Who is/are the most controversial or influential world literature author(s)?

[Viola]

It CANNOT be an American author.
It's for a research paper based on non-American authors that have played an influential role in world literature.

[janniel]

Leo Tolstoy, author of 'War and Peace', considered by some scholars to be the greatest novel ever written, and 'Anna Karenina'.
Charles Dickens.
Guy de Maupassant
Bram Stoker, whose book 'Dracula' began the Vampire industry, still in full production today.
Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, who wrote classic romances which have so often been imitated but never equalled over the decades right down to this to this day.
I hope one of these will be suitable.

[Odette M]

I think Jane Austen was incredibly influential. Hmm, there are tons of other classic authors to choose from though. As far as controversial, i'd say Khaled Hosseini (he wrote The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns).

[?Irene?]

Why? America has really great literature. If it can't be American, then I have no idea, it's probably some British Author, they have good literature as well.