The Best Female Authors of All Time

Over 6.4K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Female Authors of All Time
Voting Rules
Vote up the greatest women writers based on their works in all genres, including short fiction, novels, poetry, non-fiction, and essays.
Some of the most powerful, influential women in history were authors, writers, and poets. What better way to make your point, affect the world around you, inspire other women to fight for their dreams. or even just simply put your stamp on the world than to have your writing published. Who are the best female authors in history?
 
The female authors featured on this list have gone down in history as the absolute greatest women writers. Many movies have been made either from some of their works, or even based on their lives and what shaped them as a writer. This list of the best female authors has been ranked by the community. Vote up the female authors you think are the best and see how your favorites rank.
 
This list features the best female authors of all time, many of whom wrote best-selling books that are still considered classics today including, Gertrude Stein, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte,  Agatha Christie, Maya Angelou, Flannery O’Connor, and Kate Chopin. If the female writer you think is the best isn't already on the list, add her below.
Most divisive: Betty Friedan
Ranked by
  • Jane Austen
    1
    2,126 votes
    Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park
  • Emily Brontë
    2
    829 votes
    Wuthering Heights
  • Emily Dickinson
    3
    966 votes
    The complete poems, The letters, Acts of Light: The World of Emily Dickinson
  • Charlotte Brontë
    4
    1,191 votes
    Jane Eyre, Emma
  • Agatha Christie
    5
    1,273 votes
    A Witness for the Prosecution, And Then There Were None
  • Virginia Woolf
    6
    1,254 votes
    Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, A Room of One's Own