List of German women writers

This is a list of women writers who were born in Germany or whose writings are closely associated with it.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

## A

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* Maximiliane Ackers (1896–1982), lesbian actress, novelist, scriptwriter
* Martha Albrand (1914–1981), novelist
* Helene Adler (1849–1923), German Jewish poet and educator
* Hannah Arendt (1906–1975), German Jewish political theorist
* Bettina von Arnim (1785–1859), writer, novelist
* Ludmilla Assing (1785–1859), short story writer, biographer
* Anita Augspurg (1857–1943), feminist, lawyer, actress
* Elisabeth Augustin (1903–2001), poet, short story writer, novelist, wrote in German and Dutch
* Frau Ava (c.1060–1127), first woman writer in German

## B

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* Ingrid Bachér (born 1930), playwright, screenwriter
* Bertha Badt-Strauss (1885–1970), journalist, biographer, translator
* Amalie Baisch (1859–1904), writer of etiquette guide books
* Zsuzsa Bánk (born 1965), novelist
* Gertrud Bäumer (1873–1954), writer, feminist
* Sybille Bedford (1873–1954), German born English-language novelist, non-fiction writer, memoirist
* Maria Beig (1920–2018), novelist
* Hedwig von Beit (1896–1973), folklorist
* Margot Benary-Isbert (1889–1979), children's writer in German and English
* Augusta Bender (1846–1924), writer, poet, folklorist, activist
* Josefa Berens-Totenohl (1891–1969), novelist
* Sibylle Berg (born 1962), successful novelist, essayist, short story writer, playwright
* Dörthe Binkert (born 1949), novelist, non-fiction writer
* Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer (c. 1800–1868), playwright, actress
* Anne Birk (1942–2009), novelist
* Ilse Blumenthal-Weiss (1899–1987), poet
* Helene Böhlau (1859–1940), novelist
* Emily Bold (born 1980), novelist
* Margarete Böhme (1867–1939), novelist, author of Tagebuch einer Verlorenen
* Vera Botterbusch (born 1942), journalist, film producer[1]
* Johanna Braun (1929–2008), German writer
* Angelika Brandt (born 1961), deep-sea biologist, non-fiction writer
* Lily Braun (1865–1916), feminist writer
* Ilse Gräfin von Bredow (1922–2014), novelist and non-fiction writer
* Christine Brückner (1921–1996), novelist, short story writer, children's writer
* Tissy Bruns (1951–2013), journalist
* Traude Bührmann (born 1942), novelist, journalist, translator
* Margarethe von Bülow (1860–1884), novelist

## C

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* Marie Calm (1832–1887), instructional book writer, novelist, poet
* Elisabeth Castonier (1894–1975), children's writer, journalist, writing in German and English
* Helmina von Chézy (1783–1856), poet, playwright, librettist
* Helene Christaller (1872–1953), children's novelist
* Zehra Çırak (born 1960), Turkish-born German poet, short story writer
* Hedwig Courths-Mahler (1867–1950), novelist

## D

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* Utta Danella (1920–2015), novelist
* Gertrud David (1872–1936), journalist, filmmaker
* Henriette Davidis (1801–1876), cookbook writer
* Hilde Domin (1909–2006), poet
* Marion Dönhoff (1909–2002), acclaimed journalist, non-fiction writer
* Doris Dörrie (born 1955), novelist, film director
* Ingeborg Drewitz (1923–1986), playwright, novelist
* Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1797–1848), poet
* Anne Duden (born 1942), prose writer and poet
* Karen Duve (born 1961), novelist and short story writer

## E

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* Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine (in German: Liselotte von der Pfalz) (1652–1722), letter writer
* Margareta Ebner, (1291–1351), diarist, mystic
* Susanna Eger (1640–1713), cook and cookbook writer, author of Leipziger Kochbuch (1706)
* Gisela Elsner (1937–1992), novelist
* Helene von Engelhardt (1850–1910), Baltic German poet, writer, translator
* Aslı Erdoğan (born 1967), human rights activist, novelist, columnist, one novel translated into English
* Jenny Erpenbeck (born 1967), novelist
* Nataly von Eschstruth (1860–1939), novelist

## F

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* Eva Figes (1932–2012), German-born English novelist, critic, memoirist
* Caroline Auguste Fischer (1764–1842), writer and women's rights activist
* Marieluise Fleißer (1901–1974), playwright
* Meta Forkel-Liebeskind (1765–1853), writer, translator
* Julia Franck (born 1970), novelist
* Louise von François (1817–1893), novelist
* Friederike Fless (born 1964), classical archaeologist
* Bella Fromm (1901–1974), journalist, diarist
* Cornelia Funke (born 1958), children's writer, author of The Thief Lord, Inkheart series

## G

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* Miriam Gebhardt (born 1962), historian, non-fiction writer
* Adine Gemberg (1858–1902) feminist novelist
* Doris Gercke (1937–2025), pen name Mary-Jo Morell, crime thriller novelist
* Karen Gershon (1923–1993), German-born English poet, novelist, non-fiction writer
* Rosa Gilissen-Vanmarcke (1969–2021), historian
* Glückel of Hameln (1646–1724), Yiddish-language diarist
* Helga Goetze (1922–2008), poet and artist
* Claire Goll (1890–1977), German-born poet, novelist, writing in German and French
* Natalie Grams (born 1978), German physician, writer, scientific skeptic, former homeopath
* Argula von Grumbach (1492–1554), poet, letter writer, first Protestant woman writer
* Karoline von Günderrode (1780–1806), poet

## H

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* Ida, Countess of Hahn-Hahn (1805–1880), German novelist
* Thea von Harbou (1888–1954), novelist, screenwriter
* Petra Hartmann (born 1970), journalist, novelist, children's writer
* Elke Hartmann-Puls (1969–2021), historian
* Uta-Maria Heim (born 1963), playwright, novelist, poet
* Emmy Hennings (1885–1948), poet, performer
* Ulrike Henschke (1830–1897), novelist and writer on educational theory.[2]
* Luise Hensel (1798–1876), religious writer, poet
* Clara Hepner (1860–1939), children's stories
* Judith Hermann (born 1970), short story writer
* Elisabeth von Heyking (1861–1925), novelist, travel writer, diarist
* Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), mystic, playwright, poet writing in Latin
* Wilhelmine von Hillern (1836–1916), actress, novelist, short story writer
* Karla Höcker (1901–1992), novelist, biographer
* Barbara Honigmann (born 1949), novelist
* Hrotsvith von Gandersheim (c.935–c.1002), dramatist, poet, writing in Latin
* Therese Huber (1764–1829), novelist, short story writer, essayist, translator
* Ricarda Huch (1864–1947), historian, novelist, poet

## J

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* Margarethe Jodl (1859–1937), writer and women's rights activist
* Antonie Jüngst (1843-1918), writer and poet

## K

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* Yadé Kara (born 1965), Turkish-German novelist
* Anna Louisa Karsch (1722–1791), poet, letter writer
* Marie Luise Kaschnitz (1901–1974), leading post-war poet, short story writer, essayist
* Judith Kerr (1923–2019), German-born children's writer in English
* Hedwig Kettler (1851–1937), short story writer, activist, education reformer
* Irmgard Keun (1905–1982), novelist
* Johanna Kinkel (1810–1858), novelist, non-fiction works on music, autobiographer
* Sarah Kirsch (1935–2013), poet, translator
* Karin Kiwus (born 1942), poet
* Ines Köhler-Zülch (1941–2019), folklorist
* Annette Kolb (1870–1967), novelist, pacifist, non-fiction writer
* Gertrud Kolmar (1894–1943), poet
* Clementine Krämer (1873–1942), short story writer, poet, social worker, activist
* Ursula Krechel (born 1947), poet, novelist, playwright, critic
* Brigitte Kronauer (1940–2019), novelist
* Isolde Kurz (1853–1944), acclaimed poet, short story writer

## L

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* Vera Lachmann (1904–1985), poet, classicist, educator
* Hedwig Lachmann (1865–1918), author, translator and poet
* Nuray Lale (born 1962), Turkish-German writer, translator
* Ruth Landshoff (1904–1966), German-American actress, novelist, poet, columnist, wrote in German and English
* Katja Lange-Müller (born 1951), novelist
* Elisabeth Langgässer (1899–1950), poet, novelist
* Sophie von La Roche (1730–1807), novelist
* Else Lasker-Schüler (1869–1945), poet, playwright
* Gertrud von Le Fort (1876–1971), novelist, poet, essayist
* Katerina Lemmel (1466–1533), letter-writer, nun
* Ellen Lenneck (1851–1880), novelist, short story writer
* Fanny Lewald (1811–1889), novelist, feminist
* Sonia Levitin (born 1934), German-born English-language children's and young adults' writer, essayist
* Sibylle Lewitscharoff (1954–2023), novelist
* Mechtilde Lichnowsky (1879–1958), poet, playwright, essayist
* Angela Litschev (born 1978), Bulgarian-born German poet
* Cornelia Lüdecke (born 1954), polar researcher, historian

## M

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* Heidrun E. Mader (born 1977), German theologian
* Erika Mann (1905–1969), anti-Nazi writer, performer, daughter of Thomas Mann
* E. Marlitt (Eugenie John, 1825–1877), novelist
* Monika Maron (born 1941), essayist, political writer
* Petra Mathers (1945–2024), German-born American children's writer, illustrator
* Mechthild of Magdeburg (c.1207–c.1282/94), mystic, writing in Low German
* Mechthild of Hackeborn (1240/41–1298), religious writer in Latin
* Sophie Mereau (1770–1806), novelist, poet
* Malwida von Meysenbug (1816–1903), political writer, memoirist
* Agnes Miegel (1879–1964), journalist, writer, poet
* Jo Mihaly (1902–1989), diarist, novelist, dancer
* Irmtraud Morgner (1933–1990), novelist
* Petra Morsbach (born 1956), novelist
* Lisel Mueller (1924–2020), German-born American poet
* Luise Mühlbach (1814–1873), historical novelist, many works translated into English
* Inge Müller (1925–1966), poet, playwright, children's writer
* Herta Müller (born 1953), Romanian-born German novelist, poet, and essayist, Nobel Prize winner

## N

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* Benedikte Naubert (1752–1819), historical novelist
* Friederike Caroline Neuber (1697–1760), playwright, actress
* Hildegard Maria Nickel (born 1948), sociologist specializing in gender studies
* Charlotte Niese (1854–1935), non-fiction writer, poet
* Ingrid Noll (born 1935), novelist
* Helga M. Novak (1935–2013), poet, political writer

## O

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* Katja Oskamp (born 1970), novelist and short story writer
* Louise Otto-Peters (1819–1895), poet, journalist, feminist
* Angelika Overath (born 1957), author, journalist
* Emine Sevgi Özdamar (born 1946), Turkish-born German novelist, playwright

## P

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* Henriette Paalzow (1788–1847), historical novelist
* Peggy Parnass (1927–2025), actress, columnist, court reporter, short story writer, memoirist
* Annette Pehnt (born 1967), literary critic
* Marie Petersen (1816–1859), story writer, author of the fairy tale Princess Ilse
* Luise von Ploennies (1803–1872), poet, translator
* Karla Poewe (born 1941), anthropologist, non-fiction writer
* Luise F. Pusch (born 1944), linguist, feminist, essayist

## R

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* Elisa von der Recke (Elisabeth Recke) (1754–1833), writer, poet from Courland
* Eva Gabriele Reichmann (1897–1998), historian, works on anti-Semitism
* Brigitte Reimann (1933–1973), novelist
* Annemarie Reinhard (1921–1976), novelist, children's writer
* Christa Reinig (1926–2008), poet, novelist, non-fiction writer, playwright
* Gabriele Reuter (1859–1941), novelist, essayist, children's writer
* Jutta Richter (born 1955), children's writer
* Brigitte Riebe (also Laura Stern) (born 1953), novelist
* Luise Rinser (1911–2002), novelist, autobiographer, children's writer
* Ruth Margarete Roellig (1878–1969), novelist, travel writer, journalist
* Anna Rosmus (born 1960), non-fiction writer, works on Nazi treatment of Jews
* Friederike Roth (born 1948), playwright
* Alice Rühle-Gerstel (1894–1943), journalist, psychologist, feminist
* Anna Rüling, pen name of Theo Anna Sprüngli (1880–1953), journalist, LGBT activist

## S

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* Lessie Sachs (1897–1942), poet and artist
* Nelly Sachs (1891–1970), poet, playwright
* Rahel Sanzara, (1894–1936), novelist
* Oda Schaefer (1900–1988), poet, journalist
* Maria Sophia Schellhammer (bapt. 1647–1719), cookbook writer
* Caroline Schelling (1763–1809), essayist, critic, correspondent
* Dorothea von Schlegel (1764–1839), novelist, translator
* Elke Schmitter (born 1961), novelist
* Elizabeth of Schönau (1129–1165), visionary writing in Latin
* Amalie Schoppe (1791–1858), children's writer
* Claudia Schoppmann (born 1958), historian, nonfiction writer
* Martina Schradi (born 1972), writer, cartoonist
* Adele Schreiber-Krieger (1872–1957), journalist, screenwriter, politician
* Angelika Schrobsdorff (1927–2016), best selling novelist, actress
* Helga Schubert (born 1940), novelist
* Sibylla Schwarz (1621–1638), Baroque poet
* Anna Seghers (1900–1983), novelist, author of The Seventh Cross
* Marie Simon (1824–1877), nurse and writer
* Angela Sommer-Bodenburg (born 1948), children's writer, author of The Little Vampire
* Gesine Spieß (1945–2016), educationalist specializing in gender studies
* Ilse von Stach (1879–1941), playwright, novelist, poet
* Charlotte von Stein, (1742–1827), dramatist, friend of Goethe
* Gisela Steineckert (born 1931), poet, songwriter
* Ginka Steinwachs (born 1942), novelist, playwright, nonfiction writer
* Eva Strittmatter (1930–2011), poet, children's writer
* Antje Rávic Strubel (born 1974), novelist
* Karin Struck (1947–2006), short story writer, novelist
* Herma Studeny (1886–1973) poet, nonfiction writer

## T

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* Fanny Tarnow (1779–1862), short story writer, playwright
* Renata Thiele (born c.1960), Polish-born German novelist, short story writer, editor
* Adrienne Thomas, pen name of Hertha A. Deutsch (1897–1980), autobiographical novelist
* Dorothea Tieck (1799–1841), translator of Shakespeare
* Canan Topçu (born 1965), Turkish-German writer, works on Turkish immigration in German

## V

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* Rahel Varnhagen (1771–1833), essayist, correspondent
* Clara Viebig (1862–1952), novelist, playwright
* Hermine Villinger (1849–1917), novelist and short story writer
* Helene Voigt-Diederichs (1875–1961), travel writer, novelist, short story writer

## W

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* Marianne Weber (1870–1954), women's rights activist, nonfiction writer
* Ruth Weiss (1928–2020), German-born American poet, performer, playwright
* Anna Elisabet Weirauch (1887–1970), playwright, novelist
* Ruth Westheimer (born Karola Siegel, 1928–2024), German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper.
* Ottilie Wildermuth (1817–1877), children's writer, novelist, biographer
* Gabriele Wohmann (1932–2015), novelist, short story writer
* Christa Wolf (1929–2011), novelist, critic, essayist
* Caroline von Wolzogen (1763–1847), novelist, biographer
* Mathilde Wurm (1874–1935), politician, journalist

## Y

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* Barbara Yelin (born 1977), cartoonist

## Z

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* Sidonia Hedwig Zäunemann (1711–1740), poet
* Susanna Elizabeth Zeidler (1657–c.1706), poet
* Juli Zeh (born 1974), novelist, author of Eagles and Angels
* Eva Zeller (1923–2022), poet, novelist
* Hedda Zinner (also Elisabeth Frank, 1905–1994), political writer
* Kathinka Zitz-Halein (1801–1877), poet, biographer
* Unica Zürn (1916–1970), poet, artist

## See also

[edit]

* List of women writers
* List of Austrian women writers
* List of Swiss women writers
* List of Luxembourg women writers
* List of German-language authors

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Sleeman, Elizabeth (2001). The International Who's Who of Women 2002. p. 70\. ISBN 1857431227.
2. ^ von Rosling, Elly Frelin (1931). "Ulrike Henschke zur 100. Wiederkehr ihres Geburtstages". Die Frau: Monatsschrift für das gesamte Frauenleben unserer Zeit (in German). 38: 170–171.

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