Allen Ginsburg

Born in Newark in 1926. Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of both the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the counterculture that soon would follow. Nephew of Hannah Ginsburg Litzky, Weequahic High School English Teacher.

Amanda Douglas

A long-time Newark resident and a well-known writer of typical late 19th century fiction and poetry (1831-1916),

Amiri Baraka (formerly Leroi Jones)

A dramatist, novelist and poet, he was one of the most respected and widely published African-American writers (October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014).

Barbara Kukla

Author & Journalist for the Newark Star-Ledger. Wrote "Swing City: Newark Nightlife, 1925-50" and other books.

Benilde Little

Author & Journalist. Wrote best-selling book "Good Hair." A 1977 grad of Weequahic High School.

C. K. Williams

Grew up in Newark. He is an American poet, critic and translator and has won nearly every major poetry award.

Claude Brown

Author of the best-selling book, "Manchild in the Promised Land."

Dan Guttman

Author who grew up in Newark. His best known works are the Baseball Card Adventures children's book series.

David Shapiro

Acclaimed poet, literary critic, and art historian. He has written some twenty volumes of poetry, literary, and art criticism. A 1964 Weequahic grad.

Donald Crews

Born in Newark. A writer and illustrator of children's picture books, for which he has won the Caldecott Honor twice.

Douglas H. Eldridge

Author, journalist, historian and former Executive Director of the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee.

Frank J. Urquhart

Author who wrote "Newark the Story of Its Early Days" in 1904.

Harlan Coben

Born in Newark in 1962. Best-selling author of mystery novels and thrillers.

Henry William Herbert

Resided and was published in Newark after emigrating from England. Using the pen name Frank Forester, he was an English novelist, poet, historian, illustrator, journalist and writer on sports.

Howard R. Garis

Author best known for a series of books, published under his own name, that featured the character of Uncle Wiggily Longears, an engaging elderly rabbit. Worked for the Newark Evening News.

Hughes Allison

Author, playwright and journalist. Moved to Newark in 1919 and graduated from Barringer High School.

Jackie Hardwick

Author who lived in Newark. Writes fiction books for teenagers.

Jean-Rae Turner

Journalist & Author who wrote pictorial books on Newark. A 1939 grad of Weequahic High school.

John T. Cunningham

Born in Newark, he was a journalist, writer, and historian who published numerous works related to the history of his native state, New Jersey. Long known as "New Jersey’s popular historian."

Ken Dychtwald, Author

Author, gerontologist, and 1967 Weequahic grad.

Louise Connolly

An educator who worked at the Newark Museum and wrote the book "The Educational Value of Museums" in the early 1900's.

Mary Mapes Dodge

Born in Newark in 1831. A children's writer and editor, best known for her novel "Hans Brinker." She was the most famous children's book author of her time.

Mary Virginia Hawes Terhune

Born in Newark in 1830, She was a prolific writer of best-selling women's fiction novels, as well as writing numerous serial works, short stories, and essays for magazines.

Max J. Herzberg

Writer for the Newark Evening News and first Principal of Weequahic High School.

Michael Immerso

A native of Newark, he wrote the book "Newark's Little Italy: The Vanished First Ward" which traces the history of the First Ward from the arrival of the first Italian in the 1870s until 1953 when the district was uprooted to make way for urban renewal.

Michael Lerner

Author, Rabbi, and Publisher of Tikkun magazine. A 1960 Weequahic grad.

Miriam V. Studley

In 1950 wrote the book "When Newark was Younger,"

Nathan Heard

A novelist who wrote realistically of prison life and the mean streets of Newark, NJ. He wrote his most famous book, "Howard Street" (1968), while serving time in the Trenton State Penitentiary for armed robbery.

Nathan Wright, Jr.

An Episcopal minister and scholar who was a leading voice in the debate over black power in the 1960s. Author and journalist who worked in Newark.

Olga Jimenez Wagenheim

A specialist in Caribbean and Latin American history, she is the author of several books and articles, and has directed the Puerto Rican Studies Program at Rutgers-Newark for more than 20 years.

Paul Auster

Born in Newark in 1947. Author and director whose writing blends absurdity, existentialism, crime fiction, and the search for identity and personal meaning.

Philip Roth, Author

Jan. 1950 Weequahic High School grad. He is one of the most awarded U.S. writers of his generation: his books have twice received the National Book Award, twice the National Book Critics Circle award, and three times the PEN/Faulkner Award. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his 1997 novel, American Pastoral,

Richard T. Koles

Wrote pictorial books about Newark with Weequahic grad, Jean-Rae Turner.

Richard Watson Gilder

Journalist who was a reporter on the Newark Advertiser, of which he was later editor.

Richard Wesley

Born in Newark in 1945 and graduated from East Side High School. An African-American playwright and screenwriter for television and cinema.

Sam Moskowitz

Born in Newark in 1920. An early fan and organizer of interest in science fiction and, later, a writer, critic, and historian of the field.

Sid Dorfman

Award-winning sports journalist for the Star-Ledger. A 1937 Weequahic grad.

Stephen Crane

Born in Newark in 1871. Author of the classic novel, "Red Badge of Courage." An author. prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism. He is recognized by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of his generation.

Thomas Dunn English

Lived in Newark. American Democratic Party politician from NJ who represented the state's 6th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1891 to 1895. He was also a published author and songwriter, who had a bitter ongoing feud with Edgar Allan Poe.

Toni Stanton Harris

Author from Newark who wrote award-winning novel.

Valerie Wilson Wesley

Valerie Wilson Wesley is an African-American author of mysteries, adult-theme novels, and children's books, and a former executive editor of Essence magazine. She is the author of the Tamara Hayle mystery series. The settings of her books take place in Newark. Husband is Richard Wesley.

Vasco S. Jardim

Owner and publisher for 40 years of a weekly Portuguese-language newspaper, Luso- Americano, in the Ironbound section of Newark.

Warren Grover

Historian, Author of "Nazis in Newark," Co-founder of the Newark History Society. 1955 graduate of Weequahic High School.