21 Woman Authors From the Past 100 Years That Are Better Than JKR

Some dude on Twitter recently bemoaned the "canceling" of the "best woman author in 100 years," referring to J.K. Rowling. I haven't talked much about this publicly, since this is a grief that's been hard for me to deal with--many of my friends are still Harry Potter fans and I still have a nostalgic attachment, but I can't in good conscience continue to support anything that would monetarily benefit Rowling after her hurtful and damaging comments and actions against trans women. That said, this dude's comment is objectively laughable. Harry Potter had a huge influence on my millenial generation for sure, but there are so many women authors of more acclaim in the past 100 years; many of whom are better writers than JKR. So, if you are per chance looking for a list, here you go--and as I suspect, if many of you have some to add, please do so in the comments!

21 Woman Authors From The Past 100 Years That Are Better Than JKR

1. Toni Morrison--Like have you HEARD of Toni Morrison?? Forget best woman author, she was considered the best living American author until her recent passing!
2. Zora Neale Hurston--Ok--I haven't actually read her--But she is commonly regarded as one of the best American authors and routinely taught in schools!
3. Ursula K. Le Guin--I love all of her anthropological sci-fi so much, and her fantasy is no sneeze either! And she wrote about wizarding school first. 
4. Octavia Butler--Dawn is the best, but I love almost all of her work I've ever read (Patternmaster was, um, not a high point), and she could conceptually run circles around anyone, any day. 
5. Charlie Jane Anders--Definitely view her as a present-day heir to Le Guin with City in the Middle of the Night, but also she writes really fun stuff like Victories Greater Than Death--so much intellect AND range AND plenty of crazy plot twists. 
6. N.K. Jemisin--An heir to Butler in some of her writing about human reactions to apocalypse but also totally her own --NOBODY does voice like N.K. Jemisin.
7. Becky Chambers--Her work is so fun but also penetratingly anthropological, and she can do tons of plot or practically no plot and still be amazing.
8. Marge Piercy--SO much range--scifi, histfic, contemporary, and she's not afraid to go hard on the lifesaving importance of feminism. 
9. bell hooks--yes, she wrote nonfiction, but if you want to talk about influential and brilliant women authors of the last 100 years, there is no list that should not include her.
10. Margaret Atwood--Hello?? Commonly considered one of the best living women authors or just, you know, authors, The Handmaid's Tale was incredibly influential, although personally, the MaddAddam trilogy is my fav. 
11. Maggie Stiefvater--You want to talk about someone who can write boarding school plus magic? Stiefvater's Gothic rural Virginia gives me the chills and makes me want to learn tarot. 
12. Kristin Cashore--Epic fantasy with a deep core of compassion--you want to see young adults really dealing with their trauma and making the world a better place? Look no further.
13. T. Kingfisher--I've only read the one book of hers, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, but she had me laughing the whole way.
14. Diana Wynne Jones--Talk about incredibly influential in children's fantasy, going back several decades, from dragons to wizards to inspiring award-winning films like Howl's Moving Castle.
15. Jenn Lyons--I only read the first book of her trilogy, but it's so intricately plotted and beautifully written that she deserves a spot.
16. Rachel Hartman--Although I've read three of her books, I'm adding Hartman on the strength of her most recent book, Tess of the Road, an incredible and much improved fantasy reimagining of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, with so much depth and ache and beautiful writing.
17. Catherynne M. Valente--I've read the Fairyland series, which is entrancing, especially in its use of vocabulary, but she has a deep oeuvre that's well known among fantasy lovers
18. Elizabeth Bear--Similarly, I've only read a few of her deeply plotted fantasy novels, but Bear has a huge following in the fantasy world.
19. Rae Carson--I read the YA Girl of Fire and Thorns series, but talk about fantasy character growth, and the wilds of this universe are way beyond anything HP could imagine.
20. Marie Rutkoski--I love her beautiful writing but she also bravely explores issues of racial and ethnic warfare, conquest, and enslavement, and really grapples with those power dynamics.
21. Kameron Hurley--A deep oeuvre in fantasy and science fiction and faces head-on radical issues of feminism, violence, and revolution in every single work.

P.S. As far as I know, all of the authors I've listed here identify as a woman, but I apologize if that is not the case, and if so, please let me know so I can correct it.