Famous Peruvian Writers

Inca Garcilaso de la Vega was a Peruvian chronicler and writer. Vega, who spent most of his life in Spain, is remembered for his chronicles of Inca culture, history, and society. His work became popular in Europe, where it was widely read, making Inca Garcilaso de la Vega the first author from the Americas to enter the western literary world.

César Vallejo was a Peruvian poet, playwright, writer, and journalist. He is regarded as one of the 20th century's greatest poetic innovators in any language, although he only published two books of poetry in his entire lifetime. César Vallejo's literary career has inspired and influenced several other writers and poets like Martin Wylde Carter, Sam Shepard, and Henry Charles Bukowski.

Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala was a Quechua nobleman best remembered for chronicling and criticizing the Spanish for their ill treatment of the indigenous people of the Andes after the Spanish invasion. Among Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala’s most famous work is Nueva corónica y buen gobierno, an illustrated chronicle completed around 1615. 

José Carlos Mariátegui was a Peruvian journalist, writer, Marxist philosopher, and politician. A prolific author, Mariátegui is best remembered for his work Seven Interpretive Essays on Peruvian Reality, which is regarded as his magnum opus. He is also credited with founding the Peruvian Socialist Party. José Carlos Mariátegui achieved immense popularity despite his early death at the age of 35.

Peruvian singer and composer Chabuca Granda was 12 when she began singing. Best known for her track La flor de la canela, she redefined the Peruvian waltz by bringing in new melodies. Though she wasn’t well-known in English-speaking nations, she was an icon of Peruvian music and wrote much of her own music.

Ricardo Palma was a Peruvian author, scholar, librarian, and politician. He became interested in politics as a young man and held several political positions. He began writing seriously following the birth of his first son, for whom he used to write fantastic tales. He went on to pursue a literary career and published various articles and books. 

José María Arguedas was a Peruvian poet, novelist, and anthropologist. Widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most notable figures of Peruvian literature, Arguedas is best remembered for his intimate portrayals of the native Andean culture. José María Arguedas is also regarded by some as the greatest novelist of his generation.

Peruvian-Spanish author and political commentator Álvaro Vargas Llosa has also been a columnist for the Washington Post Writers Group and a successful TV journalist. Known for his book Liberty for Latin America, he has also won awards for his defense of freedom and has lectured on economic and political topics worldwide.

Though known for his short stories, Peruvian author Julio Ramón Ribeyro had also penned novels, plays, and essays. He was known for his autobiographical characters and his use of irony. His best-known works include Featherless Buzzards. He later worked as a journalist in Paris and was also the Peruvian cultural ambassador to UNESCO.

Peruvian author Silvia Núñez del Arco is also the wife of celebrated bisexual Peruvian journalist and writer Jaime Bayly. She opened up about her first relationship in the autobiographical book If You Leave Me I’ll Kill Myself. She also talked about her relationship with Bayly in What Others Do Not See.

Award-winning Peruvian author and journalist Marie Arana is known for her long association with The Washington Post. She is part of the Scholars Council of the Library of Congress. Known for her iconic books such as American Chica and Cellophane, she has also been outspoken about issues related to Latin America and biculturalism.

Ciro Alegría was a Peruvian politician, journalist, and novelist. He is remembered for writing novels that highlighted the problems of the Native Peruvians, especially the nature of their oppression. He achieved international fame in 1941, when he won the Latin American Novel Prize for his novel Broad and Alien is the World. The book has been published in multiple languages.

Peruvian author and lecturer Sixto Paz Wells is best known for his works that revolves around themes such as aliens and UFO sightings. Known for leading the Rahma Mission, he claims to be an extraterrestrial contactee but has been criticized by many leading ufologists, too.

Manuel González Prada was a Peruvian anarchist, politician, and literary critic. A social critic, González Prada helped develop Peruvian intellectual thought and the academic style called modernismo in the early 20th century. Manuel González Prada is also remembered for his service as the director of the National Library of Peru.

Peruvian novelist and journalist Clorinda Matto de Turner is remembered for her popular novel Aves Sin Nido. She depicted the lives of Peru’s indigenous people through her works and later moved to Argentina, after being hounded out of Peru due to her controversial and political themes.

Also known by his pseudonym, El Cantor de América, Peruvian poet José Santos Chocano attempted to showcase Latin American culture in his works. He was initially part of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa’s forces and later moved to Chile, where he was stabbed to death by a mentally unstable man.

National Prize-winning Peruvian author Alfredo Bryce is mostly known for his novels and his use of wry humor. Some of his best-known works include So Many Times Pedro and The Garden of My Beloved. He later became a Spanish citizen, too. His literary career was plagued by accusations of plagiarism.

Peruvian entertainer Maricarmen Marín started her career as a dancer on La movida de los Sabados, before she gained fame as the lead vocalist of the cumbia group Agua Bella. She has also appeared in the series Yo no me llamo Natacha and has penned a children’s book.

Peruvian TV personality and host Gisela Valcárcel initially worked as a secretary and receptionist before bagging projects such as Risas y Salsa. She is also an entrepreneur, with investments in salons and spas. An icon of Peruvian daytime TV, she appeared on successful shows such as Alo Gisela.

Manuel Scorza was a Peruvian novelist, political activist, and poet. He is best remembered for writing a series of five novels, collectively known as The Silent War. The novels have been translated into over 40 languages, including English.

Beto Ortiz is a Peruvian writer and TV personality. He achieved national fame in 2000, when he started appearing in his TV talk show, Beto A saber, through which he criticized Alberto Fujimori's government at a time when nobody in the Peruvian media spoke about Fujimori's presidency. Beto Ortiz has also won several awards, including Lima's Citizens for Peace Award.

José María Eguren was a Peruvian writer best remembered for his poetry. A post-modernist writer, Eguren is also remembered for his works, Simbólicas and La canción de las figuras. A multi-talented personality, José María Eguren also worked as a journalist, photographer, painter, and inventor.

Carlos Germán Belli is a Peruvian poet whose literary work earned him a nomination for the prestigious Nobel Prize in 2007. Apart from writing poems, Belli also translates American, Italian, Brazilian, and French poetry into Spanish. In 2006, Carlos Germán Belli was honored by Chile's National Council of Culture and the Arts with the Pablo Neruda Ibero-American Poetry Award.