Which American novelist wrote 'The Color Purple'?

The American novelist who wrote The Color Purple is Alice Walker. Published in 1982, Walker’s epistolary novel is told through letters, chiefly those written by Celie, an African American woman in the rural American South.

The novel traces Celie’s life through poverty, racism, sexism, abuse, and her gradual discovery of independence and self-worth. Its letters create an intimate first-person voice, while the story’s relationships—especially Celie’s bond with her sister Nettie and her friendship with Shug Avery—drive its emotional and intellectual development.

The Color Purple quickly became a major literary success. It won both the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction, making Walker the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer for fiction. Readers sometimes confuse the author with figures such as Toni Morrison or Maya Angelou, but Walker wrote this novel and later adapted it across film, stage musical, and other formats.