List of Michigan writers

Following is a list of Michigan writers, who are noteworthy either by having been born in Michigan or by living there during their writing career.

Children's books

 * Verna Aardema, author of ethnic-themed works (Ashanti, Zanzibari, Akamba and Ayutla Mexican sources), winner of Caldecott Medal (born in New Era)
 * Chris Van Allsburg, author of The Polar Express, twice winner of Caldecott Medal (born in East Grand Rapids)
 * Marguerite de Angeli, writer and illustrator, won 1950 Newbery Award, one of first inductees of Michigan Women's Hall in of Fame (born in Lapeer)
 * K. A. Applegate, children's and young adult author (born in Ann Arbor)
 * Mark Crilley, manga creator, children's book author/illustrator; creator of Miki Falls, Akiko, Brody's Ghost, and POP! Goes the Weasel (born in Detroit)
 * Christopher Paul Curtis, author, won Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King award (born in Flint)
 * Meindert DeJong, received 1962 Hans Christian Andersen Award, awarded Newbery Medal and National Book Award (resided in Grand Rapids, attended Calvin College)
 * Aileen Fisher (1906–2002), author (born in Iron River)
 * Margaret Hillert, poet and author of children's literature (born in Saginaw, taught in Royal Oak School District)
 * Laurie Keller, writer and illustrator (born in Muskegon)
 * Patricia Polacco, author (Union City)
 * Robert Sabuda, pop-up book artist and paper engineer (born in Pinckney)
 * Gary Schmidt, author of children's literature and young adult fiction (college professor in Grand Rapids)
 * Jon Scieszka, author (born in Flint)
 * Devin Scillian, author (broadcaster in Detroit)
 * Philip C. Stead, author (born in Farmington Hills)
 * Gloria Whelan, author born in Detroit, winner of National Book Award for Young People's Literature for 2000
 * Christopher Wright, author of American Chillers and Michigan Chillers (born in Pontiac, Michigan)

Fiction

 * Nelson Algren, novelist (born in Detroit)
 * John Edward Ames, western writer (born in Monroe County)
 * Harriette Simpson Arnow, novelist (resided in Ann Arbor)
 * Robert Asprin, science-fiction and fantasy writer (born in St. Johns)
 * Mathis Bailey, novelist and fiction writer
 * Deb Baker, author (born in Escanaba)
 * Emma Pow Bauder, novelist (born in North Adams)
 * Rex Beach, novelist (born in Atwood)
 * John Bellairs, mystery novelist (born in Marshall)
 * Mary K. Buck, author (lived and died in Traverse City)
 * Bonnie Jo Campbell, author (born in Kalamazoo)
 * Jaqueline Carey, fantasy author (resides in Michigan)
 * Mary A. Cornelius (1829–1918), author, social reformer (born in Pontiac)
 * Katherine Cowley, taught at Western Michigan University
 * James Oliver Curwood, novelist and conservationist (born in Owosso)
 * Loren D. Estleman, crime fiction author (born in Ann Arbor; graduate of Eastern Michigan University)
 * Jeffrey Eugenides, novelist (born in Detroit)
 * Edna Ferber, novelist (born in Kalamazoo)
 * Alice Fulton, short-story writer (born in Troy, New York; moved to Ypsilanti)
 * J. Gabriel Gates, young adult and science-fiction writer (raised in Michigan)
 * Donald Goines, novelist (born in Detroit)
 * Jaimy Gordon, novelist (born in Baltimore, taught at Western Michigan University, lives in Kalamazoo)
 * Charlotte E. Gray, novelist and religious writer (born in Reading)
 * Judith Guest, novelist and screenwriter (born in Detroit)
 * Aaron Hamburger, short-story writer and novelist (born in Detroit)
 * Steve Hamilton, mystery and thriller novelist (born in Detroit)
 * Jim Harrison, novelist, poet, screenwriter (born in Grayling, attended Michigan State University)
 * Jim C. Hines, fantasy novelist and short-story writer (attended Michigan State and Eastern Michigan)
 * Joan Carol Holly, science fiction novelist, graduate of Michigan State University
 * James Hynes, author (born in Okemos)
 * Alex Irvine, novelist and short-story writer (born in Ann Arbor, raised in Ypsilanti)
 * Jerry B. Jenkins, novelist, author of Left Behind series (born in Kalamazoo)
 * Janet Kauffman, novelist (born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; moved to Hudson)
 * Clarence Budington Kelland, short-story writer and novelist (born in Portland)
 * William X. Kienzle, Catholic priest, mystery author (born in Detroit, resided in Grand Rapids)
 * Brad Leithauser, poet, novelist, essayist (born in Detroit)
 * Elmore Leonard, novelist and screenwriter (raised in Detroit, resided in Bloomfield Hills)
 * Thomas Ligotti, reclusive writer of fiction and poetry (born and raised in Detroit)
 * Josh Malerman, horror and fiction novelist (born in Southfield)
 * Thomas McGuane, novelist and screenwriter (born in Wyandotte)
 * Terry McMillan, author (born in Port Huron)
 * Ander Monson, poet, essayist, novelist (born in Houghton)
 * Joyce Carol Oates, novelist, winner of National Book Award (born in Lockport, New York, lived in metro Detroit and Windsor, Ontario)
 * Alice Randall, author (born in Detroit)
 * Lev Raphael, crime fiction author and author across genres (born in New York City)
 * Marcus Sakey, crime novelist (born in Flint)
 * K.J. Stevens, novelist and short-story writer (born in Alpena)
 * Glendon Swarthout, novelist and short-story writer, winner of the O. Henry Prize (born in Pinckney)
 * Lee Upton, novelist and short-story writer (born in St Johns)
 * John D. Voelker, novelist who wrote Anatomy of a Murder under pen name Robert Traver (born in Ishpeming)
 * Maritta Wolff, novelist (born in Grass Lake)
 * Michael Zadoorian, novelist and short-story writer (born in Detroit)

Journalists and nonfiction

 * Bruce Ableson, inventor of Open Diary (born in West Bloomfield)
 * Mitch Albom, author, sportswriter, radio talk show host (born in Trenton, New Jersey; lives in metro Detroit)
 * Ruth Alice Armstrong, non-fiction writer (born in Cassopolis)
 * Ella H. Brockway Avann, religious writer (born in Newaygo)
 * Catharine H. T. Avery, editor of The American Monthly, the official organ of the Daughters of the American Revolution (born in Dundee)
 * Lepha Eliza Bailey, non-fiction writer (born in Battle Creek)
 * Joel Bakan, legal writer and Canadian lawyer (born in Lansing)
 * Ray Stannard Baker, 19th-century muckraking journalist (born in Lansing)
 * Michael Barone, journalist, pundit, editor (born in Highland Park)
 * M. E. C. Bates, writer, journalist, and newspaper editor
 * Octavia Williams Bates, suffragist, clubwoman, writer (born in Detroit)
 * Jim Bellows, newspaper editor in Washington, New York and Los Angeles (born in Detroit)
 * Emma E. Bower, newspaper owner, publisher, and editor; physician (born and died in Ann Arbor)
 * Robert K. Brown, war correspondent, founder of Soldier of Fortune magazine (born in Monroe)
 * Martha A. Boughton, biographer, poet, songwriter (born in Corunna)
 * Gene Caesar, writer of outdoor fiction (born in Saginaw, Michigan)
 * Amanda Carpenter, author, former correspondent (born in Montrose)
 * E. Jean Carroll, magazine writer and advice columnist (born in Detroit)
 * Jill Carroll, journalist, Iraqi terrorists' kidnap victim (born in Ann Arbor)
 * Bruce Catton, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian (born in Petoskey)
 * Zev Chafets, journalist and columnist (born in Pontiac)
 * Jonathan Chait, senior editor and columnist (grew up in metro Detroit)
 * David Chardavoyne, legal writer (born in Ohio, moved to metro Detroit)
 * Lydia J. Newcomb Comings, non-fiction writer (born in Spring Lake)
 * Arthur Danto, art critic for The Nation (born in Ann Arbor)
 * Paul de Kruif, science writer and microbiologist (born in Zeeland)
 * Rachael Denhollander, author, lawyer, advocate (born in Kalamazoo)
 * James Deren, literary nonfiction writer (born in Detroit (resides in White Lake)
 * Joe Falls, sportswriter for Detroit newspapers 1956–2004 (born in New York, moved to Detroit)
 * M. F. K. Fisher, food writer (born in Albion)
 * Terry Foster, sportswriter and radio personality (born in Detroit)
 * Ron Fournier, national political journalist (born in Detroit)
 * Jennifer Eaton Gökmen, literary nonfiction writer (born in Wayne, raised in West Bloomfield, in 1994 moved to Istanbul, Turkey)
 * Lou Gordon, radio and TV commentator, talk show host, columnist, political reporter (born and based in Detroit)
 * Jerry Green, sportswriter for Detroit newspapers 1963–2004
 * John Grogan, columnist and author (born in Detroit)
 * Ben Hamper, journalist and non-fiction writer (born in Flint)
 * Jemele Hill, sports commentator and columnist for ESPN (born in Detroit)
 * Loraine Immen, non-fiction writer (born in Mount Clemens
 * Martha Waldron Janes, minister, reformer, columnist (born in Northfield Township; died in Muskegon)
 * Michael Kinsley, editor, columnist (born in Detroit)
 * Charlie LeDuff, journalist, author (born in Virginia, grew up in Westland)
 * Karl Ludvigsen, editor of Car and Driver, Motor Trend (born in [Kalamazoo)
 * Betty Mahmoody, author (born in Alma, Michigan)
 * Lucy A. Mallory, magazine publisher, editor (born in Michigan)
 * William McPherson, author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist (born in Sault Ste. Marie)
 * John J. Miller, national political reporter (born in Detroit)
 * Elvis Mitchell, film critic (born in Detroit)
 * Michael Moore, documentary filmmaker and nonfiction writer (born in Flint)
 * Jay Nordlinger, senior editor (born in Ann Arbor)
 * Isabel Paterson, author, co-founder of libertarianism (born on Manitoulin Island, Canada; grew up on a rural Upper Peninsula ranch)
 * Pauline Periwinkle, journalist, columnist, poet (born in Battle Creek)
 * Neal Rubin, columnist, writer of comic strip Gil Thorp (born in California, lives in Farmington Hills)
 * Tom Stanton, author of the New York Times bestseller "Terror in the City of Champions" and other non-fiction books (born in Warren)
 * Joseph Sobran, paleo-conservative syndicated columnist (raised in Ypsilanti)
 * Jennie O. Starkey, first woman in Detroit to adopt journalism as a profession (born and died in Detroit)
 * Louise Reed Stowell, scientist, non-fiction writer (born in Grand Blanc)
 * Helen Thomas, journalist, White House correspondent (born in Winchester, Kentucky; moved to Detroit)
 * Heather Ann Thompson, winner of 2017 Pulitzer Prize for History (born in Detroit)
 * Paul Vachon, freelance journalist and local historian (born in Detroit in 1959)
 * Bob Wojnowski, sports columnist and radio personality (born in Buffalo, New York, lives in metro Detroit)

Playwrights and screenwriters

 * Ron Allen, playwright (born in Detroit)
 * Mike Binder, actor, director, screenwriter (born in Detroit, raised in Birmingham)
 * Bruce Campbell, actor and autobiographer (born in Royal Oak)
 * Jim Cash, screenwriter(born in Boyne City, lived in Grand Rapids)
 * Francis Ford Coppola, screenwriter, director (born in Detroit)
 * Pete Dexter, novelist, screenwriter (born in Pontiac)
 * Gerald Di Pego, screenwriter (born in Flint)
 * Jack Epps, Jr., screenwriter (attended Michigan State)
 * Jim Harrison, novelist, screenwriter (attended Michigan State)
 * Alice Emma Ives, dramatist, journalist (born in Detroit)
 * Jake Kasdan, screenwriter, director (born in Detroit)
 * Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter, director (attended University of Michigan)
 * Neil LaBute, playwright, director, screenwriter (born in Detroit)
 * Elmore Leonard, novelist, screenwriter (lived in Bloomfield Hills)
 * Thomas McGuane, novelist, screenwriter (attended Michigan State)
 * Arthur Miller, playwright (attended University of Michigan)
 * Ron Milner, playwright (born in Detroit)
 * Jane Murfin, playwright, screenwriter (born in Quincy)
 * Heather Raffo, playwright, actress (raised in Michigan)
 * Ivan Raimi, screenwriter (born in Royal Oak)
 * Sam Raimi, screenwriter, director, producer (born in Royal Oak)
 * Terry Rossio, screenwriter, producer (born in Kalamazoo)
 * Leonard Schrader, screenwriter (born in Grand Rapids)
 * Paul Schrader, screenwriter, director (born in Grand Rapids)
 * Sandra Seaton, playwright, librettist (lives in Michigan)
 * Donald E. Stewart, screenwriter (born in Detroit)

Poets

 * Clara Doty Bates, poet, children's writer (born in Ann Arbor)
 * John Malcolm Brinnin, poet (born in Halifax Nova Scotia; raised in Detroit)
 * Eudora Bumstead, poet, hymnwriter (born in Bedford Charter Township)
 * Jim Daniels, poet (born in Detroit)
 * Toi Derricotte, poet (born in Hamtramck)
 * Dorothy Donnelly, poet and prose writer (born in Detroit, raised in Grosse Pointe Park, resided in Ann Arbor)
 * Myra Douglas, poet, short story writer (born in Adrian)
 * Stuart Dybek, poet (born in Chicago; lives in Kalamazoo)
 * Max Ellison, poet (lived in Bellaire)
 * Clayton Eshleman, poet (born in Indianapolis, moved to Ypsilanti)
 * Carolyn Forché, poet (born in Detroit)
 * Robert Frost, poet (born in San Francisco, resided and taught in Ann Arbor)
 * Alice Fulton, MacArthur "Genius Award" poet (born in Troy, New York; moved to Ypsilanti)
 * Edgar Guest, poet (born in Birmingham, England; moved to Detroit)
 * Jim Harrison, poet and novelist (born in Grayling)
 * Robert Hayden, poet (born in Detroit; moved to Ann Arbor)
 * Bob Hicok, poet (born in Grand Ledge)
 * Conrad Hilberry, poet (born in Ferndale; moved to Kalamazoo)
 * Lawrence Joseph, poet (born in Detroit)
 * Ruth Ward Kahn, poet, non-fiction writer (born in Jackson, Michigan; attended University of Michigan)
 * Jane Kenyon, poet (born in Ann Arbor)
 * Mary Torrans Lathrap, poet (born and died in Jackson)
 * Margaret Wynne Lawless, poet, non-fiction writer (born in Adrian)
 * Philip Levine, poet (born in Detroit)
 * Thomas Lynch, poet (born in Detroit)
 * Naomi Long Madgett, poet (born in Norfolk, Virginia, raised in East Orange, New Jersey, moved to Detroit and Ypsilanti)
 * Douglas Malloch, poet (born in Muskegon), known as the Lumberman's Poet
 * Angel Nafis, poet, graduated from Huron High School
 * John Frederick Nims, poet (born in Muskegon)
 * Marge Piercy, poet and novelist (born in Detroit)
 * Dudley Randall, poet, Broadside Press founder (born in Detroit)
 * Theodore Roethke, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning poet (born in Saginaw)
 * Carol Smallwood, poet (born in Cheboygan)
 * Richard Tillinghast, poet (born in Memphis, resides in Ann Arbor)
 * Mary Frances Tucker, poet (born in York Township)
 * Nancy Willard, poet, novelist, children's writer and literary critic (born in Ann Arbor)

Others

 * Wayne Dyer, self-help book writer (born in Detroit)
 * James Finn Garner, humorist (born in Dearborn)
 * Jerry B. Jenkins, religious writer, "as told to" biographer, romance writer (born in Kalamazoo)
 * Ring Lardner, Sr., satirist, short story writer and sports columnist (born in Niles)
 * Robert McKee, well-known creative writing instructor (born in Detroit)
 * Peter McWilliams, writer and cannabis legalization advocate (born in Detroit)
 * Stewart Edward White, writer (born in Grand Rapids)