Joan Fuster i Ortells (Valencian pronunciation: [dʒuˈaɱ fusˈteɾ j oɾˈteʎs]; 23 November 1922 – 21 June 1992) was an influential Catalan writer.

With El descrèdit de la Realitat ("The Discredit of Reality") (1955) he started a notable career as an essayist of vast thematic breadth and whose incisive style was noted for its precise use of adjectives.

This book, together with Qüestió de Noms ("Matter of Names") and El País Valenciano ("The Valencian Country"), are basic books on the history, culture and national identity problem of the Valencian Community from a Catalanist point of view.

Within the realm of essay writing, he published Figures del temps ("Figures of Times"), Yxart award (1957), Judicis Finals ("Final Judgments") (1960), Diccionari per a ociosos ("Dictionary for Idlers") (1964), Causar-se d'esperar ("Causing Oneself to Wait") (1965), L'home, mesura de totes les coses ("The Man, Measure of All Things") (1967), and others—always within the tradition moral root of classical humanism, close in spirit to the moralists and French reformers (from Montaigne to the encyclopedists), as a critic and skeptic noted for his acid humor.

Within his works on history, criticism and literary production, he published La Poesia Catalana ("Catalan Poetry") (1956), Poetes, Moriscos i Capellans ("Poets, Moorish and Cures") (1962), Heretgies, Revoltes i Sermons ("Heresies, Revolts and Sermons") (1968) and Literatura Catalana Contemporània ("Contemporary Catalan Literature") (1972), in addition to three extensive prologues for the works of Joan Salvat-Papasseit (1962), Salvador Espriu (1963) and Josep Pla (1966), joined together in Contra el Noucentisme ("Against Noucentisme") (1978).

In this sense, Fuster is, for some, the most remarkable political essayist in Catalan of the generations that appeared after the Spanish Civil War.

Nobody was prosecuted,[7] but it is widely believed that it was the anti-Catalan far right's response to Fuster's political and cultural position.