1. Ellen Glasgow (1873)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American writer of southern-themed fiction, she is best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, In This Our Life (1941). Her other works include The Romance of a Plain Man...

2. Sherwood Anderson (1876)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American writer of novels, short fiction, poetry, and non-fiction works, he is best known for his 1919 short story collection, Winesburg, Ohio. His other works include Marching Men (1917),...

3. Joseph Hergesheimer (1880)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An early twentieth-century American writer of naturalistic novels depicting upper-class life, he is best known for works such as Java Head, Linda Condon, and Balisand. Several of his literary works,...

4. Ivo Andrić (1892)

Novelist Short Story Writer

Author who won the 1961 Nobel Prize in Literature. In works such as The Bridge on the Drina, The Woman from Sarajevo, and The Damned Yard, he wrote about the...

5. Max Brand (1892)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American author of western fiction, he is known for his 1930 novel, Destry Rides Again, as well as for his Dr. Kildare series. He wrote over 500 novels in...

6. William Faulkner (1897)

Novelist Short Story Writer

Pulitzer Prize-winning, Southern Gothic writer whose best known works include The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, and A Rose for Emily. He won the Nobel Prize for...

7. Christopher Isherwood (1904)

Novelist Short Story Writer

A British-born novelist, he is best known for works such as Goodbye to Berlin (1939), Journey to a War (1939), and A Single Man (1964). His 1945 work, The Berlin...

8. Fred Gipson (1908)

Novelist Short Story Writer

A Twentieth-century American writer, he is remembered for his classic 1956 novel Old Yeller. His first full-length work of fiction, The Fabulous Empire: Colonel Zack Miller's Story, was published in...

9. Jack Finney (1911)

Novelist Short Story Writer

American author whose novels, Time and Again (1970) and The Body Snatchers (1955), became science fiction classics. The latter work was adapted into the 1956 film, Invasion of the Body...

10. Bernard Malamud (1914)

Novelist Short Story Writer

American fiction writer whose baseball-themed novel, The Natural, was made into a movie starring Robert Redford. His 1966 work, The Fixer, was the recipient of both the Pulitzer Prize and...

11. Shirley Jackson (1916)

Novelist Short Story Writer

American author of the eerie short story, "The Lottery," a tale that exposes the sinister side of a seemingly pleasant town. She is also famous for her 1959 novel, The...

12. Robert Bloch (1917)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American author of horror and suspense fiction, he is best known for his novel, Psycho, which inspired the famous Hitchcock film. He won both the Bram Stoker Award and the World...

13. Davis Grubb (1919)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American novelist and short fiction writer, he is most known for works such as Twelve Tales of Suspense and the Supernatural (1964) and Fools' Parade (1969). His bestselling 1953...

14. Patricia Highsmith (1921)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American writer of psychological thrillers, she is best known for Strangers on a Train and the popular Tom Ripley series. Many of her novels and short stories, including The...

15. Avram Davidson (1923)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American author of science fiction, crime fiction, and fantasy, he won a Hugo Award and three World Fantasy Awards. He is known for his Vergil Magus series, as well...

16. Herbert Gold (1924)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American fiction writer associated with the Beat Generation, he published twelve novels over the course of his career. His best-known works include Birth of a Hero, He/She, and Bohemia.

17. Daniel Keyes (1927)

Novelist Short Story Writer

A twentieth-century American author, he is best known for his 1966 novel, Flowers for Algernon. The novel, based on Keyes' 1959 short story of the same title, won the Nebula...

18. Shelby Hearon (1931)

Novelist Short Story Writer

A twentieth-century American novelist, she is best known for such works as Armadillo in the Grass and Owning Jolene. The latter work won an American Academy of Arts and Letters...

19. Ella Leffland (1931)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American novelist and short story writer, she is best known for her 1979 novel, Rumors of Peace, which tells the story of a girl growing up during the World...

20. Aimee Bender (1969)

Novelist Short Story Writer

Known for such works as the surrealistic short story collection The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and the novel An Invisible Sign of My Own, this Los Angeles-based author has...

21. James Lee Burke (1936)

Novelist Short Story Writer

A prolific author of mystery novels, he rose to fame through such works as his Dave Robicheaux series. His other series include the Billy Bob Holland and Hackberry Holland trilogies.

22. Gail Godwin (1937)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American novelist and short story writer, she is best known for her New York Times bestselling work, The Odd Woman (1974). Her other works include Glass People (1972) and...

23. Mercedes Lackey (1950)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American fantasy writer, she is particularly known for her Bedlam's Bard, Diana Tregarde, and SERRAted Edge novels. Many of her works take place in the fictional country of Valdemar.

24. Greg Bear (1951)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American science fiction author of over forty books, he is known for his Forge of God series, which centers around a large-scale galactic conflict. His other popular works include...

25. Meg Wolitzer (1959)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American author and professor, she penned The Wife, The Ten-Year Nap, and The Uncoupling. She also wrote two young adult novels: The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman and Caribou.

26. Jennifer Egan (1962)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American novelist and short story writer, she is best known for A Visit from the Goon Squad, a 2010 novel that was later adapted into an HBO series.

27. Andre Dubus III (1959)

Novelist Short Story Writer

An American fiction writer, he is best known for his 1999 novel, House of Sand and Fog, which was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film. His other works include The...

28. Curtis Sittenfeld (1975)

Novelist Short Story Writer

Elizabeth Curtis Sittenfeld is an American writer. She is author of four novels: Prep the tale of a Massachusetts prep school; The Man of My Dreams a coming-of-age novel and...

29. Carol Emshwiller (1921)

Novelist Short Story Writer

Carol Emshwiller is an American writer of avant garde short stories and science fiction who has won prizes ranging from the Nebula Award to the Philip K. Dick Award. Ursula...

30. Shirley Ann Grau (1929)

Novelist Short Story Writer

Shirley Ann Grau Born in New Orleans her work is set primarily in the Deep South and explores issues of race and gender. She spent much of her childhood in...

31. Jayne Anne Phillips (1952)

Novelist Short Story Writer

Jayne Anne Phillips is an American novelist and short story writer born in the small town of Buckhannon West Virginia.

32. Padgett Powell (1952)

Novelist Short Story Writer

Padgett Powell is an American novelist in the Southern literary tradition. His debut novel Edisto was nominated for the American Book Award and was excerpted in The New Yorker. Powell...

33. Tama Janowitz (1957)

Novelist Short Story Writer

Tama Janowitz is an American novelist and a short story writer. She is often referenced as one of the main brat pack authors along with Bret Easton Ellis Mark Lindquist...

34. Andrew Sean Greer (1970)

Novelist Short Story Writer

Andrew Sean Greer is an American novelist and short story writer. He is the bestselling author of The Story of a Marriage which The New York Times has called an...

35. ZZ Packer (1973)

Novelist Short Story Writer

ZZ Packer is an African-American author notable for her works of short fiction.