List of Michigan writers
Following is a list of Michigan writers, who are noteworthy either by having been born in Michigan or by living there during their writing career.
Children's books
- Verna Aardema, author of ethnic-themed works, winner of Caldecott Medal
- Chris Van Allsburg, author of The Polar Express, twice winner of Caldecott Medal
- Marguerite de Angeli, writer and illustrator, won 1950 Newbery Award, one of first inductees of Michigan Women's Hall in of Fame
- K. A. Applegate, children's and young adult author
- Mark Crilley, manga creator, children's book author/illustrator; creator of Miki Falls, Akiko, Brody's Ghost, and POP! Goes the Weasel
- Christopher Paul Curtis, author, won Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King award
- Meindert DeJong, received 1962 Hans Christian Andersen Award, awarded Newbery Medal and National Book Award
- Aileen Fisher, author
- Margaret Hillert, poet and author of children's literature
- Laurie Keller, writer and illustrator
- Patricia Polacco, author
- Robert Sabuda, pop-up book artist and paper engineer
- Gary Schmidt, author of children's literature and young adult fiction
- Jon Scieszka, author
- Devin Scillian, author
- Philip C. Stead, author
- Gloria Whelan, author born in Detroit, winner of National Book Award for Young People's Literature for 2000
- Christopher Wright, author of American Chillers and ''Michigan Chillers''
Fiction
- Nelson Algren, novelist
- John Edward Ames, western writer
- Harriette Simpson Arnow, novelist
- Robert Asprin, science-fiction and fantasy writer
- Mathis Bailey, novelist and fiction writer
- Deb Baker, author
- Emma Pow Bauder, novelist
- Rex Beach, novelist
- John Bellairs, mystery novelist
- Mary K. Buck, author
- Bonnie Jo Campbell, author
- Jaqueline Carey, fantasy author
- Mary A. Cornelius, author, social reformer
- Katherine Cowley, taught at Western Michigan University
- James Oliver Curwood, novelist and conservationist
- Loren D. Estleman, crime fiction author
- Jeffrey Eugenides, novelist
- Edna Ferber, novelist
- Alice Fulton, short-story writer
- J. Gabriel Gates, young adult and science-fiction writer
- Donald Goines, novelist
- Jaimy Gordon, novelist
- Charlotte E. Gray, novelist and religious writer
- Judith Guest, novelist and screenwriter
- Aaron Hamburger, short-story writer and novelist
- Steve Hamilton, mystery and thriller novelist
- Jim Harrison, novelist, poet, screenwriter
- Jim C. Hines, fantasy novelist and short-story writer
- Joan Carol Holly, science fiction novelist, graduate of Michigan State University
- James Hynes, author
- Alex Irvine, novelist and short-story writer
- Jerry B. Jenkins, novelist, author of Left Behind series
- Janet Kauffman, novelist
- Clarence Budington Kelland, short-story writer and novelist
- William X. Kienzle, Catholic priest, mystery author
- Brad Leithauser, poet, novelist, essayist
- Elmore Leonard, novelist and screenwriter
- Thomas Ligotti, reclusive writer of fiction and poetry
- Josh Malerman, horror and fiction novelist
- Thomas McGuane, novelist and screenwriter
- Terry McMillan, author
- Ander Monson, poet, essayist, novelist
- Joyce Carol Oates, novelist, winner of National Book Award
- Steven Piziks, Sci-Fi author
- Alice Randall, author
- Lev Raphael, crime fiction author and author across genres
- Marcus Sakey, crime novelist
- K.J. Stevens, novelist and short-story writer
- Glendon Swarthout, novelist and short-story writer, winner of the O. Henry Prize
- Lee Upton, novelist and short-story writer
- John D. Voelker, novelist who wrote Anatomy of a Murder under pen name Robert Traver
- Maritta Wolff, novelist
- Doug Worgul, novelist, journalist, and editor. Born in St. Johns. Raised in Battle Creek and Lansing. Graduated from Western Michigan University.
- Michael Zadoorian, novelist and short-story writer
Journalists and nonfiction
- Bruce Ableson, inventor of Open Diary
- Mitch Albom, author, sportswriter, radio talk show host
- Ruth Alice Armstrong, non-fiction writer
- Ella H. Brockway Avann, religious writer
- Catharine H. T. Avery, editor of The American Monthly, the official organ of the Daughters of the American Revolution
- Lepha Eliza Bailey, non-fiction writer
- Joel Bakan, legal writer and Canadian lawyer
- Ray Stannard Baker, 19th-century muckraking journalist
- Michael Barone, journalist, pundit, editor
- M. E. C. Bates, writer, journalist, and newspaper editor
- Octavia Williams Bates, suffragist, clubwoman, writer
- Jim Bellows, newspaper editor in Washington, New York and Los Angeles
- Emma E. Bower, newspaper owner, publisher, and editor; physician
- Robert K. Brown, war correspondent, founder of Soldier of Fortune magazine
- Martha A. Boughton, biographer, poet, songwriter
- Gene Caesar, writer of outdoor fiction
- Amanda Carpenter, author, former correspondent
- E. Jean Carroll, magazine writer and advice columnist
- Jill Carroll, journalist, Iraqi terrorists' kidnap victim
- Bruce Catton, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian
- Zev Chafets, journalist and columnist
- Jonathan Chait, senior editor and columnist
- Lydia J. Newcomb Comings, non-fiction writer
- Arthur Danto, art critic for The Nation
- Paul de Kruif, science writer and microbiologist
- Rachael Denhollander, author, lawyer, advocate
- James Deren, literary nonfiction writer
- Joe Falls, sportswriter for Detroit newspapers 1956–2004
- M. F. K. Fisher, food writer
- Terry Foster, sportswriter and radio personality
- Ron Fournier, national political journalist
- Jennifer Eaton Gökmen, literary nonfiction writer
- Lou Gordon, radio and TV commentator, talk show host, columnist, political reporter
- Jerry Green, sportswriter for Detroit newspapers 1963–2004
- John Grogan, columnist and author
- Ben Hamper, journalist and non-fiction writer
- Jemele Hill, sports commentator and columnist for ESPN
- Loraine Immen, non-fiction writer
- Michael Kinsley, editor, columnist
- Charlie LeDuff, journalist, author
- Karl Ludvigsen, editor of Car and Driver, Motor Trend
- Betty Mahmoody, author
- Lucy A. Mallory, magazine publisher, editor
- William McPherson, author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
- John J. Miller, national political reporter
- Elvis Mitchell, film critic
- Michael Moore, documentary filmmaker and nonfiction writer
- Jay Nordlinger, senior editor
- Isabel Paterson, author, co-founder of libertarianism
- Pauline Periwinkle, journalist, columnist, poet
- Neal Rubin, columnist, writer of comic strip Gil Thorp
- Tom Stanton, author of the New York Times bestseller "Terror in the City of Champions" and other non-fiction books
- Joseph Sobran, paleo-conservative syndicated columnist
- Jennie O. Starkey, first woman in Detroit to adopt journalism as a profession
- Louise Reed Stowell, scientist, non-fiction writer
- Helen Thomas, journalist, White House correspondent
- Heather Ann Thompson, winner of 2017 Pulitzer Prize for History
- Paul Vachon, freelance journalist and local historian
- Bob Wojnowski, sports columnist and radio personality
Playwrights and screenwriters
- Ron Allen, playwright
- Mike Binder, actor, director, screenwriter
- Bruce Campbell, actor and autobiographer
- Jim Cash, screenwriter
- Francis Ford Coppola, screenwriter, director
- Pete Dexter, novelist, screenwriter
- Gerald Di Pego, screenwriter
- Jack Epps, Jr., screenwriter
- Jim Harrison, novelist, screenwriter
- Alice Emma Ives, dramatist, journalist
- Jake Kasdan, screenwriter, director
- Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter, director
- Neil LaBute, playwright, director, screenwriter
- Elmore Leonard, novelist, screenwriter
- Thomas McGuane, novelist, screenwriter
- Arthur Miller, playwright
- Ron Milner, playwright
- Jane Murfin, playwright, screenwriter
- Heather Raffo, playwright, actress
- Ivan Raimi, screenwriter
- Sam Raimi, screenwriter, director, producer
- Terry Rossio, screenwriter, producer
- Leonard Schrader, screenwriter
- Paul Schrader, screenwriter, director
- Sandra Seaton, playwright, librettist
- Donald E. Stewart, screenwriter
Poets
- Clara Doty Bates, poet, children's writer
- John Malcolm Brinnin, poet
- Eudora Bumstead, poet, hymnwriter
- Jim Daniels, poet
- Toi Derricotte, poet
- Dorothy Donnelly, poet and prose writer
- Myra Douglas, poet, short story writer
- Stuart Dybek, poet
- Max Ellison, poet
- Clayton Eshleman, poet
- Carolyn Forché, poet
- Robert Frost, poet
- Alice Fulton, MacArthur "Genius Award" poet
- Edgar Guest, poet
- Jim Harrison, poet and novelist
- Robert Hayden, poet
- Bob Hicok, poet
- Conrad Hilberry, poet
- Lawrence Joseph, poet
- Ruth Ward Kahn, poet, non-fiction writer
- Jane Kenyon, poet
- Mary Torrans Lathrap, poet
- Margaret Wynne Lawless, poet, non-fiction writer
- Philip Levine, poet
- Thomas Lynch, poet
- Naomi Long Madgett, poet
- Douglas Malloch, poet, known as the Lumberman's Poet
- Angel Nafis, poet, graduated from Huron High School
- John Frederick Nims, poet
- Marge Piercy, poet and novelist
- Dudley Randall, poet, Broadside Press founder
- Theodore Roethke, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning poet
- Carol Smallwood, poet
- Richard Tillinghast, poet
- Mary Frances Tucker, poet
- Nancy Willard, poet, novelist, children's writer and literary critic
Others
- Wayne Dyer, self-help book writer
- James Finn Garner, humorist
- Jerry B. Jenkins, religious writer, "as told to" biographer, romance writer
- Ring Lardner, Sr., satirist, short story writer and sports columnist
- Robert McKee, well-known creative writing instructor
- Peter McWilliams, writer and cannabis legalization advocate
- Stewart Edward White, writer