Pierre-Jules Renard (pronounced [pjɛʁ ʒyl ʁənaʁ]; 22 February 1864 – 22 May 1910) was a French author and member of the Académie Goncourt, most famous for the works Poil de carotte (Carrot Top, 1894) and Les Histoires Naturelles (Nature Stories, 1896).

Among his other works are Le Plaisir de rompre (The Pleasure of Breaking, 1898) and the posthumously published Huit Jours à la campagne (Eight Days in the Country, 1912).

He was elected mayor (maire) of Chitry les mines (58) on 15 May 1904 as the socialist candidate and became a member of the Académie Goncourt in 1907, thanks to Octave Mirbeau.

It is witty and subtle and often wise...Jules Renard jotted down neat retorts and clever phrases, epigrams, things seen, the sayings of people and the look of them, descriptions of scenery, effects of sunshine and shadow, everything, in short, that could be of use to him when he sat down to write for publication.

"[5] The American novelist Gilbert Sorrentino based his 1994 work Red the Fiend on Renard's Poil de carotte.