List of English writers (K–Q)

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

K

• Carrie Kabak (born 1951), novelist and illustrator
• Sarah Kane (1971–1999), playwright
• Anna Kavan (also as Helen Ferguson, real name Helen Emily Woods, 1901–1968), novelist and painter
• Joanna Kavenna (born 1974), novelist and travel writer
• Sheila Kaye-Smith (1887–1956), novelist
• Judith Kazantzis (1940–2018), poet and anthologist
• Annie Keary (1825–1879), novelist, poet and children's writer
• Jonathan Keates (born 1946), writer and novelist
• John Keats (1795–1821), poet, "Ode to a Nightingale"
• John Keble (1792–1866), poet and cleric
• Maurice Keen (1933–2012), historian
• Ann Kelley (born 1941), children's writer and poet
• Herbert Kelly (1860–1950), religious writer and cleric
• Sheelagh Kelly (born 1948), historical novelist
• Fanny Kemble (1809–1893), playwright, diarist and actress
• Gene Kemp (1926–2015), children's writer
• Jonathan Kemp (born 1967), novelist
• Margery Kempe (c. 1373 – post–1438), mystic
• Thomas Ken (1637–1711), hymnist and cleric
• May Kendall (real name Emma Goldworth Kendall, 1861 – c. 1943), poet, novelist and satirist
• Tim Kendall (born 1970), poet, editor and critic
• Luke Kennard (born 1982), poet and lecturer
• Lena Kennedy (1914–1986), novelist
• Margaret Kennedy (1896–1967), novelist and playwright
• Ally Kennen (born 1975), children's writer and singer
• White Kennett (1660–1728), antiquary, writer and bishop
• Charles Lamb Kenney (1823–1881), librettist and miscellanist
• James Kenney (1780–1849), playwright
• William Kenrick (c. 1725–1779), satirist and playwright
• Judith Kerr (1923–2019), children's writer and screenwriter
• Lady Amabel Kerr (1846-1906), biographer, children's writer, novelist
• David Kessler (also as Adam Palmer, born 1957), novelist
• R. W. Ketton-Cremer (1906–1969), local historian and biographer
• Sidney Keyes (1922–1943), poet
• John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946), economist
• Vaseem Khan (born 1973), novelist
• Richard Kilby (1560–1620), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• Anne Killigrew (1660–1685), poet
• Henry Killigrew (1613–1700), playwright and cleric
• Thomas Killigrew (1612–1683), playwright
• William Killigrew (1606–1695), playwright and courtier
• Francis Kilvert (1840–1879), diarist and cleric
• Clive King (1924–2018), children's writer
• Daren King (born 1972), novelist and children's writer
• Francis King (1923–2011), novelist and story writer
• Geoffrey King (fl. 1600s), theologian, AV translator and cleric
• Gregory King (1648–1712), statistician and genealogist
• Henry King (1592–1669), poet and bishop
• William King (1663–1712), poet and essayist
• William King (born 1959), novelist
• Desmond King-Hele (1927–2019), writer and physicist
• Alexander William Kinglake (1809–1891), travel writer and historian
• Charles Kingsley (1819–1875), novelist, The Water Babies
• Henry Kingsley (1830–1876), novelist
• Mary Kingsley (1862–1900), ethnographer and explorer
• Peter Kingsley (born 1953), philosopher
• Hugh Kingsmill (1889–1949), novelist, humorist and biographer
• Dick King-Smith (1922–2011), children's writer
• W. H. G. Kingston (1814–1880), children's writer
• Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936), novelist, essayist and poet, The Jungle Book
• Andrew Kippis (1725–1795), writer and Presbyterian minister
• William Kirby (1759–1850), entomologist
• Geoffrey Kirk (1921–2003), classicist
• Francis Kirkman (1632 – c. 1680), writer and bookseller
• James Kirkup (1918–2009), poet, translator and travel writer
• C.H.B. Kitchin (1895–1967), novelist
• Flora Klickmann (1867–1958), journalist, editor and children's writer
• Matthew Kneale (born 1960), novelist, English Passengers
• Nigel Kneale (1922–2006), screenwriter and genre novelist
• Anne Knight (1792–1860), children's writer and educator
• Charles Knight (1791–1873), writer and publisher
• Ellis Cornelia Knight (1757–1837), novelist and painter
• Eric Knight (1897–1943), novelist and children's writer, Lassie Come-Home
• G. Wilson Knight (1897–1985), critic and scholar
• Henry Gally Knight (1786–1846), novelist and architecture writer
• Richard Payne Knight (1750–1824), classicist and connoisseur
• Samuel Knight (1675–1746), biographer, antiquary and cleric
• Stephen Knight (1951–1985), writer
• Stephen Thomas Knight (born 1940), literary historian
• Richard Knolles (c. 1545–1610), historian and translator
• Hanserd Knollys (1599–1691), translator and Baptist minister
• Frederick Knott (1916–2002), playwright and screenwriter
• Ronald Knox (1888–1957), writer, translator and theologian
• Vicesimus Knox (1752–1821), essayist and cleric
• Dorothy Koomson (born 1971), novelist,
• Bernard Kops (born 1926), playwright and novelist
• Michael Korda (born 1933), writer and editor
• Hari Kunzru (born 1969), novelist
• Hanif Kureishi (born 1954), novelist and playwright
• Thomas Kyd (1558–1595), playwright, The Spanish Tragedy
• Francis Kynaston (1587–1642), poet and translator

L

• Ian La Frenais (born 1936), scriptwriter
• Robert Lacey (born 1944), biographer and historian
• James Lackington (1746–1815), memoirist
• Thomas Hailes Lacy (1809–1873), playwright and publisher
• Olivia Laing (born 1977), fiction and non-fiction
• Andrew Lamb (born 1942), writer on music
• Caroline Lamb (1785–1828), novelist
• Charles (1775–1834) and Mary Lamb (1764–1847), essayists
• Charlotte Lamb (real name Sarah Coates, several pen names, 1937–2000), novelist
• Lynton Lamb (1907–1977), crime writer and illustrator
• Constant Lambert (1905–1951, England, Mu/D), music critic and librettist
• Derek Lambert (also as Nigel Falkirk, 1929–2001), thriller writer
• Joseph Lancaster (1778–1838), educator
• Osbert Lancaster (1908–1986), writer and cartoonist
• John Lanchester (born 1962), journalist and novelist
• Letitia Elizabeth Landon (wrote as L. E. L., 1802–1838), poet and novelist
• Robert Eyres Landor (1781–1869), playwright, poet and cleric
• Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864), writer and poet
• Edward William Lane (1801–1876), scholar and translator
• Jane Lane (1905–1978), historical novelist and biographer
• Joel Lane (born 1963), novelist, story writer and poet
• John Langhorne (1735–1779), poet and translator
• William Langland (c. 1332 – c. 1386), poet, Piers Plowman
• Peter Langtoft (died c. 1305), chronicler
• Bennet Langton (1736–1801), writer
• Emilia Lanier or Lanyer, (1569–1645) poet
• R. F. Langley (1938–2011), poet
• Nathaniel Lardner (1684–1768), theologian
• Philip Larkin (1922–1985), poet
• Michael Laskey (born 1944), poet and editor
• Harold Laski (1893–1950), political writer
• Marghanita Laski (1915–1988), novelist and broadcaster
• David Lassman (born 1963), writer and scriptwriter
• Francis Lathom (1774–1832), novelist and playwright
• Hugh Latimer (c. 1487–1555), preacher, bishop and martyr
• William Laud (1573–1645), theologian, archbishop and martyr
• Hugh Laurie (born 1959), novelist and actor
• William Law (1686–1761), theologian.
• D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930), novelist and poet, Sons and Lovers
• George A. Lawrence (1827–1876), novelist
• T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935), writer and soldier, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
• William Lawrence (1783–1867), scientist
• Benjamin Lay (1681–1760), pamphleteer
• Cecil Howard Lay (1885–1956), poet and artist
• Layamon or Laȝamon (early 13th c.), chronicler
• John Layfield (died 1617), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• John le Carré (real name D. J. M. Cornwell, 1931–2020), thriller writer, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
• Richard Le Gallienne (1866–1947), writer and poet
• William Le Queux (1866–1947), novelist, poet and essayist
• Jane Leade (1624–1704), religious writer
• Mary Leapor (1722–1746), poet
• Edward Lear (1812–1888), poet and artist, The Owl and the Pussycat
• James Leasor (1923–2007), novelist and historian
• Stephen Leather (born 1956), novelist
• F. R. Leavis (1895–1978), critic and editor
• Norman Lebrecht (born 1948), music writer
• Francis Nigel Lee (1934–2011), theologian
• Harriet Lee (1757–1851), novelist and playwright
• Laurie Lee (1914–1997), poet and memoirist, Cider with Rosie
• Nathaniel Lee (1653–1692), playwright
• Sidney Lee (1859–1926), biographer and critic
• Sophia Lee (1750–1824), novelist and playwright
• Vernon Lee (real name Violet Paget, 1856–1935), novelist and essayist
• Eugene Lee-Hamilton (1845–1907), poet
• James Lees-Milne (1908–1997), writer and diarist
• Joseph Leftwich (real name Lefkovicz, 1892–1984), poet, translator and anthologist
• John Lehmann (1907–1987), poet and editor
• R. C. Lehmann (1856–1929), writer and lyricist
• Rosamond Lehmann (1901–1990), novelist, autobiographer and translator
• Chandos Leigh (1791–1850), writer and poet
• Dorothy Leigh (died c. 1616), writer on child-raising
• Richard Leigh (1649/1650–1728), poet
• Clare Leighton (1898–1989), writer and illustrator
• John Leland or Leyland (c. 1503/1506–1552), antiquary
• John Leland (1691–1766), writer and Presbyterian minister
• Mark Lemon (1809–1870), playwright, novelist and editor
• John Lemprière (c. 1765–1824), scholar and lexicographer
• Sue Lenier (born 1957) poet and playwright
• Rebecca Lenkiewicz (born 1968), playwright
• John Lennon (1940–1980), singer and songwriter
• Charlotte Lennox (1730–1804), writer and poet
• Alan Leo (real name William Frederick Allan, 1860–1917), astrologer
• Roger L'Estrange (1615–1704), pamphleteer and translator
• Ada Leverson (1862–1933), novelist
• Denise Levertov (1923–1997), poet
• Michael Levey (1927–2008), art historian
• Peter Levi (1931–2000), poet, critic and travel writer
• Bernard Levin (1928–2004), writer and broadcaster
• Amy Levy (1861–1889), poet and novelist
• Andrea Levy (1956–2019), novelist
• Juliette de Baïracli Levy (1912–2009), herbalist
• Tim Lewens (born 1974), philosopher
• George Henry Lewes (1817–1878), philosopher and critic
• Alethea Lewis (wrote as Eugenia De Acton, 1749–1827), novelist
• C. S. Lewis (1898–1963), novelist, children's writer and critic, The Chronicles of Narnia
• David Lewis (1682–1760), poet and playwright
• George Cornewall Lewis (1806–1863), writer, philologist and politician
• Hilda Lewis (1896–1974), novelist and children's writer
• Leopold David Lewis (1828–1890), playwright and translator
• Matthew Lewis (1775–1818), novelist and diarist
• Roger Lewis (born 1960), biographer and scholar
• Ted Lewis (1940–1982), novelist and screenwriter
• Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957), writer and painter
• Marina Lewycka (born 1946), novelist and medical writer
• Anne Ley (c. 1599–1641), writer, teacher, and polemicist
• Peter Leycester (1614–1678), antiquary and historian
• Nell Leyshon (living), dramatist and novelist
• Henry George Liddell (1811–1898), scholar, lexicographer and cleric
• John Lilburne (c. 1614–1657), pamphleteer
• George Lillo (1693–1739), playwright
• Thomas Linacre or Lynaker (c. 1460–1524), physician and translator
• David Lindsay (1876–1945), novelist
• John Lingard (1771–1851), historian and hymnist
• Martin Lings (1909–2005), scholar and poet
• William Linley (1771–1835), writer and musician
• Eliza Lynn Linton (1822–1898), novelist and essayist
• Mary Linwood (1755–1845), novelist and needlewoman
• Suzannah Lipscomb (born 1978), historian and broadcaster
• Anne Lister (1791–1840), diarist and traveller
• S. E. Lister (born 1988), historical novelist
• Thomas Henry Lister (1800–1842), novelist
• Toby Litt (born 1968), novelist and editor
• Emanuel Litvinoff (1915–2011), novelist, poet and autobiographer
• Edward Lively (1545–1605), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• Penelope Lively (born 1933), novelist and children's writer
• Richard Llewellyn (real name Richard Llewellyn Lloyd, 1906–1983), novelist and screenwriter
• Charles Lloyd (1775–1839), poet and translator
• Christopher Lloyd (1921–2006), garden writer
• Robert Lloyd (1733–1764), poet and satirist
• John Locke (1632–1704), philosopher, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
• William John Locke (1863–1930), novelist and playwright
• Frederick Locker-Lampson (1821–1895), poet
• David Lodge (author) (born 1935), novelist and critic
• Edmund Lodge (1756–1839), herald and biographer
• Oliver Lodge (1851–1940), physicist and science writer
• Oliver W. F. Lodge (1878–1955), poet and playwright
• Thomas Lodge (c. 1558–1625), playwright and poet
• Tom Lodge (1936–2012), writer and broadcaster
• John Lodwick (1916–1959), novelist
• Hugh Lofting (1886–1947), children's writer and poet, Dr. Dolittle
• Norah Lofts (1904–1983), novelist and biographer
• Christopher Logue (1926–2011), poet and screenwriter
• Herbert Lomas (1924–2011), poet and translator
• Charles Edward Long (1796–1861), antiquary
• George Long (1800–1879), polymath and translator
• Kate Long (born 1964), novelist, The Bad Mother's Handbook
• Elizabeth Longford (1906–2002), biographer
• Roger Longrigg (1939–2000), novelist
• E. C. R. Lorac (real name Edith Caroline Rivett, also as Carol Carnac, 1884–1959), novelist
• Jane C. Loudon (1807–1858), novelist
• Nicholas Love (died c. 1424), translator and prior
• Richard Lovelace (1618–1657), poet
• Henry Lovelich (fl. 15th c.), poet and translator
• Peter Lovesey (born 1936), crime writer
• William Lovett (1800–1877), writer and Chartist
• Archibald Low (1888–1956), science writer
• Sidney James Mark Low (1857–1932), historian
• Edward Lowbury (1913–2007), poet and bacteriologist
• Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes (1868–1947), novelist
• William Thomas Lowndes (c. 1798–1843), bibliographer
• Malcolm Lowry (1909–1957), poet and novelist
• Robert Lowth (1710–1787), poet, bishop and grammarian
• Mina Loy (originally Mina Gertrude Löwry, 1882–1966), poet, playwright and novelist
• John Lubbock (1834–1913), scientist and politician
• Percy Lubbock (1879–1965), essayist and biographer
• E. V. Lucas (1868–1938), essayist
• F. L. Lucas (1894–1967), classicist and poet
• Edward Lucie-Smith (born 1933), writer and poet
• Edmund Ludlow (c. 1617–1692), memoirist
• Jane Lumley, Lady Lumley (1537–1538), translator
• Arnold Lunn (1888–1874), writer and skier
• Henry Luttrell (c. 1765–1851), poet
• Narcissus Luttrell (1657–1732), historian
• Alfred Comyn Lyall (1835–1911), historian and poet
• Gavin Lyall (1932–2003), thriller writer
• John Lydgate (c. 1370 – c. 1451), poet
• Charles Lyell (1797–1875), geologist
• John Lyly (1553/1554–1606), writer and dramatist
• Jonathan Lynn (born 1943), screenwriter and novelist
• Elinor Lyon (1921–2008), children's writer
• P. H. B. Lyon (1893–1986), poet and school headmaster
• George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton (1709–1773), politician and poet
• George William Lyttelton (1883–1962), correspondent and educator
• Rosina Bulwer Lytton (1802–1882), novelist and campaigner

M

• James Mabbe (1572–1642), poet and translator
• Richard Mabey (born 1941), nature writer
• Catharine Macaulay (1731–1791), historian
• Rose Macaulay (1881–1958), novelist and biographer
• Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859), historian and poet
• Desmond MacCarthy (1877–1952), critic
• Fiona MacCarthy (1940–2020), biographer and cultural historian
• Philip MacDonald (also as Oliver Fleming, etc., 1900–1980), novelist and screenwriter
• A. G. Macdonell (1895–1941), essayist, England, Their England
• Robert Macfarlane (born 1976), travel writer and critic
• William McFee (1881–1966), novelist and essayist
• Arthur Machen, (originally Arthur Llewelyn Jones, 1863–1947) novelist and mystic
• Colin MacInnes (1914–1976), novelist
• Ben Macintyre (born 1963), biographer
• Denis Mackail (1892–1971), novelist
• Compton Mackenzie (1883–1972), novelist, Whisky Galore
• Serena Mackesy (living), novelist
• Mary Mackie (living), novelist and non-fiction writer
• Joseph Macleod (also as Adam Drinan, 1903–1984), poet, playwright and broadcaster
• Barry MacSweeney (1948–2000), poet and journalist
• Falconer Madan (1851–1935), writer and bibliographer
• Judith Madan (born Judith Cowper, 1702–1781), poet
• Martin Madan (1726–1790), writer, translator and cleric
• Charles Madge (1912–1996), poet and sociologist
• Thomas Madox (1666–1727), Historiographer Royal and antiquary
• Bryan Magee (1930–2019), writer and broadcaster
• Magnus Magnusson (1929–2007), broadcaster, scholar and translator
• Michelle Magorian (born 1947), children's writer, Goodnight Mister Tom
• Henry James Sumner Maine (1822–1888), jurist and historian
• Petre Mais (1885–1975), travel writer and educator
• Frederic William Maitland (1850–1906), jurist and historian
• Julia Maitland (1808–1864), writer and traveller
• Sara Maitland (born 1950), novelist and religious writer
• Bathsua Makin (real name Bathsua Reginald, c. 1600 – c. 1675), writer and scholar
• Lucas Malet (real name Mary St. Leger Kingsley, 1852–1931), novelist
• William Hurrell Mallock (1849–1923), novelist, satirist and poet
• Thomas Malory (c. 1430 – c. 1471), author, Le Morte d'Arthur
• Eric Malpass (1910–1996), novelist
• Thomas Robert Malthus (1766–1834), political economist
• Bernard Mandeville (1670–1733), philosopher and satirist
• Richmal Mangnall (1769–1820), schoolbook writer
• Andrew Mango (1926–2014), writer and broadcaster
• H. A. Manhood (1904–1991), short story writer
• Guy Mankowski (born 1983), writer
• Delarivier Manley (1663 or 1670–1724), novelist, playwright and pamphleteer
• Mary E. Mann (1848–1929), novelist and story writer
• George Manners (1778–1853), writer and editor
• Ethel Mannin (1900–1984), novelist, essayist and travel writer
• Anne Manning (1807–1879), novelist
• Olivia Manning (1908–1980), novelist and critic, Fortunes of War
• Ruth Manning-Sanders (1886–1988), poet and children's writer
• Sarra Manning, writer and journalist
• Robert Mannyng (c. 1275 – c. 1338), poet and chronicler, Handlyng Synne
• Henry Longueville Mansel (1820–1871), philosopher
• Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923), story writer and poet, The Garden Party
• Keith Mansfield (born 1965), novelist and screenwriter
• Richard Mant (1776–1848), writer, translator and cleric
• Hilary Mantel (1952–2022), novelist and critic, Wolf Hall
• Thomas Manton (1620–1677), theologian and Puritan minister
• Francis Marbury or Merbury (1555–1611), playwright and cleric
• Jane Marcet (1769–1858), science writer for children
• Bessie Marchant (1862–1941), children's writer
• Jan Mark, (originally Janet Marjorie Brisland, 1943–2006) children's writer
• Gervase Markham (c. 1568–1637), poet and writer
• Mrs. Markham (real name Elizabeth Penrose, 1780–1837), children's writer
• Stephen Marley (born 1946), novelist and screenwriter
• Tim Marlow (born 1963), art historian and broadcaster
• Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), playwright, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
• Derek Marlowe (1938–1996), novelist and playwright
• Martin Marprelate (pseudonym, fl. 1588–1590), tractarian
• Ellen Marriage (1865–1946), translator, La Comédie humaine
• Anthony Marriott (1931–2014), playwright and actor
• Florence Marryat (1833–1899), novelist
• Frederick Marryat (wrote as Captain Marryat, 1792–1848), novelist and children's writer, Mr Midshipman Easy
• Philip Marsden (born 1961), travel writer and novelist
• Edward Marsh (1872–1953), polymath and translator
• Edward Garrard Marsh (1783–1862), poet and cleric
• Richard Marsh (real name Richard Bernard Heldemann, 1857–1915), novelist
• Alfred Marshall (1842–1924), economist
• Archibald Marshall (1866–1934), novelist and journalist
• Arthur Marshall (1910–1989), writer and broadcaster
• Christabel Marshall (1871–1960), writer, playwright and suffragist
• Emma Marshall (1830–1899), children's writer
• Sybil Marshall (1913–2005), writer, novelist and educator
• Adam Mars-Jones (born 1954), novelist and critic
• John Marston (1576–1634), poet, playwright and satirist
• John Westland Marston (1819–1890), playwright
• Philip Bourke Marston (1850–1887), poet
• Andrew Martin (born 1962), novelist
• J. P. Martin (1879–1966), children's writer
• William Martin (1767–1810), naturalist and palaeontologist
• Harriet Martineau (1802–1876), sociologist and translator
• James Martineau (1805–1900), philosopher
• Andrew Marvell (1621–1678), poet
• Eleanor Marx (1855–1898), translator and writer
• Theo Marzials (1850–1920), poet and composer
• Eric Maschwitz (1901–1969), writer and lyricist
• John Masefield (1878–1967), Poet Laureate and novelist
• A. E. W. Mason (1865–1948), novelist
• Anita Mason (1942–2020), novelist
• Paul Nicholas Mason (born 1958), novelist and playwright
• Richard Mason (1919–1997), novelist
• William Mason (1724–1797), poet
• Gerald Massey (1828–1907), poet and Egyptologist
• William Nathaniel Massey (1809–1881), writer and politician
• Philip Massinger (1584–1640), playwright
• Harold Massingham (1932–2011) poet
• H. J. Massingham (1888–1952), nature writer and poet
• John Masters (1914–1983), novelist, autobiographer and army officer
• John Mastin (1747–1829), local historian and cleric
• Steve Matchett (born 1962), writer and broadcaster
• Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (1854–1918), occultist and translator
• Ellen Buckingham Mathews (wrote as Helen Mathers, 1853–1920), novelist
• Thomas James Mathias (c. 1754–1835), satirist and translator
• Tobie Matthew (1577–1655), writer and translator
• Aylmer and Louise Maude (1858–1938 and 1855–1939), translators and writers
• Robin Maugham (1916–1981), novelist, playwright and travel writer
• William Somerset Maugham (1874–1965), novelist and writer, The Moon and Sixpence
• Henry Maundrell (1665–1701), travel writer and cleric
• Frederick Denison Maurice (1805–1872), religious writer and socialist
• Thomas Maurice (1754–1824), poet and historian
• William Fordyce Mavor (1758–1837), schoolbook writer
• Simon Mawer (born 1948), novelist
• Donald Maxwell (1877–1936), travel writer and illustrator
• W. B. Maxwell (1866–1938), novelist
• Thomas May (1595–1650), poet, playwright and translator
• Henry Mayhew (1812–1887), social researcher and playwright, London Labour and the London Poor
• James Mayhew (born 1964), children's writer and illustrator
• Peter Mayle (1939–2018), writer and novelist
• Jasper Mayne (1604–1672), poet and playwright
• William Mayne (1928–2010), children's writer, A Grass Rope
• Margaret Mayo (born 1936), novelist
• F. M. Mayor (1872-1932), novelist and short story writer
• Steve McCaffery (born 1947), poet and scholar
• Maria McCann (born 1956), novelist
• Keith McCarthy (born 1960), crime writer and pathologist
• Tom McCarthy (born 1969), novelist and screenwriter
• Geraldine McCaughrean (born 1951), novelist and children's writer
• Derek McCulloch ("Uncle Mac", 1897–1967), children's writer and broadcaster
• Flora McDonnell (born 1963), children's writer
• Ian McEwan (born 1948), novelist and screenwriter
• William McFee (1881–1966), story writer
• James McGee, novelist
• Roger McGough (born 1937), performance poet
• John McGrath (1935–2002), playwright
• Patrick McGrath (born 1950), novelist
• Jon McGregor (born 1976), novelist
• R. J. McGregor (1887–1961), children's novelist and playwright
• Hilary McKay (born 1959), children's writer
• Jamie McKendrick (born 1955), poet
• Ronald Brunlees McKerrow (1872–1940), literary critic and bibliographer
• Andy McNab (born 1959), novelist and soldier
• H. C. McNeile (wrote as Sapper, 1888–1937), novelist, Bulldog Drummond
• Cilla McQueen (born 1949), poet
• J. M. E. McTaggart (1866–1925), philosopher
• G. R. S. Mead (1863–1933), writer and theosopher
• Henry Medwall (c. 1462–1502), playwright
• Thomas Medwin (1788–1869), poet, translator and biographer
• Arthur Mee (1875–1943), writer and educator
• Thomas Meech (1868–1940), writer and journalist
• James Meek (born 1962), novelist
• Mary Meeke (died c. 1816), novelist and translator
• George Melly (1926–2007), writer, critic and musician
• Charlotte Mendelson (born 1972), novelist
• George Meredith (1828–1909), novelist and poet, The Egoist
• Louisa Anne Meredith (1812–1895), poet and novelist
• Francis Meres (1565–1672), anthologist and cleric
• Charles Merivale (1808–1893), historian and cleric
• Herman Charles Merivale (wrote as Felix Dale, 1839–1906), playwright and poet
• Herman Merivale (1806–1874), historian
• John Herman Merivale (1779–1844), man of letters
• Leonard Merrick (1864–1939), novelist
• Ian Merrill (born 1965), novelist
• Robert Merry (1755–1798), poet
• Charlotte Mew (1869–1928), poet
• E. H. W. Meyerstein (1889–1952), man of letters
• Alice Meynell (1847–1922), poet and essayist
• Viola Meynell (1885–1956), poet and novelist
• Nicholas Michell (1807–1880), poet and novelist
• Christopher Middleton (1926–2015), poet, translator and scholar
• Conyers Middleton (1683–1750), biographer and cleric
• Nick Middleton (born 1960), geographer
• Richard Barham Middleton (1882–1911), poet and story writer
• Stanley Middleton (1919–2009), novelist
• Thomas Middleton (1580–1627), playwright and poet, The Revenger's Tragedy
• China Miéville (born 1972), novelist and political writer
• Grace Mildmay (c. 1552–1620), diarist
• Susan Miles (real name Ursula Wyllie Roberts, 1887–1975), novelist and poet
• John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), philosopher
• John Guille Millais (1865–1931), naturalist and travel writer
• Andrew Miller (born 1960), novelist
• James Miller (1703–1744), playwright, poet and cleric
• Jonathan Miller (1934–2019), writer and director
• Russell Miller (born 1938), biographer
• Thomas Miller (1807–1874), novelist and poet
• Robert Millhouse (1788–1839), poet
• Spike Milligan (1918–2002), humorist
• Arthur F. H. Mills (1887–1955), novelist
• Dorothy Mills (1896–1959), novelist and travel writer
• George Mills (1896–1972), children's writer
• Magnus Mills (born 1954), novelist
• Mark Mills (living), novelist and screenwriter
• Henry Hart Milman (1791–1868), playwright, poet and cleric
• A. A. Milne (1882–1956), novelist and playwright, Winnie-the-Pooh
• Drew Milne (born 1964), poet and scholar
• John Milner (1628–1702), writer and cleric
• John Milner (1752–1826), writer and RC bishop
• Marion Milner (1900–1998), diarist and psychoanalyst
• Richard Monckton Milnes, Lord Houghton (1809–1885), poet and politician
• Giles Milton (born 1966), historian
• John Milton (1608–1674), poet and theologian, Paradise Lost
• Ted Milton (born 1943), poet and musician
• Richard Milward (born 1984), novelist
• Anthony Minghella (1954–2008), playwright and screenwriter
• Laurence Minot (c. 1300 – c. 1352), poet
• Hope Mirrlees (1887–1978), novelist, translator and poet
• Adrian Mitchell (1932–2008), poet, playwright and novelist
• Basil Mitchell (1917–2011), philosopher
• David Mitchell (born 1969), novelist
• Dreda Say Mitchell (born 1965), novelist, broadcaster and journalist
• Gladys Mitchell (wrote as Stephen Hockaby and Malcolm Torrie, 1901–1983), novelist
• Julian Mitchell (born 1935), playwright and screenwriter
• Bertram Mitford, Lord Redesdale, (1837–1916), writer and diplomat
• Bertram Mitford (1855–1914), novelist
• John Mitford (1782–1831), poet and naval officer
• Mary Russell Mitford (wrote as Miss Mitford, 1787–1855), essayist, novelist and playwright, Our Village
• Nancy Mitford (1904–1973), novelist and writer, Noblesse Oblige
• William Mitford (1744–1827), historian
• Timothy Mo (born 1950), novelist
• Ivan Moffat (1918–2002), screenwriter
• Deborah Moggach (born 1948), novelist and screenwriter
• Lottie Moggach, journalist and author
• George Mogridge (1787–1854), poet, children's writer and tractarian
• Caroline Moir (living, England, novelist and playwright)
• John Mole (born 1941), poet
• Mary Louisa Molesworth (also as Ennis Graham, 1839–1921), children's writer
• Frances Molloy (1947–1991), novelist
• Mary Mollineux (1651–1696), poet
• Rowland Molony (born 1946), poet and writer
• Nicola Monaghan (living), novelist
• William Thomas Moncrieff (1794–1857), playwright
• Francis Money-Coutts (wrote as Mountjoy, 1852–1923), poet
• Geraldine Monk (born 1952), poet
• William Cosmo Monkhouse (1840–1901), poet and critic
• Harold Monro (1879–1932), poet
• Nicholas Monsarrat (1910–1979), novelist
• Basil Montagu (1770–1851), miscellanist
• Charles Montagu, earl of Halifax (1661–1715), poet and statesman
• Elizabeth Montagu (1718–1800), writer and bluestocking
• Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762), correspondent and poet
• Charles Edward Montague (1867–1928), novelist and essayist
• Simon Sebag Montefiore (born 1965), writer and historian
• Florence Montgomery (1843–1923), novelist and children's writer
• James Montgomery (1771–1854), poet and editor
• Robert Montgomery (1807–1855), poet and cleric
• Colin Moon (born 1957), author and public speaker
• Edward Moor (1771–1848), writer and soldier
• Michael Moorcock (born 1939), novelist
• Alan Moore (born 1953), graphic novelist
• Edward Moore (1712–1757), playwright
• Edward Moore (1835–1916), classicist
• Francis Moore (1657–1715, astrologer and physician
• G. E. Moore (1873–1958), philosopher
• Jonas Moore (1617–1679), mathematician
• Nicholas Moore (1918–1986), poet
• Olive Moore (real name Constance Vaughan, 1905 – c. 1970), novelist and essayist
• Thomas Sturge Moore (1870–1944), poet and playwright
• Tim Moore (born 1964), travel writer
• Geoffrey Moorhouse (1931–2009), writer
• Roger Moorhouse (born 1968), historian
• Henrietta Moraes (1931–1999), writer and model
• Philip Morant (1700–1770), historian and cleric
• Elinor Mordaunt (1872–1942), fiction and non-fiction writer
• Thomas Osbert Mordaunt (1730–1809), poet and army officer
• Gertrude More (1606–1633), religious writer and Benedictine nun
• Hannah More (1745–1833), poet and religious writer
• Henry More (1614–1687), philosopher and poet
• Thomas More (1478–1535), scholar, Utopia
• E. D. Morel (1873–1924), writer on colonialism
• Thomas Morell (1703–1784), librettist
• Charles Langbridge Morgan (1894–1958) novelist, playwright and poet
• Peter Morgan (born 1963), screenwriter and playwright
• William De Morgan (1839–1917), novelist and ceramicist
• Thomas Charles Morgan (1783–1843), physician and philosopher
• Richard K. Morgan (born 1965), novelists and short story writer
• James Justinian Morier (1780–1849), novelist and travel writer
• Stanley Morison (1889–1967), writer and typographer
• Samuel Morland or Moreland (1625–1695), polymath
• David Morley (born 1964), poet and critic
• Henry Morley (1822–1894), critic and biographer
• Iris Morley (1910–1953), novelist and journalist
• John Morley (1838–1923), biographer, writer and politician
• Sheridan Morley (1941–2007), biographer, critic and broadcaster
• Michael Morpurgo (born 1943), children's writer, poet and playwright
• Clare Morrall (born 1952), novelist
• Ivan Morris (1925–1976), writer, scholar and translator
• Jan Morris (originally James Morris, 1926–2020), travel writer
• William Morris (1834–1896), writer, artist and poet
• Arthur Morrison (1863–1945), novelist and journalist
• Blake Morrison (born 1950), poet, novelist and critic
• Graham Mort (living), poet and story writer
• Chapman Mortimer (1907–1988), novelist and screenwriter
• Ian Mortimer (born 1967), historian
• John Mortimer (1923–2009), novelist, playwright and lawyer, Horace Rumpole
• Penelope Mortimer (1918–1999), novelist, biographer and critic
• J. B. Morton (wrote as Beachcomber, 1893–1979), columnist
• John Maddison Morton (1811–1891), playwright
• Thomas Morton (1764–1838), playwright
• Joseph Moser (1748–1819), writer and artist
• Brian Moses (born 1950), poet and children's writer
• Nicholas Mosley (1923–2017), novelist
• Geoffrey Moss (1885–1954), novelist and soldier
• Thomas Moss (1740–1808), poet and cleric
• W. Stanley Moss (1919–1965), novelist, writer and army officer
• James Mossman (1926–1971), writer and broadcaster
• Andrew Motion (born 1952), Poet Laureate
• Peter Anthony Motteux (originally Pierre Antoine, 1663–1718), poet, playwright and translator
• Eric Mottram (1924–1995), poet and editor
• Ralph Hale Mottram (1883–1971), novelist and poet
• Martha Moulsworth (1577–1646), autobiographical poet
• John Moultrie (1799–1874), poet and cleric
• Ferdinand Mount (born 1939), novelist
• Edward Moxon (1801–1858), poet
• Jojo Moyes (born 1969), romantic novelist
• Fiona Mozley (born 1988), novelist
• James Bowling Mozley (1813–1878), writer and cleric
• Thomas Mozley (1806–1893), writer and cleric
• Henry Muddiman (1628–1692), journalist and publisher
• William Mudford (1782–1848), essayist, novelist and translator
• Malcolm Muggeridge (1903–1990), writer and broadcaster
• Lodowicke Muggleton (1609–1698), writer
• Richard Mulcaster (c. 1531–1611), educator
• Clara Mulholland (1849–1934), novelist, playwright, children's writer and translator
• Clare Mulley (born 1969), biographer and activist
• A. J. Munby (1828–1910), diarist and poet
• A. N. L. Munby (1913–1974), ghost-story writer
• Anthony Munday (c. 1560–1633), playwright, poet and translator
• Talbot Mundy (also as Walter Galt, 1879–1940), novelist
• Iris Murdoch (1919–1999), novelist
• Jill Murphy (1949–2021), children's writer
• Margaret Murphy (born 1959), novelist
• Gilbert Murray (1866–1957), scholar
• John Murray (born 1950), novelist
• John Middleton Murry (1889–1957), writer and critic
• Valerie Grosvenor Myer (1935–2007), novelist, poet and critic
• Ernest Myers (1844–1921), poet and translator
• Frederic W. H. Myers (1843–1901), poet and essayist
• Leo Myers (1881–1944), novelist
• Julie Myerson (born 1960), novelist and journalist

N

• Thomas Nabbes (1605–1641), playwright
• Constance Naden (1858–1889), poet and philosopher
• Daljit Nagra (born 1966), poet
• V. S. Naipaul (1932–2018), novelist and Nobel Prize winner
• Priscilla Napier (1908–1998), biographer, translator and poet
• Edward Nares (1762–1841), theologian, novelist and cleric
• Roger Nash (born 1942), philosopher and poet
• Thomas Nashe (1567–1601), poet and pamphleteer
• Bill Naughton (1910–1992), playwright
• John Neal (1793–1876), novelist, essayist and poet
• John Mason Neale (1818–1866), hymnist, cleric and translator
• Patrick Neate (born 1970), novelist and screenwriter
• Mary Anna Needell (1830–1922), novelist
• Violet Needham (1876–1967), children's writer
• Henry Neele (1798–1928), poet and critic
• Malcolm Neesam (1946–2022), historian of Harrogate, North Yorkshire
• Graham Nelson (born 1968), poet and mathematician
• Robert Nelson (1656–1715), religious writer
• E. Nesbit (1858–1924), children's writer and poet, The Railway Children
• Henry Nettleship (1839–1893), classicist
• Lord William Beauchamp Nevill (1860–1939) convict-autobiographer, and prison reformer
• Alexander Neville (1544–1614), historian and translator
• Linda Newbery (born 1952), novelist and children's writer
• Henry Newbolt (1862–1938), poet
• P. H. Newby (1918–1997), novelist
• Bernard Newman (1897–1968), novelist and propagandist
• John Henry Newman (1801–1890), writer and cardinal
• Isaac Newton (1642–1727), polymath
• John Newton (1725–1807), hymnist and pamphleteer
• Thomas Newton (c. 1542–1607), poet and translator
• William Newton (1750–1830), poet
• Charles Nicholl (living), biographer
• David Nicholls (born 1966), novelist and screenwriter
• Sally Nicholls (born 1983), children's writer
• Beverley Nichols (1898–1983), novelist, playwright and garden writer
• John Nichols (1745–1826), antiquary
• Bowyer Nichols (1859–1939), poet
• Peter Nichols (1927–2019), playwright and screenwriter
• Robert Nichols (1893–1944), poet and playwright
• Geoff Nicholson (born 1953), novelist and editor
• Joseph Shield Nicholson (1850–1927), economist and novelist
• Norman Nicholson (1914–1987), poet
• Renton Nicholson (1809–1861), writer
• William Nicholson (artist) (1872–1949), children's writer and illustrator
• William Nicholson (writer) (born 1948), novelist, screenwriter and playwright
• Adam Nicolson (born 1957), historian and nature writer
• Harold Nicolson (1886–1968), writer, diarist and politician
• Nigel Nicolson (1917–2004), writer and publisher
• O. S. Nock (1905–1994), railway writer
• Roden Noel (1834–1894), poet
• David Nokes (1948–2009), biographer and screenwriter
• Malcolm Nokes (1897–1986), science and educator
• Jeff Noon (born 1957), novelist and playwright
• Denis Norden (1922–2018), scriptwriter and broadcaster
• Lawrence Norfolk (born 1963), novelist
• Barry Norman (1933–2017), novelist and broadcaster
• Roger Norman (born 1948), children's and YA writer
• John Norris (1657–1711), philosopher and poet
• William Edward Norris, (1847–1925) novelist
• Dudley North, Lord North (1602–1677) writer and poet
• Roger North (1653–1734), lawyer and biographer
• Thomas North (1535–1604), translator
• James Northcote (1746–1831), essayist and illustrator
• Caroline Norton (1808–1877), novelist, pamphleteer and poet
• Mary Norton (1903–1992), children's writer
• Thomas Norton (1532–1584), poet and lawyer
• Richard Norton-Taylor (born 1944), playwright and journalist
• John Julius Norwich (originally John Julius Cooper, 1929–2018), historian and travel writer
• Julian of Norwich (1342 – c. 1416), mystic
• Alexander Nowell (1507–1602), writer and cleric
• Alfred Noyes (1880–1958), poet
• Anthony Nuttall (1937–2007), critic and scholar
• Geoffrey Nuttall (1911–2007), church historian and Congregational minister
• Jeff Nuttall (1933–2004), poet and performer
• Robert Nye (1939–2016), poet, novelist and editor
• John Nyren (1764–1837), cricket writer

O

• Ann Oakley (born 1944), novelist and sociologist
• Graham Oakley (1929–2022), children's writer
• John Oakman (c. 1748–1793), writer and engraver
• Patrick O'Brian (originally Richard Patrick Russ, 1914–2000), novelist
• Sean O'Brien (born 1952), poet, playwright and editor
• Thomas Occleve or Hoccleve (c. 1368–1426), poet
• William Ockham or Occam (c. 1288 – c. 1348), philosopher, Occam's Razor
• Sarah Ockwell-Smith (born c. 1976), parent and child-care author
• Philip O'Connor (1916–1998), writer and poet
• John Oldham (1653–1683), poet
• John Oldmixon (1673–1742), historian and pamphleteer
• William Oldys (1696–1761), antiquary
• Laurence Oliphant (1829–1888), writer and traveller
• F. S. Oliver (1864–1934), political writer
• Jamie Oliver (born 1975), cookery writer and chef
• Martin Oliver (living), children's writer
• Michael Oliver (1937–2002), writer and broadcaster
• Paul Oliver (1927–2017), arts writer
• Reggie Oliver (born 1952), story writer and playwright
• Richard Ollard (1923–2007), historian and biographer
• Alfred Ollivant (1874–1927), children's writer
• Daniel O'Mahony (born 1973), novelist and writer
• Carola Oman (1897–1978), biographer, novelist and children's writer
• Charles Oman (1860–1946), historian
• Michael O'Neill (1953–2018), poet and scholar
• Oliver Onions (1873–1961), novelist
• Onyeka, (real name Onyeka Nubia, living), writer and playwright
• Amelia Opie (1769–1853), novelist and poet
• Iona Opie (1923–2017), and Peter Opie (1918–1982), ethnographers
• E. Phillips Oppenheim (wrote as Anthony Partridge, 1866–1946), novelist
• Emma Orczy (Baroness Orczy, 1865–1947), novelist and playwright, The Scarlet Pimpernel
• Orderic Vitalis (1075 – c. 1142), chronicler
• George Ormerod (1785–1873), antiquary and historian
• Joe Orton (1933–1967), playwright
• George Orwell (real name Eric Blair), (1903–1950), novelist and essayist, 1984
• Martin Orwin (born 1963), poet and writer
• Dorothy Osborne (1627–1695), correspondent
• John Osborne (1929–1994), playwright, Look Back in Anger
• Robin Osborne (born 1957), classicist and historian
• Alice Oseman (born 1996), YA author
• Arthur O'Shaughnessy (1844–1881), poet
• Maggie O'Sullivan (born 1951), poet and performer
• Alice Oswald (born 1966), poet
• Peter Oswald (born 1965), playwright
• William Young Ottley (1771–1836), art historian
• Thomas Otway (1652–1685), playwright
• Ouida (real name Maria Louise Ramé, 1839–1908), novelist
• William Oughtred (1574–1660), mathematician
• Keith Ovenden (born 1943), novelist and biographer
• John Overall (1559–1619), scholar, AV translator and bishop
• Thomas Overbury (1581–1613), poet and essayist
• Richard Overton (c. 1599–1664), pamphleteer
• John Owen (1616–1683), theologian
• Richard Owen (1804–1892), scientist
• Wilfred Owen (1893–1918), poet
• Elsie J. Oxenham (real name Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley, 1880–1960), children's writer
• John Oxenham (real name William Arthur Dunkerley, 1852–1941), novelist and poet
• Mary Oxlie (fl. 1616), poet
• Helen Oyeyemi (born 1984), novelist and playwright

P

• Ruth Padel (born 1946), poet and journalist
• Lynda Page (born 1950), novelist
• Russell Page (1906–1985), garden writer and designer
• John Paget (died 1638), writer and Presbyterian minister
• Barry Pain (1864–1928), novelist and humorist
• Thomas Paine (1737–1809), political pamphleteer, Rights of Man
• William Painter (c. 1540–1594), writer
• William Paley (1743–1805), philosopher, theologian and cleric
• Francis Palgrave (1788–1861), historian
• Francis Turner Palgrave (1824–1897), poet and anthologist
• William Gifford Palgrave (1826–1888), travel writer and orientalist
• Alan Palmer (1926–2022), historian and biographer
• Charlotte Palmer (c. 1762 – 1834 or after), novelist
• Edward Henry Palmer (1840–1882), translator and orientalist
• Herbert Edward Palmer (1880–1961), poet and critic
• John Palmer (c. 1729–1790) writer and Unitarian minister
• John Palmer (1742–1786), writer and Unitarian minister
• Samuel Palmer (1805–1881), poet and painter
• Robert Paltock (1697–1767), novelist
• Jane Ellen Panton (1847–1923), novelist and domestic science writer
• Joseph Pardo (c. 1624 – 1677), writer and hazzan
• Julia Pardoe (1806–1862), poet, novelist and travel writer
• Bernard Pares (1867–1949), historian and Russian expert
• Edith Pargeter (also as Ellis Peters, 1913–1995), novelist and historian
• Emma Parker (fl. 1809–1817), novelist
• Henry Parker (1604–1652), political writer
• Martin Parker (c. 1600 – c. 1656), balladeer
• Matthew Parker (1504–1575), Bible translator and archbishop, Bishops' Bible
• Norman Parker (born 1954), memoirist
• Samuel Parker (1640–1688), theologian and bishop
• Samuel Parker (1681–1730), religious writer and translator
• Una-Mary Parker (1930–2019), novelist and journalist
• Bessie Rayner Parkes (1829–1925), writer and poet
• C. Northcote Parkinson (1909–1993), naval historian and writer on administration, Parkinson's Law
• John Parkinson (botanist) (1567–1650), herbalist
• Adele Parks (born 1969), novelist
• Tim Parks (born 1954), novelist and translator
• David Parlett (born 1939), games writer
• Samuel Parr (1747–1825), political writer, scholar and educator
• Cecil Parrott (1909–1984), translator and biographer
• Eliza Parsons (1739–1811), novelist
• Frances Partridge (1900–2004), diarist and translator
• John Pass (born 1947), poet and scholar
• Paston Family (14th – 16th cc.), Paston Letters
• Mrs Henry de la Pasture (1866–1945), novelist, dramatist and children's writer
• Walter Pater (1839–1894), essayist and novelist
• Coventry Patmore (1823–1896), poet and critic
• Simon Patrick (1626–1707), theologian and bishop
• Brian Patten (born 1946), poet and children's writer
• Mark Pattison (1813–1884), writer and cleric
• Phyllis Paul (1903-1973), writer of supernatural fiction
• Tom Paulin (born 1949), poet, academic and broadcaster
• Michelle Paver (born 1960), children's writer
• Stel Pavlou (born 1970), novelist and screenwriter
• James Payn (1830–1898), novelist and miscellanist
• John Payne (1842–1917), poet and translator
• Nick Payne (born 1984), playwright
• David Peace (born 1967), novelist
• Henry Peacham the Elder (1546–1634), rhetorician and cleric
• Henry Peacham the Younger (c. 1573 – c. 1643), poet and critic
• Lucy Peacock (fl. 1785–1816), children's writer, editor and translator
• Thomas Love Peacock (1785–1866), novelist and poet, Nightmare Abbey
• Mervyn Peake (1911–1968), novelist and poet, Gormenghast
• Philippa Pearce (1920–2006), children's writer, Tom's Midnight Garden
• Pearl Poet (unnamed, fl. 14th c.), poet, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• Hugh Pearman (born 1955), critic and architect.
• Tim Pears (born 1956), novelist
• Dan Pearson (born 1964), garden writer
• Hesketh Pearson (1887–1964), biographer
• John Pearson (1930–2021), biographer
• John Pearson (1612–1686), theologian and bishop
• Edward R. Pease (1857–1955), writer and politician
• Reginald Pecock (c. 1395–1460), theologian and bishop
• Margaret Pedler (died 1948), novelist
• Arthur George Villiers Peel (also as George Peel, 1869–1956), economist and politician
• Constance Peel (also as Mrs. C. S. Peel and Dorothy Peel, 1868–1934), novelist and writer on household economy
• J. H. B. Peel (1913–1983), writer, poet and journalist
• George Peele (1556–1596), playwright and poet, The Old Wives' Tale
• Mal Peet (1947–2015), children's writer
• Samuel Pegge (1704–1796), antiquary, translator and cleric
• Isaac Penington (1616–1679), Quaker writer
• William Penn (1644–1718), politician, writer and Quaker
• Thomas Pennant (1726–1798), naturalist, antiquary and travel writer
• Francis Penrose (1817–1903), architect and archaeologist
• Roland Penrose (1900–1984), biographer and artist
• Hilary Pepler (1878–1951), writer and poet
• Michael Peppiatt (born 1941), art critic and biographer
• Emily Pepys (1833–1877), child diarist
• Samuel Pepys (1633–1703), diarist and administrator
• Thomas Percy (1729–1811), bishop, poet and anthologist, Percy's Reliques
• John Perrin (c. 1558–1615), scholar, AV translator and cleric
• Anne Perry (1938–2023), novelist
• Chris Petit (born 1949), novelist and film director
• William Petty (1623–1687), economist and philosopher
• K.M. Peyton (originally Kathleen Herald, born 1929), children's writer
• Gilbert Phelps (1915–1993), novelist, critic and educator
• St. John Philby (1885–1960), writer and intelligence officer
• Ambrose Philips (1674–1739), poet
• John Philips (1676–1709), poet
• Katherine Philips (1632–1644), poet
• Caryl Phillips (born 1958), novelist
• Edward Phillips (1630 – c. 1696), writer and philologist
• John Phillips (1631–1706), writer
• J. B. Phillips (1906–1982), Bible translator and cleric
• Richard Phillips (1767–1840), writer and publisher
• Stephen Phillips (1864–1915), poet and playwright
• Eden Phillpotts (1862–1960), novelist, poet and playwright
• Henry Phillpotts (1778–1869), pamphleteer and bishop
• Gervase Phinn (born 1946), novelist, poet and educator
• Constantine Phipps (1797–1863), writer and politician
• David Andrew Phoenix (born 1966), writer, scientist and educator
• Barbara Leonie Picard (1917–2011), children's writer
• Tom Pickard (born 1946), poet and scriptwriter
• David Pickering (born 1958), compiler of reference books
• Marmaduke Pickthall (1875–1936), scholar, Qur'an translator and novelist
• Sarah Piers (died 1719), poet
• Arthur Cecil Pigou (1877–1959), economist
• William Thomas Pike (1838–1924), publisher, journalist, editor, writer
• Mary Pilkington, (1766–1839) novelist, poet and children's writer
• Arthur Wing Pinero (1855–1934), playwright
• William Pinnock (1782–1843) educator
• Harold Pinter (1930–2008), Nobel prize winner, playwright and screenwriter, The Caretaker
• Isaac Pitman (1813–1897), writer on shorthand
• Christopher Pitt (1699–1748), poet and translator
• William Pitt (died 1840), shipbuilder and poet
• Ruth Pitter (1897–1992), poet
• Mary Pix (1666–1709), playwright and novelist
• James Planché (1796–1880), playwright
• Victor Plarr (1863–1929), poet and biographer
• Alan Plater (1935–2010), playwright, screenwriter and novelist
• Karen Platt (living), garden writer
• Robert Plot (1640–1996), naturalist, chemist and antiquary
• Max Plowman (1883–1941), writer and poet
• J. H. Plumb (1911–2001), historian
• Anne Plumptre (1760–1818), writer and translator
• Isaac Pocock (1782–1835), playwright and painter
• Tom Pocock (1925–2007), biographer and historian
• Richard Pococke (1704–1765), travel writer, diarist and bishop
• Frank Podmore (1856–1910), writer and politician
• Michael Podro (1931–2008), art historian
• Elizabeth Polack (fl. 1830–1838), playwright
• John William Polidori (1795–1821), writer and poet
• Alfred Oliver Pollard (1893–1960), novelist and army officer
• Alfred W. Pollard (1859–1944), bibliographer and scholar
• Margaret Steuart Pollard (1903–1996), poet and writer
• William Pollard (1828–1893), Quaker writer
• Jacob Polley (born 1975), poet and novelist
• Elizabeth Polwheele or Polewhele (c. 1651 – c. 1691), playwright
• Richard Polwhele (1760–1838), poet, writer and cleric
• John Pomfret (1667–1702), poet and cleric
• George Ayliffe Poole (1809–1883), religious writer and cleric
• John Poole (1786–1872), playwright
• Alexander Pope (1688–1744), poet
• Dudley Pope (1925–1997), novelist
• Jessie Pope (1868–1941), poet and writer
• Walter Pope (1627–1714), astronomer and poet
• James Pope-Hennessy (1916–1974), biographer and travel writer
• Samuel Pordage (1633–1691), poet
• Eleanor Anne Porden (1795–1825), poet
• Richard Porson (1759–1808), classicist
• Alice Hobbins Porter (1854–1926), writer, journalist, editor
• Anna Maria Porter (1780–1832), novelist and poet
• Henry Porter (died 1599), playwright
• Henry Porter (born 1953), novelist and journalist
• Jane Porter (1776–1850), novelist
• Linda Porter (born 1947), historian and biographer
• Robert Percival Porter (1852-1917), journalist, statistician, economics writer
• Roy Porter (1946–2002), historian
• Sheena Porter (born 1935), children's writer
• Suzanne Portnoy (born 1961), writer and playwright
• Jacob Post (1774–1855), Quaker writer
• Raymond Postgate (1896–1971), novelist and social historian
• Beatrix Potter (1866–1943), children's writer and illustrator, The Tale of Peter Rabbit
• Dennis Potter (1935–1994), playwright and screenwriter
• Robert Potter (1721–1804), translator, poet and cleric
• Anthony Powell (1905–2000), novelist
• Michael Powell (1905–1990), writer and film director
• Eileen Power (1889–1940), historian
• Marguerite Agnes Power (1815–1867), novelist and periodical writer and editoriginally
• Rhoda Power (1890–1957), children's writer and broadcaster
• John Cowper Powys (1872–1963), novelist
• Llewelyn Powys (1884–1939), travel writer and biographer
• T. F. Powys (1875–1953), novelist and story writer
• Winthrop Mackworth Praed (1802–1839), poet and politician
• Terry Pratchett (1948–2015), novelist
• Anne Pratt (1806–1893), botanical writer and illustrator
• Samuel Jackson Pratt (1749–1814), poet, playwright and novelist
• Lucy Prebble (born 1981), playwright
• Thomas Preston (1537–1598), scholar and playwright
• Thomas Preston (1563–1640), writer and monk
• Diana Primrose (fl. 1630), poet
• Matthew Prior (1664–1721), poet
• Anthony Price (1928–2019), thriller writer
• Bonamy Price (1807–1888), political economist
• Nancy Price (1880–1970), playwright, novelist and poet
• Nicholas A. Price, writer, poet, photographer and visual artist
• Richard Price (1723–1791), economist, philosopher and Unitarian minister
• Susan Price (born 1955), children's writer
• Uvedale Price (1747–1829), art critic
• Christopher Priest (born 1943), novelist
• Chris Priestley (born 1958), children's writer and illustrator
• J. B. Priestley (1894–1984), playwright and novelist
• Joseph Priestley (1733–1804), theologian and philosopher
• Alison Prince (1931–2019), children's writer, biographer and screenwriter
• Peter Prince (born 1942), novelist and screenwriter
• John Laurence Pritchard (1885–1968), mathematician, and novelist
• V. S. Pritchett (1900–1997), writer
• May Probyn (1856–1909), poet
• Adelaide Anne Procter (1825–1864), poet
• Bryan Procter (wrote as Barry Cornwall, 1787–1874), songwriter and playwright
• Sophie Amelia Prosser, (1807–1882), children's writer
• Sally Prue (living), children's writer
• Paula Pryke (born 1960), writer and florist
• J.H. Prynne (born 1936), poet
• William Prynne (1600–1699), religious writer and historian
• John Pudney (1909–1977), writer and poet
• Sheenagh Pugh (born 1950), poet and novelist
• Christine Pullein-Thompson, (1925–2005), children's writer
• Diana Pullein-Thompson, (1925–2015), children's writer
• Josephine Pullein-Thompson (1924–2014), children's writer
• Charlotte Pullein-Thompson (wrote as Charlotte Popescu, born 1957), children's and garden writer
• Philip Pullman (born 1946), children's writer, His Dark Materials
• Samuel Purchas (c. 1575–1626), travel writer
• C. B. Purdom (1883–1965), critic and biographer
• Libby Purves (born 1950), novelist, broadcaster and columnist
• Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800–1882), theologian, scholar and cleric
• George Puttenham (1529–1590), and Richard Puttenham (c. 1520 – c. 1601), critics and courtiers
• Henry James Pye (1745–1813), Poet Laureate and writer
• Thomas Pyle (1674–1756), writer and cleric
• Barbara Pym (1913–1980), novelist

Q

• Bernard Quaritch (1819–1899), bookseller and bibliographer
• Francis Quarles (1592–1644), poet
• C. H. B. Quennell (1872–1935), writer and architect
• Marjorie Quennell (1884–1972), historian
• Peter Quennell (1905–1993), biographer, poet and essayist
• Arthur Quiller-Couch (wrote as Q, 1863–1944), novelist and critic, Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250–1900
• Mabel Quiller-Couch (c. 1866–1924), children's writer and editor
• Edward Quillinan (1791–1851), poet and translator
• Janet Quin-Harkin (born 1941), novelist
• Ann Quin (1936–1973), novelist
• Anthony Quiney (born 1935), architectural historian
• Anthony Quinton (1925–2010), philosopher and broadcaster

See also

• English literature
• English novel
• List of children's literature authors
• List of children's non-fiction writers
• List of English-language poets
• List of English novelists
• Lists of writers