Esperanto literature began before the official publication of the language; the language's creator, L. L. Zamenhof, translated poetry and prose into the language as he was developing it as a test of its completeness and expressiveness, and published several translations and a short original poem as an appendix to the first book on the language. Other early speakers wrote poetry, stories and essays in the language; Henri Vallienne was the first to write novels in Esperanto. Except for a handful of poems, most of the literature from Esperanto's first twenty years or so is now regarded as of historical interest only.

Between the two World Wars, several new poets and novelists published their first works, including several recognized as the first to produce work of outstanding quality in the still-young language: Julio Baghy , Eugene Michalski, Kálmán Kalocsay, Heinrich Luyken, and Jean Forge.

Over 25,000 books in Esperanto have been published, and the largest Esperanto book service at the World Esperanto Association offers over 4,000 books in its catalog. Over 100 original novels have been published in Esperanto, plus a larger number of novellas, short story collections, and poetry collections. Two major literary magazines, Fonto and Literatura Foiro, appear regularly; some other magazines, such as Monato, also publish fiction.

Some of the major figures of Esperanto literature:

• William Auld
• Julio Baghy
• Kazimierz Bein
• Jorge Camacho
• Kálmán Kalocsay
• Mauro Nervi
• Claude Piron
• Frederic Pujulà i Vallés
• Teodoro Schwartz (or Tivadar Soros, George Soros' father)

See also Esperanto culture.