, playwright
 * Louise de Bossigny (died 1700), fairy tale writer
 * Laurence Bougault (1970–2018), poet, essayist and travel writer
 * Claire Bouilhac (born 1970), bande dessinée illustrator, scriptwriter, colorist
 * Catherine de Bourbon (1559–1604), princess, poet and letter writer
 * Louise Bourbonnaud (c. 1847–1915), writer, explorer and philanthropist
 * Jeanne Bouvier (1865–1964), feminist and trade unionist
 * Sarah Bouyain (born 1968), novelist and film director
 * Nina Bouraoui (born 1967), novelist
 * Dounia Bouzar (born 1964), anthropologist and writer
 * Marie-Anne de Bovet (1855 – unknown date), novelist and journalist
 * Brada (1847–1938), novelist, biographer, memoirist, scriptwriter
 * Anne-Sophie Brasme (born 1984), novelist
 * Geneviève Brisac (born 1951), novelist, short-story writer, children's writer, critic and screenwriter
 * Jacqueline-Aimée Brohon (1731-1778), novelist and essayist
 * Josette Bruce (1920–1996), Polish-born novelist
 * Fabienne Brugère (born in 1964), non-fiction
 * Andrée Brunin (1937–1993), poet, many of whose works have been set to music

C

 * Claude Cahun (1894–1954), poet, novelist, photograph, essayist, translator and résistante
 * Nina de Callias (1843–1884), poet and salonnière
 * Amélie-Julie Candeille (1767–1834), composer, librettist and playwright
 * Marcelle Capy (1891–1962), novelist, journalist and pacifist
 * Marie Cardinal (1929–2001), novelist
 * Pauline Cassin Caro (1828/34/35–1901), novelist
 * Castelloza (13th century), troubadour poet
 * Claire Castillon (born 1975), novelist and playwright
 * Bernadette Cattanéo (1899-1963), newspaper editor, magazine co-founder, trade unionist, and communist activist
 * Anne-Marie Cazalis (1920–1988), journalist, poet, essayist, novelist and actress
 * Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force (1654–1724), novelist, poet and memoirist
 * Rose Celli (1895–1982), novelist, children's author, playwright, translator and poet
 * Rosine de Chabaud-Latour (1794–1860), translator
 * Françoise Chandernagor (born 1945), novelist and playwright
 * Véronique Chankowski (born 1971), French historian, non-fiction writer
 * Edmonde Charles-Roux (1920–2016), novelist, journalist and photographer
 * Noëlle Châtelet (born 1944), essayist, novelist, short story writer and educator
 * Chantal Chawaf (born 1943), novelist and essayist
 * Madeleine Chapsal (1925–2024), novelist, poet and critic
 * Charlotte Saumaise de Chazan (1619–1684), poet and lady in waiting
 * Élisabeth Sophie Chéron (1648–1711), painter, poet and translator
 * Maryse Choisy (1903–1979), philosopher, novelist and non-fiction writer
 * Hélène Cixous (born 1937), Algerian-born French novelist, poet, playwright, philosopher, critic and feminist writer
 * Fanny Clar (1875-1944), French journalist and writer
 * Catherine Clément (born 1939), philosopher, novelist, feminist and critic
 * Gabrielle de Coignard (1550–1586), religious poet
 * Louise Colet (1810–1876), poet, novelist, salonist
 * Colette (1873–1954), novelist, author of Gigi
 * Henriette de Coligny de La Suze (1618–1673), poet
 * Anne-Hyacinthe de Colleville (1761–1824), novelist and playwright
 * Danielle Collobert (1940–1978), poet, novelist, short story writer and journalist
 * Rose Combe (1883–1932), novelist
 * Sophie Ristaud Cottin (1770–1807), novelist, including several historical novels
 * Hélisenne de Crenne (1510–1552), novelist, epistolary writer and translator
 * Pauline Marie Armande Craven (1808–1891), non-fiction writer

D

 * Jocelyne Dakhlia (born 1959), French historian, anthropologist and academic
 * Gilberte H. Dallas, pen name of Gilberte Herschtel (1918–1960), poet, important member of the poètes maudits
 * Gerty Dambury (born 1957), poet, playwright and theatre director from Guadeloupe
 * Marie Darrieussecq (born 1969), novelist
 * Countess Dash, pen name of Gabrielle Anne Cisterne de Courtiras, vicomtesse de Saint-Mars (1804–1872), novelist
 * Régine Deforges (1935–2014), novelist, short story writer, essayist and playwright
 * Alix Delaporte (born 1969), film director and screenwriter
 * Lucie Delarue-Mardrus (1874–1945), poet, novelist, journalist and sculptor
 * Florence Delay (born 1941), novelist, essayist, playwright, translator and actress
 * Jeanine Delpech (1905-1992), journalist, translator, novelist
 * Sylvie Denis (born 1963), novelist, magazine editor and translator
 * Maria Deraismes (1828–1894), playwright, essayist and women's rights activist
 * Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (1786–1859), poet and novelist
 * Antoinette Des Houlières (1638–1694), poet
 * Marie-Anne Desmarest (1904–1973), novelist
 * Catherine Des Roches (1542–1587), Renaissance poet, daughter of Madelaine Des Roches
 * Madeleine Des Roches (c.1520–1587), Renaissance poet, mother of Catherine Des Roches
 * Madeleine Desroseaux (1873–1939), Breton poet, novelist, playwright and short story writer
 * Jeanne Deroin (1805–1894), journalist and women's activist after the Revolution
 * Dominique Desanti (1920–2011), journalist, novelist, biographer and educator
 * Agnès Desarthe (born 1966), children's writer and novelist
 * Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (1786–1859), poet
 * Maryline Desbiolles (born 1959), novelist
 * Anne Desclos (1907–1998), journalist, novelist and translator, known under pen-names Pauline Réage and Dominique Aury
 * Madeleine Desroseaux (1873–1939), Breton-language poet and novelist
 * Régine Deforges (1935–2014) best-selling novelist, editor, director and playwright, known for her erotic works
 * Antoinette Deshoulières (1638–1694), poet
 * Virginie Despentes (born 1969), novelist and autobiographer
 * Marie Desplechin (born 1959), novelist and children's writer
 * Jane Dieulafoy (1851–1916), archaeologist, novelist and journalist
 * Clotilde Dissard (1873-1919), journalist and feminist
 * Louisa Emily Dobrée (fl. ca. 1877–1917), novelist, short story writer, children's writer, non-fiction writer
 * Geneviève Dormann (1933–2015), journalist and novelist
 * Camille Drevet (1881-1969), editor-in-chief, La Voix des femmes
 * Pernette Du Guillet (c.1520–1545), Renaissance poet
 * Caroline Dubois (born 1960), poet
 * Charlotte Dubreuil (born 1940), novelist, filmmaker and screenwriter
 * Catherine Dufour (born 1966), novelist
 * Claire de Duras (1777–1828), novelist, author of Ourika
 * Marguerite Duras (1914–1996), novelist, playwright and screenwriter of Hiroshima mon amour
 * Vanessa Duriès (1972–1993), novelist author of The Ties That Bind
 * Yvette Duval (1931–2006), Moroccan-born French historian specializing in ancient North Africa

E

 * Françoise d'Eaubonne (1920–2005), feminist essayist and science fiction novelist
 * Alexandrine des Écherolles (1779–1850), memoirist
 * Catherine Enjolet, French novelist and essayist
 * Annie Ernaux (born 1940), autobiographical novelist
 * Gisèle d'Estoc (1845-1894), writer, sculptor, and feminist
 * Claire Etcherelli (born 1934), novelist

F

 * Geneviève Fauconnier (1886–1969), novelist
 * Madame de La Fayette (1634–1693), novelist author of La Princesse de Clèves
 * Nathalie Ferlut (born 1968), comic book illustrator, scriptwriter, colorist
 * Juliette Figuier (1827–1879), playwright and novelist
 * Amanda Filipacchi (born 1967), French-born American novelist
 * Adelaide Filleul (1761–1836), novelist
 * Clara Filleul (1822–1878), painter and children's writer
 * Zénaïde Fleuriot (1829–1890), prolific novelist writing for young women
 * Pierrette Fleutiaux (1941–2019), novelist and short story writer
 * Brigitte Fontaine (born 1939), singer, novelist, playwright and poet
 * Viviane Forrester (1925–2013), essayist, novelist and critic
 * Jeanne-Justine Fouqueau de Pussy (1786–1863), author of children's and educational works
 * Jocelyne François (born 1933), lesbian novelist, poet and diarist
 * Camille Froidevaux-Metterie (born 1968), non-fiction writer and novelist

G

 * Marie-Louise Gagneur (1832–1902), essayist, novelist and feminist
 * Jeanne Galzy (1883–1977), novelist and biographer
 * Anne-Marie Garat (1946–2022), novelist
 * Delphine Gardey (born 1967), non-fiction writer
 * Anne F. Garréta (born 1962), novelist
 * Judith Gautier (1845–1917), poet, historical novelist, playwright, translator and music critic
 * Anna Gavalda (born 1970), best-selling novelist, short story writer and works widely translated
 * Sophie Gay (1776–1852), novelist, playwright and librettist
 * Stéphanie Félicité, comtesse de Genlis (1746–1830), novelist, playwright and children's writer
 * Rosemonde Gérard (1871–1953), poet and playwright
 * Sylvie Germain (born 1954), novelist, essayist and biographer
 * Amélie Gex (1835–1883), poet, who also wrote in Franco-Provençal
 * Azza Ghanmi (fl. 1970s), feminist editor
 * Delphine de Girardin (1804–1855), essayist, poet and novelist
 * Anne Golon (1921–2017), novelist author of the Angélique series of historical novels
 * Mélanie Gouby (active since 2011), journalist
 * Olympe de Gouges (1748–1793), playwright and feminist writer, executed after the Revolution
 * Marie de Gournay (1585–1645), novelist, essayist and critic
 * Françoise de Graffigny (1695–1758), novelist and playwright
 * Évelyne Grandjean (born 1939), actress, playwright and screenwriter
 * Virginie Greiner (born 1969), comic book scriptwriter
 * Henry Gréville, pen name of Alice Durand (1842–1902), widely translated novelist
 * Benoîte Groult (1920–2016), novelist and feminist
 * Claudine Guérin de Tencin (1682–1749), literary patron, novelist and correspondent
 * Pernette du Guillet (c. 1520–1545), poet, most of whose works were intended to be set to music

H

 * Béatrice Hammer (born 1963), novelist, children's writer and playwright
 * Myriam Harry (1869-1958), significant pre 1914 writer, daughter of Moses Shapira.
 * Mireille Havet (1898–1932), poet, diarist and novelist
 * Nathalie Henneberg (1910–1977), science fiction novelist
 * Marie de Hennezel (born 1946), non-fiction writer
 * Catherine Hermary-Vieille (born 1943), novelist
 * Juliette Heuzey (1865-1952), novelist, biographer
 * Adèle Hommaire de Hell (1819–1883), explorer and travel writer
 * Juliette Heuzey (1865–1952), novelist, biographer
 * Violaine Huisman (born 1979), novelist, essayist, cultural journalist

J

 * Paula Jacques (born 1949), Egyptian-born French novelist, journalist and radio host
 * Martine L. Jacquot (born 1955), French-born Canadian academic, novelist, poet, short story writer, journalist
 * Marie Jaffredo (born 1966), comics scriptwriter
 * Gaëlle Josse (born 1960), poet and novelist
 * Alice Jouenne (1873-1954), French educator, socialist activist, and writer

K

 * Fabienne Kanor (born 1970), journalist, novelist and filmmaker
 * Maylis de Kerangal (born 1967), novelist
 * Kiyémis (born 1993), poet, Afro-feminist
 * Nadia Yala Kisukidi (born 1978), philosopher
 * Thérèse Kuoh-Moukouri (born 1938), Cameroon-born French novelist and essayist

L

 * Anne-Marie Lacroix (1732–1802), French writer
 * Anne de La Roche-Guilhem (1644–1710), novelist, moved to England
 * Sylvie Lainé (born 1957), science fiction novelist and short story writer
 * Claire Lalouette, French Egyptologist
 * Jeanne Lapauze (1860–1920), born Jeanne Loiseau, poet and novelist, who used the pen name Daniel Lesueur
 * Oriane Lassus (born 1987), author, cartoonist, illustrator
 * Camille Laurens (born 1957), novelist
 * Linda Lê (born 1963), Vietnamese-born French novelist
 * Simone Le Bargy (1877–1985), actress, novelist and memoirist
 * Martine Le Coz (born 1955), novelist, poet and non-fiction writer
 * Violette Leduc (1907–1972), novelist and autobiographer
 * Marie Léopold-Lacour (1859-1942), feminist activist, writer, and storyteller
 * Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (1711–1780), novelist and fairy tale writer, author of Beauty and the Beast
 * Marie Léra (1864–1958), journalist, novelist, and translator
 * Michèle Lesbre (born 1939), writer and novelist
 * Grace Ly (born 1979), writer, podcaster, feminist

M

 * Lisa Mandel (born 1977), comics scriptwriter
 * Jeanne Marni (1854–1910), novelist, playwright and essayist
 * Anne de Marquets (c. 1533–1588), religious poet, nun and author of Les Sonets spirituels
 * Agnès Martin-Lugand (born 1979), novelist
 * Margaret Maruani (1954–2022), non-fiction writer
 * Sophie Massieu (born 1975), journalist
 * Renée Massip (1907–2002), novelist, journalist
 * Nicole-Claude Mathieu (1937–2014), sociologist specializing in gender studies
 * Claire-Marie Mazarelli de Saint-Chamond (1731-unknown), woman of letters, writer
 * Diane Mazloum (born 1980), French-Lebanese writer
 * Meavenn, pen name of Francine Rozec (1911–1992), Breton-language poet, novelist and playwright
 * Natacha Michel (born 1941), political activist, novelist and critic
 * Hélène Miard-Delacroix (born 1959), historian, Germanist, professor
 * Marijane Minaberri (1926–2017), children's, poet and short story
 * Jane Misme (1865–1935), journalist and feminist
 * Ursule Molinaro (1916–2000), French-American novelist, playwright and translator, who wrote in French and English
 * Kenizé Mourad (born 1939), journalist, non-fiction writer and novelist

N

 * Claire Julie de Nanteuil (1834-1897), children's literature writer
 * Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549), poet, playwright and short story writer, including the collection Heptaméron
 * Marie NDiaye (born 1967), novelist and playwright
 * Anna de Noailles (1876–1933), highly acclaimed novelist, poet and autobiographer
 * Florence Noiville (born 1961), journalist, children's writer, novelist and non-fiction writer

O

 * Véronique Olmi (born 1962), novelist, playwright and short story writer
 * Mona Ozouf (born 1931), historian and philosopher

P

 * Katherine Pancol (born 1954), novelist, journalist and author of Les Yeux jaunes des crocodiles (The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles)
 * Ève Paul-Margueritte (1885-1971), novelist
 * Lucie Paul-Margueritte (1886-1955), writer and translator
 * Madeleine Pelletier (1874–1939), feminist writer
 * Gabrielle Petit (feminist) (1860–1952), newspaper editor
 * Michelle Perrot (born 18 May 1928, Paris), historian, feminist and grand officer of the legion of honor
 * Georges de Peyrebrune (1841–1917), prolific novelist, columnist and feminist
 * Louise Pioger (1848-1920) anarchist nursery rhymes
 * Anne Plichota (born 1968), children's writer and novelist
 * Maria Pognon (1844–1925), writer, journal editor, feminist, suffragist and pacifist
 * Aliénor de Poitiers (15th century), writer on court etiquette
 * Renada-Laura Portet (1927-2021), poet, prose writer, non-fiction writer
 * Alice Poulleau (1885–1960), travel writer and geographer

R

 * Rachilde, pen name of Marguerite Vallette-Eymery (1860–1953), novelist and non-fiction writer, author of Monsieur Vénus
 * Geneviève-Françoise Randon de Malboissière (1746–1766), playwright, poet and multi-lingual translator
 * Fanny Raoul (1771-1833), feminist writer, journalist, philosopher and essayist
 * Pauline Réage, pen-name of Anne Desclos (1907–1998), who also used the pen-name Dominique Aury, novelist, editor, critic and author of Story of O (Histoire d'O)
 * Marie Redonnet, pen name of Martine L'hospitalier (born 1948), poet, novelist, essayist, short story writer and playwright
 * Christine Renard (1929–1979), science fiction novelist
 * Juliette Rennes (born 1976), sociologist and non-fiction writer
 * Gabrielle Réval (1869-1938), novelist and essayist
 * Sandrine Revel (born 1969), comics illustrator and author
 * Yasmina Reza (born 1959), playwright, novelist, actress, screenwriter and author of God of Carnage
 * Nadine Ribault (1964–2021), novelist, short story writer and translator
 * Marie Jeanne Riccoboni (1714–1792), novelist and editor
 * Catherine Rihoit (born 1950), novelist and biographer
 * Christiane Rimbaud (1944–2023), historian
 * Blandine Rinkel (born 1991), novelist
 * Christine de Rivoyre (1921–2019), novelist and journalist
 * Antoinette Henriette Clémence Robert (1797–1872), novelist and playwright
 * Nina Roberts (born 1979), erotic novelist and actress
 * Tatiana de Rosnay (born 1961), journalist, novelist and screenwriter,
 * Marie-Anne de Roumier-Robert (1705–1771), early science fiction novelist
 * Pascale Roze (born 1954), playwright and novelist, author of Sarah's Key (Elle s'appelait Sarah)
 * Léonie Rouzade (1839–1916), journalist, novelist and feminist

S

 * Françoise Sagan (1935–2004), playwright, novelist and screenwriter, author of Bonjour Tristesse
 * Vefa de Saint-Pierre (1872–1967), explorer, reporter, Breton-language poet and children's writer
 * Lydie Salvayre (born 1948), novelist widely translated
 * George Sand (1804–1876), novelist and playwright, author of Indiana
 * Anne de Seguier 16th-century French poet and salon holder
 * Nathalie Sarraute (1900–1999), Russian-born French novelist, who pioneered the nouveau roman
 * Albertine Sarrazin (1937–1967), French-Algerian novelist, essayist and poet
 * Johanna Schipper (known as "Johanna"; born 1967), Taiwanese-born French comics artist and short story writer
 * Ariane Schréder, novelist
 * Simone Schwarz-Bart (born 1938), Guadeloupean-French novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer
 * Ann Scott (born 1965), novelist, short story writer
 * Madeleine de Scudéry (1607–1701), novelist, works containing lengthy conversations
 * Countess of Ségur (1799–1874), Russian-born French novelist and children's writer
 * Eulalie de Senancour (1791–1876), journalist, novelist and children's writer
 * Coline Serreau (born 1947), actress, film director, playwright and essayist
 * Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné (1626–1696), correspondent
 * Shan Sa, pen name of Yan Ni (born 1972), Chinese-born French poet, novelist and painter, now writing in French
 * Valérie Simonin (1831–1919), novelist
 * Maboula Soumahoro (born 1976), scholar, Afro-feminist
 * Audrey Spiry (born 1983), animator, illustrator, and bande dessinée author
 * Germaine de Staël, also Madame de Staël (1766–1817), essayist, novelist, non-fiction writer and salonnière
 * Louise Swanton Belloc (1796–1881), translator, essayist, novelist, non-fiction writer, children's book writer and feminist

T

 * Tibors de Sarenom (12th century), troubadour poet writing in Occitan
 * Marie-Louise Tenèze (1922–2016), ethnologist, folklorist
 * Françoise Thébaud (born 1952), historian and professor emeritus
 * Françoise Thom (born 1951), historian and Sovietologist
 * Chantal Thomas (born 1945), historian and novelist
 * Édith Thomas (1909–1970), novelist, historian and journalist
 * Gilles Thomas, pen name of Éliane Taïeb (1929–1985), science fiction novelist
 * Annette Tison (born 1942), architect, children's writer and co-creator of Barbapapa
 * Valerie Toranian (born 1962), journalist and editor of Elle
 * Nicole Tourneur (1950–2011), novelist and children's writer
 * Elsa Triolet (1896–1970), Russian-born French novelist, first women to win the Prix Goncourt, wrote in Russian and French
 * Nadine Trintignant (born 1934), film editor, writer, director, producer and novelist
 * Flora Tristan (1803–1844), socialist writer and feminist

V

 * Valérie Valère (1961–1981), autobiographical novelist
 * Fred Vargas, pen name of Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau (born 1957), crime fiction writer and historian
 * Delphine de Vigan (born 1966), novelist and author of  No et moi, translated into 20 languages
 * Marie-Catherine de Villedieu (1640–1683), playwright, novelist and short story writer
 * Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve (c.1695–1755), novelist, fairy tale writer and author of Belle et la Bête
 * Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin (1902–1969), novelist, poet and journalist
 * Renée Vivien (1877–1909), British-born French-language poet, often writing autobiographical verse
 * Élisabeth Vonarburg (born 1947), science-fiction novelist

W

 * Chloé Wary (born 1995), comics writer
 * Simone Weil (1909–1943), philosopher and non-fiction writer
 * Anne Wiazemsky (1947–2017), German-born French novelist and actress
 * Joëlle Wintrebert (born 1949), science fiction novelist and children's writer
 * Monique Wittig (1935–2003), novelist, playwright and feminist writer
 * Cendrine Wolf (born 1969), children's writer, who collaborates with Anne Plichota

Y

 * Marguerite Yourcenar (1903–1987), novelist and essayist

Z

 * Léontine Zanta (1872–1942), novelist and feminist