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
 - 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