Nonfiction Authors L-Z, OMO-PLA
Meet the essayists, biographers, historians, journalists, and other nonfiction writers whose work has informed readers, challenged assumptions, and brought the real world vividly to the page.
Nonfiction Authors L-Z Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Omotoso, Kole
Kole Omotoso is a Nigerian novelist, playwright, and critic who writes from a Yoruba perspective and couples the......
Ondaatje, Michael
Michael Ondaatje is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet whose musical prose and poetry are created from......
Oppen, George
George Oppen was an American poet and political activist, one of the chief proponents of Objectivism, a variation......
Ortigão, José Duarte Ramalho
José Duarte Ramalho Ortigão was a Portuguese essayist and journalist known for his mastery of Portuguese prose......
Orwell, George
George Orwell was an English novelist, essayist, and critic famous for his profoundly influential novels Animal......
Osteen, Joel
Joel Osteen is an American televangelist, theologian, speaker, and author who has attracted millions of followers......
Otway, Thomas
Thomas Otway was an English dramatist and poet, one of the forerunners of sentimental drama through his convincing......
Ouyang Xiu
Ouyang Xiu was a Chinese poet, historian, and statesman of the Song dynasty who reintroduced the simple “ancient......
Ovington, Mary White
Mary White Ovington was an American civil rights activist, one of the white reformers who joined African Americans......
Owen, John
John Owen was an English Puritan minister, prolific writer, and controversialist. He was an advocate of Congregationalism......
Owen, Wilfred
Wilfred Owen was an English poet noted for his anger at the cruelty and waste of war and his pity for its victims.......
Oz, Amos
Amos Oz was an Israeli novelist, short-story writer, and essayist in whose works Israeli society is unapologetically......
Ozanam, Antoine Frédéric
Antoine Frédéric Ozanam ; beatified August 22, 1997) was a French historian, lawyer, and scholar who founded the......
Ozick, Cynthia
Cynthia Ozick is an American novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and intellectual whose works seek to define......
O’Brien, Edna
Edna O’Brien was an Irish novelist, short-story writer, and screenwriter whose work is noted for its portrayal......
O’Brien, Tim
Tim O’Brien is an American novelist noted for his writings about American soldiers in the Vietnam War. His best-known......
O’Casey, Sean
Sean O’Casey was an Irish playwright renowned for realistic dramas of the Dublin slums in war and revolution, in......
O’Clery, Michael
Michael O’Clery was an Irish chronicler who directed the compilation of the Annála Ríoghachta Éireann (1636; Annals......
O’Connor, Flannery
Flannery O’Connor was an American novelist and short-story writer whose works, usually set in the rural American......
O’Connor, Frank
Frank O’Connor was an Irish playwright, novelist, and short-story writer who, as a critic and as a translator of......
O’Faolain, Julia
Julia O’Faolain was an Irish writer whose meticulously researched, often darkly comic novels, short stories, and......
O’Faolain, Sean
Sean O’Faolain was an Irish writer best known for his short stories about Ireland’s lower and middle classes. He......
O’Flaherty, Liam
Liam O’Flaherty was an Irish novelist and short-story writer whose works combine brutal naturalism, psychological......
Pacheco, Francisco
Francisco Pacheco was a Spanish painter, teacher, and scholar. Although an undistinguished artist himself, he is......
Pachymeres, George
George Pachymeres was an outstanding 13th-century Byzantine liberal-arts scholar, whose chronicle of the Palaeologus......
Padilla, Heberto
Heberto Padilla was a controversial poet who came to international attention for a political scandal in revolutionary......
Page, Elliot
Elliot Page is a Canadian actor best known for his performances in the comedy-drama film Juno (2007), which earned......
Page, Ruth
Ruth Page was an American dancer and choreographer, who reigned as the grand dame of dance in Chicago from the......
Page, Thomas Nelson
Thomas Nelson Page was an American author whose work fostered romantic legends of Southern plantation life. Page......
Paglia, Camille
Camille Paglia is an American academic, aesthete, and self-described feminist known for her unorthodox views on......
Palacio Valdés, Armando
Armando Palacio Valdés was one of the most popular 19th-century Spanish novelists, distinguished by his optimism,......
Paley, Grace
Grace Paley was an American short-story writer and poet known for her realistic seriocomic portrayals of working-class......
Palladio, Andrea
Andrea Palladio was an Italian architect, regarded as the greatest architect of 16th-century northern Italy. His......
Palladius
Palladius was a Galatian monk, bishop, and chronicler whose Lausiac History, an account of early Egyptian and Middle......
Palmer, E.H.
E.H. Palmer was an English Orientalist, distinguished as a linguist and as a traveler. Among his many translations......
Palmer, Phoebe Worrall
Phoebe Worrall Palmer was an American evangelist and religious writer, an influential and active figure in the......
Pamuk, Orhan
Orhan Pamuk is a Turkish novelist best known for works that probe Turkish identity and history. He was awarded......
Papini, Giovanni
Giovanni Papini was a journalist, critic, poet, and novelist, one of the most outspoken and controversial Italian......
Parandowski, Jan
Jan Parandowski was a Polish writer, essayist, and translator. Parandowski graduated from a classical gimnazjum......
Pardo Bazán, Emilia, condesa de
Emilia, condesa de Pardo Bazán was a Spanish author of novels, short stories, and literary criticism. Pardo Bazán......
Paretsky, Sara
Sara Paretsky is an American mystery writer known for her popular series of novels featuring V.I. Warshawski, a......
Parini, Giuseppe
Giuseppe Parini was an Italian prose writer and poet remembered for a series of beautifully written Horatian odes......
Paris, Matthew
Matthew Paris was an English Benedictine monk and chronicler, known largely only through his voluminous and detailed......
Parkinson, C. Northcote
C. Northcote Parkinson was a British historian, author, and formulator of “Parkinson’s Law,” the satiric dictum......
Parks, Gordon
Gordon Parks was an American author, photographer, and film director who documented African American life. The......
Parnell, Thomas
Thomas Parnell was an Irish poet, essayist, and friend of Alexander Pope, who relied on Parnell’s scholarship in......
Parsons, Robert
Robert Parsons was a Jesuit who, with Cardinal William Allen, organized Roman Catholic resistance in England to......
Pascal, Blaise
Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist, religious philosopher, and master of prose. He laid the foundation......
Pasek, Jan Chryzostom
Jan Chryzostom Pasek was a Polish soldier best remembered for his memoirs, which provide an excellent example of......
Pasquier, Étienne
Étienne Pasquier was a French lawyer and man of letters who is known for his Recherches de la France, 10 vol. (1560–1621),......
Pasternak, Boris Leonidovich
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian poet whose novel Doctor Zhivago helped win him the Nobel Prize for Literature......
Patchett, Ann
Ann Patchett is an American author whose novels often portray the intersecting lives of characters from disparate......
Pater, Walter
Walter Pater was an English critic, essayist, and humanist whose advocacy of “art for art’s sake” became a cardinal......
Patmore, Coventry
Coventry Patmore was an English poet and essayist whose best poetry is in The Unknown Eros, and Other Odes, containing......
Paton, Alan
Alan Paton was a South African writer, best known for his first novel, Cry, the Beloved Country (1948), a passionate......
Patterson, James
James Patterson is an American author, principally known for his thriller and suspense novels. His prolific output......
Pausanias
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer whose Periegesis Hellados (Description of Greece) is an invaluable......
Pavese, Cesare
Cesare Pavese was an Italian poet, critic, novelist, and translator, who introduced many modern U.S. and English......
Paz, Octavio
Octavio Paz was a Mexican poet, writer, and diplomat, recognized as one of the major Latin American writers of......
Peacock, Thomas Love
Thomas Love Peacock was an English author who satirized the intellectual tendencies of his day in novels in which......
Peale, Norman Vincent
Norman Vincent Peale was an influential and inspirational American religious leader who, after World War II, tried......
Pearson, Hesketh
Hesketh Pearson was an English actor, director, and biographer. After attending the Bedford Grammar School, he......
Pease, Edward Reynolds
Edward Reynolds Pease was an English writer and one of the founders of the Fabian Society. Born to a prosperous......
Pelicot, Gisèle
Until 2020 Gisèle Pelicot thought she had the perfect French life. She had been happily married to Dominique Pelicot......
Pellico, Silvio
Silvio Pellico was an Italian patriot, dramatist, and author of Le mie prigioni (1832; My Prisons), memoirs of......
Pelloutier, Fernand
Fernand Pelloutier was a leading organizer and theoretician of the French labour movement who deeply influenced......
Penn, William
William Penn was an English Quaker leader and advocate of religious freedom, who oversaw the founding of the American......
Pennell, Joseph
Joseph Pennell was an American etcher, lithographer, and writer who was one of the major book illustrators of his......
Pepe, Guglielmo
Guglielmo Pepe was a Neapolitan soldier prominent in the Italian Risorgimento and author of valuable eyewitness......
Pepys, Samuel
Samuel Pepys was an English diarist and naval administrator, celebrated for his Diary (first published in 1825),......
Percy, Walker
Walker Percy was an American novelist who wrote of the New South transformed by industry and technology. Orphaned......
Perec, Georges
Georges Perec was a French writer, often called the greatest innovator of form of his generation. Perec was orphaned......
Perelman, S.J.
S.J. Perelman was an American humorist who was a master of wordplay in books, movies, plays, and essays. Perelman’s......
Peresvetov, Ivan Semenovich
Ivan Semenovich Peresvetov was an early Russian progressive social critic. Peresvetov was born to a family of the......
Peretz, I.L.
I.L. Peretz was a prolific writer of poems, short stories, drama, humorous sketches, and satire who was instrumental......
Perkins, Maxwell
Maxwell Perkins was an influential American editor who discovered many of the most prominent American writers of......
Perl, Otto
Otto Perl was a German author and cofounder of the Selbsthilfebund der Körperbehinderten (Self-Help Alliance of......
Perpetua
Perpetua ; feast day March 7) was a Christian martyr who wrote The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, a journal......
Perron, Edgar du
Edgar du Perron was a writer and critic, cofounder with Menno ter Braak of the influential Dutch literary journal......
Perry, Matthew
Matthew Perry was an American Canadian comedic actor best known for his portrayal of the wisecracking Chandler......
Perry, Ralph Barton
Ralph Barton Perry was an American educator and philosopher noted as the founder of the school of new realism in......
Perry, Tyler
Tyler Perry is an American playwright, actor, screenwriter, producer, and director whose works—in which he often......
Peterson, Roger Tory
Roger Tory Peterson was an American ornithologist, author, conservationist, and wildlife artist whose field books......
Petrarch
Petrarch was an Italian scholar, poet, and humanist whose poems addressed to Laura, an idealized beloved, contributed......
Petrolini, Ettore
Ettore Petrolini was an Italian theatrical actor and author, creator of numerous caricature sketches, and inventor......
Petry, Ann
Ann Petry was an African-American novelist, journalist, and biographer whose works offered a unique perspective......
Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus
Sir Nikolaus Pevsner was a German-born British art historian. He studied at various German universities and taught......
Pfefferkorn, Johannes
Johannes Pfefferkorn was a German controversialist—a Christianized Jew—and opponent of Jewish literature, whose......
Phelps, William Lyon
William Lyon Phelps was an American scholar and critic who did much to popularize the teaching of contemporary......
Phillpotts, Eden
Eden Phillpotts was a British novelist, poet, and dramatist especially noted for novels evoking their Devon setting......
Philostratus, Flavius
Flavius Philostratus was a Greek writer of Roman imperial times who studied at Athens and some time after ad 202......
Pinsker, Leo
Leo Pinsker was a Russian-Polish physician, polemicist, and pioneer Jewish nationalist, who was a forerunner of......
Pinsky, Robert
Robert Pinsky is an American poet and critic whose poems search for the significance underlying everyday acts.......
Pinto, Fernão Mendes
Fernão Mendes Pinto was a Portuguese adventurer and author of the Peregrinação (1614, “Peregrination”; Eng. trans.......
Piozzi, Hester Lynch
Hester Lynch Piozzi was an English writer and friend of Samuel Johnson. In 1763 she married a wealthy brewer named......
Pirandello, Luigi
Luigi Pirandello was an Italian playwright, novelist, and short-story writer, winner of the 1934 Nobel Prize for......
Pirmez, Octave
Octave Pirmez was one of the outstanding Belgian men of letters of the period immediately before the literary revival......
Pitol, Sergio
Sergio Pitol was a Mexican author, whose work drew heavily on his experiences from time spent abroad and probed......
Piñera, Virgilio
Virgilio Piñera was a playwright, short-story writer, poet, and essayist who became famous for his work as well......
Place, Francis
Francis Place was a British radical reformer, best-known for his successful campaign for the repeal in 1824 of......