Albert Camus was a French philosopher, author, and journalist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44 in 1957, the second youngest recipient in history. Philosophically, Camus' views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism. He is also considered to be an existentialist.

Alexandre Dumas was a French writer. His works have been translated into many languages, and he is one of the most widely read French authors. Many of his historical novels of high adventure were originally published as serials, including The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.

Lists of works written in French by African women writers

Jean de la Fontaine was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional languages.

Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental novel À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time), published in parts between 1913 and 1927. He is considered by critics and writers to be one of the most influential authors of the 20th century.

Marguerite Donnadieu was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film Hiroshima mon amour (1959) earned her a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards.

Voltaire was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit, his criticism of Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic Church, as well as his advocacy of freedom of speech, freedom of religion and separation of church and state.