Top 10 Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Read In 2018

One of the best things about reading is finding new stories. While I have favorite authors, there’s only so much time in a day and they can’t keep up with my reading appetite (writing books takes time!). So, what else is fun about reading? Finding new authors!

2018 was a great year for being introduced to new writers and their literary works. This post has a mix of traditional books and graphic novels, as well as genres. Hopefully when you have read through this post, you’ll be inspired to add these authors and their stories to your TBR.

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. Upcoming topics and past TTT topics can be found here.

 

Ceillie Simkiss (Learning Curves series)

 

Ceillie introduced me to two of my favorite new favorite women in literature: Elena and Cora. This series of novellas and short stories is diverse and full of life, bringing to life not only the main characters but their families as well. To date there are three books/collections in the series: Learning Curves (Learning Curves #1), The Ghosts of Halloween (Learning Curves #1.5), and Wrapped Up in You (Learning Curves #2).

 

Robin Talley (Pulp)

 

I’d heard of Robin previously, but 2018 was the year that I finally picked up a book by Robin to read for myself. It was a very good book, but it was also a hard one to read, considering that a good chunk of it took place in the 1950’s and the main character in that time was a closeted, just-figuring-out-she’s-a-lesbian teen.

 

Laura E. Weymouth (The Light Between the Worlds)

 

I don’t remember exactly when I started following Laura on Twitter, but I loved her feed so much, so it might have been before I got around to reading her book. She’s such a great personality online and her writing is so otherworldly. It has a depth to it that while at times familiar also has an eerie unfamiliarity that grabs you because you just have to know what happens to the characters. That’s why I loved The Light Between the Worlds so much and look forward to Laura’s next stories.

 

Martha Wells (All Systems Red)

 

Martha’s book All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1) introduced me to one of my favorite new characters of 2018, Murderbot. They are so relatable and so vastly interesting, I can’t believe I’m so late to this series! Martha’s writing was engaging and created such a sympathetic character ing Murderbot that I was instantly sad when the story was over and craved more of their thoughts, their quest for knowledge, whether it was about the next serial story installment or just what it means to be who/what they are.

 

Nnedi Okorafor (Binti)

 

Nnedi is someone I’ve followed for awhile online because I find her to be an amazing speaker. I picked up Binti in 2018 because it was recommended as a good place to start for reading her books, plus it’s getting a bindup soon so it’s getting a bit more press. The audiobook of this is amazing, so I’d totally recommend listening to it if you get the chance (Robin Miles is fabulous as the narrator).

 

Cassandra Khaw (These Deathless Bones)

 

I think this particular story (These Deathless Bones) was recommended to me via a Tor.com email and wow! I am so glad I read it and discovered Cassandra’s writing. It was so incredibly atmospheric and creepy. I want to read everything Cassandra writes, it was that good. ❤

 

Molly Knox Ostertag (The Witch Boy)

 

If you know me, you’ll know how much I love manga, comics, and graphic novels. Last year I read my fair share and one of my favorites was The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag. Shapeshifters and witches take the stage in a society where boys learn to be one thing and girls the other, but the main character of the story wants to be something different. What will his family think? The art is beautiful, the story does have some heartache, and there is a sequel!

 

Claire Kann (Let’s Talk About Love)

 

Claire’s story about Alice, a biromantic asexual Black girl, was one of the most familiar stories I read last year. It cemented her as a writer I had to to auto-read in the future.

 

Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children series, etc.)

 

Of all the authors on this list, Seanan is probably the one whose catalog I most widely ended up reading. After reading Every Heart A Doorway, I fell in love with her books and read all of the Wayward Children books that were published at the time. Then I went through her other books and started looking for what others I might enjoy, starting with some short stories and her Girl in the Green Silk Gown series. There are a LOT more, but it’s been a LOT of fun, this journey. 😀

 

Jen Wang (The Prince and the Dressmaker)

 

Jen is an illustrator of immense talent. I found her work through The Prince and the Dressmaker, a graphic novel about a genderfluid prince and a dressmaker. Their story has so many different visual elements to it that it’s a pure feast for the eyes as well as a literary one.

 

 

 

Were there any authors you read in 2018 that were new to you? What books/stories/etc. of theirs would you want to share with others? Let me know in the comment section below! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

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