Female Fantasy Authors | a few of my favourite things

I see so many booklovers writing that they would like to read more fantasy novels by female authors but they struggle to find the books. I am here to help! Over the past couple of years my female to male authors ratio has been essentially 99:1 so I thought I’d share as many as I can to help those looking for inspiration. I haven’t loved all of these, but reviewing/ranking these women is not the intention of this post. The first section I have loosely divided into sub-genres and are all books by female authors that I have read/started reading and want to continue. Then I have listed some ‘Honourable Mentions’ which are books by female authors I have on my radar either on my Goodreads tbr shelf or on my physical bookshelves.

Disclaimer: I’ve stuck to adult fantasy rather than YA as it’s not really a genre I read any more & I’ve only included the works that I’ve read (or started reading…) – most of these fabulous women have written many, many more works so please don’t think this is definitive of their work. To avoid repetition I have not listed the series/books I would like to read by authors whose work I have already sampled in my main list.  I’m sure there are many more that I haven’t managed to include here so please do let me know your recs if you see anyone missing!

~ Fantasy / Epic Fantasy ~

Robin Hobb 
Realm of the Elderlings: Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Traders Trilogy, Tawny Man Trilogy, Rain Wild Chronicles, Fitz and the Fool Trilogy

Jen Williams
The Winnowing Flame Trilogy, The Copper Promise Trilogy

Jacqueline Carey 
Phedre’s Trilogy, Imriel’s Trilogy, Agent of Hel (Urban Fantasy)

JV Jones 
Sword of Shadows

Rebecca Roanhorse
The Sixth World

Marie Brennan 
The Memoirs of Lady Trent, Onyx Court

Janny Wurts 
The Wars of Light and Shadow

Trudi Canavan 
Black Magician

Emma Newman
Industrial Magic

Samantha Shannon
The Bone Season

SA Chakraborty 
Daevabad Trilogy

Christina Henry
Alice

Naomi Novik 
Uprooted, Temeraire

Anne Bishop 
Black Jewels, The Others

Jennifer Estep – 
Kill the Queen

Erika Johansen
Queen of the Tearling series

ML Wang
The Sword of Kaigen

KS Villoso
The Wolf of Oren-Yaro

RF Kuang
The Poppy War

Kristen Britain
Green Rider

 

~ Fairy Tale-esque ~

Juliet Marillier
Sevenwaters, Heart’s Blood, Blackthorn & Grimm

Patricia A McKillip
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld

Madeline Miller
Circe, Galatea

Natalie Haynes
The Children of Jocasta

Margaret Atwood
The Penelopiad

Catherynne M Valente
Deathless

Angela Carter
Book of Fairy Tales, The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

Katherine Arden
Winternight Trilogy

Christina Henry
The Chronicles of Alice

 

~ Romantasy ~

Amanda Bouchet
Kingmaker Chronicles, Nightchaser

Grace Draven
Wraith Kings,  Master of Crows, Fallen Empire

CL Wilson
Weathermages of Mystral

Bec McMaster
Legends of the Storm, The Dark Court

Maxym M Martineu
The Kingdom of Exiles

Rachel Alexander
Receiver of Many, Destroyer of Light

 

~ Paranormal Fantasy ~

Gail Carriger
Parasol Protectorate, Custard Protocol

Nalini Singh
Guild Hunter, Psy-Changeling

Karen Chance
Dorina Basarab series

Chloe Neill
Chicagolands

Genevieve Cogman
The Invisible Library

Deborah Harkness
All Souls

AJ Hackwith
The Library of the Unwritten

Richelle Mead
Dark Swan

Abigail Owen
Inferno Rising

 

~ Urban Fantasy ~

Seanan McGuire
October Daye, InCryptid

Karen Marie Moning
Fever series

Ilona Andrews
Hidden Legacy, Kate Daniels

Kelley Armstrong
Cainsville, Rockton, Women of the Otherworld

Faith Hunter
Jane Yellowrock

Thea Harrison
Moonshadow

Patricia Briggs
Moon Called

Sherrilyn Kenyon
Dark Hunter

Jeaniene Frost
Night Huntress

Kate Mayfield
The Parentations

Laini Taylor
Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Laurell K Hamilton
Anita Blake

Samantha Shanon
The Bone Season, The Priory of the Orange Tree (Fantasy)

Keri Arthur
Riley Jensen

Jessie Mihalik
Consortium Rebellion

JD Robb
In Death

 

~ Honourable Mentions (Authors & books I have on my shelves but haven’t read yet) ~

Kate Elliott – Black Wolves, King’s Dragon
CS Friedman – The Coldfire Trilogy
Ann Leckie – The Raven Tower
Katharine Duckett – Miranda in Milan
Robin Mckinley – The Door in the Hedge and Other Stories
Ilana C Meyer – The Last Song Before Night
Fonda Lee – Jade City
Jane Yolen – Sister Light, Sister Dark
Melanie Rawn – The Ruins of Ambrai
Tanith Lee – Night’s Master
Jeannette Ng – Under the Pendulum Sun
Lynn Flewelling – The Bone Doll’s Twin
Sandra Newman – The Heavens
Tessa Gratton – Lady Hotspur, The Queens of Innis Lear
Stella Gemmell – The City
Rachel Aaron – Heartstrikers
Kim Wilkins – Daughters of the Storm
Aliette de Bodard – Dominion of the Fallen series, Obsidian and Blood series
Ursula K Le Guin – Lavinia
Lucy Hounsom – Starborn
NK Jemisin – Broken Earth series
Gail Z Martin – The Summoner
Jean M Auel – The Clan of the Cave Bear
Pat Barker – The Silence of the Girls
Katharine Kerr – Daggerspell
Claudia J Edwards – Taming of the Forest King
Juliet McKenna – The Tales of Einarinn
Sam Hawke – City of Lies
Lois McMaster Bujold – The Curse of Chalion
Asuma Zehanat Khan – The Blood Print
Michelle West – The Hidden City
Joanne Harris – Runemarks

~ & okay, if you insist… my female YA reads ~

Sarah J Maas – A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass
Marie Rutkoski – Winner’s trilogy
VE Schwab – Shades of Magic, Monsters of Verity
Leigh Bardugo – Grisha Trilogy, Six of Crows
Erin Morgenstern – The Night Circus
Mary E Pearson – The Remnant Chronicles
Eleanor Herman – Legacy of Kings
Renee Ahdieh – The Wrath and the Dawn
Holly Black – The Cruel Prince, Tithe
Tahereh Mafi – Shatter Me
Morgan Rhodes – Falling Kingdoms
Maria V Snyder – The Chronicles of Ixia, Soulfinders, Study Series
Kiersten White – And I Darken
Victoria Aveyard – Red Queen
Kiera Cass – The Selection
Amy Tintera – Ruined
Lara Thalassa – Rhapsodic
Jeffe Kennedy – The Orchid Throne
Suzanne Collins – The Hunger Games