Barbara Hambly (1951) is an American author and screenwriter who works in a variety of genres including fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction. She is most well known for her Benjamin January historical mystery series, about a free person of color in antebellum New Orleans. From 1994 to 1996 she served as president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of American and won the Locus Award for Best Horror Novel for her 1989 novel Those Who Hunt the Night.