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| - 1993 part Hornblower, part Lear', The Independent (London), June 20, 1993, Pg 3.
* Rebecca Goldstein (1950–): American novelist and professor of philosophy.
* Nadine Gordimer (1923–): South African writer and political activist. Her writing has long dealt with moral and racial issues, particularly apartheid in South Africa. She won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1991.
* Robert Graves (1895–1985): English poet, scholar, translator and novelist, producing more than 140 works including his famous annotations of Greek myths and I, Claudius.
* Graham GreeneOM, CH (1904–1991): English novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter, travel writer and critic.
* Germaine Greer (1939–): Australian feminist writer. Greer describes herself as a "Catholic atheist".
* David Grossman (1954–): Israeli author of fiction, nonfiction, and youth and children's literature.
* Jan Guillou (1944–): Swedish author and Journalist.
* Mark Haddon (1962–): British author of fiction, notably the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (2003).
* Daniel Handler (1970–): American author better known under the pen name of Lemony Snicket. Handler has admitted to being both an atheist and a secular humanist. Handler has hinted that the Baudelaires in his children's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events might be atheists.
* Sam Harris (1967–): American author, researcher in neuroscience, author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation.
* Harry Harrison (1925–): American science fiction author, anthologist and artist whose short story The Streets of Ashkelon took as its hero an atheist who tries to prevent a Christian missionary from indoctrinating a tribe of irreligious but ingenuous alien beings.
* Tony Harrison (1937–): English poet, winner of a number of literary prizes.
* Seamus Heaney (1939–): Irish poet, writer and lecturer, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.
* Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988): American science fiction writer.
* Zoë Heller (1965–): British journalist and novelist.
* Dorothy Hewett (1923–2002): Australian feminist poet, novelist, librettist, and playwright.
* Archie Hind (1928–2008): Scottish writer, author of The Dear Green Place, regarded as one of the greatest Scottish novels of all time.
* Christopher Hitchens (1949–): Author of God Is Not Great, journalist and essayist.
* Thomas Jefferson Hogg (1792–1862): British biographer, and co-author with Percy Bysshe Shelley of The Necessity of Atheism.
* R. J. Hollingdale (1930–2001): English biographer and translator of German philosophy and literature, President of The Friedrich Nietzsche Society, and responsible for rehabilitating Nietzsche's reputation in the English-speaking world.
* Michel Houellebecq (1958–): French novelist.
* A. E. Housman (1859–1936): English poet and classical scholar, best known for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad.
* Stanley Edgar Hyman (1919–1970): American literary critic who wrote primarily about critical methods.
* Howard Jacobson (1942–): British author, best known for comic novels but also a non-fiction writer and journalist. Prefers not to be called an atheist.
* Susan Jacoby (1945–): American author, whose works include the New York Times best seller The Age of American Unreason, about anti-intellectualism.
* Clive James (1939–): Australian author, television presenter and cultural commentator.
* Robin Jenkins (1912–2005): Scottish writer of about thirty novels, though mainly known for The Cone Gatherers.
* Neil Jordan (1950-): Irish novelist and filmmaker.
* S. T. Joshi (1958–): American editor and literary critic.
* Ismail Kadare (1936–): Albanian novelist and poet, winner of the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca and the inaugural Man Booker International Prize.
* Ludovic Kennedy (1919–2009): British journalist, author, and campaigner for voluntary euthanasia.
* Douglas Kennedy (1955–): American-born novelist, playwright and nonfiction writer.
* James Kelman (1946–): Scottish author, influential and Booker Prize-winning writer of novels, short stories, plays and political essays.
* Marian Keyes (1963–): Irish writer, considered to be one of the original progenitors of "chick lit", selling 22 million copies of her books in 30 languages.
* Paul Krassner (1932–): American founder and editor of the freethought magazine The Realist, and a key figure in the 1960s counterculture.
* Pär Lagerkvist (1891–1974): Swedish author who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1951. He used religious motifs and figures from the Christian tradition without following the doctrines of the church.
* Philip Larkin CH, CBE, FRSL (1922–1985): English poet, novelist and jazz critic.
* Marghanita Laski (1915–1988): English journalist and novelist, also writing literary biography, plays and short stories.
* Stieg Larsson (1954–2004): Swedish journalist, author of the Millennium Trilogy and the founder of the anti-racist magazine Expo.
* Rutka Laskier (1929–1943): Polish Jew who was killed at Auschwitz concentration camp at the age of 14. Because of her diary, on display at Israel's Holocaust museum, she has been dubbed the "Polish Anne Frank."
* Stanislaw Lem (1921–2006): Polish science fiction novelist and essayist.
* Giacomo Leopardi (1798–1837): Italian poet, linguist, essayist and philosopher. Leopardi is legendary as an out-and-out nihilist.
* Primo Levi (1919–1987): Italian novelist and chemist, survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp.
* Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742 - 1799): German scientist, satirist, philosopher and anglophile. Known as one of Europe's best authors of aphorisms. Satirized religion using aphorisms like "I thank the Lord a thousand times for having made me become an atheist."
* Pierre Loti (1850–1923): French novelist and travel writer.
* H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937): American horror writer.
* Franco Lucentini (1920–2002): Italian writer, journalist, translator and editor of anthologies.
* Norman MacCaig (1910–1996): Scottish poet, whose work is known for its humour, simplicity of language and great popularity.
* Colin Mackay (1951–2003): British poet and novelist.
* Naguib Mahfouz (19??–): Egyptian novelist who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature and is regarded as one of the first contemporary writers of Arabic literature.
* David Marcus (1924–2009): Irish Jewish editor and writer, a lifelong advocate and editor of Irish fiction.
* Roger Martin du Gard (1881–1958): French author, winner of the 1937 Nobel Prize for Literature.
* Stephen Massicotte (1969–): Canadian playwright, screenwriter and actor.
* W. Somerset Maugham CH (1874–1965): English playwright, novelist, and short story writer, one of the most popular authors of his era.
* Charles Maurras (1868–1952): French author, poet, and critic, a leader and principal thinker of the reactionary Action Française.
* Joseph McCabe (1867–1955): English writer, anti-religion campaigner.
* Mary McCarthy (1912–1989): American writer and critic.
* Ian McEwan, CBE (1948–): British author and winner of the Man Booker Prize.
* China Miéville (1972–): British Science Fiction author.
* Arthur Miller (1915–2005): American playwright and essayist, a prominent figure in American literature and cinema for over 61 years, writing a wide variety of plays, including celebrated plays such as The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, All My Sons, and Death of a Salesman, which are widely studied.
* David Mills (author) (1959–): Author who argues in his book Atheist Universe that science and religion cannot be successfully reconciled.
* Terenci Moix (1942–2003): Spanish writer who wrote in both Spanish and in Catalan.
* Brian Moore (1921–1999): Irish novelist and screenwriter, awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1975 and the inaugural Sunday Express Book of the Year award in 1987, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times.
* Sir John Mortimer CBE QC (1923–2009): English barrister, dramatist and author, famous as the creator of Rumpole of the Bailey.
* Andrew Motion FRSL (1952–): English poet, novelist and biographer, and Poet Laureate 1999–2009.
* Dame Iris Murdoch (1919–1999): Dublin-born writer and philosopher, best known for her novels, which combine rich characterization and compelling plotlines, usually involving ethical or sexual themes.
* Aziz Nesin (1915–1995): Turkish humorist and author of more than 100 books.
* Joyce Carol Oates (1938–): American author and Professor of Creative Writing at Princeton University.
* Redmond O'Hanlon (1947–): British author, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
* George Orwell (1903–1950): English writer and journalist, a novelist, critic, and commentator on politics and culture, one of the most admired English-language essayists of the twentieth century, and most famous for two novels critical of totalitarianism in general (Nineteen Eighty-Four), and Stalinism in particular (Animal Farm).
* John Oswald (activist) (c.1760–1793): Scottish journalist, poet, social critic and revolutionary.
* Frances Partridge (1900–2004): English member of the Bloomsbury Group and a writer, probably best known for the publication of her diaries.
* Camille Paglia (1947–): American post-feminist literary and cultural critic.
* Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922–1975): Italian poet, intellectual, film director, and writer.
* Edmund Penning-Rowsell (1913–2002): British wine writer, considered the foremost of his generation.
* Calel Perechodnik (1916–1943): Polish Jewish diarist and Jewish Ghetto policeman at the Warsaw Ghetto.
* Melissa Holbrook Pierson: American essayist and author of The Perfect Vehicle and other books.
* Harold Pinter (1930–2008): British playwright, screenwriter, poet, actor, director, author, and political activist, best known for his plays The Birthday Party (1957), The Caretaker (1959), The Homecoming (1964), and Betrayal (1978). Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005.
* Fiona Pitt-Kethley (19??–): British poet, novelist, travel writer and journalist.
* Neal Pollack (1970–): American satirist, novelist, short story writer, and journalist.
* Terry Pratchett (1948–): English Fantasy author known for his satirical Discworld series.
* Kate Pullinger (19??–): Canadian-born novelist and author of digital fiction.
* Philip Pullman CBE (1946–): British author of His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy for young adults, which have atheism as a major theme.
* Craig Raine (1944–): English poet and critic, the best-known exponent of Martian poetry.
* Ayn Rand (1905–1982): Russian-born American author and founder of Objectivism.
* Derek Raymond (1931–1994): English writer, credited with being the founder of English noir.
* Stan Rice (1942–2006): American poet and artist, Professor of English and Creative Writing at San Francisco State University, and husband of writer Anne Rice.
* Joseph Ritson, (1752–1803): English author and antiquary, friend of Sir Walter Scott.
* Michael Rosen (1946–): English children's novelist, poet and broadcaster, Children's Laureate 2007–2009.
* Salman Rushdie (1947–): Indian-born British essayist and author of fiction, known for his frequent criticism of Islam.
* José Saramago (1922–): Portuguese writer, playwright and journalist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998.
* Dan Savage (1964–): Author and sex advice columnist. Despite his atheism, Savage considers himself Catholic "in a cultural sense."
* Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822): British Romantic poet, contemporary and associate of John Keats and Lord Byron, and author of The Necessity of Atheism.
* Michael Shermer (1954–): Science writer and editor of Skeptic magazine. Has stated that he is an atheist, but prefers to be called a skeptic.
* Joan Smith (1953–): English novelist, journalist and human rights activist.
* Warren Allen Smith (1921–): Author of Who's Who in Hell.
* David Ramsay Steele (19??–): Author of Atheism Explained: From Folly to Philosophy.
* George Warrington Steevens (1869–1900): British journalist and writer.
* Bruce Sterling (1954–): American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his seminal work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.
* Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894): Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer, especially famous for his works Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
* Vladimir Tendryakov (1923–1984): Russian short story writer and novelist.
* Tiffany Thayer (1902–1959): American author, advertising copywriter, actor and founder of the Fortean Society.
* James Thomson ('B.V.') (1834–1882): British poet and satirist, famous primarily for the long poem The City of Dreadful Night (1874).
* Miguel Torga (1907–1995): Portuguese author of poetry, short stories, theatre and a 16 volume diary, one of the greatest Portuguese writers of the 20th century.
* Sue Townsend (1946–): British novelist, best known as the author of the Adrian Mole series of books.
* Freda Utley (1898–1978): English scholar, best-selling author and political activist.
* Frances Vernon (1963–1991): British novelist.
* Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007): American author, writer of Cat's Cradle, among other books. Vonnegut said "I am an atheist (or at best a Unitarian who winds up in churches quite a lot)."
* Sarah Vowell (1969–): American author, journalist, humorist, and commentator, and a regular contributor to the radio program This American Life.
* Ethel Lilian Voynich (1864–1960): Irish-born novelist and musician, and a supporter of several revolutionary causes.
* Marina Warner CBE, FBA (1946–): British novelist, short story writer, historian and mythographer, known for her many non-fiction books relating to feminism and myth.
* Edmund White (1940–): American novelist, short-story writer and critic.
* Sean Williams (1967–): Australian science fiction author, a multiple recipient of both the Ditmar and Aurealis Awards.
* Simon Winchester OBE (1944–): British author and journalist.
* Tom Wolfe: Noted author and member of 'New Journalism' school
* Leonard Woolf (1880–1969): Noted British political theorist, author, publisher, and civil servant, husband of author Virginia Woolf.
* Gao Xingjian (1940–): Chinese émigré novelist, dramatist, critic, translator, stage director and painter. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2000.
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