We at the Fantasy Inn are always a fan of anything that helps people to discover new books they might enjoy. It’s one of the reasons we became reviewers in the first place.
This time, we explored female-authored speculative fiction! It’s mostly fantasy with a little science fiction thrown in for good measure.
For similar flowcharts with different focuses, check out these:
- Intro to Speculative Fiction Audio Dramas
- Intro to Speculative Fiction by People of Color
- Intro to Self-Published Speculative Fiction
We had a few goals when developing this flowchart:
- Include books from a variety of decades, not just recent releases.
- Provide enough variety that seasoned and novice fantasy readers alike can discover new books to love.
- Feature a variety of storytelling mediums, such as graphic novels, short fiction, and audio dramas.
- Only first books in a series are included, and each author is only listed once.
The final flowchart has 126 entries, and we could’ve included many more if we had room. Feel strongly about a book we left out? Let us know in a comment!
Here’s the chart:
If any of these books strike your fancy, here they are in list form with links to Goodreads and Amazon. Enjoy!
Classic Fantasy
- The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Riddle-Master of Hed | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Blockbuster
- The Giver by Lois Lowry | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Twilight by Stephanie Meyer | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Mythic Fantasy
- The Wood Wife by Terri Windling | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Urban Fantasy
- Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Moon Called by Patricia Briggs | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Bitten by Kelley Armstrong | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Paranormal Romance
- Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Erotic Fantasy
- Fighting Destiny by Amelia Hutchins | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Wolf’s Wife by Julie Midnight | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Science Fantasy
- Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Witch World by Andre Norton | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Just City by Jo Walton | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Science Fiction
- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Long Way To a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Dystopian
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Apocalyptic
- The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Zombie Fiction
- My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Deadlands by Lily Herne | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Gaslamp Fantasy
- The Half Killed by Quenby Olson | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Darker Still by Leanna Renee Heiber | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Steampunk
- Everfair by Nisi Shawl | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Soulless by Gail Carriger | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Boneshaker by Cherie Priest | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Time Travel
- To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Spanish Pearl by Catherine Friend | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Fantasy of Manners
- Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Historical Fantasy
- The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Redwood and Wildfire by Andrea Hairston | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Portal Fantasy
Pirate Fantasy
Comedic Fantasy
- The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Grunts by Mary Gentle | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Young Adult
- The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymulina | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Middle Grade
- Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Grimdark
- A Cavern of Black Ice by J.V. Jones | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Smiler’s Fair by Rebecca Levene | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- God’s War by Kameron Hurley | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Fairy Tale
- The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Deerskin by Robin McKinley | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Dark Fantasy
- Bone Doll’s Twin by Lynn Flewelling | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Night’s Master by Tanith Lee | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Myths & Legends
- Circe by Madeline Miller | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Animal Fantasy
- Into the Wild by Erin Hunter | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Capture by Kathryn Lasky | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Literary SFF
- The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Healer’s Road by S.E. Robertson | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Magical Realism
- The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- When Fox is a Thousand by Larissa Lai | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Weird West
- Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Weird Fiction
- The Etched City by K.J. Bishop | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Year of Our War by Steph Swainston | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Going Bovine by Libba Bray | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Military Fiction
Flintlock Fantasy
- His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Sword & Sorcery
- The Sword of Rhiannon by Leigh Brackett | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Jirel of Joiry by C.L. Moore | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Copper Promise by Jen Williams | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Poison Fantasy
LitRPG
Non-Western
- The Wolf of Oren-yaro by K.S. Villoso | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Black Wolves by Kate Elliot | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Epic Fantasy
- The Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny Wurts | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Inda by Sherwood Smith | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Medalon by Jennifer Fallon | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Broken Crown by Michelle West | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Dragon Wing by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Battleaxe (aka The Wayfarer’s Redemption) by Sara Douglass | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Graphic Novel
- Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Web Comic
- The Meek by Der-shing Helmer | Goodreads | Website
- Spindrift by Elsa Kroese and Charlotte E. English | Goodreads | Website
Novella
- Danse Macabre by Laura M. Hughes | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- Binti by Nnedi Okorafor | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Short Story
- Boobs by Suzy McKee Charnas | Goodreads | Read Now
- Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar | Goodreads | Read Now
- Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience by Rebecca Roanhorse | Goodreads | Read Now
Standalone
- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern | Goodreads | Amazon (US / UK / Canada)
Audio Drama
Reblogged this on AM Justice and commented:
Love this list of speculative fiction by female authors!
Love <3
Great chart with some great books! I’d also suggest checking out Geraldine Harris’ Seven Citadels quartet, Monica Hughes’ Isis trilogy and Meredith Ann Pierce’s work for some excellent YA-leaning spec fic.
Love this list and love the in build jokes. Everytime it gets serious there is this quick remaek rhat breaks the tension I think I spotted a mistake. The describtion of Jennifer Fallon’s book does jot fit with the book itself. The immortals are in the tide lord trilogy beginning with “the immortal prince”. The medalon book Is about gods who like to interfier with mortals
Thanks for the great job! <3
Wild Seed by Octavia Butler
It’s on there! In the alternate history category.
Very nice. And it hardly scratches the surface.
One thing I would say is that there is so much amazing middle grade fantasy by women right now that it seems slightly odd to choose a couple of really old books from Susan Cooper and Madeleine L’Engle.
Any Gaslamp Fantasy list should contain The Nine by Tracy Townsend. It’s such a brilliaint book. Well done anyway!
Please don’t misgender Foz Meadows.
Thanks for pointing this out, this was 100% my mistake. The flowchart and list have been updated.
Kim Dong Hwa is a male author.