Early Existentialists
* Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855): Considered the "father of existentialism." Key works: *Fear and Trembling*, *Either/Or*. He explored themes of faith, anxiety, and the individual's relationship with God and the world.
* Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900): His ideas on the "death of God," the will to power, and the Übermensch deeply influenced existentialism. Key works: *Thus Spoke Zarathustra*, *Beyond Good and Evil*.
20th Century Existentialists
* Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980): A key figure in French existentialism. Known for his ideas about "being and nothingness," freedom, and the meaninglessness of existence. Key works: *Being and Nothingness*, *Nausea*, *No Exit*.
* Albert Camus (1913-1960): An Algerian-French philosopher and novelist. Famous for his concept of the "absurd" and his search for meaning in a meaningless universe. Key works: *The Stranger*, *The Myth of Sisyphus*, *The Plague*.
* Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986): Sartre's lifelong companion. Explored the existential conditions of women and the role of gender in shaping our experiences. Key works: *The Second Sex*, *The Ethics of Ambiguity*.
* Franz Kafka (1883-1924): Although not a self-proclaimed existentialist, his works resonated with existential themes. His stories often feature isolated individuals trapped in absurd situations. Key works: *The Metamorphosis*, *The Trial*, *The Castle*.
* Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014): Known for magical realism, but his work also explores themes of fate, loneliness, and the search for meaning. Key works: *One Hundred Years of Solitude*, *Love in the Time of Cholera*.
* Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881): A Russian writer whose novels dealt with themes of guilt, suffering, and the search for meaning. Key works: *Crime and Punishment*, *The Brothers Karamazov*, *Notes from Underground*.
* Samuel Beckett (1906-1989): An Irish playwright and novelist known for his absurdist works that explore the meaninglessness of existence. Key works: *Waiting for Godot*, *Endgame*, *Molloy*.
Contemporary Existential Writers
* Cormac McCarthy (born 1933): An American novelist known for his bleak and violent stories that explore existential themes of violence, redemption, and the human condition. Key works: *Blood Meridian*, *The Road*, *No Country for Old Men*.
* Haruki Murakami (born 1949): A Japanese novelist known for his surreal and dreamlike stories that often explore existential themes of loneliness, alienation, and the search for meaning. Key works: *Kafka on the Shore*, *Norwegian Wood*, *1Q84*.
* Milan Kundera (born 1929): A Czech novelist known for his philosophical and satirical works that explore themes of love, betrayal, and the meaning of life. Key works: *The Unbearable Lightness of Being*, *The Book of Laughter and Forgetting*, *Immortality*.
This list is not exhaustive, and there are many other writers who can be considered existentialist, as the themes of existentialism are explored in various ways across different cultures and literary movements.