The Most Famous
WRITERS from Ghana
This page contains a list of the greatest Ghanaian Writers. The pantheon dataset contains 7,302 Writers, 5 of which were born in Ghana. This makes Ghana the birth place of the 88th most number of Writers behind Philippines, and North Korea.
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Ghanaian Writers of all time. This list of famous Ghanaian Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Ama Ata Aidoo (1942 - 2023)
With an HPI of 59.85, Ama Ata Aidoo is the most famous Ghanaian Writer. Her biography has been translated into 39 different languages on wikipedia.
Ama Ata Aidoo (23 March 1942 — 31 May 2023) was a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, politician, and academic. She was a Secretary for Education in Ghana from 1982 to 1983 under Jerry Rawlings's PNDC administration. Her first play, The Dilemma of a Ghost, was published in 1965, making Aidoo the first published female African dramatist. As a novelist, she won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 1992 with the novel Changes. In 2000, she established the Mbaasem Foundation in Accra to promote and support the work of African women writers.
2. William Boyd (b. 1952)
With an HPI of 53.76, William Boyd is the 2nd most famous Ghanaian Writer. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.
William Andrew Murray Boyd (born 7 March 1952) is a British novelist, short story writer screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his novels, which include A Good Man in Africa (1981), Any Human Heart (2002), and Restless (2006), many of which have received critical acclaim and literary awards. Boyd has also written screenplays for film and television, including Chaplin (1992), and directed the World War I drama The Trench (1999). His work is characterised by its narrative vitality and range, earning him numerous accolades including the Whitbread First Novel Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and the Costa Book Award. A number of his works are what he describes as "whole-life" novels which follow a protagonist through the highs and lows of a varied and often remarkable life. He regularly fuses fact with fiction and his lead characters encounter well-known historical figures. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for services to literature. John Self, writing for The Booker Prizes, described Boyd’s work as “vigorous, entertaining novels” produced by an “exceptionally fertile imagination,” and praised his fiction as “fully committed to his stories and characters.”
3. Ayi Kwei Armah (b. 1939)
With an HPI of 50.00, Ayi Kwei Armah is the 3rd most famous Ghanaian Writer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Ayi Kwei Armah (born 28 October 1939) is a Ghanaian writer best known for his novels including The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968), Two Thousand Seasons (1973) and The Healers (1978). He is also an essayist, as well as having written poetry, short stories, and books for children.
4. Kofi Awoonor (1935 - 2013)
With an HPI of 49.52, Kofi Awoonor is the 4th most famous Ghanaian Writer. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Kofi Awoonor (born George Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor-Williams; 13 March 1935 – 21 September 2013) was a Ghanaian poet, author and diplomat. His work combined the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people with contemporary and religious symbolism to depict Africa during decolonization. He started writing under the name George Awoonor-Williams, and was also published as Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor. He taught African literature at the University of Ghana. Professor Awoonor was among those who were killed in the September 2013 attack at Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, where he was a participant at the Storymoja Hay Festival.
5. Amma Darko (b. 1956)
With an HPI of 46.80, Amma Darko is the 5th most famous Ghanaian Writer. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Amma Darko (born 1956) is a Ghanaian novelist. She won The Golden Baobab Prize for one of her novels. She has published seven novels in total.
People
Pantheon has 5 people classified as Ghanaian writers born between 1935 and 1956. Of these 5, 3 (60.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Ghanaian writers include William Boyd, Ayi Kwei Armah, and Amma Darko. The most famous deceased Ghanaian writers include Ama Ata Aidoo, and Kofi Awoonor. As of April 2024, 5 new Ghanaian writers have been added to Pantheon including Ama Ata Aidoo, William Boyd, and Ayi Kwei Armah.
Living Ghanaian Writers
Go to all Rankings
William Boyd
1952 - Present
HPI: 53.76
Ayi Kwei Armah
1939 - Present
HPI: 50.00
Amma Darko
1956 - Present
HPI: 46.80
Deceased Ghanaian Writers
Go to all RankingsNewly Added Ghanaian Writers (2024)
Go to all RankingsAma Ata Aidoo
1942 - 2023
HPI: 59.85
William Boyd
1952 - Present
HPI: 53.76
Ayi Kwei Armah
1939 - Present
HPI: 50.00
Kofi Awoonor
1935 - 2013
HPI: 49.52
Amma Darko
1956 - Present
HPI: 46.80
