I’m a writer who hasn’t been writing much. My creative energy is only now starting to peek out from under a year of personal grief, political anxiety, and pandemic reality. That energy feels like…hope. A shy hope that gradually emerged as the darkness of grief began to recede, and perked up when the 2020 election was called, and news of upcoming COVID vaccines appeared.
My gut is pointing me toward storytelling, because I believe stories can help us heal. I don’t have much more to go on than that, so while I loosen up my rusty writing fingers, I figure the best thing I can do is to read good stories. But where to begin?
I asked my friends to tell me their favorite storytellers (from any genre) and BOY did they come through.
For now, it’s just a straight list, but as I read/listen to these folks, I’ll link up what I find. Many of these names I’ve never heard of, so I’ve got a lot of exploring and reading to do.
Who are my favorite storytellers?
- Cheryl Strayed
- Patti Smith
- Annie Dillard
- Anne Lamott
- Kelly Corrigan
- Mary Karr
- Ursula LeGuin
… to start.
Do you have a favorite storyteller? Tell me in the comments.
Neil Gaiman was the storyteller friends mentioned most often. I already have The Graveyard Book, Coraline, and Norse Mythology, which I’ve never read. I’m starting there.
Toni Morrison was the next-most mentioned storyteller. I can’t believe I’ve never read her books. I’ve always meant to, and when she died in 2019, I read the tributes to her in awe. This is the nudge I needed to start Beloved.
These storytellers were all recommended by more than one person:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Octavia E Butler
Sandra Cisneros
Kate DiCamillo
Sharon Draper
Louise Erdrich
Ira Glass
N.K. Jemisin
Ursula le Guin
Jhumpa Lahiri
Nnedi Okorafur
Jason Reynolds
Bruce Springsteen
Angie Thomas
Alice Walker
Jacqueline Woodson
…and here’s the rest of the list.
Jad Abumrad
Elizabeth Acevedo
Tomi Adeyemi
Kwame Alexander
Nadeem Aslam
Jane Austen
Natalie Babbitt
Claire Bidwell
Jeff Bogle
A.S. Byatt
Ray Bradbury
Orson Scott Card
Brandi Carlile
Nick Cave
Susannah Clarke
Pat Conroy
Eva DeVirgilis
Joan Didion
Annie Dillard
Marguerite Duras
Ava Duvernay
Jennifer Egan
Bernardine Evaristo
Megan Falley
Jasper Fforde
Hannah Gadbsy
Terry Gross
Yaa Gyasi
PJ Harvey
Zorah Neale Hurston
Samantha Irby
Shirley Jackson
Eleanor Janega
Daisy Johnson
Nalini Jones
Saeed Jones
Stephen King
Jarrett Krosoczka
Guus Kuijer
Mary Lambert
Stiefvater Larsson
Kiese Laymon
Min Jin Lee
Sujata Massey
Jonathan Maberry
Terry McMillan
James McMurtry
Meg Medina
Madeline Miller
Brad Montague
Tamsyn Muir
Casey Neistat
Viet Nguyen
Mary Oliver
Amanda Palmer
John Prine
Philip Pullman
Anna Quindlen
Rick Riordan
Madeleine Roux
Oliver Sacks
David Sedaris
Peng Shepherd
Patricia Smith
Regina Spektor
Megan Stielstra
Donna Tartt
Raina Telgemeier
David Tennant (podcast)
Stephen Tobolowsky
J.R.R Tolkien
Amor Towles
Paul Tremblay
Gail Tsukiyama
Mark Twain
Luis Alberto Urrea
Tom Waits
Jesmyn Ward
Chuck Wendig
E.B. White
Colton Whitehead
Isabel Wilkerson
Don Winslow
Aaron Yavelberg
Jane Yolen
Banana Yoshimoto
Photo credit: Robyn Budlender
