Over A Third of TIME’s 100 Best Fantasy Books Are By SFWA Members

Recently, TIME Magazine put together a list of the 100 Best Fantasy Books, containing some of the most beloved titles of readers around the world, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has issued a press release pointing out that thirty-six of these books are written by current or past SFWA members.

“SFWA is thrilled that the accomplishments of its members have been recognized as the ground-breaking work that it is. This list represents the wide range of science fiction and fantasy writers working today,” said Mary Robinette Kowal, President of SFWA.

The 36 writers (and the titles of their books) are: 

  • A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
  • A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar
  • A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle
  • A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
  • Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
  • All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
  • Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
  • Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
  • Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
  • Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
  • Get in Trouble by Kelly Link
  • Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
  • Jade City by Fonda Lee
  • Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
  • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
  • Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
  • Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
  • Spindle’s End by Robin Mckinley
  • Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
  • The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang
  • The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
  • The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
  • The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
  • The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
  • The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
  • The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
  • The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
  • The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu
  • The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
  • The Wrath & the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
  • Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
  • Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Witchmark by C.L. Polk

TIME built a team to develop the list back in 2019, recruiting a panel of leading fantasy authors—Tomi Adeyemi, Cassandra Clare, Diana Gabaldon, Neil Gaiman, Marlon James, N.K. Jemisin, George R.R. Martin, and Sabaa Tahir—to join the TIME staff in nominating the top books of the genre (no author nominated their own works). The team then rated 250 works on a scale, and using their responses, TIME created a ranking. After considering every finalist, TIME editors based their selection on a multitude of factors, including originality, artistry, ambition, critical and popular reception, and influence on the fantasy genre and literature.

[Based on a press release.]

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