Delilah Waan

Photo looking out from a cave past a waterfall over a lush valley. Text reads: Nine Incredible Women Authors of Epic Fantasy Smaller headshots of authors as follows: Janny Wurts J.V. Jones Sara Douglass Trudi Canavan Kate Forsyth Fonda Lee Tamsyn Muir Helen Lowe Sascha Stronach

Nine incredible women authors of adult epic fantasy whose works have heavily influenced me (and why you should read their books)

Written by

Delilah Waan

This article was originally posted as a Twitter thread and on my Instagram on 9 March 2024 in celebration of International Women’s Day.

As of 2025, I permanently moved over to Bluesky and effective from 17 January 2026, I have deleted all of my Twitter posts due to the changed terms of service.

Some of my most popular threads, such as this one, I have preserved on my website (with minor edits, for accessibility and ease of reading) for posterity.

Fun piece of trivia: this is also the Twitter thread that prompted Janny Wurts to check out my debut fantasy novel, Petition. (Spoilers: she’s a fan! 🤯🤩)

—Delilah.

There are many, many incredible women writing epic fantasy—far more than I could fit in one spotlight—but here’s a shortlist of nine female authors whose adult epic fantasy works have heavily influenced me, and why you should read their books.

(super late for #InternationalWomensDay2024 but it’s still #WomensHistoryMonth2024 so we’re gonna do this anyway!)

1. Janny Wurts

Photo looking out from a cave past a waterfall over a lush valley. Text reads: Janny Wurts Cover image of The Curse of the Mistwraith and author headshot

Brilliant, beautiful prose. Heartwrenching, complex characters. Tight, masterful plotting. Janny Wurts is a GOAT who does it all—including the amazing cover art.

Start with The Curse of the Mistwraith, an 11-volume epic to end all epics, or try one of her standalones: To Ride Hell’s Chasm, Master of Whitestorm, or Sorcerer’s Legacy.

2. J.V. Jones

Photo looking out from a cave past a waterfall over a lush valley. Text reads: J.V. Jones Cover image of A Cavern of Black Ice and author headshot

J.V. Jones writes brutal, dark, character-driven epic fantasy with the best. You like Robin Hobb? You’ll like her stuff.

Get the grimness of The Wall and the looming dread of supernatural harbingers of the apocalypse from George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones in A Cavern of Black Ice.

3. Sara Douglass

Photo looking out from a cave past a waterfall over a lush valley. Text reads: Sara Douglass Cover image of Battleaxe and author headshot

Sara Douglass is an Australian SFF icon. Her 6-book epic, The Wayfarer Redemption, is technically sci-fantasy overall imo but the first three books (known as The Battleaxe Trilogy) read firmly as epic fantasy.

Love the grand tragedy of Beowulf? Begin with Battleaxe!

4. Trudi Canavan

Photo looking out from a cave past a waterfall over a lush valley. Text reads: Trudi Canavan Cover image of The Magician's Guild and author headshot

I devoured Trudi Canavan’s The Black Magician Trilogy in high school, finding echoes of myself in Sonea’s struggles.

Start with The Magician’s Guild, or try the standalone prequel, The Magician’s Apprentice. If you’re a fan, you’ll have the sequel The Traitor Spy Trilogy to keep you going.

Also check out the awesome The Age of the Five trilogy, which is probably my favorite of her works!

5. Kate Forsyth

Photo looking out from a cave past a waterfall over a lush valley. Text reads: Kate Forsyth Cover image of Dragonclaw and author headshot

I attribute the origins of my love of complex characters you can’t clearly label as good or evil to Kate Forsyth’s writing of Maya in The Witches of Eileanan.

Fascinated by Cersei Lannister? Start with Dragonclaw and meet Maya the Ensorcellor through Isabeau’s eyes.

6. Fonda Lee

Photo looking out from a cave past a waterfall over a lush valley. Text reads: Fonda Lee Cover image of Jade City and author headshot

Fonda Lee writes characters who are strong, flawed, and multi-layered, and hard-hitting scenes that linger in your mind.

Start with Jade City—each book gets better and better. Kaul Shaelinsan is 🔥. Also: Kaul Maik Wenruxian has the best arc and I will hear no arguments.

7. Tamsyn Muir

Photo looking out from a cave past a waterfall over a lush valley. Text reads: Tamsyn Muir Cover image of Gideon the Ninth and author headshot

Want insanely imaginative coupled with absolute bloody brilliance and emotional damage?

Read Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth. Scream. Read Harrow the Ninth. Scream. Reread Gideon, then Harrow, then read Nona the Ninth and just keep screaming and rereading The Locked Tomb with me.

8. Helen Lowe

Photo looking out from a cave past a waterfall over a lush valley. Text reads: Helen Lowe Cover image of The Heir of Night and author headshot

Helen Lowe writes heroic epic fantasy and is one of the most underrated sci-fi/fantasy authors of today.

Want A Song of Ice and Fire with its grimness tempered by Tolkienesque prose and wonder? Start with The Heir of Night and immerse yourself in the richness of the world of Haarth.

9. Sascha Stronach

Photo looking out from a cave past a waterfall over a lush valley. Text reads: Sascha Stronach Cover image of The Dawnhounds and author headshot

Sascha Stronach is a trans Māori author whose self-pubbed debut novel WON a Sir Julius Vogel Award.

The Dawnhounds is post-apocalyptic biopunk queer epic urban fantasy that’s unapologetically Kiwi. You’re welcome.

Book 2, The Sunforge, comes out soon and I CANNOT WAIT dials everything way past 11 and is a gloriously weird and messy AF and beautiful stunner of a sequel.

Annnnd hi! I’m Delilah Waan and I write epic fantasy.

Photo looking out from a cave past a waterfall over a lush valley. Text reads: Delilah Waan Cover image of Petition and author headshot

If you want post-magic-school fantasy featuring an angry Asian daughter of impoverished immigrants fighting privileged rich kids in a job hunt tournament, read Petition.

Bonus points if you can spot my influences!

Photo of author Delilah Waan, holding a hardcover copy of her debut novel, Petition

Delilah Waan will forever keep shouting about the incredible women authors of epic fantasy because she is tired of how publishing and the algorithms like to forget they and their works exist.

Follow @delilahwaan.bsky.social for more of her thoughts on books and publishing.