Biblio File

Some of Our Favorite Authors by Lynn Lobash, Manager of Reader ServicesMarch 24, 2015

It's Women's History month so we asked our staff to name some of their favorite female writers and tell us which (of hers) is their favorite work. Here is what they said: 

I've spun the wheel and landed on Willa Cather. I read My Antonia in 10th grade for extra credit. I was so sure that I was going to be bored to tears but the story and her beautiful writing transported me. —Anne Rouyer, Mulberry Street

Even though she has left me devastated 100 times, I always return to Alice Munro. She is such a strong character writer and I love that she captures a single moment in time in her stories leaving everything that preceded and follows to the reader to imagine. —Lynn Lobash, Reader Services

My favorite writer is Nicole Krauss. My favorite work by her is The History Of Love. I read the book in 2005 when it had just been published. It's been 10 years and this book still touches me deep into my core existence. —Elisa Garcia, Bronx Library Center

My favorite female writer is Anita Shreve.  She writes what I generally like to call "literary romances".  I am a sucker for a good love story, but not of the bodice-ripping type. My favorite book of hers is Fortune's Rocks about a relationship between a young girl and a much older man, in early 1900s New Hampshire.  —Ronni Krasnow, Morningside Heights

A favorite of mine is Middlemarch by George Eliot. I read it when I was in college and I associate it with reading it in my college library and thinking about community. It's a long read, but well worth it. —Jenny Baum, Jefferson Market

Gotta go with Margaret Weis of the Weis/Hickman writing duo. She and her writing partner, Tracy Hickman, wrote the original Dragonlance trilogy. Yes it's a Dungeons & Dragons series but this one was a cut above the rest and perfect for this nerdy pre-teen boy. —Joshua Soule, Spuyten Duyvil

My all-time favorite female author is Jodi Picoult. Her novels always reel me in by addressing controversial subjects and keep me reading until well past my bedtime—I get so into the characters' stories! The book of hers that has always stood out and that I always recommend is Nineteen Minutes.  —Jessica Divisconte, Office of the CLO

My favorite writer is Elizabeth Moon. I always enjoy reading science fiction and fantasy and I'm drawn to Moon's books for the far-flung adventure and the character development. Not to be missed is her The Speed of Dark, her 2003 Nebula Award winning novel about autistic children working for a pharmaceutical firm. —Virginia Bartow, Cataloging

My newest obsession, Octavia Butler, has a wonderful series entitled Patternist (starting with Wild Seed). Her books just stay in my mind, keep me thinking. But the writer I keep coming back to since college is Jane Austen, and the favorite book by far is Persuasion. Just reread this last year and still absolutely came under its spell.  —Danita Nichols, Inwood

My favorite woman writer that I read in my teen-age years was Carson McCullers. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was a book I greatly identified with, especially the Mick Kelly character, and fell for the panopoly of misfit characters she described in spare yet colorful prose. —Sherri Machlin, Mulberry Street

I’ll choose Elizabeth Gaskell whose writing offers shades of Austen's humor and wit, as well as the social criticism of Dickens. What stays with me is the humanity of her characters. Wives and Daughters is my favorite because of its motherless heroine, Molly Gibson who learns that she can be true to herself and still be a good person. —Elizabeth Waters, Mid-Manhattan

My favorite author is Harper Lee and the book is her only book (for now) is To Kill A Mockingbird.  I've read it several times at different stages of my life and each time it left a profound impression on me. —Jean Harripersaud, Bronx Library Center

My favorite writer is Tamora Pierce. My favorite work by her is Alanna: The First Adventure. Back when I was just beginning to read longer fantasy fiction, I was dismayed to find that there weren't very many interesting girls as action-adventure heroes.  Usually it was the boy who got to fight and win the day.  That changed when I discovered this author and this book.  —Stephanie Whelan, Seward Park

My favorite writer is Diane Ackerman. While I love everything she has ever written, I adore A Natural History of the Senses. Her stories are always fascinating and I love how I can get completely lost in her gorgeous, poetic descriptions of scientific concepts. I always feel like I have traveled to some exotic place and returned happy and satisfied after reading her work.—Maura Muller, Volunteers Office

One of my all time favorite writers is Tamora Pierce. Known for her works relating to strong female characters and feminism. The work that won me over was The Immortals Quartet. —Miguel Ortiz, Mid-Manhattan

Krys Lee is my current literary crush. Her debut collection of short stories, Drifting House, which draws on the Korean experience, is incredibly, achingly beautiful. —Miriam Tuliao, Selection Team

I always looked forward to the short stories of James Tiptree Jr. when I subscribed to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction as a teenager. His stories were so thought-provoking and incredibly creative.  I only learned later that James Tiptree Jr. was actually the pen name of Alice Bradley Sheldon.  Check out the collection Her Smoke Rose Up Forever to read some of her best short stories and novellas.  —Andrea Lipinski, Kingsbridge

View all posts by Lynn Lobash

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favorite female authors

Submitted by Scott Andrew Hu... (not verified) on March 28, 2015 - 2:33pm

My favorite female author is Mary Shelley. I have read all of her seven novels. Apart from Frankenstein, my strongest recommendations are The Last Man, Falkner, and Valperga.

Top Female Authors

Submitted by Sandi Sonnenfeld (not verified) on March 30, 2015 - 2:37pm

As a published author and committed feminist, here's a list of some of the best female literary writers currently working today: Joan Didion, from novels like Democracy and The Book of Common Prayer to her memoirs and her brilliant essays on society, politics and culture, few authors have contributed as much to American letters or American culture as Ms. Didion. Start with either The Book of Common Prayer for her fiction, or Slouching into Bethelehem for her essays. Margaret Atwood. Talk about diversity of reach. From poetry to science fiction, to historical fiction to contemporary culture, Atwood has written it all and continues to be amazingly prolific even in her sixties. Barbara Kingsolver. The Poisonwood Bible. The Bean Trees. Animal Dreams. Enough said. Read her. Love her. Isabelle Allende. If you like big, historical fiction and glorious use of language, combined with a little magic realism, this is the writer for you. Julia Alvarez. For likeable, engaging characters in compelling and unusual settings and a fresh look at the new American immigrants, take a look at Julia's work. Amy Tan. How could she not have made any of NYPL's librarians' lists? Few write so eloquently or devote as much narrative to the inner lives and conflicts of mothers and daughters. Ellen Gilchrist. Too often overlooked among women fiction writers, Gilchrist continues the Southern tradition of writing short stories and novels centered around a single family. Lorrie Moore. The darling of the MFA creative writing set, Moore is perhaps one of the finest craftsperson of the contemporary American short story. Start with the collections Self-Help and Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? And if you want to read the work of a local (Brooklyn) writer, maybe consider my own 2002 memoir, This is How I Speak (Impassio Press), a sort of The Paper Chase for the MFA Writing set, also available from NYPL.