This article is an abbreviated list of essayists - individuals notable for writing essays on various topics.

Note: An individual's country of birth is not always indicative of his or her nationality.

Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

• Augurio Abeto, The Philippines
• Joseph Addison (1672-1719, England)
• Jean Améry (1912-1978, Austria)
• Kingsley Amis (1922–1995, United Kingdom)
• Martin Amis (born 1949, United Kingdom)
• Matthew Arnold (1822–1888, United Kingdom)
• Anastasia Ashman (born 1964, United States)
• Isaac Asimov (1920–1992, Russia)
• W. H. Auden (1907–1973, United Kingdom)

B

• Francis Bacon (1561–1626, England)
• James Baldwin (1924-1987, United States)
• John Perry Barlow (born 1947, United States)
• Julian Barnes (born 1946, United Kingdom)
• Jacques Barzun (born 1907, France)
• Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867, France)
• Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953, United Kingdom)
• Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986, Argentina)
• Alain de Botton (born 1969, Switzerland)
• William Brandon (1914–2002, United States)
• Alfred Brendel (born 1931, Czechoslovakia)
• Christopher Buckley (born 1952, United States)
• Anthony Burgess (1917–1993, United Kingdom)
• Richard de Bury (1287–1345, England)

C

• Italo Calvino (1923–1985, Italy)
• Albert Camus (1913–1960, Algeria)
• Rafael Cansinos Assens (1882–1964, Spain)
• John Carey (born 1934, United Kingdom)
• Otto Maria Carpeaux (1900–1978, Austria)
• G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936, United Kingdom)
• J. M. Coetzee (b. 1940, Australia)
• William Cobbett (1763–1835, Great Britain)
• Charles Caleb Colton (1780–1832, Great Britain)
• Cyril Connolly (1903–1974, United Kingdom)
• Emil Cioran (1911–1995) ll Romania)
• A. J. Cronin (1896-1981, Scotland)

D

• Mike Daisey (born 1973, United States)
• Joan Didion (born 1934, United States)
• Annie Dillard (born 1945, United States)
• John Dolan (writer) (born 1955, United States)
• Denis Donoghue (born 1920, Ireland)
• John Dryden (1631–1700, England)

E

• Klaus Ebner (born 1964, Austria)
• Umberto Eco (born 1932, Italy)
• T. S. Eliot (1888–1965, United States)
• Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882, United States)
• Joseph Epstein (born 1937, United States)
• Filip Erceg (born 1979, Croatia)

F

• Anne Fadiman (born 1953), United States
• Frantz Fanon (1925-1961, Martinique)
• Richard Farmer (1735–1797, England)
• Benito Jerónimo Feijoo e Montenegro (1676-1764, Spain)
• Ian Frazier (born 1951, United States)
• Robert Fulghum (born 1937, United States)
• Joan Fuster (1922–1992, Catalan Countries)

G

• Harry Gamboa, Jr. (born 1951, United States)
• Karl-Markus Gauß (born 1954, Austria)
• Malcolm Gladwell (born 1963, United Kingdom)
• Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002, United States)
• Paul Graham (born 1964, Weymouth, England)

H

• Carla Harryman (born 1952, California)
• William Hazlitt (1778–1830, England)
• Fumi Hirano (born 1955, Japan)
• Christopher Hitchens (born 1949, United Kingdom)
• Hugh Hood (1928–2000, Canada)
• Leigh Hunt (1784–1859, England)

J

• Michael Johns (born 1964, United States)
• Samuel Johnson (1709–1784, England)
• Langston Hughes (1902–1967, United states)

K

• Frank Kermode (born 1919, United Kingdom)
• Chuck Klosterman (born 1972, United States)
• Miroslav Krleza (1893–1981, Croatia)

L

• Tomislav Ladan (born 1932, Serbia)
• Laila Lalami (born 1968, Morocco)
• Charles Lamb (1775–1834, England)
• Shankar Lamichhane, Nepal
• Corinne Lee (United States)
• C. S. Lewis (1898–1963, Ireland)
• Tim Lilburn (Canada)
• Xun Lu (1881-1936, China)

M

• Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949), Belgium)
• Norman Mailer (1923–2007, United States)
• Jorge Majfud (born 1969, Uruguay)
• Nathan McCall (born 1955, United States)
• Mary McCarthy (1912–1989, United States)
• Tim McKay (born 1947, United States)
• H. L. Mencken (1880–1956, United States)
• Arthur Miller (1915–2005, United States)
• Pankaj Mishra (born 1969, India)
• Donald Grant Mitchell (1822–1908, United States)
• Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592, France)

N

• V. S. Naipaul (born 1932, Trinidad and Tobago)
• Ukichiro Nakaya (1900-1962, Japan)
• Virgil Nemoianu (born 1940, Romania)
• Celeste Newbrough (born 1939, United States)
• Kathleen Norris (poet) (born 1947, United States)

O

• Joyce Carol Oates (born 1938, United States)
• Guy d'Obonner (born 1956, Ireland)
• George Orwell (1903–1950, United Kingdom)
• N.O'kane (1992–???? United Kingdom) also know as Dr. Vincent

P

• Noel Perrin (1927–2004, United States}
• Sam Pickering (born 1941, United States)
• Mestrius Plutarch (46–127, Boeotia, Ancient Greece)
• Katherine Ann Porter (1890–1980, United States)
• Kevin Prufer (born 1969, United States)
• Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849, United States)

Q

• Thomas de Quincey (1785–1859, England)

R

• Kenneth Rexroth (1905–1985, United States)
• Richard Rodriguez (born 1944, United States)
• Bertrand Russell (1872–1970, United Kingdom)
• D.L. Rivers(1993-????) United Kingdom )

S

• Edward Said (1935–2003, Palestine)
• John Ralston Saul (born 1947, Canada)
• Robert Schumann (1810–1856, Germany)
• David Sedaris (born 1956, United States)
• Rafael Calvo Serer (1916–1988, Spain)
• George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950, Ireland)
• Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822, England)
• Clay Shirky (born ???, United States)
• Andrew Slattery (born 1981, Australia)
• Jean Edward Smith (born 1932, United States)
• Walid Soliman (born 1975, Tunisia)
• Rebecca Solnit, United States
• Susan Sontag (1933–2004, United States)
• Lytton Strachey (1880–1932, United Kingdom)

T

• Vijay Tendulkar (b. 1928) India
• United States)
• Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) Russia
• Lionel Trilling (1905–1975, United States)
• George W. S. Trow (1943-2006, United States)

V

• Andrew Vachss (born 1942, United States)
• Gore Vidal (born 1925, United States)
• François de Voltaire (1697–1778, France)

W

• Richard Wagner (1813–1883, Germany)
• Rebecca West (1892–1983, United Kingdom)
• E. B. White (1899–1985, United States)
• Oscar Wilde (1852-1900), Ireland)
• Tom Wolfe (born 1931, United States)
• Virginia Woolf (1882–1941, United Kingdom)

Y

• Marguerite Yourcenar (1903–1987, France)

See also

• List of writers