Tommy Orange, a groundbreaking Indigenous American author, illuminates urban Indigenous experiences with a unique narrative.
Authors That Changed America
Lois Lowry
Being a teenager isn’t always easy – but sometimes, books can provide the comfort and guidance we need. Few authors capture the adolescent experience better than young adult author Lois Lowry.
Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas transformed her challenging experiences into groundbreaking novels, inspiring young African Americans to raise their voices.
Amanda Gorman
The youngest inaugural poet in history, Amanda Gorman introduced a new generation to the lyrical power of poetry and became a modern-day icon in the process.
Shirley Jackson
A master of the macabre, Shirley Jackson explores the creepy underbelly of domestic life, with a sharp focus on the challenges that women face.
Ray Bradbury
Awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, recognizing a lifetime of influential literary works, Ray Bradbury wrote from a desire to “live forever”. Through sci fi, fantasy, horror and mystery to themes of death, loneliness and the dark side of human nature.
Laurie Halse Anderson
For author Laurie Halse Anderson, a survivor of trauma, putting pen to paper allowed her to make sense of the world. Discover how the acclaimed Young Adult author has connected with readers across the globe.
Gwendolyn Brooks
The first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about the hardship and struggles of ordinary people.
Colson Whitehead
The first author to win the Pulitzer Prize for two consecutive novels, Colson Whitehead is one of the United States’ most versatile writers.
Octavia Butler
First popularized as a genre of literature in the 1920s, for decades science fiction was dominated by white male authors. That is until Octavia Butler, an African American woman, rewrote the script.