The author of 'The Accidental Tourist' is Anne Tyler. She is an American novelist, short story writer, and literary critic. Tyler has published over 20 novels, the most famous of which is 'The Accidental Tourist'. The novel was published in 1985 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1989. It tells the story of Macon Leary, a travel writer who is struggling to cope with the death of his son.