Diane Ackerman is an American poet, essayist, and naturalist known for her books and films.

She has been the finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction in addition to many other awards and recognitions for her work, which include the bestsellers The Zookeeper’s Wife and A Natural History of the Senses.

The Zookeeper’s Wife, a little-known true story of WWII, became a New York Times bestseller, and received the Orion Book Award, which honored it as "a groundbreaking work of nonfiction." A movie of The Zookeeper’s Wife, starring Jessica Chastain and Daniel Brühl, was released in theaters on March 31st, 2017 from Focus Features.

She lives with her husband Paul West in Ithaca, New York.