Best Contemporary Authors
Best Contemporary Authors
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Contemporary genre fiction encompasses a wide array of styles and subjects, each offering unique perspectives on modern life. Here are some types of books and stories contemporary genre authors often explore, along with what makes their works worth reading:
Contemporary Book Genres
Contemporary Romance: Authors like Jasmine Guillory, Sally Thorne, and Christina Lauren write heartwarming and steamy romances set in the present day. Their stories often feature relatable characters navigating the ups and downs of love and relationships, tackling issues such as communication, self-discovery, and overcoming obstacles to find happiness. What makes their works worth reading is the way they capture the excitement, vulnerability, and joy of falling in love, while also addressing relevant social and cultural themes. Read more on what is contemporary romance? Click here for a list of best contemporary romance authors.
Contemporary Mystery/Thriller: Writers such as Liane Moriarty, Paula Hawkins, and Ruth Ware excel in crafting suspenseful tales of secrets, lies, and intrigue unfolding in contemporary settings. Their gripping plots keep readers guessing until the very end, while their skillful character development adds depth and nuance to their stories. What makes their works worth reading is the way they blend elements of psychological suspense with astute social commentary, offering compelling insights into the human psyche and the complexities of modern life.
Contemporary Fantasy: Authors like Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, and Cassandra Clare weave fantastical worlds filled with magic, mythical creatures, and epic adventures set against contemporary backdrops. Their stories often revolve around young protagonists discovering hidden powers, embarking on quests, and battling forces of darkness threatening their world. What makes their works worth reading is the way they combine elements of fantasy with contemporary sensibilities, exploring timeless themes of courage, friendship, and destiny in a modern context.
Contemporary Science Fiction: Writers such as Andy Weir, Blake Crouch, and Martha Wells explore speculative futures and alternate realities grounded in contemporary scientific concepts and technological advancements. Their stories often delve into themes of artificial intelligence, space exploration, and the ethical implications of scientific progress. What makes their works worth reading is the way they use speculative fiction to explore pressing issues facing humanity today, offering thought-provoking insights into the potential consequences of our actions and the possibilities of the future.
Contemporary Suspense/Thriller: Authors like Harlan Coben, Lisa Gardner, and David Baldacci specialize in crafting fast-paced thrillers that keep readers on the edge of their seats with twists, turns, and unexpected revelations. Their stories often involve ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances, racing against time to uncover the truth and confront dangerous adversaries. What makes their works worth reading is the way they deliver pulse-pounding suspense while also delving into deeper themes of justice, morality, and the complexities of human nature.
Overall, what makes contemporary genre fiction worth reading is its ability to entertain, engage, and resonate with readers by blending familiar elements of modern life with imaginative storytelling and compelling characters. Whether exploring the complexities of love and relationships, unraveling mysteries, or venturing into fantastical realms, contemporary genre authors offer something for every reader to enjoy and appreciate.
Below I am sharing a round up of the best contemporary authors that I recommend.
Best Contemporary Romance Authors:
Colleen Hoover: Known for her emotionally charged novels, Hoover's bestsellers include "It Ends with Us," "November 9," and "Confess." She explores complex relationships and tackles sensitive topics with empathy and depth.
Jasmine Guillory: Guillory's romantic comedies like "The Proposal" and "The Wedding Date" have garnered widespread acclaim for their diverse characters and witty dialogue. Her stories often feature strong, independent protagonists navigating modern love.
Sally Thorne: With "The Hating Game" as her breakout hit, Thorne captivates readers with her enemies-to-lovers trope and sharp banter. Her writing style is characterized by humor, tension, and memorable chemistry between characters.
Abby Jimenez: A former bakery owner turned bestselling author, Abby Jimenez writes heartfelt romantic comedies that balance humor with emotional depth. Her novels—such as The Friend Zone, The Happy Ever After Playlist, and Part of Your World—delve into love, grief, second chances, and the complexities of relationships. Jimenez’s stories stand out for their witty dialogue, strong female leads, and authentic portrayal of modern love, often laced with just the right amount of real-world challenges to make the happily-ever-after feel earned and sincere.
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
Author Interview with Abby Jimenez
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez is a funny, heartfelt, and emotionally resonant romance that explores the tension between love and personal limitations. The story follows Kristen Peterson, a fiercely independent woman who is grappling with a medical condition that will prevent her from having children—a fact that weighs heavily on her budding relationship with Josh Copeland, a kind and charming firefighter who dreams of a big family. As their friendship deepens and sparks fly, Kristen is torn between her feelings and her belief that she can't give Josh the future he wants. With laugh-out-loud moments, swoon-worthy romance, and deeply touching emotional stakes, The Friend Zone is a refreshingly honest look at love, vulnerability, and the fear of not being enough.
November 9 by Colleen Hoover
Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us, It Ends with Us, and All Your Perfects returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in Los Angeles together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.
Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn't normally do. But there's something about Drew Nichols that's too hard to resist.
On the eve of his ex's wedding festivities, Drew is minus a plus one. Until a power outage strands him with the perfect candidate for a fake girlfriend....
After Alexa and Drew have more fun than they ever thought possible, Drew has to fly back to Los Angeles and his job as a pediatric surgeon, and Alexa heads home to Berkeley, where she's the mayor's chief of staff. Too bad they can't stop thinking about the other....
They're just two high-powered professionals on a collision course toward the long distance dating disaster of the century--or closing the gap between what they think they need and what they truly want....
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Author Interview with Sally Thorne
Now a movie starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell, USA Today bestselling author Sally Thorne’s hilarious and sexy workplace comedy all about that thin, fine line between hate and love.
Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.
2) A person’s undoing
3) Joshua Templeman
Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.
Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.
Best Contemporary American Authors:
Celeste Ng: Ng's novels, such as "Little Fires Everywhere" and "Everything I Never Told You," are celebrated for their incisive exploration of family dynamics and societal issues. She skillfully weaves multiple perspectives to create rich, layered narratives.
Jonathan Franzen: A master of contemporary American fiction, Franzen is known for his ambitious storytelling and keen observations of modern life. Novels like "The Corrections" and "Freedom" delve into the complexities of relationships, identity, and societal change.
Jennifer Egan: Egan's diverse body of work, including "A Visit from the Goon Squad" and "Manhattan Beach," showcases her versatility and innovation. She experiments with narrative structure and genre, offering fresh perspectives on American culture and history.
Claire Lombardo: Claire Lombardo burst onto the contemporary American literary scene with her debut novel The Most Fun We Ever Had, a sweeping, emotionally rich portrayal of a Chicago family over several decades. Praised for her psychological insight and nuanced character development, Lombardo examines the intricate bonds between siblings, the enduring complexities of marriage, and the quiet sacrifices that shape a family’s legacy. Her writing is elegant and deeply empathetic, capturing the emotional rhythms of everyday life with wit, tenderness, and an eye for generational detail that resonates with readers of all ages.
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo is a multigenerational family saga that centers on the Sorenson family—Marilyn and David, a devoted couple who seem to embody the ideal of a long, happy marriage, and their four adult daughters, each navigating her own personal turmoil. Spanning from the 1970s to the early 2000s, the novel moves fluidly between past and present, unraveling the complicated relationships, hidden resentments, and unspoken secrets that shape the family's dynamic. When one daughter’s teenage son, given up for adoption, reappears unexpectedly, long-buried tensions rise to the surface, forcing each family member to confront the choices they’ve made. Rich in detail and emotional insight, The Most Fun We Ever Had is a beautifully observed exploration of love, loyalty, and the ways family binds us—sometimes tightly, sometimes painfully, but always indelibly.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You and Our Missing Hearts comes a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned—from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren—an enigmatic artist and single mother—who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town—and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.
Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood—and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Freedom, by New York Times-bestselling author Jonathan Franzen, the author of Crossroads, is a masterly novel of contemporary love and marriage, a brilliant charting of the temptations and burdens of liberty: the thrills of teenage lust, the shaken compromises of middle age, the wages of suburban sprawl, and the heavy weight of empire.
Patty and Walter Berglund were the pioneers of old St. Paul―the gentrifiers, the hands-on parents, the avant garde of the Whole Foods generation. But now, in the new millennium, they have become a mystery. Why has their teenage son moved in with the aggressively Republican family next door? Why has Walter, once an environmental lawyer, taken a job working with Big Coal? Most startling of all, why has Patty, the perfect neighbor, turned into the local Fury?
Patty and Walter Berglund are indelible characters, and their mistakes and joys, as they struggle to learn how to live in an ever more confusing world, have become touchstones of contemporary American reality.
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Named One of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, Esquire, Vogue, The Washington Post, The Guardian, USA TODAY, and Time
Anna Kerrigan, nearly twelve years old, accompanies her father to visit Dexter Styles, a man who, she gleans, is crucial to the survival of her father and her family. She is mesmerized by the sea beyond the house and by some charged mystery between the two men.
Years later, her father has disappeared and the country is at war. Anna works at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, where women are allowed to hold jobs that once belonged to men, now soldiers abroad. She becomes the first female diver, the most dangerous and exclusive of occupations, repairing the ships that will help America win the war. One evening at a nightclub, she meets Dexter Styles again, and begins to understand the complexity of her father’s life, the reasons he might have vanished.
Best Contemporary Black Authors:
Tayari Jones: Jones' novel "An American Marriage," an Oprah's Book Club selection, explores the impact of wrongful incarceration on a young black couple's relationship. Her prose is poignant and insightful, tackling themes of love, race, and justice.
Brit Bennett: Bennett gained acclaim for "The Vanishing Half," a compelling exploration of race, identity, and family secrets. Her writing is characterized by lyrical prose and nuanced character development, offering profound insights into the African American experience.
Jason Reynolds: A prolific author of young adult and middle-grade fiction, Reynolds addresses issues of race, class, and identity in works like "Long Way Down" and "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” and “When I Was the Greatest” a coming-of-age story about friendship and loyalty. His writing is raw, authentic, and accessible to readers of all ages.
Raven Leilani: Raven Leilani made a stunning debut with Luster, a darkly witty and razor-sharp novel that explores the life of a young Black woman navigating desire, disillusionment, and identity in contemporary America. The story follows Edie, an aimless millennial artist who becomes entangled with a white married couple in an open relationship, eventually moving into their suburban home. Leilani’s prose is electric—bold, lyrical, and unflinchingly honest—capturing the chaos of young adulthood and the intersections of race, sex, and power with startling precision. Luster announces Leilani as a vital new voice in contemporary Black literature.
Luster by Raven Leilani
Luster by Raven Leilani is a fierce, unflinching portrait of a young Black woman trying to find her place in a world that seems intent on pushing her to the margins. The novel follows Edie, a 23-year-old aspiring artist living in New York City, who is struggling with financial instability, professional disappointment, and a string of self-destructive choices. When she becomes involved with Eric, a much older white man in an open marriage, her life takes a surprising turn—especially when she finds herself living in his home with his wife and their adopted Black daughter. Leilani’s debut is darkly funny, emotionally raw, and searingly intelligent, offering a biting commentary on race, sexuality, power, and alienation. Her writing is bold and lyrical, capturing the contradictions of modern life in a voice that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.
This stirring love story is a profoundly insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control. An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look deep into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward—with hope and pain—into the future.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
From The New York Times-bestselling author of The Mothers, a stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white.
The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?
Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing.Looking well beyond issues of race,The Vanishing Halfconsiders the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.
As with herNew York Times-bestselling debutThe Mothers, Brit Bennett offers an engrossing page-turner about family and relationships that is immersive and provocative, compassionate and wise.
As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds
Genie’s summer is full of surprises. The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia—in the COUNTRY! The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind. Thunderstruck, Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he hides it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans).
How does he match his clothes? Know where to walk? Cook with a gas stove? Pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it? Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he’s ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house—as in NEVER. And when he finds the secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into—a room so full of songbirds and plants that it’s almost as if it’s been pulled inside-out—he begins to wonder if his grandfather is really so brave after all.
Then Ernie lets him down in the bravery department. It’s his fourteenth birthday, and, Grandpop says to become a man, you have to learn how to shoot a gun. Genie thinks that is AWESOME until he realizes Ernie has no interest in learning how to shoot. None. Nada. Dumbfounded by Ernie’s reluctance, Genie is left to wonder—is bravery and becoming a man only about proving something, or is it just as important to own up to what you won’t do?
Best Contemporary British Authors:
Zadie Smith: Smith's novels, including "White Teeth" and "On Beauty," are celebrated for their ambitious scope, sharp wit, and keen observations of contemporary British society. She combines humor with social commentary, creating vibrant and memorable characters.
Ian McEwan: Renowned for his precise prose and exploration of moral dilemmas, McEwan has penned acclaimed novels such as "Atonement," "Amsterdam," and "Nutshell." His storytelling is marked by psychological depth and narrative intricacy.
Sally Rooney: Rooney's novels, including "Normal People" and "Conversations with Friends," have garnered widespread acclaim for their incisive portrayal of millennial relationships and societal dynamics. Her minimalist style and keen insight into human emotions resonate with readers worldwide.
Bernardine Evaristo: Bernardine Evaristo made literary history as the first Black woman to win the Booker Prize for her groundbreaking novel Girl, Woman, Other. This innovative and polyphonic work traces the lives of twelve interconnected characters—mostly Black British women—across generations, exploring themes of identity, sexuality, gender, and social class. Evaristo’s prose is experimental yet deeply readable, often forgoing traditional punctuation to create a lyrical, free-flowing rhythm that mirrors the complexity of her characters’ experiences. Her work is celebrated for its inclusivity, bold structure, and vibrant storytelling, cementing her place as one of the most important voices in contemporary British literature.
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo is a vibrant, genre-defying novel that follows the interconnected lives of twelve characters—mostly Black British women—over the course of more than a century. Each chapter focuses on a different character, ranging from a radical feminist playwright to a nonbinary social media influencer, a farmer, a banker, and more. Though they differ in age, background, and identity, their stories intersect in surprising and meaningful ways, painting a rich and multifaceted portrait of contemporary Britain. Evaristo explores themes of race, gender, sexuality, class, and family with compassion and insight, using a distinctive prose style that blends poetry and prose without traditional punctuation. Girl, Woman, Other is both a celebration of diversity and a powerful commentary on the interconnectedness of human experience.
Swing Time by Zadie Smith
An ambitious, exuberant new novel moving from North West London to West Africa, from the multi-award-winning author of White Teeth and On Beauty.
Two brown girls dream of being dancers—but only one, Tracey, has talent. The other has ideas: about rhythm and time, about black bodies and black music, what constitutes a tribe, or makes a person truly free. It's a close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in their early twenties, never to be revisited, but never quite forgotten, either.
Tracey makes it to the chorus line but struggles with adult life, while her friend leaves the old neighborhood behind, traveling the world as an assistant to a famous singer, Aimee, observing close up how the one percent live.
But when Aimee develops grand philanthropic ambitions, the story moves from London to West Africa, where diaspora tourists travel back in time to find their roots, young men risk their lives to escape into a different future, the women dance just like Tracey—the same twists, the same shakes—and the origins of a profound inequality are not a matter of distant history, but a present dance to the music of time.
Nutshell by Ian McEwan
Trudy has been unfaithful to her husband, John. What’s more, she has kicked him out of their marital home, a valuable old London town house, and in his place is his own brother, the profoundly banal Claude. The illicit couple have hatched a scheme to rid themselves of her inconvenient husband forever. But there is a witness to their plot: the inquisitive, nine-month-old resident of Trudy’s womb.
As Trudy’s unborn son listens, bound within her body, to his mother and his uncle’s murderous plans, he gives us a truly new perspective on our world, seen from the confines of his.
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Connell and Marianne grew up in the same small town, but the similarities end there. At school, Connell is popular and well liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation—awkward but electrifying—something life changing begins.
A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.
Normal People is the story of mutual fascination, friendship, and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find that they can’t.
Best Contemporary Female Authors:
Margaret Atwood: A literary icon, Atwood is known for her dystopian masterpiece "The Handmaid's Tale" and its sequel "The Testaments." Her writing is characterized by sharp social commentary, intricate world-building, and compelling female protagonists.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Adichie's novels, such as "Half of a Yellow Sun" and "Americanah," explore themes of identity, race, and feminism with grace and depth. Her storytelling is imbued with empathy, humor, and a keen understanding of human nature.
Jhumpa Lahiri: Lahiri's elegant prose and poignant exploration of immigrant experiences have garnered critical acclaim for works like "Interpreter of Maladies" and "The Namesake." She delicately navigates themes of identity, belonging, and cultural displacement.
Elizabeth Strout: Elizabeth Strout is renowned for her quietly powerful portraits of everyday life, capturing the emotional landscapes of ordinary people with extraordinary empathy. Her Pulitzer Prize–winning Olive Kitteridge introduced readers to the blunt, complicated, and deeply human Olive, a character who reappears in later works such as Olive, Again. Strout’s novels often center on small-town life and the inner lives of women, exploring themes like aging, loneliness, regret, and resilience. With spare, luminous prose and profound emotional insight, Strout creates stories that are both intimate and universally resonant, solidifying her place among the most respected contemporary female authors.
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout is a Pulitzer Prize–winning novel-in-stories that paints a vivid portrait of life in the small coastal town of Crosby, Maine. At the center of these thirteen interconnected stories is Olive, a retired schoolteacher whose bluntness, emotional restraint, and fierce intelligence leave a lasting impression on everyone she encounters. Through the perspectives of Olive and her neighbors, Strout explores themes of love, loss, aging, regret, and the quiet moments that define a life. While Olive is not always likable, she is deeply human—prickly yet vulnerable, judgmental yet capable of deep compassion. Strout’s prose is spare and powerful, capturing the complexity of ordinary lives with remarkable clarity. Olive Kitteridge is both an intimate character study and a poignant meditation on the passage of time and the ways people seek connection and meaning.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
In Margaret Atwood’s dystopian future, environmental disasters and declining birthrates have led to a Second American Civil War. The result is the rise of the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that enforces rigid social roles and enslaves the few remaining fertile women. Offred is one of these, a Handmaid bound to produce children for one of Gilead’s commanders. Deprived of her husband, her child, her freedom, and even her own name, Offred clings to her memories and her will to survive. At once a scathing satire, an ominous warning, and a tour de force of narrative suspense, The Handmaid’s Tale is a modern classic.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be Black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post–9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Meet the Ganguli family, new arrivals from Calcutta, trying their best to become Americans even as they pine for home. The name they bestow on their firstborn, Gogol, betrays all the conflicts of honoring tradition in a new world — conflicts that will haunt Gogol on his own winding path through divided loyalties, comic detours, and wrenching love affairs.
Best Contemporary French Authors:
Leïla Slimani: Slimani gained international acclaim for "The Perfect Nanny," a chilling psychological thriller that explores class tensions and societal expectations. Her writing is characterized by taut suspense and incisive social commentary.
Fred Vargas: As a master of the French crime genre, Vargas's Commissaire Adamsberg series, including "Seeking Whom He May Devour" and "Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand," is celebrated for its quirky characters and atmospheric settings. Her mysteries blend elements of folklore, history, and psychology.
Virginie Despentes: Despentes's provocative novels, such as "Vernon Subutex" trilogy and "King Kong Theory," challenge societal norms and explore themes of gender, power, and rebellion. Her bold, unapologetic style defies categorization and pushes boundaries.
Tatiana de Rosnay: Tatiana de Rosnay is a French author who writes primarily in English and has captivated international audiences with her emotionally gripping historical and contemporary fiction. Her breakout novel, Sarah’s Key, intertwines the story of a young Jewish girl during the 1942 Vel' d’Hiv Roundup in Nazi-occupied Paris with that of a modern-day journalist uncovering the painful truth decades later. De Rosnay’s work is distinguished by its seamless blending of past and present, its exploration of memory, guilt, and identity, and her keen sensitivity to human emotion. Her writing is accessible yet deeply affecting, making her a standout voice among contemporary French authors writing in English.
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay is a haunting dual-narrative novel that explores the lingering impact of one of France’s darkest chapters: the 1942 Vel' d’Hiv Roundup. The story follows Sarah, a ten-year-old Jewish girl who is arrested with her family by French police in Nazi-occupied Paris. In a desperate attempt to protect her younger brother, she locks him in a cupboard, promising to return. Sixty years later, American journalist Julia Jarmond is assigned to write an article commemorating the event. As Julia investigates, she uncovers a tragic connection between her family and Sarah’s, forcing her to confront deeply buried secrets and moral dilemmas. De Rosnay weaves past and present with powerful emotional resonance, highlighting themes of memory, guilt, identity, and the responsibility of bearing witness. Sarah’s Key is both a gripping historical mystery and a moving meditation on how the past echoes into the present.
The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani
When Myriam decides to return to work as a lawyer after having children, she and her husband look for the perfect nanny for their son and daughter. They never dreamed they would find Louise: a quiet, polite, devoted woman who sings to the children, cleans the family’s chic Paris apartment, stays late without complaint, and hosts enviable kiddie parties. But as the couple and the nanny become more dependent on one another, jealousy, resentment, and suspicions mount, shattering the idyllic tableau. Building tension with every page, The Perfect Nanny is a compulsive, riveting, bravely observed exploration of power, class, race, domesticity, motherhood, and madness—and the American debut of an immensely talented writer.
Seeking Whom He May Devour by Fred Vargas
A small mountain community in the French Alps is roused to terror when they awaken each morning to find yet another of their sheep with its throat torn out. One of the villagers thinks it might be a werewolf, and when she's found killed in the same manner, people begin to wonder if she might have been right. Suspicion falls on Massart, a loner living on the edge of town.
The murdered woman's adopted son, one of her shepherds, and her new friend Camille decide to pursue Massart, who has conveniently disappeared. Their ineptness for the task soon becomes painfully obvious, and they summon Commissaire Adamsberg from the city to bring his exceptional powers of intuition to bear on layer upon layer of buried hatred and secrets.
France's queen of crime writing pits the maverick genius of Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg against ancient, primal fears in a novel that "establishes Vargas as one of the most unusual voices in European crime fiction" (The Sunday Times [London]).
Vernon Subutex by Virginie Despentes
From the provocative writer and filmmaker Virginie Despentes comes volume one of her acclaimed trilogy of novels, Vernon Subutex―short-listed for the Man Booker International Prize and the basis for the TV series of the same name. But who is Vernon Subutex?
Vernon Subutex was once the proprietor of Revolver, an infamous music shop in Paris, where his name was legend throughout Paris. By the 2000s, however, with the arrival of the internet and the decline in CD and vinyl sales, his shop is struggling, like so many others. When it closes, Subutex finds himself with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Before long, his savings are gone, and when the mysterious rock star who had been covering his rent suddenly drops dead of a drug overdose, Subutex finds himself launched on an epic saga of couch-surfing, boozing, and coke-snorting before finally winding up homeless. Just as he resigns himself to life as a panhandler, a throwaway comment he once made on Facebook takes the internet by storm.
The word is out: Subutex is lugging around a bunch of VHS tapes shot by that same dead rock musician―his last recordings on this earth. Soon a crowd of wild characters, from screen writers to social media groupies, from porn stars to failed musicians to random misfits, are hot on Vernon's trail . . . but Vernon is none the wiser.
Best Contemporary Fiction Authors:
Haruki Murakami: Murakami's surreal and metaphysical novels, including "Norwegian Wood" and "1Q84," have captivated readers worldwide with their dreamlike narratives and existential themes. His storytelling blurs the boundaries between reality and imagination, inviting readers into enigmatic worlds.
Liane Moriarty: Moriarty's gripping domestic thrillers like "Big Little Lies" and "The Husband's Secret" delve into the complexities of human relationships and the secrets lurking beneath suburban facades. Her storytelling is marked by suspense, dark humor, and keen psychological insight.
David Mitchell: Mitchell's genre-bending novels, such as "Cloud Atlas" and "The Bone Clocks," showcase his inventive storytelling and literary ambition. He seamlessly weaves together disparate narratives and genres, creating sprawling epics that explore the interconnectedness of human experience across time and space.
Emily St. John Mandel: Emily St. John Mandel is acclaimed for her genre-defying fiction that blends literary depth with speculative elements. Her breakout novel, Station Eleven, follows a troupe of actors and musicians traveling through a post-apocalyptic world, preserving art and humanity in the wake of a devastating pandemic. Mandel’s writing is atmospheric and introspective, often weaving together multiple timelines and perspectives to explore themes of memory, loss, survival, and the quiet beauty of everyday life. Her work stands out for its emotional resonance and elegant prose, offering readers a contemplative, haunting, and ultimately hopeful view of the human experience.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is a haunting and beautifully written novel that explores the enduring power of art, memory, and human connection in the aftermath of a global catastrophe. The story begins with the sudden death of a famous actor on stage just as a deadly flu pandemic begins to sweep the world. Twenty years later, a traveling troupe known as the Traveling Symphony roams the post-apocalyptic Great Lakes region, performing Shakespeare and classical music to scattered communities of survivors. Through interwoven timelines and characters—including the actor, his friends and ex-wives, and a young girl who becomes part of the Symphony—Mandel constructs a rich tapestry of life before and after the collapse of civilization. Station Eleven is a meditation on what survives after the end of the world, reminding readers that even in the darkest times, art, love, and stories endure.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
In a Tokyo suburb, a young man named Toru Okada searches for his wife’s missing cat—and then for his wife as well—in a netherworld beneath the city’s placid surface. As these searches intersect, he encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists. Gripping, prophetic, and suffused with comedy and menace, this is one of Haruki Murakami’s most acclaimed and beloved novels.
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
A murder...A tragic accident...Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.
Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.
Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
A postmodern visionary and one of the leading voices in twenty-first-century fiction, David Mitchell combines flat-out adventure, a Nabokovian love of puzzles, a keen eye for character, and a taste for mind-bending, philosophical and scientific speculation in the tradition of Umberto Eco, Haruki Murakami, and Philip K. Dick. The result is brilliantly original fiction as profound as it is playful. In this groundbreaking novel, an influential favorite among a new generation of writers, Mitchell explores with daring artistry fundamental questions of reality and identity.
Cloud Atlas begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary voyaging from the Chatham Isles to his home in California. Along the way, Ewing is befriended by a physician, Dr. Goose, who begins to treat him for a rare species of brain parasite. . . . Abruptly, the action jumps to Belgium in 1931, where Robert Frobisher, a disinherited bisexual composer, contrives his way into the household of an infirm maestro who has a beguiling wife and a nubile daughter. . . . From there we jump to the West Coast in the 1970s and a troubled reporter named Luisa Rey, who stumbles upon a web of corporate greed and murder that threatens to claim her life. . . . And onward, with dazzling virtuosity, to an inglorious present-day England; to a Korean superstate of the near future where neocapitalism has run amok; and, finally, to a postapocalyptic Iron Age Hawaii in the last days of history.
But the story doesn’t end even there. The narrative then boomerangs back through centuries and space, returning by the same route, in reverse, to its starting point. Along the way, Mitchell reveals how his disparate characters connect, how their fates intertwine, and how their souls drift across time like clouds across the sky.
As wild as a videogame, as mysterious as a Zen koan, Cloud Atlas is an unforgettable tour de force that, like its incomparable author, has transcended its cult classic status to become a worldwide phenomenon.
Best Contemporary Short Story Authors:
George Saunders: Saunders is renowned for his inventive and empathetic short stories, collected in works like "Tenth of December" and "Pastoralia." His writing is marked by dark humor, surrealism, and poignant explorations of human nature and society.
Alice Munro: Munro's mastery of the short story form is evident in collections like "Dear Life" and "Runaway." She excels at capturing the complexities of ordinary lives, crafting richly textured narratives filled with nuance, emotion, and psychological insight.
Kelly Link: Link's genre-bending short stories, collected in works like "Get in Trouble" and "Magic for Beginners," blur the boundaries between fantasy, horror, and literary fiction. Her writing is whimsical, eerie, and deeply imaginative, exploring themes of love, loss, and the supernatural with a distinctive voice.
Kazuo Ishiguro: Ishiguro's writing is characterized by its elegant prose, subtle storytelling, and exploration of memory, identity, and the human condition. His novels often feature unreliable narrators grappling with themes of love, loss, and the passage of time.
Kevin Wilson: Kevin Wilson is a standout voice in contemporary short fiction, known for blending offbeat premises with emotional depth and wit. His acclaimed collection Tunneling to the Center of the Earth showcases his unique talent for creating quirky, heartfelt stories that explore themes of family, loneliness, and the longing for connection. Wilson often introduces surreal or absurd elements—such as a professional obituary writer for people who aren’t dead or children who perform spontaneous combustion—yet grounds them in real life emotional truths. His writing is imaginative, tender, and often laugh-out-loud funny, making him a beloved and distinctive presence in the modern short story landscape.
Each of these authors brings something unique to the contemporary literary landscape, whether it's their mastery of craft, their exploration of important social issues, or their ability to captivate readers with compelling characters and narratives.
