Winter is Coming
Fansided

10 women writers currently KILLING it in the YA fantasy genre

By Isobel Pankhurst

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 02: Tomi Adeyemi attends the Build Series to discuss 'Children of Virtue and Vengeance' at Build Studio on December 02, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 02: Tomi Adeyemi attends the Build Series to discuss 'Children of Virtue and Vengeance' at Build Studio on December 02, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – AUGUST 20: American writer Holly Black attends a photocall during the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 on August 20, 2019, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images)
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – AUGUST 20: American writer Holly Black attends a photocall during the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 on August 20, 2019, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images) /

Holly Black

Holly Black has had a prolific writing career, with both series and standalone novels under her belt. She’s also written graphic novels and short stories. Her work includes The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Magisterium Series (cowritten with Cassandra Clare), the Modern Faerie Tales, and the extremely popular The Folk of the Air series.

Perhaps best known for her faerie books (The Modern Faerie Tales and The Folk of the Air), Black has a large online fandom. Just ask any YA fantasy reader for their opinion on Cardan’s tail…

Black’s adult fantasy debut is set to be publish in May of this year.

Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo published her first book Shadow and Bone in 2012. The book introduced the Grishaverse, which has since been the setting for a number of Bardugo’s books. She’s also published the adult book Ninth House, which also has an upcoming sequel.

Bardugo’s Grishaverse books — the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows — have been adapted into the Netflix series Shadow and Bone, which premiered its first season last year. Six of Crows was included in Time magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time list.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 16: YA author Sabaa Tahir presents at Entertainment Weekly’s YA Fantasy Panel at Barnes & Noble at The Grove on July 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Brandon Williams/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 16: YA author Sabaa Tahir presents at Entertainment Weekly’s YA Fantasy Panel at Barnes & Noble at The Grove on July 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Brandon Williams/Getty Images) /

Sabaa Tahir

Sabaa Tahir shot to success with the publication of An Ember in the Ashes in 2015; it was the beginning of a much-loved YA fantasy quartet which ended with A Sky Beyond the Storm in 2020. The first book was nominated for two Goodreads choice awards and won the People’s Choice Award for best fantasy.

An Ember in the Ashes and the second book in the series, A Torch Against the Night, were included in Time magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time list.

Home/Books