Joan Samson (September 9, 1937 – February 27, 1976) was an American writer. Her only published novel was The Auctioneer, published briefly before she died of brain cancer.

The Auctioneer, published in 1976 is described as a story that borders on horror, a story about how a community is torn apart by a single person. It has been translated to Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Catalan, Polish and French. It is considered one of the best-selling horror novels of the 1970s, selling over a million copies.