Alan S. Cowell (born 16 March 1947) is a British journalist and a former foreign correspondent for The New York Times.
During a period of time based in Rome, he also covered the Vatican and was a member of the traveling press accompanying Pope John Paul II in Latin America, the United States, Australia and elsewhere.
During a 43-year career as a foreign correspondent, Cowell worked from news bureaux in Germany, Turkey, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa, Greece, Egypt, Italy, France and the United Kingdom.
At Reuters, during the days immediately preceding Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, he was the last reporter known to have filed stories by carrier pigeon.
His works of fiction have been set in locations including the English Lake District, Paris and South Africa.