top ten authors who deserve more recognition

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we all get to exercise our OCD tendencies and come up with bookish lists.  If you’d like to play along, check out this post.

This week’s topic is ‘authors who deserve more recognition.’  I could just make a favorites list and call it good, but I want to shine a light on some authors who might have published before the book blogging super-engine really started, or who have somehow escaped the spotlight (at least in the corner of the internet that I inhabit).  So!  Check out these authors.  Their books are amazing.

Top Ten Authors Who Deserve More Recognition

1. Philip Reeve – As the author of Fever Crumb and the Mortal Engines series, Reeve’s backlist is an absolute must-read if you want to get into the origins of the YA steampunk trend.

2. Patricia McKillip – While McKillip is a multiple award-winner (The Forgotten Beasts of Eld won the World Fantasy Award!), her recent books haven’t made a splash outside of the realm of sci-fi and fantasy.  Almost all of her books could be listed as YA or YA/adult crossovers, so she’s an author to investigate if you like lyrical fantasy.

3. Elizabeth Aston – Aston wrote Pride & Prejudice follow-ups before that trend hit it really big (think 2003!).  I haven’t seen anything about her books recently, but they used to be auto-buys for me in the airport bookstore.

4. Geoff Herbach – Geoff created one of the most memorable teenage characters I’ve ever read in Felton Reinstein.  Stupid Fast, the first of three books that feature Felton, was an absolute pleasure to read and one of the best books I read in 2012.

5. Patricia Wrede – Wrede was the YA writer I read in my teens, even while I was turning my nose up at anything except the classics.  Her popularity may be a generational thing, but she deserves a renewed place under the spotlight, and she continues to write absolutely lovely fantasy.

6. Cindy Pon – The Silver Phoenix was lovely, lovely, lovely, from its cover art to the story inside (a fantastic culturally-diverse fantasy).  You should probably read it and the sequel.  *hint, hint*

7. Lisa Mantchev – Mantchev’s Shakespeare-inspired Théâtre Illuminata series began with Eyes Like Stars, a sparkly, hilarious read with lots of promise.  If you like theater, dress-up, fairies and smart YA, it’s for you.

8. Donna Jo Napoli – Napoli is another author who began her career in YA before the age of the internet.  She has written many fantasies based on fairy tales, all of them interesting/disturbing and beautifully written. Perfect for fans of Margo Lanagan (perhaps a bit gentler), I think.

9. Julie Halpern – This list hasn’t had much contemporary YA on it (except for Herbach), but Halpern writes books in that genre that are heartfelt and true.  My favorite of hers is Into the Wild Nerd Yonder.

10. Anne Osterlund – Osterlund has written YA fantasy AND YA sci-fi, and succeeded at both.  I loved her sci-fi boarding school story Academy 7, and recommend it for those who aren’t sure they want to try science fiction at all.

Which authors would make your list?