Culture

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 is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 67
William Boyd (born 7 March 1952) is a Scottish novelist, short story writer and screenwriter.
2
W.E.B. Du Bois is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
Dec. at 95 (1868-1963)
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( doo-BOYSS; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, writer and editor. Born ...more

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#91 of 385 The Greatest American Writers of All Time #25 of 108 Famous People Who Use Initials In Their Names

3
Akosua Busia is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 53
Akosua Gyamama Busia (born 30 December 1966) is a Ghanaian actress, film director, author and songwriter who lives in the EU. Busia is best known for her role as Nettie Harris in the 1985 film ...more
4
Kwame Nkrumah is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
Dec. at 63 (1909-1972)
Kwame Nkrumah PC (21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to ...more

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#287 of 473 Famous Role Models We'd Like to Meet In Person #902 of 1,472 The Greatest Minds of All Time

5
Kwame Anthony Appiah is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 65
Kwame Akroma-Ampim Kusi Anthony Appiah ( AP-ee-ah; born May 8, 1954) is a British-Ghanaian philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist whose interests include political and moral theory, the ...more
6
Michael Blackson is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
Michael Blackson
age 47
Jafari Ferguson (born November 28, 1972), better known by his stage name Michael Blackson, is a Ghanaian actor and comedian.
7
John Akomfrah is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 62
John Akomfrah, CBE (born 4 May 1957) is a British artist, writer, film director, screenwriter, theorist and curator of Ghanaian descent, whose "commitment to a radicalism both of politics ...more
8
Meshack Asare is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 74
Meshack Asare (born 1945) 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 ...more
9
Ama Ata Aidoo is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 77
Ama Ata Aidoo, née Christina Ama Aidoo (born 23 March 1942) is a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright and academic. She was the Minister of Education under the Jerry Rawlings administration. ...more
10
Joe Coleman de Graft is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
Dec. at 54 (1924-1978)
Joseph Coleman de Graft, known as Joe de Graft (2 April 1924 – 1 November 1978), was a prominent Ghanaian writer, playwright and dramatist, who was appointed the first director of the Ghana ...more
11
Kofi Awoonor is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
Dec. at 78 (1935-2013)
Kofi Awoonor (born George Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor-Williams; 1935 – 21 September 2013) was a Ghanaian poet and author whose work combined the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people and ...more
12
J. E. Casely Hayford is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
Dec. at 64 (1866-1930)
Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, MBE (29 September 1866 – 11 August 1930), also known as Ekra-Agiman, was a Ghanaian journalist, editor, author, lawyer, educator, and politician who supported ...more
13
Emmanuel Erskine is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 82
Lieutenant General Emmanuel Alexander Erskine (born 19 January 1937) is a retired Ghanaian soldier and politician. He is a former Chief of Army Staff of the Ghana army. He is also a former ...more
14
Aaron Mike Oquaye is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 75
Rt. Hon. Aaron Mike Oquaye, (born April 4, 1944) is a Ghanaian politician and is the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana. Oquaye was sworn in as the Speaker of Parliament on 7 January 2017. A ...more
15
Peter Ala Adjetey is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
Dec. at 77 (1931-2008)
Peter Ala Adjetey (11 August 1931 – 15 July 2008) was the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana from 2001 to 2005.
16
Frances Bodomo is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
Frances Bodomo
age 31
Frances Bodomo is a film director, actor and screenwriter.
17
Ayi Kwei Armah is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 80
Ayi Kwei Armah (born 28 October 1939) is a Ghanaian writer best known for his novels including The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968), Two Thousand Seasons (1973) and The Healers (1979). He ...more
18
Amma Darko is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 63
Amma Darko (born 1956) is a Ghanaian novelist.
19
Tawia Modibo Ocran is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
Dec. at 66 (1942-2008)
Professor Justice Tawia Modibo Ocran (September 12, 1942 – October 27, 2008) was an academic and a Supreme Court Judge in Ghana.
20
Charles Wereko-Brobby is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 66
Charles Wereko-Brobby (born 27 March 1953, in Kumasi) is an engineer, politician, diplomat and businessman in Ghana. He was once the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana's Volta River Authority, ...more
21
Kodwo Eshun is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
Kodwo Eshun
age 52
Kodwo Eshun (born 1967) is a British-Ghanaian writer, theorist and filmmaker. He studied English Literature (BA Hons, MA Hons) at University College, Oxford University, and Romanticism and ...more
22
Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman... is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang
age 68
Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang (born 22 November 1951 in Cape Coast, Ghana) is a former Minister for Education in Ghana. She was appointed in 2013 by President John Mahama after the 2012 Ghanaian ...more
23
Mohammed Naseehu Ali is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 48
Mohammed Naseehu Ali (born 1971) is a Ghanaian-born writer based in New York City.
24
Nii Parkes is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
age 45
Nii Ayikwei Parkes (; born 1 April 1974), born in the United Kingdom to parents from Ghana, where he was raised, is a performance poet, writer, publisher and sociocultural commentator. He is one ...more
25
William Ofori Atta is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list Famous Writers from Ghana
Dec. at 78 (1910-1988)
Nana William Ofori Atta (10 October 1910 – 14 July 1988), popularly called "Paa Willie", was a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and one of the founding ...more