27 Female Authors Who Rule Science Fiction and Fantasy Right Now via EW

As I mentioned here, with Early Word closing, I am going to make an effort to post more collection development type lists that I didn't used to always write about on the blog. Today is one of those types of posts.

This week Entertainment Weekly wrote:

Here at EW, we’re always looking for the next great sci-fi or fantasy epic. Consequently, a much-maligned National Review article, which dismissed the Bechdel Test and wrote off an absence of women in blockbuster films as a result of the lack of women writing blockbuster-worthy stories, had us raising our eyebrows. The article says, “Have a wander through the sci-fi and fantasy section of your local bookstore: How many of these books’ authors are female? Yet these are where the big movie ideas come from.” Well, actually, quite a lot of the authors are female (and many of them already have sold the film/TV rights to their books). Fiction from J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter), Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), and Diana Gabaldon (Outlander) has inspired some of the most popular film and television of recent years, but there are countless others who fly slightly more under the radar just waiting for their stories to become the next big thing. Here are 27 female authors who rule sci-fi and fantasy right now.

So click through and see the list.  Each author gets a nice description that will help you both for collection development (check your shelves, you need to have these authors available for checkout because patrons will come in asking for them, like right now) and to hand sell the titles you already own.

Use the author descriptions here to easily book talk their titles. You can just read the EW annotations word for word. It's not cheating, it's called using your resources. That's what we librarians do, use resources. Again, you don't have to have every read a single book by these authors to help a reader. You just need to know where to find resources by people who do know about them.

Also, I don't want to say this but I am afraid if I don't I will regret it. And, I know it might be obvious to some of you, but unfortunately I know it is not to all of you. So here goes-- You can suggest these female authors to readers of all sexes.

Now, Carry On!  [click through that pun is intended]