Authors

The Nobel Prize for Literature is the world’s most important international literary honour. Browse the complete list of winning authors since 1901.

The J.R.R. Tolkien empire goes beyond the mainstream editions of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and his other Middle-earth books. We’ve combed through thousands of listings on AbeBooks to identify eye-catching examples of Tolkienabilia including a map, posters, art and unusual editions.

Author and academic J.R.R .Tolkien changed our world by creating an imaginary world. Tolkien gave us ‘high fantasy’ where a new world is created through a writing style that offers immense detail about places, landscapes, cultures, and history. Learn more about the man who created Middle-earth.

The J.R.R. Tolkien literary landscape is huge and constantly evolving. It's possible to find limited editions, deluxe editions, illustrated books, box sets and attractive modern editions. The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are just the start when you visit Middle-earth.

This list celebrates African American writers from both the past and present, from Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes to Colson Whitehead.

Discover James Baldwin’s lasting impact on civil rights and literature through his novels, plays, essays, short stories, and poetry.

Books published by Black authors between 1850 and 1930 are rarely referenced in recommended reading lists and appear largely forgotten. Our list of 25 forgotten books by African American authors includes novels, memoirs, autobiographies, short stories and essays, poetry, and investigative journalism.

Kazuo Ishiguro won the 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature, and was knighted by the British monarch a year later. He is best known for the novels The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, both of which have been turned into films.

The first edition of Salem's Lot with its original dust jacket is the Holy Grail for collectors of Stephen King books.

It can be safely said that Jane Austen is one of the best-loved English authors of all time. Born December 16, 1775, Austen made a mark on the literary world with her romantic fiction set among the landed gentry in England.

Whatever stage you're at in the quest to read more women, here are 100 talented female authors to get you started or keep you going.

Considered the greatest writer in the English language, William Shakespeare's works are among the world's most widely read, most intensely studied, and most passionately collected. Early editions are also some of the most valuable.

"There is no friend as loyal as a book." -- Ernest Hemingway

Beatrix Potter was an English children's book author and illustrator, primarily. She was also a farmer, a conservationist, and a natural explorer fascinated by science and the wonders of the natural world around her.

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, arguably one of the best American writers of all time, lived a brief life and died without knowing his true fame. Fitzgerald lived in Paris after World War I and made a living writing short stories for magazines. He didn't know The Great Gatsby would one day become one of the most read books in America.

Ray Bradbury was a giant of American literature. The man just could not be stopped - in his 91 years of life and a career spanning over 70 years, he wrote nearly a dozen novels and around 600 short stories.

"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter., It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies - God damn it, you've got to be kind." - from God Bless You Mr. Rosewater or Pearls Before Swine.

Fleming. Ian Fleming. Fleming's work during the war likely provided background for his James Bond stories, and many of the people, places and particulars of his novels are purported to be based on real details of Fleming's life.

Literary America owes a great debt to the Black Sparrow Press. This visionary California-based publisher was prepared to gamble on Charles Bukowski - the low-life, alcoholic writer other publishers wouldn’t touch with a barge pole - and a swathe of other avant-garde authors who didn’t fit in.

Did you know some of the 20th century's finest writers were also painters? It is not unusual for writing and art to go hand-in-hand, but these authors are primarily known for their skills with a pen, or typewriter, rather than a paint brush.

Edward Gorey (1925-2000) was an American illustrator and writer, chiefly remembered for his illustrated books. Once you've seen a bit of Gorey's work, it becomes instantly recognisable.

William Blake did so much so well that it is difficult to label him. Therefore, we're going to let bookseller and William Blake expert John Windle summarise the incredible life and impact of this particular Englishman.