Four Authors to Appreciate More (And Tell Your Friends About)

Catherine O'Flynn, Contemporary Literature & Fiction

Catherine O'Flynn is a British author relatively unknown outside of the UK despite critical acclaim and multiple award nominations. The depth, grace, and wry authenticity of What Was Lost, her literary debut, earned it the Costa First Novel Award and Guardian First Book Award. The News Where You Are is a nostalgic and funny, yet real, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original. Most recently, O'Flynn took her writing to new heights of brilliant wit and sophisticated warmth with Mr. Lynch's Holiday.

Sean Beaudoin, Teen & Young Adult

A quirky and keenly observant master of sarcasm, Sean Beaudoin is an exceptional writer with the rare ability to combine humor and menace with truth and empathy in ways that keep readers turning page after page. Whether you're a young adult or adult, You Killed Wesley Payne, Going Nowhere Faster, and Fade to Blue will make you laugh and think from beginning to end and beyond.

Samuel R. Delany, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

The novels of science fiction author, professor, and literary critic Samuel R. Delany have won many distinguished awards, yet his ability to captivate readers is still underappreciated. The richly complex Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand is as fascinating as it is riveting, as is his autobiography, The Motion of Light in Water: Sex and Science Fiction Writing in the East Village. The William Whitehead Memorial Award for a lifetime's contribution to lesbian and gay culture winner focuses on his life in the 1960s lower east side of New York and his development as a black gay writer in an open interracial marriage. Few writers span multiple genres as successfully as Delany does.

Paige Shelton, Mystery

Paige Shelton is a not-quite-mainstream bestselling mystery series author who creates endearing characters and weaves them together in unexpected ways. A cozy mystery lover favorite, her series books also work as standalone that make for light, fun reads. For the graphic design crowd, there's A Dangerous Type Mystery series, which includes To Helvetica and Back, Bookman Dead Style, and Comic Sans Murder. For culinary-minded fans of ghosts, Gram's Country Cooking School Mystery series starts with If Fried Chicken Could Fly and ends with If Onions Could Spring Leeks, with plenty of intrigue, entertainment, and recipes along the way.

Know any other underappreciated or up-and-coming authors we should be aware of? Tell us!

Read more by Beth Clark