







The Most Famous
Writers from Australia
Top 10 Australian Writers
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Australians Writers of all time. This list of famous Australians Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Australians Writers.
- #1

Colleen McCullough
1937 - 2015
HPI 69.3647 langsColleen McCullough is most famous for her book The Thorn Birds, which was published in 1977.
- #2

P. L. Travers
1899 - 1996
HPI 67.7044 langsP. L. Travers is most famous for her children's novel, "Mary Poppins."
- #3

James Clavell
1921 - 1994
HPI 66.8232 langsJames Clavell is most famous for his book Shogun, which tells the story of a British sailor who is captured by Japanese pirates and taken to...Read moreShow less
James Clavell is most famous for his book Shogun, which tells the story of a British sailor who is captured by Japanese pirates and taken to Japan.
- #4

Annette Kellermann
1887 - 1975
HPI 66.6229 langsAustralian swimmer, vaudeville star, film actress and writer
- #5

Thomas Keneally
b. 1935
HPI 64.5443 langsAustralian novelist
- #6

Rhonda Byrne
b. 1945
HPI 63.0225 langsAustralian writer and producer
- #7

Elizabeth von Arnim
1866 - 1941
HPI 62.7723 langsAustralian writer
- #8

Germaine Greer
b. 1939
HPI 62.7466 langsAustralian writer and public intellectual
- #9

Morris West
1916 - 1999
HPI 61.0225 langsAustralian writer (1916-1999)
- #10

James Aldridge
1918 - 2015
HPI 59.2620 langsAustralian-British writer, journalist
People by Birth Decade
Browse notable Australians Writers grouped by birth decade. Each decade shows the top 10 by HPI; expand to see everyone.
1960s(8)
1890s(2)
1880s(1)
1870s(1)
1850s(2)
1840s(1)
Overlapping Lives
Which Writers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 19 most globally memorable Writers since 1700.






























