#Bookishbloggersunite is a regular tag created by a group of avid readers who wanted to write about books together. I’m playing catch up this week – this post is from last week’s round, which was hosted by the ever-delightful Bron. Make sure you check out her blog. Plus you can join in any time – just add your page link to the link up on the hosts’s page.

I’ve been pretty lucky to meet some amazing authors in recent time, but my wishlist of people who I would like to meet is ever growing. I’m a little sad that I haven’t been to an author event yet this year (most of the ones I would like to get to are happening during the week here in Brisbane, which just isn’t feasible given the hours I work.)

Anyhoo, here is a bunch of amazing authors I would love to listen to/fangirl at/ hear how their brains work.

Claire Coleman – author of Terra Nullius. As far as I’m aware, Coleman is the first Aboriginal author to produce sci-fi, which to me is incredibly exciting (and if you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you will have seen me being generally excited about this book for a while). She’s recently received a deal for her second book. She’s been doing the rounds of the writing festivals in the southern states, so I’m hoping she’ll make it to the Brisbane festival in September.

Yoon Ha Lee – author of the Machineries of Empire trilogy. I’m waiting with bated breath for the third book in this amazing series (I’ve even pre-ordered it, which isn’t generally a thing I do). I love these books so much, there is so much in them. Raven Stratagem left a huge hole in my heart that I’m hoping book three will sort out. Lee works as a mathematician and is also a trans person (there is some seriously amazing gender bending going on in these books). This article by Lee about being trans and writing trans characters is well worth a read.

Kameron Hurley – author of The Stars are Legion plus a bunch of other stuff. The Stars are Legion is nothing like anything I’ve ever read – warring lesbians in space (there are no male characters) with some serious body horror going on. Her backlist (and anything else she ever writes) is on my TBR. Hurley works in marketing when she isn’t writing books, and I recently discovered that she has a delightfully sweary podcast called Back to Work Hurley.

N.K. Jemisin – author of the Broken Earth trilogy and others. Jemisin has won the Hugo two years running for the first two instalments in this trilogy and has been nominated for the third. Emotionally devastating is the only way I can summarise these books, but their exploration of slavery, diversity, betrayal and the human condition and determination to survive is totally worth it.

I could definitely add more to this list (and you’ll note this is my sci-fi list) – Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon and Nnedi Okorafor for instance – but I will leave it here.

Which authors would you most like to meet?

Cheers,