Are you a budding English student looking to expand your reading list or gain more insight into who the most famous authors today are? In this blog, we outline some of the 21st century’s most popular authors. Let’s dive right in!
1. Stephen King
Stephen King is an American fiction writer whose books mainly belong to horror, the supernatural, and crime. King is now in his 70s and has spent his life writing best-selling books that have sold worldwide. He is one of the top best-selling authors of all time. King has also written more than one hundred short stories.
2. J.K. Rowling
Famous for the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling is one of the most famous British novelists of all time. Rowling has been loved all over the world since her novel Harry Potter was translated into 70 plus languages and sold more than 500 million book copies. Due to her success with the HP series she landing on the Forbes Billionaires list however quickly dropped off due to her generous donations to charity.
3. John Green
John Green is an American author, now in his 40s, best known for the novel The Fault in Our Stars which was turned into a much loved film. He’s also known for his novel Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska. His novels are typically young adult and appeal to a teenage audience.
4. Elif Shafak
Elif Shafak is a Turkish novelist famous for his book Forty Rules of Love. She writes both in Turkish and English, both fiction and nonfiction. Like J.K. Rowling, Elif Shafak’s books have been translated into fifty-plus languages.
5. Alice Walker
Alice Walker is an African-American novelist, poet, and social activist. She’s currently in her late 70’s. Walker is best known for her novel The Colour Purple, amongst other titles such as And Still I Rise and The Black Flamingo.
6. Khaled Hosseini
Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-American novelist. He’s also a UN (United Nations) member, where he acts as a UNHCR goodwill ambassador. He is best known for his book A Thousand Splendid Suns.
7. Brian Evenson
Brian Everson has published many horror novels including Dead Space Martyr and Windeye. He is most known for his work in the horror genre but has also published short stories, too.
8. Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo is a Japanese-born English novelist, screenwriter and musician. His preferred genre is science, history, and drama. He incorporates the elements of these genres in his fiction writing. He is most known for his novel Never Let Me Go.
9. Marilynne Robinson
Robinson won the Hemingway Foundation award for her first novel Housekeeping. Robinson is an established writer who has received many awards since beginning her writing career.
10. Jerry Jenkins
Jerry Bruce Jenkins, also known as Jerry Jenkins, is an American novelist. However, he has also written self-help books, biographies, and fiction books. He has written over 200 books that include both fiction and nonfiction.
