







Occupation
WRITERS
With 7,302 biographies, Writers are the 4th most common occupation in Pantheon, behind Soccer Players, Politicians, and Actors.
People
Pantheon has 7,603 people classified as writers born between 2300 BC and 2006. Of these 7,603, 1,900 (24.99%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living writers include Peter Handke, Patrick Modiano, and J. M. Coetzee. The most famous deceased writers include Homer, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and William Shakespeare. As of April 2024, 299 new writers have been added to Pantheon including Simon Beckett, Norah Vincent, and José Rodrigues dos Santos.
Living Writers
Go to all RankingsPeter Handke
1942 - Present
HPI: 76.29
Patrick Modiano
1945 - Present
HPI: 76.09
J. M. Coetzee
1940 - Present
HPI: 75.60
Alejandro Jodorowsky
1929 - Present
HPI: 73.28
Han Kang
1970 - Present
HPI: 71.41
William Gibson
1948 - Present
HPI: 67.70
Ko Un
1933 - Present
HPI: 65.76
Mary Berry
1935 - Present
HPI: 64.78
Boris Akunin
1956 - Present
HPI: 64.27
Robert M. Parker Jr.
1947 - Present
HPI: 64.06
Yasmina Reza
1959 - Present
HPI: 63.64
Christian Jacq
1947 - Present
HPI: 63.47
Deceased Writers
Go to all RankingsHomer
800 BC - 750 BC
HPI: 95.41
Fyodor Dostoevsky
1821 - 1881
HPI: 93.20
William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
HPI: 92.59
Dante Alighieri
1265 - 1321
HPI: 92.13
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1749 - 1832
HPI: 90.96
J. R. R. Tolkien
1892 - 1973
HPI: 90.69
Edgar Allan Poe
1809 - 1849
HPI: 90.35
Hans Christian Andersen
1805 - 1875
HPI: 90.14
Leo Tolstoy
1828 - 1910
HPI: 89.82
Franz Kafka
1883 - 1924
HPI: 89.62
Albert Camus
1913 - 1960
HPI: 86.77
Anton Chekhov
1860 - 1904
HPI: 86.67
Newly Added Writers (2025)
Go to all RankingsSimon Beckett
1960 - Present
HPI: 54.38
Norah Vincent
1968 - 2022
HPI: 53.60
José Rodrigues dos Santos
1964 - Present
HPI: 53.54
Greg Iles
1960 - 2025
HPI: 52.55
Donato Carrisi
1973 - Present
HPI: 52.02
Ryukishi07
1973 - Present
HPI: 51.89
Elvira Dones
1960 - Present
HPI: 51.68
Brigitte Giraud
HPI: 51.60
Miyuki Miyabe
1960 - Present
HPI: 51.48
Charlotte Link
1963 - Present
HPI: 51.33
Cristina Rivera Garza
1964 - Present
HPI: 51.11
Martha Wells
1964 - Present
HPI: 50.80
Places
Most writers were born in United States (1302), United Kingdom (789), and France (687). By city, the most common birth places were Paris (163), New York City (161), and London (117).
Places Over Time
The earliest biographies classified as writers in Pantheon are Luqman, Kikkuli, and Enheduanna. The concentration of writers was largest during the Newspaper Era, which lasted from 1700 to 1899. Some birth or death locations for earlier writers are unknown, which may account for timeline differences below.
Lifespans
Which Writers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Writers since 1700.




























