7 Author Shoutouts - Authors We Love To Recommend

Here are seven author shoutouts for this week. Check out which authors are your favorites, and discover an author you haven’t read before.

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This Week’s Author Shoutouts

Rita Dove

Rita Dove, born in Akron, Ohio, deserves an author shoutout. From 1993 to 1995, she held the esteemed role of Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Notably, she became the first African American to be appointed to this position after it was established by an act of Congress in 1986. Additionally, Rita Dove achieved another significant milestone as the second African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1987.

Dove, in 2021, was awarded the gold medal in poetry by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which is the highest honor bestowed by the academy. She became the 16th poet to receive this medal in its 110-year history, and notably, she is the 3rd female and the 1st African-American to achieve this distinction.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, deserves a shoutout as an author and poet, alongside Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson. In addition to his literary achievements, Holmes was a proficient physician, committed medical reformer, and lecturer. Notably, he advocated for the use of the stethoscope, introduced the term anesthesia, and strongly supported the germ theory of disease. His passing occurred in Boston in 1894, at the age of 85.

Mary Shelley

An author shoutout to Mary Shelley who was born in London, England. Although she is primarily renowned for her novel Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus and for being the spouse of Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, she was a significant figure in literature in her own right. Additionally, she possessed liberal and radical beliefs, rejecting the constraining institution of marriage while maintaining her commitment to her partner-turned-husband and her children (of whom only one survived into adulthood).

She died too soon, at age 53, of what is believed to have been a brain tumor.

G. Willow Wilson

An author shoutout to G. Willow Wilson, a New Jersey native, who has gained prominence as an author. During her early to mid 20s, she resided in Egypt, which served as inspiration for her debut graphic novel, Cairo. Her memoir, The Butterfly Mosque, published in 2010, captured her experiences amidst the Mubarak regime. In 2013, Wilson’s book Alif the Unseen earned her the prestigious World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. Notably, she ventured into comic book writing, achieving recognition for her creation of Ms. Marvel, featuring Kamala Khan, a 16 year old Pakistani-American protagonist and the first Muslim character to lead her own comic book series, published by Marvel Comics.

Ms. Marvel won 2015’s Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story, and an American Book Award in 2019.

Edgar Rice Burroughs

An author shoutout to Edgar Rice Burroughs, who was born in Chicago, Illinois. Taking a leap of faith at 36, he departed from his occupation as a representative for pencil sharpeners to pursue writing. He believed he could craft a tale at least as compelling as the subpar content he encountered in the pulps. Within a year, he serialized his inaugural piece under the pseudonym Norman Bean, opting for anonymity to safeguard his reputation.

He is now revered as the author of Tarzan of the Apes (with 26 books featuring the jungle hero) and numerous science fiction novels (such as John Carter of Mars), along with a handful of Westerns and even a couple of historical novels. He passed away in 1950 at the age of 74 due to a heart attack.

Eugene Field

Poet Eugene Field, born in St. Louis, Missouri, deserves an author shoutout. Despite primarily working as a journalist, essayist, and columnist in St. Louis, Denver, and Chicago, Field gained recognition for his children’s poetry. Notably, his famous poems include the playful Wynken, Blynken and Nod and The Duel (also known as The Gingham Dog and The Calico Cat). Field passed away from a heart attack at the age of 45 in 1895.

Kiran Desai

An author shoutout to Kiran Desai, born in New Delhi, India. She has written two novels, and both have garnered high praise. In 2006, her second book, The Inheritance of Loss, achieved great success by winning both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. The novel delves into the theme of cultural identity loss, as observed through the perspectives of an undocumented immigrant in New York and an Anglicized Indian girl residing in India under her grandfather’s care.

Ms. Desai was recognized by The Economic Times in January 2015 as one of the 20 most influential global Indian women. Currently, she resides in New York City.

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