In the Ramayana, Valmiki is traditionally regarded as the author of the epic.
Valmiki is revered in Hindu tradition as the Adi Kavi, or first poet, and the Ramayana is often called the Adi Kavya, or first epic poem. The traditional account presents Valmiki as a sage who composed the story of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Hanuman, and Ravana in Sanskrit. He also appears within the epic as a forest sage who shelters Sita and teaches her sons.
The Ramayana exists in many regional languages and versions, so its textual history is complex. Tulsidas wrote the influential Awadhi retelling Ramcharitmanas centuries later, but he is not the traditional author of the Sanskrit Ramayana. Vyasa is instead traditionally linked with the Mahabharata, while Kalidasa is a famous classical Sanskrit poet and dramatist.