callings of the archive
Novelist Biographies
Every archived life recorded as novelist, ordered by their place in the ledger.
Modern era
Zora Neale Hurston
January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960
African American folklorist, novelist, short story writer, and Civic Rights advocate (1891–1960)
Modern era
Toni Morrison
February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019
African American novelist, essayist, and academic (1931–2019)
Modern era
Sylvia Plath
October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963
American poet and writer (1932–1963)
Modern era
Kurt Vonnegut
November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007
American author (1922–2007)
Modern era
Arthur C. Clarke
December 16, 1917 – March 19, 2008
British science fiction writer, inventor, and futurist (1917–2008)
Modern era
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
March 6, 1927 – April 17, 2014
Colombian writer and Nobel laureate (1927–2014)
Modern era
Isabel Allende
b. August 2, 1942
Chilean writer (born 1942)
Contemporary era
Paulo Coelho
b. August 24, 1947
Brazilian lyricist and novelist (born 1947)
Modern era
Chinua Achebe
November 16, 1930 – March 21, 2013
Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic (1930-2013)
Modern era
Naguib Mahfouz
December 11, 1911 – August 30, 2006
Egyptian writer (1911–2006)
Contemporary era
Haruki Murakami
b. January 12, 1949
Japanese writer (born 1949)
Modern era
Margaret Atwood
b. November 18, 1939
Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, pépiniériste and inventor (born 1939)
Contemporary era
J. K. Rowling
b. July 31, 1965
English author (born 1965)
Modern era
Yayoi Kusama
March 22, 1929 – August 14, 2026
Japanese artist (1929–2026)
Modern era
W. E. B. Du Bois
February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963
American sociologist and activist (1868–1963)
Modern era
Elie Wiesel
September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016
Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor (1928-2016)
Modern era
Nellie Bly
May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922
American journalist
Contemporary era
Martina Navratilova
b. October 18, 1956
Czech-American tennis player
Modern era
Bano Qudsia
November 28, 1928 – February 4, 2017
Pakistani writer
Modern era
Mustansar Hussain Tarar
b. March 1, 1939
Pakistani writer and actor
Modern era
Subhadra Kumari Chauhan
August 16, 1904 – February 15, 1948
Indian Hindi poet, short-story writer and freedom fighter (1904–1948); wrote 'Jhansi Ki Rani'
Modern era
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
June 26, 1838 – April 8, 1894
Bengali writer, poet and journalist (1838-1894)
Modern era
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
September 15, 1876 – January 16, 1938
Bengali novelist and short story writer (1876-1938)
Modern era
Intizar Hussain
December 7, 1923 – February 2, 2016
Pakistani fiction writer (1923-2016)
Modern era
Ibn-e-Safi
July 26, 1928 – July 26, 1980
Pakistani writer (1928–1980)
Modern era
Bapsi Sidhwa
August 11, 1938 – December 25, 2024
Pakistani American author
Contemporary era
Mohsin Hamid
b. July 23, 1971
Pakistani novelist
Modern era
Pramoedya Ananta Toer
February 6, 1925 – April 30, 2006
Indonesian writer (1925–2006)
Modern era
Halide Edib Adivar
June 11, 1884 – January 9, 1964
Turkish social reformer and statesperson (1884–1964)
Modern era
May Ziadeh
February 11, 1886 – October 17, 1941
Lebanese-Palestinian writer (1886-1941)
Medieval era
Chretien de Troyes
c. 1135 – c. 1181
12th century French poet and trouvère
Medieval era
Jean de Meun
1240 – 1305
French author (1240–1305)
Modern era
Cornelia Sorabji
November 15, 1866 – July 6, 1954
Indian barrister, writer, and social reformer; first female graduate from Bombay University, first woman to study law at Oxford University; first Indian national to study at a British university (1866-1954)
Modern era
Mirza Hadi Ruswa
1857 – October 21, 1931
Indian Urdu poet and writer of fiction, plays, and treatises
Modern era
Shaukat Thanvi
1904 – 1963
Pakistani writer
Modern era
Altaf Fatima
June 10, 1927 – November 29, 2018
Pakistani writer
Modern era
Nanak Singh
July 4, 1897 – December 28, 1971
Indian writer (1897–1971)
Modern era
Bhai Vir Singh
December 5, 1872 – June 10, 1957
Indian poet, scholar and theologian (1872–1957)
Modern era
Gurbaksh Singh Preetlari
1895 – August 20, 1971
Punjabi writer
Modern era
Jaishankar Prasad
January 30, 1889 – January 14, 1937
Indian poet, dramatist, and novelist of modern Hindi literature (1889–1937)
Modern era
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
September 12, 1894 – November 1, 1950
Indian Bengali author (1894–1950)
Modern era
Mahasweta Devi
January 14, 1926 – July 28, 2016
Indian Bengali fiction writer and socio-political activist (1926-2016)
Modern era
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer
January 21, 1908 – July 5, 1994
Indian author (1908–1994)
Modern era
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
April 17, 1912 – April 10, 1999
Novelist and short story writer of Malayalam language (1912–1999)
Modern era
Fakir Mohan Senapati
January 13, 1843 – June 14, 1918
Indian Odia author (1843–1918)
Modern era
Abanindranath Tagore
August 7, 1871 – December 5, 1951
Indian painter and writer (1871–1951)
Modern era
E. O. Wilson
June 10, 1929 – December 26, 2021
American biologist, naturalist, and writer (1929–2021)
Early Modern era
Daniel Defoe
September 13, 1660 – April 24, 1731
English trader, writer, and journalist (1660–1731)
Early Modern era
Jonathan Swift
November 30, 1667 – October 19, 1745
Anglo-Irish satirist and essayist (1667–1745)
Early Modern era
John Bunyan
November 28, 1628 – August 31, 1688
English Christian writer and preacher (1628-1688)
Modern era
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882
American poet and educator (1807–1882)
Modern era
Anne Bronte
January 17, 1820 – May 28, 1849
British novelist and poet (1820-1849)
Modern era
William Makepeace Thackeray
July 18, 1811 – December 24, 1863
British novelist (1811–1863)
Modern era
Joseph Conrad
December 3, 1857 – August 3, 1924
Polish-British writer (1857–1924)
Modern era
Henry James
April 15, 1843 – February 28, 1916
American and British writer (1843–1916)
Modern era
Edith Wharton
January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937
American writer and designer (1862–1937)
Modern era
Willa Cather
December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947
American writer (1873–1947)
Modern era
E. M. Forster
January 1, 1879 – June 7, 1970
English novelist (1879-1970)
Modern era
Jack London
January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916
American author, journalist and social activist (1876–1916)
Modern era
Upton Sinclair
September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968
American writer (1878–1968)