List of French women writers

This is a list of women writers born in France, or whose writings are closely associated with France.

A

• Geneviève Aclocque (1884–1967), historian
• Juliette Adam (1836–1936), novelist, non-fiction writer, and magazine editor
• Marie d'Agoult, pen name Daniel Stern (1805–1876), novelist, essayist, and history writer
• Mathilde Alanic (1864–1948), novelist, short-story writer
• Anne-Marie Albiach (1937–2012), poet and translator
• Hortense Allart (1801–1879), feminist writer and essayist
• Almucs de Castelnau (12th century), troubadour poet, writing in Occitan
• Catherine d'Amboise (1475–1550), semi-autobiographical novelist and poet
• Virginie Ancelot (1792–1875), painter and playwright
• Alix André (1909–2000), romance novelist
• Christine Angot (born 1959), novelist and playwright
• Leili Anvar (born 1967), Persian-French writer and translator
• Azalaïs d'Arbaud (1834–1917), Occitan-language writer
• Sophie d'Arbouville (1810–1850), poet and short-story writer
• Henri Ardel (1863–1938), writer, novelist
• Catherine Arley, pen name of Pierrette Pernot (1922–2016), novelist and actress
• Marie Célestine Amélie d'Armaillé (1830–1918), writer, biographer, and historian
• Angélique Arnaud (1799–1884), novelist, essayist, and feminist
• Katia Astafieff (born 1975), travel writer, novelist and children's author
• Madeleine de l'Aubespine (1546–1596), poet, literary patron, and one of the earliest female erotic poets
• Gwenaëlle Aubry (born 1971), novelist, philosopher, and non-fiction writer
• Colette Audry (1906–1990), novelist, screenwriter, and critic
• Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy (c. 1650–1705), writer of fairy tales and historical novels
• Aurélia Aurita (born 1980), comic book author
• Félicie d'Ayzac (1801–1881), poet, art historian
• Azalais de Porcairagues (12th century), Occitan-language troubadour

B

• Victoire Babois (1760–1839), writer of elegies
• Marie-Claire Bancquart (1932–2019), poet, essayist, critic, and educator
• Tristane Banon (born 1979), novelist, journalist, and television presenter
• Arvède Barine (1840–1908), non-fiction writer, historian, and literary critic
• Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972), American-born poet, playwright, and novelist, who wrote mainly in French
• Lauren Bastide (born 1981), French journalist
• Sophie Bawr (1773–1860), playwright, non-fiction writer
• Fanny de Beauharnais (1737–1813), poet, novelist, playwright, and salonist
• Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986), novelist, essayist, existentialist philosopher, and feminist
• Béatrix Beck (1914–2008), novelist, short-story writer, and poet of Belgian origin
• Alice Becker-Ho (born 1941), poet and non-fiction writer
• Claude de Bectoz (1490–1547), poet and letter writer
• Géraldine Beigbeder, novelist, screenwriter
• Maud de Belleroche (1922–2017), best-selling novelist, memoirist, and biographer
• Loleh Bellon (1925–1999), actress and playwright
• Yannick Bellon (1924–2019), film director and screenwriter
• Juliette Benzoni (1920–2016), novelist
• Catherine Bernard (1662–1712), poet, playwright, and novelist
• Paulette Bernège (1896–1973), journalist, housework specialist, and prolific non-fiction writer
• Emmanuèle Bernheim (1955–2017), novelist and screenwriter
• Carmen Bernos de Gasztold (1919–1995), poet
• Jean Bertheroy (1858–1927), writer
• Louise Bertin (1805–1877), composer and poet
• Mireille Best (1943–2005), novelist, often featuring lesbian characters
• Nella Bielski (1930s – 2020), Ukrainian-born French novelist and actress
• Gisèle Bienne (born 1946), novelist and writer for young adults
• Raphaële Billetdoux (born 1951), novelist
• Augustine-Malvina Blanchecotte (1830–1897), poet
• Stella Blandy (1836–1925), writer and feminist
• Janine Boissard (born 1932), writer
• Lucie Boissonnas (1839–1877), author
• Marie Bonaparte-Wyse (1831–1902), novelist, playwright
• Itxaro Borda (born 1959), novelist, poet, translator in Basque language
• Louise de Bossigny (died 1700), fairy-tale writer
• Laurence Bougault (1970–2018), poet, essayist, and travel writer
• Claire Bouilhac (born 1970), bande dessinée illustrator, scriptwriter, colorist
• Catherine de Bourbon (1559–1604), princess, poet, and letter writer
• Louise Bourbonnaud (c. 1847–1915), writer, explorer, and philanthropist
• Charlotte Bourette (1714–1784), poet, playwright and lemonade seller
• Jeanne Bouvier (1865–1964), feminist and trade unionist
• Sarah Bouyain (born 1968), novelist and film director
• Nina Bouraoui (born 1967), novelist
• Dounia Bouzar (born 1964), anthropologist and writer
• Marie-Anne de Bovet (1855 – unknown date), novelist and journalist
• Brada (1847–1938), novelist, biographer, memoirist, scriptwriter
• Anne-Sophie Brasme (born 1984), novelist
• Geneviève Brisac (born 1951), novelist, short-story writer, children's writer, critic, and screenwriter
• Jacqueline-Aimée Brohon (1731–1778), novelist and essayist
• Josette Bruce (1920–1996), Polish-born novelist
• Fabienne Brugère (born in 1964), non-fiction writer
• Andrée Brunin (1937–1993), poet, many of whose works have been set to music

C

• Claude Cahun (1894–1954), poet, novelist, photograph, essayist, translator, and résistante
• Nina de Callias (1843–1884), poet and salonnière
• Amélie-Julie Candeille (1767–1834), composer, librettist, and playwright
• Marcelle Capy (1891–1962), novelist, journalist, and pacifist
• Marie Cardinal (1929–2001), novelist
• Pauline Cassin Caro (1828/1834/1835–1901), novelist
• Castelloza (13th century), troubadour poet
• Claire Castillon (born 1975), novelist and playwright
• Bernadette Cattanéo (1899–1963), newspaper editor, magazine co-founder, trade unionist, and communist activist
• Anne-Marie Cazalis (1920–1988), journalist, poet, essayist, novelist, and actress
• Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force (1654–1724), novelist, poet, and memoirist
• Rose Celli (1895–1982), novelist, children's author, playwright, translator, and poet
• Rosine de Chabaud-Latour (1794–1860), translator
• Françoise Chandernagor (born 1945), novelist and playwright
• Véronique Chankowski (born 1971), French historian, non-fiction writer
• Edmonde Charles-Roux (1920–2016), novelist, journalist, and photographer
• Noëlle Châtelet (born 1944), essayist, novelist, short-story writer, and educator
• Chantal Chawaf (born 1943), novelist and essayist
• Madeleine Chapsal (1925–2024), novelist, poet, and critic
• Charlotte Saumaise de Chazan (1619–1684), poet and lady in waiting
• Élisabeth Sophie Chéron (1648–1711), painter, poet, and translator
• Maryse Choisy (1903–1979), philosopher, novelist, and non-fiction writer
• Hélène Cixous (born 1937), Algerian-born French novelist, poet, playwright, philosopher, critic, and feminist writer
• Fanny Clar (1875–1944), French journalist and writer
• Catherine Clément (born 1939), philosopher, novelist, feminist, and critic
• Gabrielle de Coignard (1550–1586), religious poet
• Louise Colet (1810–1876), poet, novelist, salonist
• Colette (1873–1954), novelist, author of Gigi
• Henriette de Coligny de La Suze (1618–1673), poet
• Anne-Hyacinthe de Colleville (1761–1824), novelist and playwright
• Danielle Collobert (1940–1978), poet, novelist, short-story writer, and journalist
• Rose Combe (1883–1932), novelist
• Sophie Ristaud Cottin (1770–1807), novelist, including several historical novels
• Hélisenne de Crenne (1510–1552), novelist, epistolary writer, and translator
• Pauline Marie Armande Craven (1808–1891), non-fiction writer

D

• Jocelyne Dakhlia (born 1959), French historian, anthropologist, and academic
• Gilberte H. Dallas, pen name of Gilberte Herschtel (1918–1960), poet, important member of the poètes maudits
• Gerty Dambury (born 1957), poet, playwright, and theatre director from Guadeloupe
• Marie Darrieussecq (born 1969), novelist
• Countess Dash, pen name of Gabrielle Anne Cisterne de Courtiras, vicomtesse de Saint-Mars (1804–1872), novelist
• Régine Deforges (1935–2014), novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and playwright
• Alix Delaporte (born 1969), film director and screenwriter
• Lucie Delarue-Mardrus (1874–1945), poet, novelist, journalist, and sculptor
• Florence Delay (1941–2025), novelist, essayist, playwright, translator, and actress
• Jeanine Delpech (1905–1992), journalist, translator, and novelist
• Sylvie Denis (born 1963), novelist, magazine editor, and translator
• Maria Deraismes (1828–1894), playwright, essayist, and women's rights activist
• Maryline Desbiolles (born 1959), novelist
• Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (1786–1859), poet and novelist
• Antoinette Des Houlières (1638–1694), poet
• Marie-Anne Desmarest (1904–1973), novelist
• Catherine Des Roches (1542–1587), Renaissance poet, daughter of Madelaine Des Roches
• Madeleine Des Roches (c. 1520–1587), Renaissance poet, mother of Catherine Des Roches
• Madeleine Desroseaux (1873–1939), Breton poet, novelist, playwright, and short-story writer
• Jeanne Deroin (1805–1894), journalist and women's activist after the Revolution
• Dominique Desanti (1920–2011), journalist, novelist, biographer, and educator
• Agnès Desarthe (born 1966), children's writer and novelist
• Anne Desclos (1907–1998), journalist, novelist, and translator, known under pen-names Pauline Réage and Dominique Aury
• Madeleine Desroseaux (1873–1939), Breton-language poet and novelist
• Régine Deforges (1935–2014) best-selling novelist, editor, director, and playwright, known for her erotic works
• Antoinette Deshoulières (1638–1694), poet
• Virginie Despentes (born 1969), novelist and autobiographer
• Marie Desplechin (born 1959), novelist and children's writer
• Jane Dieulafoy (1851–1916), archaeologist, novelist, and journalist
• Fatou Diome (born 1968), French-Senegalese French-language novelist, short story writer, and essayist
• Clotilde Dissard (1873–1919), journalist and feminist
• Louisa Emily Dobrée (fl. ca. 1877–1917), novelist, short-story writer, children's writer, non-fiction writer
• Geneviève Dormann (1933–2015), journalist and novelist
• Camille Drevet (1881–1969), editor-in-chief, La Voix des femmes
• Pernette Du Guillet (c. 1520–1545), Renaissance poet
• Caroline Dubois (born 1960), poet
• Charlotte Dubreuil (born 1940), novelist, filmmaker, and screenwriter
• Catherine Dufour (born 1966), novelist
• Claire de Duras (1777–1828), novelist, author of Ourika
• Marguerite Duras (1914–1996), novelist, playwright, and screenwriter of Hiroshima mon amour
• Vanessa Duriès (1972–1993), novelist author of The Ties That Bind
• Yvette Duval (1931–2006), Moroccan-born French historian, specializing in ancient North Africa

E

• Françoise d'Eaubonne (1920–2005), feminist essayist and science-fiction novelist
• Alexandrine des Écherolles (1779–1850), memoirist
• Catherine Enjolet, French novelist and essayist
• Annie Ernaux (born 1940), autobiographical novelist
• Gisèle d'Estoc (1845–1894), writer, sculptor, and feminist
• Claire Etcherelli (1934–2023), novelist

F

• Geneviève Fauconnier (1886–1969), novelist
• Madame de La Fayette (1634–1693), novelist, author of La Princesse de Clèves
• Nathalie Ferlut (born 1968), comic book illustrator, scriptwriter, colorist
• Juliette Figuier (1827–1879), playwright and novelist
• Amanda Filipacchi (born 1967), French-born American novelist
• Aurélie Filippetti (born 1973), novelist
• Adelaide Filleul (1761–1836), novelist
• Clara Filleul (1822–1878), painter and children's writer
• Zénaïde Fleuriot (1829–1890), prolific novelist, writing for young women
• Pierrette Fleutiaux (1941–2019), novelist and short-story writer
• Brigitte Fontaine (born 1939), singer, novelist, playwright, and poet
• Viviane Forrester (1925–2013), essayist, novelist, and critic
• Jeanne-Justine Fouqueau de Pussy (1786–1863), author of children's and educational works
• Jocelyne François (born 1933), lesbian novelist, poet, and diarist
• Camille Froidevaux-Metterie (born 1968), non-fiction writer and novelist

G

• Marie-Louise Gagneur (1832–1902), essayist, novelist, and feminist
• Jeanne Galzy (1883–1977), novelist and biographer
• Anne-Marie Garat (1946–2022), novelist
• Delphine Gardey (born 1967), non-fiction writer
• Anne F. Garréta (born 1962), novelist
• Judith Gautier (1845–1917), poet, historical novelist, playwright, translator, and music critic
• Anna Gavalda (born 1970), best-selling novelist, short-story writer, and works widely translated
• Sophie Gay (1776–1852), novelist, playwright, and librettist
• Stéphanie Félicité, comtesse de Genlis (1746–1830), novelist, playwright, and children's writer
• Rosemonde Gérard (1871–1953), poet and playwright
• Sylvie Germain (born 1954), novelist, essayist, and biographer
• Amélie Gex (1835–1883), poet, who also wrote in Franco-Provençal
• Azza Ghanmi (fl. 1970s), feminist editor
• Delphine de Girardin (1804–1855), essayist, poet, and novelist
• Anne Golon (1921–2017), novelist author of the Angélique series of historical novels
• Mélanie Gouby (active since 2011), journalist
• Olympe de Gouges (1748–1793), playwright and feminist writer, executed after the French Revolution
• Marie de Gournay (1585–1645), novelist, essayist, and critic
• Françoise de Graffigny (1695–1758), novelist and playwright
• Évelyne Grandjean (born 1939), actress, playwright, and screenwriter
• Virginie Greiner (born 1969), comic book scriptwriter
• Henry Gréville, pen name of Alice Durand (1842–1902), widely translated novelist
• Benoîte Groult (1920–2016), novelist and feminist
• Claudine Guérin de Tencin (1682–1749), literary patron, novelist, and correspondent
• Pernette du Guillet (c. 1520–1545), poet, most of whose works were intended to be set to music

H

• Béatrice Hammer (born 1963), novelist, children's writer, and playwright
• Myriam Harry (1869–1958), significant pre-1914 writer, daughter of Moses Shapira
• Mireille Havet (1898–1932), poet, diarist, and novelist
• Nathalie Henneberg (1910–1977), science-fiction novelist
• Marie de Hennezel (born 1946), non-fiction writer
• Catherine Hermary-Vieille (born 1943), novelist
• Juliette Heuzey (1865–1952), novelist, biographer
• Adèle Hommaire de Hell (1819–1883), explorer and travel writer
• Violaine Huisman (born 1979), novelist, essayist, cultural journalist

J

• Paula Jacques (born 1949), Egyptian-born French novelist, journalist, and radio host
• Martine L. Jacquot (born 1955), French-born Canadian academic, novelist, poet, short-story writer, and journalist
• Marie Jaffredo (born 1966), comics scriptwriter
• Gaëlle Josse (born 1960), poet and novelist
• Alice Jouenne (1873–1954), French educator, socialist activist, and writer

K

• Fabienne Kanor (born 1970), journalist, novelist, and filmmaker
• Maylis de Kerangal (born 1967), novelist
• Kiyémis (born 1993), poet, Afro-feminist
• Nadia Yala Kisukidi (born 1978), philosopher
• Thérèse Kuoh-Moukouri (born 1938), Cameroon-born French novelist and essayist

L

• Jean de La Brète (1858–1945), novelist
• Anne-Marie Lacroix (1732–1802), French writer
• Anne de La Roche-Guilhem (1644–1710), novelist, moved to England
• Sylvie Lainé (born 1957), science-fiction novelist and short-story writer
• Claire Lalouette, French Egyptologist
• Jeanne Lapauze (1860–1920), born Jeanne Loiseau, poet and novelist, who used the pen name Daniel Lesueur
• Oriane Lassus (born 1987), author, cartoonist, illustrator
• Camille Laurens (born 1957), novelist
• Linda Lê (1963–2022), Vietnamese-born French novelist
• Simone Le Bargy (1877–1985), actress, novelist, and memoirist
• Martine Le Coz (born 1955), novelist, poet, and non-fiction writer
• Violette Leduc (1907–1972), novelist and autobiographer
• Marie Léopold-Lacour (1859–1942), feminist activist, writer, and storyteller
• Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (1711–1780), novelist and fairy-tale writer, author of Beauty and the Beast
• Marie Léra (1864–1958), journalist, novelist, and translator
• Michèle Lesbre (born 1939), writer and novelist
• Marguerite de Lussan (1682–1758), historical novelist
• Grace Ly (born 1979), writer, podcaster, feminist

M

• Lisa Mandel (born 1977), comics scriptwriter
• Jeanne Marni (1854–1910), novelist, playwright, and essayist
• Anne de Marquets (c. 1533–1588), religious poet, nun, and author of Les Sonets spirituels
• Agnès Martin-Lugand (born 1979), novelist
• Margaret Maruani (1954–2022), non-fiction writer
• Sophie Massieu (born 1975), journalist
• Renée Massip (1907–2002), novelist, journalist
• Nicole-Claude Mathieu (1937–2014), sociologist specializing in gender studies
• Claire-Marie Mazarelli de Saint-Chamond (1731–unknown), woman of letters, writer
• Diane Mazloum (born 1980), French-Lebanese writer
• Meavenn, pen name of Francine Rozec (1911–1992), Breton-language poet, novelist, and playwright
• Natacha Michel (born 1941), political activist, novelist, and critic
• Hélène Miard-Delacroix (born 1959), historian, Germanist, professor
• Marijane Minaberri (1926–2017), children's author, poet, and short-story writer
• Jane Misme (1865–1935), journalist and feminist
• Ursule Molinaro (1916–2000), French-American novelist, playwright, and translator, who wrote in French and English
• Kenizé Mourad (born 1939), journalist, non-fiction writer, and novelist

N

• Claire Julie de Nanteuil (1834–1897), children's literature writer
• Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549), poet, playwright, and short-story writer, including the collection Heptaméron
• Marie NDiaye (born 1967), novelist and playwright
• Anaïs Nin (1903–1977), diarist, essayist, novelist, and short story writer
• Anna de Noailles (1876–1933), highly acclaimed novelist, poet, and autobiographer
• Florence Noiville (born 1961), journalist, children's writer, novelist, and non-fiction writer

O

• Véronique Olmi (born 1962), novelist, playwright, and short-story writer
• Mona Ozouf (born 1931), historian and philosopher

P

• Katherine Pancol (born 1954), novelist, journalist, and author of Les Yeux jaunes des crocodiles (The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles)
• Ève Paul-Margueritte (1885–1971), novelist
• Lucie Paul-Margueritte (1886–1955), writer and translator
• Madeleine Pelletier (1874–1939), feminist writer
• Gabrielle Petit (feminist) (1860–1952), newspaper editor
• Michelle Perrot (born 18 May 1928, Paris), historian, feminist, and grand officer of the legion of honor
• Georges de Peyrebrune (1841–1917), prolific novelist, columnist, and feminist
• Louise Pioger (1848–1920), anarchist, nursery rhymes
• Anne Plichota (born 1968), children's writer and novelist
• Maria Pognon (1844–1925), writer, journal editor, feminist, suffragist, and pacifist
• Aliénor de Poitiers (15th century), writer on court etiquette
• Renada-Laura Portet (1927–2021), poet, prose writer, non-fiction writer
• Alice Poulleau (1885–1960), travel writer and geographer

R

• Rachilde, pen name of Marguerite Vallette-Eymery (1860–1953), novelist and non-fiction writer, author of Monsieur Vénus
• Geneviève-Françoise Randon de Malboissière (1746–1766), playwright, poet, and multi-lingual translator
• Fanny Raoul (1771–1833), feminist writer, journalist, philosopher, and essayist
• Pauline Réage, pen-name of Anne Desclos (1907–1998), who also used the pen-name Dominique Aury, novelist, editor, critic, and author of Story of O (Histoire d'O)
• Marie Redonnet, pen name of Martine L'hospitalier (born 1948), poet, novelist, essayist, short-story writer, and playwright
• Christine Renard (1929–1979), science-fiction novelist
• Juliette Rennes (born 1976), sociologist and non-fiction writer
• Gabrielle Réval (1869–1938), novelist and essayist
• Sandrine Revel (born 1969), comics illustrator and author
• Yasmina Reza (born 1959), playwright, novelist, actress, screenwriter, and author of God of Carnage
• Nadine Ribault (1964–2021), novelist, short-story writer, and translator
• Marie Jeanne Riccoboni (1714–1792), novelist and editor
• Catherine Rihoit (born 1950), novelist and biographer
• Christiane Rimbaud (1944–2023), historian
• Blandine Rinkel (born 1991), novelist
• Christine de Rivoyre (1921–2019), novelist and journalist
• Antoinette Henriette Clémence Robert (1797–1872), novelist and playwright
• Nina Roberts (born 1979), erotic novelist and actress
• Tatiana de Rosnay (born 1961), journalist, novelist, and screenwriter
• Marie-Anne de Roumier-Robert (1705–1771), early science-fiction novelist
• Pascale Roze (born 1954), playwright and novelist, author of Sarah's Key (Elle s'appelait Sarah)
• Léonie Rouzade (1839–1916), journalist, novelist, and feminist

S

• Françoise Sagan (1935–2004), playwright, novelist, and screenwriter, author of Bonjour Tristesse
• Vefa de Saint-Pierre (1872–1967), explorer, reporter, Breton-language poet, and children's writer
• Lydie Salvayre (born 1948), novelist, widely translated
• George Sand (1804–1876), novelist and playwright, author of Indiana
• Anne de Seguier, 16th-century French poet and salon-holder
• Nathalie Sarraute (1900–1999), Russian-born French novelist, who pioneered the nouveau roman
• Albertine Sarrazin (1937–1967), French-Algerian novelist, essayist, and poet
• Johanna Schipper (known as "Johanna"; born 1967), Taiwanese-born French comics artist and short-story writer
• Ariane Schréder, novelist
• Simone Schwarz-Bart (born 1938), Guadeloupean-French novelist, playwright, and non-fiction writer
• Ann Scott (born 1965), novelist, short-story writer
• Madeleine de Scudéry (1607–1701), novelist, works containing lengthy conversations
• Countess of Ségur (1799–1874), Russian-born French novelist and children's writer
• Eulalie de Senancour (1791–1876), journalist, novelist, and children's writer
• Coline Serreau (born 1947), actress, film director, playwright, and essayist
• Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné (1626–1696), correspondent
• Shan Sa, pen name of Yan Ni (born 1972), Chinese-born French poet, novelist, and painter, now writing in French
• Valérie Simonin (1831–1919), novelist
• Maboula Soumahoro (born 1976), scholar, Afro-feminist
• Gabrielle Soumet (1814–1886), dramatist, poet, and feminist writer
• Audrey Spiry (born 1983), animator, illustrator, and bande dessinée author
• Germaine de Staël, also Madame de Staël (1766–1817), essayist, novelist, non-fiction writer, and salonnière
• Louise Swanton Belloc (1796–1881), translator, essayist, novelist, non-fiction writer, children's book writer, and feminist

T

• Tibors de Sarenom (12th century), troubadour poet, writing in Occitan
• Marie-Louise Tenèze (1922–2016), ethnologist, folklorist
• Françoise Thébaud (born 1952), historian and professor emeritus
• Françoise Thom (born 1951), historian and Sovietologist
• Chantal Thomas (born 1945), historian and novelist
• Édith Thomas (1909–1970), novelist, historian, and journalist
• Gilles Thomas, pen name of Éliane Taïeb (1929–1985), science-fiction novelist
• Annette Tison (1942–2010), architect, children's writer, and co-creator of Barbapapa
• Valerie Toranian (born 1962), journalist and editor of Elle
• Nicole Tourneur (1950–2011), novelist and children's writer
• Elsa Triolet (1896–1970), Russian-born French novelist, first women to win the Prix Goncourt, wrote in Russian and French
• Nadine Trintignant (born 1934), film editor, writer, director, producer, and novelist
• Flora Tristan (1803–1844), socialist writer and feminist

V

• Valérie Valère (1961–1981), autobiographical novelist
• Fred Vargas, pen name of Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau (born 1957), crime fiction writer and historian
• Delphine de Vigan (born 1966), novelist and author of No et moi, translated into 20 languages
• Marie-Catherine de Villedieu (1640–1683), playwright, novelist, and short-story writer
• Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve (c. 1695–1755), novelist, fairy-tale writer, and author of Belle et la Bête
• Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin (1902–1969), novelist, poet, and journalist
• Renée Vivien (1877–1909), British-born French-language poet, often writing autobiographical verse
• Élisabeth Vonarburg (born 1947), science-fiction novelist

W

• Chloé Wary (born 1995), comics writer
• Simone Weil (1909–1943), philosopher and non-fiction writer
• Anne Wiazemsky (1947–2017), German-born French novelist and actress
• Joëlle Wintrebert (born 1949), science-fiction novelist and children's writer
• Monique Wittig (1935–2003), novelist, playwright, and feminist writer
• Cendrine Wolf (born 1969), children's writer, who collaborates with Anne Plichota

Y

• Marguerite Yourcenar (1903–1987), novelist and essayist

Z

• Léontine Zanta (1872–1942), novelist and feminist

References

See also

• List of French-language authors
• List of women writers