This list is a compilation of 10 of the best authors currently writing contemporary fiction. If you like well-written novels that prioritize compelling timely storylines along with artful prose and structure, then this is the genre for you. While contemporary fiction can be character driven, those characters are affected and shaped by events that happen over the course of the novel. So, why is it called “contemporary”? Because it’s fiction set in the real world, in times contemporary to the date it was published, and the stories deal with real-world issues.
Contemporary fiction isn’t primarily about escapism; rather, it’s about examining the world we live in and trying to make sense of it. With that in mind, here are 10 authors who write amazing contemporary fiction.
Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami is a Japanese author with global appeal. While Murakami’s works are primarily set in Japan, the author speaks to the human condition in a way that is identifiable across cultures. It’s no wonder, then, that Murakami’s works have been translated into more than 50 languages. If you’ve got the time and are ready to commit to a longer work, 1Q84, which clocks in at just under 47 hours, is a very rewarding experience. The audiobook, narrated by Allison Hiroto, Marc Vietor, and Mark Boyett, is an AudioFile Earphones Award-winner and features a bonus interview with the novel’s translators, Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel. Looking for something a bit shorter? Murakami’s Norwegian Wood is one of his most popular for a reason. It is truly unforgettable.
Colson Whitehead
Colson Whitehead is an American novelist whose fiction often explores themes of race and oppression in America. He recently won the Pulitzer Prize for his 2019 novel, The Nickel Boys. Set in the 1960s and the near present, the novel is based on the real story of the Dozier School, a Florida reform school that became notorious when investigators uncovered evidence of the horrific abuse inflicted on students by the staff. This is Whitehead’s second time winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; the first was in 2017 for The Underground Railroad, which follows a young slave's journey to freedom. Both prize-winning stories have great narrative voices behind their audiobooks: JD Jackson narrates The Nickel Boys, and Bahni Turpin narrates The Underground Railroad. Two of the most talented audiobook narrators of our time reading two of today’s most important works of hard-hitting fiction is a combination that's not to be missed.
Donna Tartt
Donna Tartt is an American author who has published three novels. Her works are praised for their use of language, compelling plots, and fully fleshed-out characters. Basically, she’s got the trifecta of brilliant writing on lock. And those who love her work really love her work. When The Goldfinch was published in 2013, it’s all anyone could talk about—and with good reason: it would go on to win Tartt the Pulitzer Prize. Listen to The Goldfinch in audio, as narrated by David Pittu, to hear what all the fuss is about. Then go back and listen to Tartt’s debut novel, The Secret History, expertly narrated by the author herself with her charming Mississippi accent.
Hanya Yanagihara
Yanagihara’s first novel, The People in the Trees is based in part on the real-life story of the virologist Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, who was convicted of child molestation. As you might have guessed, Yanagihara explores heavy topics in her novels. Her second novel, A Little Life revolves around four friends, with a specific focus on their traumas (addiction, self-harm, and abuse, to name a few) and their recovery from those traumas. (addiction, self-harm, and abuse, to name a few) and their recovery from those traumas. Despite its challenging subject matter, A Little Life is required listening. The audiobook is read by Oliver Wyman, a critically acclaimed narrator who has won five Audie and 19 Earphones Awards.
Ann Patchett
You never know what kind of story you’re going to get from an Ann Patchett novel. Her 2001 novel Bel Canto is story of unexpected love and friendship inspired by the Japanese embassy hostage crisis of 1996–1997 in Lima, Peru. Her 2016 novel Commonwealth explores the long-term impact of a tragedy on two families that are both torn apart and bound together by an affair. No matter what the story is, however, Ann Patchett believes her work has a common theme: the goodness of humanity. And if you haven’t yet read Ann Patchett’s latest, The Dutch House, you are in for a treat. The audiobook is wonderfully narrated by America’s dad, Tom Hanks.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I first learned of Adichie from We Should All Be Feminists, an audiobook narrated by the author that's based on her TED talk of the same name. Adichie is a Nigerian writer whose work has been translated into more than 30 languages. Her feminist ideals are woven throughout her fiction. Her most recent novel, Americanah follows the journey of a young couple, Ifemelu and Obinze, as they move from military-ruled Nigeria to the West, grapple with separation and what it means to be Black in a Western country, and try to find their way back to one another. The audiobook is narrated by the talented Adjoa Andoh.
Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy is an Indian author known for her lyrical prose. Her novel The God of Small Things won the Booker Prize in 1997 and has been translated into more than 40 languages. In 2017, Roy followed up her wildly successful first novel with The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. The audiobook, which Roy narrates herself, unfolds a braided narrative touching on some of the most difficult and most violent moments in contemporary Indian history. Both of Roy’s works confront political and social issues in contemporary India.
Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith is a British author who is based in New York and Northwest London. In her critically acclaimed and best-selling debut novel White Teeth, Smith explores human differences through a multi-generational story of two families. The audiobook is narrated by Lenny Henry, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Ray Panthaki, and Arya Sagar. Pippa Bennett-Warner also narrates Smith’s most recent novel, Swing Time, a story about two children who both dream of being dancers, but whose lives diverge as they grow older and make different decisions.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro is a novelist, screenwriter, and short story writer who was born in Japan but moved to the United Kingdom when he was five. The mixture of Ishiguro’s Japanese roots and British upbringing are apparent in his writing. His first two novels are set in Japan, but Ishiguro has said that the Japan of these novels is an imagined version of the country, one that he is trying to write into his memory. Aside from those common themes of memory and identity, Ishiguro's novels go in very different directions. Some are set in Japan, some in the United Kingdom, some in the present, some in the past. Some of Ishiguro’s novels are entirely realistic, while others use speculative elements to deal with real-world issues. For instance, in his novel Never Let Me Go, narrated with the right amount of melancholy from Rosalyn Landor, Ishiguro uses sci-fi elements to examine the nature of humanity and loss.
Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan is a critically acclaimed British writer whose work is known for its beautiful prose and striking imagery. Maybe you’ve seen the acclaimed movie adaptation of McEwan’s Atonement a million times, and you feel like you know the story all too well. But McEwan’s novel about guilt and loss of innocence is well worth a listen for the writing alone. Next, listen to On Chesil Beach, a stunning novella about a newly married husband
and wife who both feel anxious about their wedding night. The author narrates with just the right amount of tension.
Emily Martin earned her PhD at the University of Southern Mississippi. She works as a contributor for Book Riot and as a blogger/podcaster at Book Squad Goals.
