Susan Orlean (born October 31, 1955) is an American journalist, television writer, and bestselling author known for her works The Orchid Thief and The Library Book. She has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1992 and has contributed articles to numerous magazines, including Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Outside. In 2021, Orlean joined the writing team of the HBO comedy series How To with John Wilson.

Her 1998 non-fiction book The Orchid Thief was adapted into the film Adaptation (2002), featuring Meryl Streep in an Academy Award-nominated role as Orlean.