Jean Genet (Paris, December 19, 1910 – Paris, April 15, 1986) was a French writer, playwright and political activist and one of the prominent representatives of modern French literature.

In his youth, he worked as a petty criminal, and later he dedicated his life to writing and, as a novelist, he managed to present often obscene and erotic themes as a poetic view of the world. As a playwright, he became one of the leading figures of the avant-garde theater and the theater of the absurd.

His most significant works are the novels Querelle de Brest, Journal du voleur and Our Lady of Flowers, Balcony, Blacks, Clownery, Maids and Screens.