After I posted my first list of women writing fantasy, I thought of a whole bunch of other writers I should have included. Then I saw my friend and fellow fantasy writer Teresa Frohock had a similar list on her blog, and there were quite a few names in common, but also quite a lot that weren’t.
I thought it would be cool to smoosh the two lists together, and this is what happened:
AC Crispin; AC Voss; Alaya Dawn Johnson; Aliette de Bodard; Alis Rasmussen; Alison Croggon; Amanda Downum; AM Dellamonica; Andre Norton; Andrea Hairston; Angela Carter; Anna Bradley; Anne Bishop; Anne Leonard; Anne Lyle; Anne McCaffery; Anne Rice; April Taylor
Barbara Friend Ish; Barbara Hambly; Beth Bernobich; Beth Cato; Betsy Dornbusch
CT Adams; Caitlin Kiernan; Carol Berg; Carole Nelson Douglas; Caroline Stevermer; Carrie Cuinn; Carrie Ryan; Carrie Vaughn; Cat Hellisen; Catherine Asaro; Catherine Cooke; Catherine Webb; Catherynne M Valente; Cathy Clamp; CE Murphy; Charlaine Harris; Charlie N Holmberg; Chelsea Quinn-Yarbro; Cherie Priest; Chloe Neill; Cindy Pon; CJ Cherryh; CL Moore; Claire North*; Clea Simon; Cornelia Funke; Courtney Schafer; CS Friedman
Damien A Walters; Danie Ware; Dawn Kurtagich; Deborah Harkness; Debra Doyle; Diana Paxson; Diana Rowland; Diana Wynne Jones; Diane Duane; Doranna Durgin; Doris Egan
E Catherine Tobler; EJ Swift; Ekaterina Sedia; Elaine Cunningham; Elizabeth A Lynn; Elizabeth Ann Scarborough; Elizabeth Bear; Elizabeth Hand; Elizabeth Haydon; Elizabeth Knox; Elizabeth Lynn; Elizabeth May; Elizabeth Moon; Elizabeth Wein; Elizabeth Willey; Ellen Kushner; Elspeth Cooper; Emily Carroll; Emily Gee; Emma Bull; Erica Hayes; Erika Johansen; Erin Hoffman; Esther Friesner; Evangeline Walton; Evie Manieri
Felicia Dale; Fiona McIntosh; Fiona Miller; Francis Knight; Freda Warrington; Freya Robertson; G Willow Wilson; Gail Carriger; Gail Z Martin; Genevieve Valentine; Gill Alderman; Glenda Larke; Gwenda Bond
Heather Brewer; Heather Gladney; Heather Tomlinson; Helen Lowe; Helen Oyeyemi; Helene Wecker; Holly Black; Holly Lisle; Hope Mirrlees
Ilona Andrews; Ilsa J Bick
J Kathleen Cheney; Jacey Bedford; Jackie Kessler; Jacqueline Carey; Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett; Jaime Lee Moyar; Jane Emerson*; Jane Lindskold; Jane Yolen; Janet Berliner; Janny Wurts; Jaye Wells; Jen Williams; Jennifer Estep; Jennifer Fallon; Jennifer Roberson; Jennifer Robinson; Jenny Jones; Jess Haines; JK Rowling; JL Murray; Jo Clayton; Jo Thomas; Jo Walton; Joan Aiken; Jo Anderton; Joan D Vinge; Joanne Hall; Joanne Harris; Josepha Sherman; Joyce Ballou Gregorian; Joyce Chng; Jude Fisher; Judith Tarr; Julian May; Julie Czernada; Julie Hutchings; Juliet E McKenna; Juliet Marillier; JV Jones
Kage Baker; Kameron Hurley; Karen Fowler; Karen Lord; Karen Miller; Kari Sperring; Karin Lowachee; Kate Elliott*; Kate Griffin*; Kate Jonez; Katherine Addison*; Katherine Kerr; Katherine Kurtz; Kathleen M Massie-Ferch; Kathleen Sky; Kelley Armstrong; Kelley Grant; Kelly Link; Kiera Cass; Kit Berry; Kristen Britten; Kristin Cashore; Kristine Kathryn Rusch; KT Davies; KV Johansen; Kylie Chan
LA Gilman / Laura Anne Gilman; Laini Taylor; Larissa Lai; Laura Bickle; Laura Lam; Laura Liddell Nolan; Laure Eve; Laurell K Hamilton; Lauren Beukes; Leigh Bardugo; Leigh Brackett; Lian Hearn; Liane Merciel; Libba Bray; Liesel Schwartz; Lilith Saintcrow; Lindsay Barraclough; Lisa Goldstein; Lisa Mannetti; Lisa Sheradin; Lisa Tuttle; Lish McBride; Liz de Jager; Liz Williams; Lois McMaster Bujold; Lorna Freeman; Lou Morgan; Louise Cooper; Lucy Hounsom; Lynn Abbey; Lynn Flewelling; Lynn Kurland
Madeleine L’Engle; Madeline Ashby; Maggie Stiefvater; Malinda Lo; Marcia Bennett; Margaret Atwood; Margaret Weis; Margo Lanagan; Maria Dahvana Headley; Maria Snyder; Marie Brennan; Marina Warner; Marion Zimmer Bradley; Marta Randall; Martha Wells; Mary Doria Russell; Mary Gentle; Mary Renault; Mary Robinette Kowal; Mary Shelley; Mary Stewart; Mary Victoria; Mazarkis Williams; Megan Lindholm*; Megan Whalen Turner; Mel Salisbury; Melanie Rawn; Melissa Scott; Mercedes Lackey; Meredith Ann Pierce; Michaela Roessner; Michelle Paver; Michelle Sagara; Mickey Zucker Reichert; Midori Snyder; Mishell Baker; ML Brennan; Morgan Llywelyn
Nalo Hopkinson; Nancy Asire; Nancy Springer; Naomi Novik; NK Jemisin; Nnedi Okorafor
Octavia Butler
Pamela Dean; Pat Murphy; Patricia Briggs; Patricia C Wrede; Patricia Geary; Patricia McKillip; Paula Brandon*; Paula Volsky; PC Hodgell; Phyllis Ann Karr; PL Travers
RA MacAvoy; Rachel Aaron; Rachel Caine; Rachel Hartman; Rae Carson; Rebecca Levene; RJ Anderson; Roberta Trahan; Robin D Owens; Robin Hobb; Robin McKinley; Rosemary Kirstein; Rowena Cory Daniels
Sabaa Tahir; Sabrina Vourvoulias; Samantha Shannon; Sarah Ash; Sarah Beth Durst; Sarah Douglass; Sarah Hoyt; Sarah J Maas; Sarah Monette; Sarah Pinborough; Sarah Remy; Sarah Silverwood; Sharon Shinn; Sheri S Tepper; Sherwood Smith; Silvia Moreno-Garcia; SL Huang; Sofia Samatar; Sophia McDougall; Stacia Kane; Steph Swainston; Stephenie Meyer; Stina Leicht; Storm Constantine; Susan Cooper; Susan Ee; Susan Palwick; Susan Shwartz; Susanna Clarke; Suzanne Collins; Suzanne Johnson; Suzanne McLeod; Suzanne Palmieri; Suzette Haden Elgin
Tamora Pierce; Tanith Lee; Tanya Huff; Tara Harper; Teresa Edgerton; Teresa Frohock; Terri Windling; TL Morganfield; Tove Jansson; Tricia Sullivan; Trudi Canavan
Ursula K LeGuin
VE Schwab; Veronica Roth; Vicki Ann Heydron; Viola Carr; Violette Malan; Vivian French; Vonda McIntyre
Wen Spencer
Yangtze Choo; Ysabeau S Wilce
Zoe Marriott; Zohra Greenhalgh
Note: entries with * are pen-names; entries in italics have been added since the list was last published
That’s now 336 names, and I’m sure there’s more. Feel free to suggest them in the comments, and I’ll update the list. Please don’t blame me if your to-be-read list expands dramatically.
Feel free not to use the comments to tell me I’m being sexist, or that I shouldn’t have included [X] because they’re self-published, or quibble about the precise definitions of what constitutes fantasy. They identify as women, they write, and the readers who helped crowdsource this list identify at least one of their books as fantasy. That’s good enough for me.
Edited To Add: Please note this list is not intended to be exhaustive. For some other excellent resources on this topic, check out the following:
- Fantasy Book Cafe’s Women in SF&F Month: Big Giant 2014 List
- the Women In Fantasy spreadsheet
- World Without End’s 2015 Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge
which include some suggested titles for each author. Happy reading!
“But women don’t write fantasy!” -_-
I’m gonna suggest Jo Anderton, R J Anderson, Madeline Ashby, Ilsa J Bick, A M Dellamonica… Wow, there are actually a lot of awesome fantasy authors whose books I’ve read, now that I take a much closer look at my lists!
Added – thanks for your suggestions. Some of those I’m kicking myself for not including first time around!
I LOVE the expanded list – thank you! So many authors to add to Mount TBR… Quick edit: Jane Emerson & Doris Egan are the same person (I think Jane is the pen name in this case?)
Updated – thanks Jeff!