Afro-Brazilian writers

Carolina Maria de Jesus (14 March 1914 – 13 February 1977) was a Brazilian outskirts memorialist who lived most of her life as a slum-dweller. She is best known for her diary, published in August 1960 as Quarto de Despejo (lit. Junk Room, English title Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus) after attracting the attention of a Brazilian journalist, which became a bestseller and won international acclaim. The work remains the only document published in English by a Brazilian slum-dweller of that period. De Jesus spent a significant part of her life in the Canindé favela in North São Paulo, supporting herself and three children as a scrap collector.

Edison de Souza Carneiro (12 August 1912 – 2 December 1972) was a Brazilian writer, historian and ethnologist who specialized in Afro-Brazilian culture. He was one of the most well-known Brazilian ethnologists during his time with his studies on Afro-Brazilian culture and history, which had largely been ignored by Brazilian academic literature up to that point. He was also an activist with the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), starting in the 1930s.

Jarid Arraes (born 12 February 1991, Juazeiro do Norte) is a Brazilian poet and writer. She is the writer of such books as As Lendas de Dandara, Heroínas Negras Brasileiras em 15 cordéis, Um buraco com meu nome, and Redemoinho em dia quente. Arraes lives in São Paulo, where she created the Women's Writing Club (Portuguese: Clube da Escrita Para Mulheres). To date, she has more than 70 publications in the cordel literature style, including the biographical collection Heroínas Negras na História do Brasil.

Francisco de Paula Brito (December 2, 1809 – December 5, 1861), who wrote under the name Paula Brito, was a Brazilian editor, journalist, writer, poet, playwright, translator and lyricist who was a precursor of the black press in Brazil. He worked in several printing shops and founded the Sociedade Petalógica, which had as a notable member the then-young writer Machado de Assis.

Lília Guerra (born 1976, in São Paulo) is a Brazilian author known for her work O céu para os bastardos.

Antônio Bispo dos Santos (December 12, 1959 – December 3, 2023), also known as Nêgo Bispo, was a Brazilian activist, academic, and quilombo leader best known for his concept of counter-colonization. His work challenges colonial complexes and reflects on the experiences and struggles of quilombola communities.