James Hawes (born 1960) is a British novelist and popular historian who has been an official bestseller in both genres. He has also written theatrically released screen adaptations of two of his works. He teaches creative writing at Oxford University. In 2022 he was Series Story Consultant/key on-screen contributor for BBCTV's 8-part documentary, Art That Made Us and sole author of the accompanying book, Brilliant Isles.