Ten authors I want to read more of in 2026 (and why)

Please share your own picks!

George RR Martin

I’ve read: everything ASOIAF except Fire & Blood

• I really love these books and this world, but I’ve heard some of his other works are really good. I might start with Fevre Dream. After Sinners I'm in the mood for some American Southern vampire type stories.

H.G. Wells

I've read: The Island of Doctor Moreau

• I'm surprised how much I love this book. I read it twice in a single sitting. Something about this just clicked for me, but I don’t know what so I want to read his other works to find out. The vibes were just so eerie, I loved it.

James Clavell

I’ve read: Shogun

• A fantastic book, and I love historical fiction so it feels like a given that I should read everything else he’s done. I plan on reading Tai Pan first. The 2024 miniseries is also a perfect 10/10 imo.

James S.A. Corey

I’ve read: Nothing

• The Expanse is one of my favorite shows ever, but I haven’t gotten around to reading the series because it’s so long. But now that there’s an upcoming game (Osiris Reborn) I think it’s time to read the books. Their new series The Captives’ War trilogy also seems super interesting. I just love this type of scifi.

Lois McMaster Bujold

I’ve read: most of the Vorkosigan Saga

• I love her plots, characters, and how much personality she puts into her prose. I still have a few more books/novellas in the Vorkosigan Saga but I really wanna read The Curse of Chalion next.

Marie Brennan / M.A. Carrick

I've read: The Memoirs of Lady Trent books 1-4

• It's a totally fictional setting but an obvious parallel to the real world, and it's clear Brennan did her anthropological and historical research in order to make this fictional world feel consistent and fleshed out (which as a history buff I love). Her characters are well-defined and act, think, and deal with issues that are consistent to the vaguely late 1800s setting.

Michael Curtis Ford

I've read: The Sword of Attila

• His writing feel so immersive, it really felt like I was there with the characters (whether it's historically accurate, I don't know. But even though I'm a history buff, I kinda didn't care. It was such a fun read). He also writes fight scenes fantastically. There's multiple battles in this book with thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of troops and we jump between both sides of the war and all their different plans/strategies and it was always so vivid and easy to follow.

Stephen King

I've read: The Shining, 11/22/63

• I don't have anything to say about him that hasn't been said a million times. He's famous for a reason. I enjoyed The Shining way more though. 11/22/63 dragged a lot for me. I'd say I'm more interested in his horror stuff. I liked the Doctor Sleep movie so I might read that one next.

Ursula K. Le Guin

I've read: The Left Hand of Darkness

• Like King, I have nothing new to say about Le Guin. I've never felt so immersed in something before. Fantastic story, themes, worldbuilding, and prose. I read this book in under a week (which is insanely fast for me). I prefer hard-anthological science fiction, more than the hard-science stuff (which I know nothing about STEM so it's mostly all meaningful terms and explanations to me), so this was right up my alley.

Yaa Gyasi

I’ve read: Homegoing

• Fantastic work, and an insanely good debut novel. Her only other book is Transcendent Kingdom which I’m excited to read next. She’s definitely an author I’m keeping an eye on in the years to come.