Schreibende

Schreibende is a German noun formed from the verb schreiben with the -ende nominalizing suffix, used to designate people who write. It can refer to writers in a broad sense, including authors, journalists, bloggers, editors, and other producers of written text. The term is gender-neutral in the plural, written as die Schreibenden; in the singular, der Schreibende can refer to a male writer (or to a generic writer), and die Schreibende to a female writer.

In usage, Schreibende signals a focus on the activity of writing rather than on a specific profession. It appears in literary criticism, sociological writing, or editorial contexts to refer to a group of people who produce textual work, without naming their exact roles. The term tends to be somewhat formal and carries a neutral, descriptive tone.

Compared with Schriftsteller or Autor, Schreibende is broader and less tied to the notion of a specific occupation. It emphasizes writing as a practice and can be used to discuss shared concerns such as audience, ethics, or the impact of digital media on writing. In contemporary German discourse, Schreibende is often used in discussions about the writing community, authorship in the information age, or the changing landscape of text production.