Writers Famous Writers from Ghana

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List of famous writers from Ghana, listed alphabetically with photos when available. Ghana is home to many prolific writers, including those who write fiction, non-fiction, poetry, biographies and more. These are some of the best Ghanaian writers that have ever lived, so if you're a native of Ghana and an aspiring writer then use this list as inspiration to achieve your own writing goals.

The list you're viewing has a variety of writers in it, like Charles Odamtten Easmon and Bediako Asare.

This list answers the questions, "Who are popular Ghanaian writers?" and "Which writers are from Ghana?"

You can click on the names of these renowned writers of Ghana in order to get more information about each one. Some of these historic writers may no longer be living in Ghana, but they're all of Ghana descent.

1

William Boyd age 66 William Boyd, CBE is a British novelist and screenwriter.

2

W.E.B. Du Bois Died at 95 (1868-1963) William Edward Burghardt "W. E. B." Du Bois was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author and editor. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, ...more

3

Akosua Busia age 52 Akosua Gyamama Busia is a Ghanaian actress, film director and songwriter who lives in the U.K.

4

Kwame Nkrumah Died at 63 (1909-1972) Kwame Nkrumah, P.C. was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1951 to 1966. He became the first Prime Minister of the Gold Coast in 1951, and led it to independence ...more

5

Kwame Anthony Appiah age 64 Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist whose interests include political and moral theory, the philosophy of language and mind, and African intellectual ...more

6

Michael Blackson age 46 Michael Blackson is a Ghanaian actor and comedian. He uses his African and American life experiences in his stand up comedy routine in a slight Ghanaian accent.

7

John Akomfrah age 61 John Akomfrah, OBE is an English artist, writer, film director, screenwriter and theorist whose "commitment to a radicalism both of politics and of cinematic form finds expression in all ...more

8

Meshack Asare age 73 Meshack Asare is a popular African children's author. He was born in Ghana and currently resides in Degenfeld, Germany. On 15 July 2014, he was announced as a finalist for the prestigious ...more

9

Ama Ata Aidoo age 76 Professor Ama Ata Aidoo, née Christina Ama Aidoo is a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright and academic. She was also a Minister of Education in Ghana under the Jerry Rawlings ...more

10

Joe Coleman de Graft Died at 54 (1924-1978) Joseph Coleman de Graft, known as Joe de Graft, was a prominent Ghanaian writer, playwright and dramatist, who was appointed the first director of the Ghana Drama Studio in 1962.

11

Kofi Awoonor Died at 78 (1935-2013) Kofi Awoonor was a Ghanaian poet and author whose work combined the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people and contemporary and religious symbolism to depict Africa during decolonization. He ...more

12

J. E. Casely Hayford Died at 64 (1866-1930) Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, MBE, or Ekra-Agiman was a Ghanaian journalist, editor, author, lawyer, educator, and politician who supported pan-African nationalism.

13

Emmanuel Erskine age 81 Lieutenant General Emmanuel Alexander Erskine is a retired Ghanaian soldier and politician. He is a former Chief of Army Staff of the Ghana army. He is also a former commander of the United ...more

14

Aaron Mike Oquaye age 74 Aaron Mike Oquaye is a Ghanaian politician who served as the Second Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana between 2009 and 2013. A member of the New Patriotic Party, he was the Member of ...more

15

Peter Ala Adjetey Died at 77 (1931-2008) Peter Ala Adjetey was the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana from 2001 to 2005.

16

Frances Bodomo age 30 Frances Bodomo is a film director, actor and screenwriter.

17

Ayi Kwei Armah age 79 Ayi Kwei Armah is a Ghanaian writer.

18

Amma Darko age 62 Amma Darko is an African novelist. She was born in Koforidua, Ghana, and grew up in Accra. She studied in Kumasi, where she received her diploma in 1980. Then she worked for the Science and ...more

19

Tawia Modibo Ocran Died at 66 (1942-2008) Professor Justice Tawia Modibo Ocran was an academic and a Supreme Court Judge in Ghana.

20

Charles Wereko-Brobby age 65 Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby is an engineer, politician, diplomat and businessman in Ghana. He was once the Chief Executive of Ghana's Volta River Authority, then the country's major power ...more

21

Kodwo Eshun age 51 Kodwo Eshun is a British-Ghanaian writer, theorist and filmmaker. He studied English Literature at University College, Oxford University, and Romanticism and Modernism MA Hons at Southampton ...more

22

Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang age 67 Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang is the current Minister for Education in Ghana. She was appointed in 2013 by President John Mahama after the 2012 Ghanaian general election. She is a member of the ...more

23

Mohammed Naseehu Ali age 47 Mohammed Naseehu Ali is an author, originally from Ghana. He is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and Bennington College. His first book, a collection of short stories titled The Prophet of ...more

24

Nii Parkes age 44 Nii Ayikwei Parkes born in the UK to parents from Ghana, where he was raised, is a performance poet, writer and sociocultural commentator. He is one of 39 writers aged under 40 from sub-Saharan ...more

25

William Ofori Atta Died at 78 (1910-1988) Nana William Ofori Atta, popularly called "Paa Willie", was a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention and was one of "The Big Six" detained by the British ...more

26

Albert Kwesi Ocran age 89 Lieutenant General Albert Kwesi Ocran is a soldier and politician. He was a member of the Presidential Commission of Ghana between 1969 and 1970. He is a former Chief of the Defence Staff of the ...more

27

Obed Asamoah age 82 Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah is a politician from Ghana. Asamoah is the longest serving foreign minister and Attorney General of Ghana under Jerry Rawlings from 1981 to 1997. Asamoah was educated at ...more

28

John Mensah Sarbah Died at 46 (1864-1910) John Mensah Sarbah was a lawyer and political leader in the Gold Coast.

29

Kwadwo Afari-Gyan age 73 Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, is the chair of the Electoral Commission of Ghana. He is a Ghanaian academic, political scientist and an Election Administrator.

30

Raphael Armattoe Died at 40 (1913-1953) Raphael Ernest Grail Armattoe was a Ghanaian doctor, author, poet and politician. He was nominated for the 1949 Nobel Peace Prize and was a campaigner for unification of British and French ...more

31

John K. Tettegah age 88

32

Quobna Ottobah Cugoano Died at 34 (1757-1791) Ottobah Cugoano, also known as John Stuart, was an African abolitionist and natural rights philosopher from Ghana who was active in England in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Captured ...more

33

Bediako Asare Bediako Asare is an African journalist and author, initially from Ghana. He began his career working on local newspapers, then relocated to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to help launch The ...more

34

Ato Sekyi-Otu Ato Sekyi-Otu is a Ghanaian post-colonial intellectual. Sekyi-Otu has worked at the York University in Canada for many years. He is best known for his work on Frantz Fanon and Ayi Kwei Armah. In ...more

35

Charles Odamtten Easmon Charles Odamtten Easmon or C. O. Easmon, popularly known as Charlie Easmon, FRCS, FICS was a Ghanaian doctor of Sierra Leone Creole, African American, Danish, and Irish descent. Easmon was the ...more

36

Frank Kobina Parkes age 86 Frank Kobina Parkes was a Ghanaian journalist, broadcaster and poet. He was the author of one book, Songs from the Wilderness, but is widely anthologised and is perhaps best known for his poem ...more

37

Kofi Anyidoho age 71 Kofi Anyidoho is a Ghanaian poet and academic who comes from a family tradition of Ewe poets and oral artists. He is currently Professor of Literature at the University of Ghana. He has received ...more

1 William Boyd age 66 William Boyd, CBE is a British novelist and screenwriter.

2 W.E.B. Du Bois Died at 95 (1868-1963) William Edward Burghardt "W. E. B." Du Bois was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author and editor. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, ...more

3 Akosua Busia age 52 Akosua Gyamama Busia is a Ghanaian actress, film director and songwriter who lives in the U.K.

4 Kwame Nkrumah Died at 63 (1909-1972) Kwame Nkrumah, P.C. was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1951 to 1966. He became the first Prime Minister of the Gold Coast in 1951, and led it to independence ...more

5 Kwame Anthony Appiah age 64 Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist whose interests include political and moral theory, the philosophy of language and mind, and African intellectual ...more

6 Michael Blackson age 46 Michael Blackson is a Ghanaian actor and comedian. He uses his African and American life experiences in his stand up comedy routine in a slight Ghanaian accent.

7 John Akomfrah age 61 John Akomfrah, OBE is an English artist, writer, film director, screenwriter and theorist whose "commitment to a radicalism both of politics and of cinematic form finds expression in all ...more

8 Meshack Asare age 73 Meshack Asare is a popular African children's author. He was born in Ghana and currently resides in Degenfeld, Germany. On 15 July 2014, he was announced as a finalist for the prestigious ...more

9 Ama Ata Aidoo age 76 Professor Ama Ata Aidoo, née Christina Ama Aidoo is a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright and academic. She was also a Minister of Education in Ghana under the Jerry Rawlings ...more

10 Joe Coleman de Graft Died at 54 (1924-1978) Joseph Coleman de Graft, known as Joe de Graft, was a prominent Ghanaian writer, playwright and dramatist, who was appointed the first director of the Ghana Drama Studio in 1962.

11 Kofi Awoonor Died at 78 (1935-2013) Kofi Awoonor was a Ghanaian poet and author whose work combined the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people and contemporary and religious symbolism to depict Africa during decolonization. He ...more

12 J. E. Casely Hayford Died at 64 (1866-1930) Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, MBE, or Ekra-Agiman was a Ghanaian journalist, editor, author, lawyer, educator, and politician who supported pan-African nationalism.

13 Emmanuel Erskine age 81 Lieutenant General Emmanuel Alexander Erskine is a retired Ghanaian soldier and politician. He is a former Chief of Army Staff of the Ghana army. He is also a former commander of the United ...more

14 Aaron Mike Oquaye age 74 Aaron Mike Oquaye is a Ghanaian politician who served as the Second Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana between 2009 and 2013. A member of the New Patriotic Party, he was the Member of ...more

15 Peter Ala Adjetey Died at 77 (1931-2008) Peter Ala Adjetey was the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana from 2001 to 2005.

16 Frances Bodomo age 30 Frances Bodomo is a film director, actor and screenwriter.

17 Ayi Kwei Armah age 79 Ayi Kwei Armah is a Ghanaian writer.

18 Amma Darko age 62 Amma Darko is an African novelist. She was born in Koforidua, Ghana, and grew up in Accra. She studied in Kumasi, where she received her diploma in 1980. Then she worked for the Science and ...more

19 Tawia Modibo Ocran Died at 66 (1942-2008) Professor Justice Tawia Modibo Ocran was an academic and a Supreme Court Judge in Ghana.

20 Charles Wereko-Brobby age 65 Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby is an engineer, politician, diplomat and businessman in Ghana. He was once the Chief Executive of Ghana's Volta River Authority, then the country's major power ...more

21 Kodwo Eshun age 51 Kodwo Eshun is a British-Ghanaian writer, theorist and filmmaker. He studied English Literature at University College, Oxford University, and Romanticism and Modernism MA Hons at Southampton ...more

22 Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang age 67 Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang is the current Minister for Education in Ghana. She was appointed in 2013 by President John Mahama after the 2012 Ghanaian general election. She is a member of the ...more

23 Mohammed Naseehu Ali age 47 Mohammed Naseehu Ali is an author, originally from Ghana. He is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and Bennington College. His first book, a collection of short stories titled The Prophet of ...more

24 Nii Parkes age 44 Nii Ayikwei Parkes born in the UK to parents from Ghana, where he was raised, is a performance poet, writer and sociocultural commentator. He is one of 39 writers aged under 40 from sub-Saharan ...more

25 William Ofori Atta Died at 78 (1910-1988) Nana William Ofori Atta, popularly called "Paa Willie", was a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention and was one of "The Big Six" detained by the British ...more

26 Albert Kwesi Ocran age 89 Lieutenant General Albert Kwesi Ocran is a soldier and politician. He was a member of the Presidential Commission of Ghana between 1969 and 1970. He is a former Chief of the Defence Staff of the ...more

27 Obed Asamoah age 82 Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah is a politician from Ghana. Asamoah is the longest serving foreign minister and Attorney General of Ghana under Jerry Rawlings from 1981 to 1997. Asamoah was educated at ...more

28 John Mensah Sarbah Died at 46 (1864-1910) John Mensah Sarbah was a lawyer and political leader in the Gold Coast.

29 Kwadwo Afari-Gyan age 73 Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, is the chair of the Electoral Commission of Ghana. He is a Ghanaian academic, political scientist and an Election Administrator.

30 Raphael Armattoe Died at 40 (1913-1953) Raphael Ernest Grail Armattoe was a Ghanaian doctor, author, poet and politician. He was nominated for the 1949 Nobel Peace Prize and was a campaigner for unification of British and French ...more

31 John K. Tettegah age 88

32 Quobna Ottobah Cugoano Died at 34 (1757-1791) Ottobah Cugoano, also known as John Stuart, was an African abolitionist and natural rights philosopher from Ghana who was active in England in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Captured ...more

33 Bediako Asare Bediako Asare is an African journalist and author, initially from Ghana. He began his career working on local newspapers, then relocated to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to help launch The ...more

34 Ato Sekyi-Otu Ato Sekyi-Otu is a Ghanaian post-colonial intellectual. Sekyi-Otu has worked at the York University in Canada for many years. He is best known for his work on Frantz Fanon and Ayi Kwei Armah. In ...more

35 Charles Odamtten Easmon Charles Odamtten Easmon or C. O. Easmon, popularly known as Charlie Easmon, FRCS, FICS was a Ghanaian doctor of Sierra Leone Creole, African American, Danish, and Irish descent. Easmon was the ...more

36 Frank Kobina Parkes age 86 Frank Kobina Parkes was a Ghanaian journalist, broadcaster and poet. He was the author of one book, Songs from the Wilderness, but is widely anthologised and is perhaps best known for his poem ...more

37 Kofi Anyidoho age 71 Kofi Anyidoho is a Ghanaian poet and academic who comes from a family tradition of Ewe poets and oral artists. He is currently Professor of Literature at the University of Ghana. He has received ...more