In honor of International Women’s Day, March 8, we’re highlighting staff members’ favorite authors who are women.
From classic writers whose books have maintained popularity over centuries to modern authors whose contemporary, award-winning works have touched the lives of many, this list offers a starting point for those looking to further expand their readership—today and every day.
Jennifer Egan
by A.J. – Her novel A Visit from the Goon Squad won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2011. Since 2018 Egan has been the president of PEN America, a nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights.
Nnedi Okorafor
by Lori C. – Credited with the Nebula and Hugo Award-winning book Binti along with her popular Akata series, Nnedi Okorafor is a Nigerian-American writer of science fiction and fantasy for children and adults. She also wrote the story for the 2018 short film Hello, Rain.
Robin Hobb
by Devon – Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, also known by the name Robin Hobb, is a highly acclaimed writer of speculative fiction and fantasy. She is perhaps best known for her Farseer Trilogy.
Agatha Christie
by Eric – Known as the Queen of Mystery, Agatha Christie is known for her marvelous mystery stories starring such detectives as Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. While most of her best-selling books were published in the 1930s, they continue to succeed nearly 100 years later.
Amanda Montell
by Stormie – Distinguished linguist (say that ten times fast!) Amanda Montell published her 2021 nonfiction title, Cultish, as an examination on how we talk about fanaticism. A combination of sociology and language study, her writing is as entertaining as it is educational.
Diana Wynne Jones
by Colin – A master of fantasy and speculative fiction, British novelist Diana Wynne Jones wrote the popular story Howl’s Moving Castle which was later adapted into the beloved Studio Ghibli film.
Jane Austen
by Mikayleigh – Best known for classic romances like Pride and Prejudice and Emma, the classic author Jane Austen revolutionized the genre for many readers and writers alike. Her stories have served as creative inspiration for adaptations, retellings, and more.
Virginia Woolf
by Maddie – Author of classics such as A Room of One’s Own and Mrs. Dalloway, modernist British writer Virginia Woolf, who died in 1941, championed for the use of stream-of-consciousness in her works.
Cassandra Clare
by Kayla – Author of The Mortal Instruments series and the Shadowhunters novels, Judith Lewis (otherwise known as Cassandra Clare) became a hit with young adults when she published her first book, City of Bones, in 2007.
Barbara Kingsolver
by Chas – Known for her literary fiction, Barbara Kingsolver has also published poems including her chapbook How to Fly in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons. While she was raised in rural Kentucky, she spent some of her early childhood in the Congo.