1. Madeleine Gray

I had only raving reviews for Green Dot; and the world clearly thought the same. Gray’s debut novel was ranked in multiple “Best Of” Lists including: 13 Best Books of 2024, Stylist, 12 of the Best Books of 2024, BBC, 221 Best Books of the 21st Century, Shakespeare and Co and my own personal duffRUNStough Choice Awards for 2024.

Madeleine Gray is a writer and critic from Sydney. She has written for the Times Literary Supplement, the Guardian, the BBC, Electric Literature, Sydney Review of Books, and other publications. In 2019 she was a CA-SRB Emerging Critic, and in 2021 she was a finalist for the Pascall Prize for Arts Criticism, a finalist for the Woollahra Digital Literary Non-Fiction Award, and a recipient of a Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund grant. She has an MSt in English from the University of Oxford and is a current doctoral candidate at the University of Manchester. Green Dot is her first novel.

2. Elizabeth Gonzalez James

Another novel I absolutely loved last year was The Bullet Swallower. Though Gonzalez James has written two other novels, 2024 was the first year I picked one of their novels (thanks to NetGalley).

Elizabeth Gonzalez James is a screenwriter and bestselling author of the novels, The Bullet Swallower and Mona at Sea, as well as the chapbook, Five Conversations About Peter Sellers. The Bullet Swallower was named a best book of 2024 by NPR, Esquire, and elsewhere, was a Book of the Month Club pick, and was featured on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” as one of their spring book club picks. Elizabeth was featured on the MSNBC documentary “My Generation” representing the Millennials. She has taught fiction writing at Grub Street, Pioneer Valley Writers Workshop, Story Studio, and elsewhere. Originally from South Texas, Elizabeth now lives with her family in Massachusetts.

3. Sylvia Plath

I really should have listed Plath as Number 1 on this list as Plath has been a feminist icon for quite sometime. I am embarrassed to say the only reason I actually gave “The Bell Jar” a chance last year was primarily due to the amount of parallels Taylor Swift Theorists found comparing the lyricism and poetry of TTPD to Plath’s own personal work and life. Then, when I was watching the old HBO TV Series “Hung”, and Plath was mentioned again…I took it as a sign to finally get around to reading this Great American Novel.

Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Known primarily for her poetry, Plath also wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. The book’s protagonist, Esther Greenwood, is a bright, ambitious student at Smith College who begins to experience a mental breakdown while interning for a fashion magazine in New York. The plot parallels Plath’s experience interning at Mademoiselle magazine and subsequent mental breakdown and suicide attempt. 

4. Kerryn Mayne

Another NetGalley recommendation and debut author, Mayne’s prose and relatability in Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder made me a new fan. I am already counting down the days until Mayne’s second novel, Joy Moody is Out of Time is released to American audiences this year…and I hope I get approved by NetGalley again.

Kerryn Mayne is an author, former wedding photographer, and current police officer. When not at work attempting to solve crime, she is writing about it or preparing an endless stream of snacks for her four children. Kerryn lives in the bayside suburbs of Melbourne with her husband, children and a highly suspect lovebird. She only owns 11 copies of The Hobbit (for now).
Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder is her debut novel.

5. Nina Simon

A Reese’s Book Club pick, Simon skyrocketed to success with their debut novel Mother-Daughter Murder Night. At the time, I had no idea this was Simon’s debut because in my head I was mixing Simon up with Nita Prose. Now that I am clearly aware they are NOT the same person, I am excited to see where Simon’s career heads.

I write crime stories about strong women. My first novel, MOTHER-DAUGHTER MURDER NIGHT, is a New York Times bestselling mystery about a grandma, single mom, and teenage girl who come together to solve the murder of a naturalist who washes up in the Monterey Bay.

Writing has always been my joy. In college, I was an electrical engineering student by day and a slam poet by night. After a brief stint at NASA, I started designing interactive exhibits and eventually became a museum director. I wrote two books of nonfiction about creating participatory, relevant cultural institutions. Nonprofits were my “real” job; writing was on the side.

Then, my mom got sick. I quit my job to help care for her, and I found myself turning to fiction as a way to escape and find some pleasure during a hard time. My mom and I both always loved mysteries, and I decided to try to write one myself, with a detective/hero based on my mother. Now, my mom is doing better, and I’m gratefully spending my days reading, writing, and caring for my family.

6. Ann Patchett

While everyone was reading Tom Lake end of 23 early 24, I went well into the archives and finally read Patchett’s The Dutch House. Though I know Patchett has been around for a while now (since before I was born), I never felt compelled to pick up one of their work before. However, my Libby waitlist was piling up, and The Dutch House was “Available Now” so I finally dove in, and I am glad I did.

Patchett was born in Los Angeles, California. Her mother is the novelist Jeanne Ray.

She moved to Nashville, Tennessee when she was six, where she continues to live. Patchett said she loves her home in Nashville with her doctor husband and dog. If asked if she could go any place, that place would always be home. “Home is …the stable window that opens out into the imagination.”

Patchett attended high school at St. Bernard Academy, a private, non-parochial Catholic school for girls run by the Sisters of Mercy. Following graduation, she attended Sarah Lawrence College and took fiction writing classes with Allan Gurganus, Russell Banks, and Grace Paley. She later attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where she met longtime friend Elizabeth McCracken. It was also there that she wrote her first novel, The Patron Saint of Liars.

In 2010, when she found that her hometown of Nashville no longer had a good book store, she co-founded Parnassus Books with Karen Hayes; the store opened in November 2011. In 2012, Patchett was on the Time 100 list of most influential people in the world by TIME magazine.

7. Casey McQuiston

Possibly the author with the least amount of information about their self, McQuiston rose to fame with Red, White & Royal Blue, which I still have not read. However, I loved I Kissed Shara Wheeler. I was so vividly transported back to growing up in a small town, not being able to truly explore your own identity. I am excited to read further novels by McQuiston.

Casey McQuiston is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of romantic comedies, whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Bon Appetit. Originally from southern Louisiana, Casey now lives in New York City.

8. Xóchitl González

While everyone was raving about Anita de Monte Laughs Last, I could not get off the Libby waitlist. So I decided to head back in time and give Gonzalez’s debut novel an attempt. Without a doubt I am glad I did because Olga Dies Dreaming was one of my favourite novels I read last year.

I’m a native of Brooklyn, New York, where I was raised by my maternal grandparents in South Brooklyn. A proud graduate of the New York City public school system, I studied performing arts at Edward R. Murrow high school before getting my B.A. in Fine Art and Art History at Brown University in 1999. Nearly twenty years later, on the eve of my 40th birthday, I decided to listen to the long whispered dream of writing. I attended The Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and then was accepted to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop where I was an Iowa Arts Fellow and recipient of the Michener-Copernicus Prize for Fiction. I completed my MFA in May of 2021 at the tender age of 43. Before writing I worked as an entrepreneur, consultant, wedding planner, fund-raiser, tarot reader and writer of etiquette columns. I currently live back in Brooklyn with my dog Hectah Lavoe.

9. Sally Rooney

Here is another one that I read last year that will probably come as a shock for being a “New to Me” author. Y’all know that I tend to love contemporary/literary novels the most, and yet Rooney – arguable the best – I have yet to try until 2024. Similar to The Bell Jar, the only reason I decided to give Normal People was only because Paul Mescal, who plays Connell in the TV Show, is my brother’s neighbor in London. A silly reason, I know.

Sally Rooney was born in 1991 and lives in Dublin, where she graduated from Trinity College. Her work has appeared in Granta, The Dublin Review, The White Review, The Stinging Fly, and the Winter Pages anthology.

10. Meg Shaffer

I loved The Wishing Game, but more importantly I love Megan Whalen from Random House Publishing Group for pre-approving me on NetGalley for The Lost Story because Shaffer is quite possibly my new favourite author. I love how she brings the whimsy from the novels I used to escape my childhood with into an adult audience.

Meg Shaffer is the USA Today bestselling author of The Lost Story and The Wishing Game, which was a Book of the Month finalist for Book of the Year, a Reader’s Digest and Washington Post Best Book of the Year, and has been translated into 21 languages. Meg holds an MFA in TV and Screenwriting from Stephens College. She lives in Kentucky.