45 Famous Male Authors We should all Know about

45 Famous Male Authors We should all Know About

Originally published by Beatrice J on January 2023 and updated by Vanessa M in March 2024.

With the rise of the use of social media, one would expect a low percentage of people to be still reading. However, this is not the case; there are so many rising authors and existing authors that have a large audience who enjoy reading.

Other authors have turned to eBooks as they are currently on demand. The old fashioned people can still access the physical copy of the book depending on the author. These writers cover a range of topics from fiction to real life stories all focusing on different audiences. Here are the 45 Famous Male Authors We should all Know about.

1. Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami, photo by Ministerio Cultura y Patrimonio. Wikimedia commons

Haruki Murakami is a famous Japanese author who writes many genres including science fiction, fantasy, and crime fiction containing allusions to shamanism, collective trauma, detachment, and commitment. He gets his inspiration and writing style from Raymond Chandler and Kurt Vonnegut.

He recently started working on non-fiction works like Underground and What I Talk about When I Talk about Running. He has gotten praise and recognition regionally and internationally following his most famous 1987 release of Norwegian Wood.

2.Theodor Seuss Geisel

Dr. Seuss in April 1957, photo by Al Ravenna. Wikimedia commons

Dr. Seuss is one of the most read children’s books. His origin story traces back to a ship in 1936 where Theodor was travelling from Europe to New York when he started scribbling silly rhymes just to entertain him during a storm.

One of his famous book is titled Green Eggs and Ham which has over 8 million sales and 17.5 million copies sold. According to a 2015 Washington Post, Dr. Seuss sold over 650 million copies in 95 countries.

3. David Foster Wallace

David Foster Wallace was an American novelist and university professor of English born in February 21, 1962  and died in September 12, 2008. Wallace was an exceptional author who was really influential in his time as evidenced by the Los Angeles Times‘s David Ulin that cited him as one of the most influential and innovative writers of the modern era.

He won the MacArthur Fellowship in 1997 among many other accolades. He got the spotlight after the release of his 1996 novel Infinite Jest. The novel was featured in TIME magazine’s list of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.

4.Stephen King

Stephen King in 2011, photo by Stephanie Lawton. Wikimedia commons

Stephen Edwin King is a best-selling American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Majority of his books delve into genres like horror, supernatural, and crime.

Most of his books are best-selling and are internationally recognized including numerous short stories with some being converted into movies and television shows. Stephen has received several accolades after dedicating his lifetime to writing and the literature world in general.

His influence in writing was greatly attributed to his trauma after losing his friend in a train accident when he was a kid and also his love for horror comics in his childhood.

5. Sir Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan and when Kazuo was five years old, his father, an oceanographer, accepted an invitation from the British government to conduct research in England.

The entire family moved to Guildford, in the south of England and eventually he became a citizen of the United Kingdom. He is  talented Literature laureate in genres like science fiction and historical fiction with great emotional force.

His previous writing, The dystopian Never Let Me Go was adapted as a 2010 film. The novel was a must read and was rated as the best novel of 2005 by Time and one of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.

6. Jonathan Franzen

Jonathan Franzen at the 2011 Time 100 gala, photo by David Shankbone. Wikimedia commons

Jonathan Franzen, born August 17, 1959, Western Springs, Illinois, U.S. is an American novelist with various novels about contemporary America political machinations and the suburban family as well as themes of social criticism.

His works has a heavy use of the third-person point of view. Some of his famous writings are  The Corrections, Freedom, and Crossroads and five works of nonfiction. The book The Corrections brought an aspect of social criticism in the United States and won the 2001 National Book Award for Fiction and the 2002 James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

The novel was also a finalist for the 2001 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, the 2002 PEN/Faulkner Award, and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

7.Tom Clancy

Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. was an American novelist best known for his detailed military science storylines set during and after the Cold War. He has over ten books ranking number 1 on The New York’s Times bestsellers list.

He has sold over 100 million copies of his books, of which, three have been adapted to screen as films. In addition, seventeen of his novels have been bestsellers raking him the king of techno-thriller, ‎spy fiction‎ and ‎crime fiction genres.

He published his first book in 1984, The Hunt for Red October which revolved around a Russian submarine crew.  President Ronal Reagan praised it which resulted to it getting highly recognized.

8.John Green

YouTuber and author John Green in 2020, photo by vlogbrothers. Wikimedia commons

John Green is a talented American author mostly known as the writer behind the novel The Fault in Our Stars. The novel was so good and was later made into a movie that was equally a hit and a huge box office success.

John Green has won several awards for his novels and also for his notable other works like Looking for Alaska in 2005. He thought about becoming a priest, but as he worked in a hospital as a clerk and saw children suffering and fighting diseases, he chose to become an author.

9. David Mitchell

David James Stuart Mitchell is a British comedian, actor, writer and television personality. He is part of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb. His most known work is the 2004 epic Cloud Atlas.

His skill in making sentences and in appropriately putting characters in the right context is remarkable making his work unique. Mitchell often writes by starting out with standalone stories the length of novellas, then stitching them together into the final work.

10.Cormac McCarthy

McCarthy in 1973, photo by David Styles” . Wikimedia commons.

Cormac McCarthy is an American writer, playwright, and screenwriter. He has written about twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and three short stories. His writing style is known for its uniqueness especially minimal punctuation.

He received the U.S. National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award for All the Pretty Horses and his novel Blood Meridian was included in Time magazine’s list of 100 best English-language books. He uses themes of romanticism and bleakness in his work with most of them being adapted into films.

11. Kevin Kwan

Kevin Kwan is a Singapore-born American novelist and writer of satirical novels. He is extremely talented with several published works. He is best known for the Crazy Rich Asians book series that spawned a hit movie.

Crazy Rich Asians became an international bestselling novel and it has been translated into more than 30 languages. The novel has a sequel called China Rich Girlfriend, which was released in 2015. Later, Rich People Problems, the final book was released in 2017. Another people’s favorite is the novel, Sex and Vanity.

12. George Saunders

George Saunders, photo by David Shankbone. Wikimedia commons

George Saunders is an American writer of short stories, essays, novellas, children’s books, and novels. His work also appears in syndicated columns and magazines. His theme revolves around satirical tone with a structure similar to that of a theater play.

He has published more than twenty short stories and numerous Shouts & Murmurs in The New Yorker since first appearing in the magazine, in 1992. Some of his short-story collection include CivilWarLand in Bad Decline,  Pastoralia, In Persuasion Nation and Tenth of December which made it as a finalist for the National Book Award.

His short story was also a finalist for the 1996 PEN/Hemingway Award and a finalist for the Story Prize award.

13.Richard Russo

Russo in 2008, photo by Camille Gévaudan. Wikimedia commons

Richard Russo is an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and teacher. He is a 2002 Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction for his novel Empire Falls. His books revolve around stories of the haves and have-nots. He uses themes like humor and emotion which have a great impact to the readers.

His work, Empire Falls, was adopted into a film and so was Nobody’s Fool in a multiple-award-winning HBO miniseries. His other famous works include Everybody’s fool and Straight man.

14.Jeff Kinney

Kinney at a book signing event in Israel, 2016, photo by Tamar Hayardeni תמר הירדני . Wikimedia commons

Jeff Kinney is an American author and cartoonist, best known for the children’s book series Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He has earned over £14.6 million ($19.5 million) from selling and publishing his work.

The tenth book in the series, Old School, was released in November 2015. In total he has written eighteen books and worked as an executive producer on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid films.

15. John Grisham

 John Ray Grisham Jr. is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. He is worth about 13.5 million ($18 million).

He has sold more than 300 million copies of his books worldwide and inspired several r movies like The Firm and The Pelican Brief. According to the American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written twenty-eight consecutive number one fiction bestsellers.

16.Neil Gaiman

Author Neil Gaiman, Kyle Cassidy. Wikimedia commons

Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, nonfiction, audio theatre, and films. He has different genres of fantasy, horror, science fiction, comedy all equally entertaining.

He uses historical figures, mythological figures and pattern of Gothic influences to bring out his characters. His book American Gods was a bestseller and it led to a career in journalism and comic books. He has collaborated with many other authors like Terry Pratchett for his first novel Good Omens.

17.Gary Indiana

Gary Indiana is an American writer, actor and artist. He served as the art critic for the Village Voice weekly newspaper from 1985 to 1988. Indiana has been successful in the world of plays, film, art, and novels, with his Do Everything in the Dark noted for its hilarious and heartbreaking moments.

He has 52 books on Goodreads with 12072 ratings with his most popular book being Horse Crazy. Indiana uses humor to balance out the many dark moments that abound in his writing.

18.George Orwell

George Orwell, also known as Eric Arthur Blair was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and social commentator. His work is filled with social criticism, opposition to totalitarianism, and support of democratic socialism.

Some of his works include the novella Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four tower. He focuses on the idea and existing the horrors and destitution of working-class life in the industrial north of England during the lead up to World War II in The Road to Wigan Pier.

19.Michael Connelly

Connelly at the detective fiction convention Bouchercon XLI in San Francisco, October 2010, photo by Mark Coggins. Wikimedia commons

Connelly focuses on the detective kind of novel and has sold over 74 million books. He is the bestselling author of 31 novels and one work of non-fiction, with books sold worldwide and translated into over 30 different languages.

Connelly’s work is filled with realism accompanied by an organic feel to it such as his famous novel series Harry Bosch thriller series.  Many love and enjoy the Harry Bosch thriller series and think that it is the author’s best creation.

20. Chris Adrian

He is the author of the novels Gob’s Grief, The Children’s Hospital, and The Great Night, and the story collection, A Better Angel and the co-author of The New World, with Eli Horowitz.

He is a medical doctor who completed a pediatric residency which at best influences his writing about incompetent or inept doctors, while highlighting how information and trust is so essential in our society.

21. Ken Follett

Kenneth Martin Follett, CBE, FRSL is a British author of thrillers and historical novels. He has sold more than 160 million copies of his works all with a high ranking on bestseller lists.

Ken initially wrote the award-winning Eye Of The Needle, which proceeded to became an international bestseller. His book Pillars Of The Earth was voted into the top 100 of Britain’s best-loved books in the BBC’s the Big Read, while the sequel, was published to critical acclaim.

22.Dennis Lehane

Lehane at the 2010 Brooklyn Book Festival, photo David Shankbone. Wikimedia commons

Dennis Lehane is an American author who has written several novels, including the New York Times bestseller Mystic River. The book was later made into an Academy Award winning film, also called Mystic River that was directed by Clint Eastwood.

The program starred Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon. In addition he has done a great job in writing for TV, HBO’s The Wire and Boardwalk Empire. His works have similar gritty characters in a mystery and thriller genre.

23. Philip K Dick

Philip Dick has authored 44 novels and countless short stories that were adopted as shows for example Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982), based on Dick’s story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.

As one could tell from his book, he focused on social questions regarding reality with an imaginative, paranoid fiction, however impacted by western culture and science fiction.

24.Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Charles Sparks is talented American novelist, screenwriter, and philanthropist with over twenty-two published novels and two non-fiction books. Some of his novels have been New York Times bestsellers and a total of over 115 million copies sold worldwide in more than 50 languages.

One of his books, The Notebook and A Walk to Remember have both been adapted as screen plays.

25. Stieg Larsson

Stieg Larsson is a famous Swedish with love for Millennium series in the crime and thriller genre. The author’s writings show a strong abhorrence of violence and abuse against women, shaped by experiences he had in his teenage years.

Themes such as injustice in society and truth between people are a must in his writings. The series was to be published but Larsson died before the success of his novels. He died on 9^th November 2004, Stockholm, Sweden.

26. John Steinbeck

Also known as the giant of American letters, John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. was an American writer. John won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner for his realistic and imaginative writings. He also received the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964.

He has written over 33 books all focusing on realistic, everyday people especially in California, United States. His books also have themes of sympathetic humor and social perception with the use of relationships to explore these emotions.

27.Jon Ronson

Ronson in 2016, photo by Gage Skidmore. Wikimedia commons

Jon Ronson is a British-American journalist, author, and filmmaker. He has a total of 29 books on Goodreads with 747320 ratings. His books are part investigative journalist.     

Some of his works include Them: Adventures with Extremists, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and The Psychopath Test. The Psychopath Test is basically a Journey Through the Madness Industry and asks questions and it includes what happens to someone who pleads insanity to avoid jail, but then is stuck in an insane asylum.

28. Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka, photo by Klaus Wagenbach. Wikimedia

Franz Kafka was a Czech novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature with elements of realism often featured with isolated protagonists facing bizarre or surrealistic predicaments.

 In The Metamorphosis, and contradictory and nightmarish these predicaments are clearly seen to be present. The insanity of the current bureaucratic systems found throughout the world, as well as the bewildering oppressiveness of modern life is some of the issues it raises as well.

29. Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl has over 250 million book sales across the world. He is known to write both children and young adults novels that are also good for adults. He is a fan of using humor and unexpected twists in his writings.

His famous novels include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG and Fantastic Mr Fox. He has a way to capture the child’s view of the world that is mostly surrounded by cruel or ignorant adults.

30. Mark Steyn

Mark Steyn 2014, photo by manningcentre. Wikimedia commons

Mark Steyn is a Canadian author, columnist and media commentator. He is witty with a mix of political, economic and social issues. He has the ability to link stories and find commonalities.

His interests include classic songs, plays and novels. Mark’s most sold books are on demographics and geopolitics. He clashes with human rights tribunals and other political bodies. He is the best-rounded in terms of knowledge on the western world because of his affinity in British Empire and its institutions.

31. Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut in February 1972, photo by WNET-TV/ PBS. Wikimedia commons

Kurt Vonnegut was an American writer or novelist, satirist, and graphic artist. His work is filled with dark humor. He held an increasing sway during the second half of the twentieth century as a hero of the 1960s counter-culture.

Over a span of 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfiction works. Even after his death there has been publication of some of his material.

32. Albert Camus

Albert Camus was a French philosopher, author and journalist. He has written great novels such as The Stranger, The Plague, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Fall, and The Rebel. All his books feature that confronts emotions that come from situations such as oppression, injustice, and the human condition, particularly in relation to its disparagement.

He was the second youngest recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44 in history with his absurdist tome The Stranger, and existentialist masterpiece The Plague among his many great works.

33.Paul Beatty

Paul Beatty, photo by Auckland Writers Festival. Wikimedia commons

Paul Beatty is an American author and an associate professor of writing at Columbia University. He uses comedy in most writings combined with satire. He won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Booker Prize for his novel The Sellout in 2016.

Beatty’s iconic novel is about a young man’s isolated childhood and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court while battling the American life. His work is powerful and he forces the reader to have a self-reflection on themselves.

34. Jon Krakauer

Jon Krakauer is an American writer and mountaineer. He wrote two books Into the Wild and Into Thin Air which were influenced from his outdoor life before he started writing.

He has made bestselling non-fiction books like Under the Banner of Heaven and Where Men Win Glory. His first two books are about the dangers associated with Mother Nature and trying to survive. He also documented his 1996 Mount Everest climb that saw several of his group die.

35.David Baldacci

Baldacci at the 2015 National Book Festival, photo by fourandsixty. Wikimdia commons

An attorney by trade, Baldacci is an extremely talented American novelist who mainly writes suspense novels and legal thrillers. His writing has an authentic feel due to his focus on legal thrillers.

The craftsmanship in his work required the author to be a lawyer. He is able to capture his readers and enable hidden talents and powers to become dominant in even the most unlikely of readers.

36. William Shakespeare

Attributed to John Taylor, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor who is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s foremost dramatist. His works have been translated into every major language and are performed more frequently than those of any other playwright. His surviving works include 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and various verses.

Some of his most famous works include the tragedies Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, and Romeo and Juliet, the comedies A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of the Shrew, and the historical dramas Henry V and Richard III. Shakespeare’s works have had a profound impact on art, literature, theater, and language around the world.

37. Leo Tolstoy

Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), a Russian novelist and philosopher wrote monumental works that had a lasting impact on literature. Tolstoy’s best-known works include “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina,” which explore the complexities of human nature, morality, and society.

His narratives, which feature intricate plots and profound character development, reflect his search for spiritual truth and rejection of conventional norms. Tolstoy’s influence extended beyond literature; his philosophy of nonviolent resistance influenced people such as Mahatma Gandhi. Tolstoy’s exploration of the human condition and critique of societal norms remains relevant across cultures and generations.

38. James Joyce

Rajeshkumar durka, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

James Joyce (1882-1941), an Irish modernist novelist and influential literary figure, changed the course of twentieth-century literature. His masterpiece, “Ulysses,” is renowned for its experimental narrative style and intricate exploration of a single day in Dublin.

Joyce’s works, such as “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” and “Dubliners,” explore the complexities of Irish identity, religion, and the human psyche. Despite initial controversy, Joyce’s avant-garde approach and linguistic virtuosity cemented his reputation as a literary innovator, inspiring generations of writers and scholars to examine the nuances of his seminal work.

39. Ernest Hemingway

National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Ernest Hemingway is an iconic American novelist and Nobel Prize winner, known for his concise yet powerful prose and his adventurous, macho persona. He was a key figure in the “Lost Generation,” delving into themes such as war, love, and masculinity. Works such as “The Old Man and the Sea,” which is praised for its profound simplicity, earned him literary acclaim.

Hemingway’s experiences as a war correspondent and expatriate in Paris heavily influenced his writing, as evidenced by classics like “A Farewell to Arms” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Despite a turbulent personal life, Hemingway’s influence on modern American literature is indelible.

40. Gabriel García Márquez

Gorup de Besanez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014), a Colombian writer and Nobel laureate is known for his magical realism and rich storytelling. The author’s masterpiece, “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” depicts the Buendía family in the fictional town of Macondo, capturing Latin American history and politics.

Márquez’s other notable works, including “Love in the Time of Cholera” and “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” are a rich blend of reality and fantasy. Márquez, a literary alchemist, had a global impact, influencing the Latin American literary canon and leaving a lasting legacy as one of the twentieth century’s most significant writers.

41. Fyodor Dostoevsky

Vasily Perov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881), a towering Russian novelist and philosopher, delved into the depths of the human psyche, creating masterpieces that address existential and moral quandaries. His magnum opus, “Crime and Punishment,” investigates Raskolnikov’s tortured mind, whereas “The Brothers Karamazov” examines morality through the lens of family dynamics.

Dostoevsky’s writing demonstrates a deep understanding of the human condition, spiritual crises, and the conflict between reason and faith. While imprisoned in Siberia, Dostoevsky’s turbulent life influenced his works, cementing his status as a literary giant and pioneer in psychological fiction with long-lasting global impact.

42. Oscar Wilde

W. & D. Downey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), an Irish playwright, poet, and wit, embodied the late nineteenth century’s flamboyant decadence. His razor-sharp wit and satirical plays, including “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” questioned societal norms. Wilde’s sparkling dialogues concealed profound social critique, and his works frequently addressed themes of artifice, beauty, and morality.

Wilde, a key figure in the Aesthetic Movement, faced public condemnation and imprisonment for his homosexuality. Despite a tragic end to his life, his legacy lives on, celebrated for his comedic brilliance, paradoxical insights, and lasting contributions to literature and social commentary.

43. Charles Dickens

Jeremiah Gurney, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), a towering figure in Victorian literature, created timeless stories that vividly depicted nineteenth-century England’s social and economic struggles. His works, such as “Great Expectations,” “A Tale of Two Cities,” and “Oliver Twist,” illuminate the human condition through compassion and biting satire.

Dickens’ characters, including the iconic Ebenezer Scrooge, have left an indelible mark on literary consciousness. Dickens, a social reformer, used his writing to advocate for the marginalized. His serialized novels captivated the public imagination, and his legacy lives on as a storyteller who highlighted societal injustices while leaving an indelible mark on English literature.

44. Jorge Luis Borges

Grete Stern, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986), an Argentine literary genius, transformed the world of literature through his enigmatic short stories and philosophical essays. Borges, a master of labyrinthine narratives and intricate metaphysical concepts, explored themes such as time, identity, and the nature of reality.

His iconic works, including “Ficciones” and “The Aleph,” combine reality and fantasy, challenging traditional storytelling. Borges’ profound impact on the Latin American literary landscape and global literature earned him recognition as a pioneer of magical realism. His intellectual pursuits, combined with blindness later in life, added complexity to his literary legacy, establishing him as an enduring literary icon.

45. Vladimir Nabokov

Giuseppe Pino (Mondadori Publishers), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Nabokov is best known for his controversial masterpiece “Lolita,” which explores obsession and morality. His intricate prose and narrative complexity establish him as a literary luminary. Born in Russia, he later became a well-known American author, combining his love of language with complex themes.

Nabokov’s repertoire includes “Pale Fire” and “Ada, or Ardor,” which demonstrate his fascination with wordplay and intricate structures. Nabokov, a renowned lepidopterist and professor, has had an impact beyond literature, cementing his reputation as a polymathic figure whose artistic and scientific contributions resonate across cultural and intellectual boundaries.

This list of male authors is not exhaustive as there are many male authors across the world. They all engage I different genre each comfortable with what they are comfortable with and what they feel as relevant.  What they have in common is their ability to be deeply personal and vulnerable while using innovative language.