Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy which places imaginary and unreal elements in an approximation of a contemporary urban setting. The combination provides the writer with quixotic plot-drivers, unusual character traits, and a platform for classic fantasy tropes, without demanding the creation of an entirely-imagined world. Although precursors of urban fantasy date back to the 19th century, the term dates back to the 1970s. The current popularity began in the 1980s, with writers encouraged by the success of Stephen King and Anne Rice.
Holly Black is an American writer and editor best known for her children's and young adult fiction. Her most recent work is the New York Times bestselling young adult Folk of the Air series. She is also well known for The Spiderwick Chronicles, a series of children's fantasy books she created with writer and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi, and her debut trilogy of young adult novels officially called the Modern Faerie Tales. Black has won an Eisner Award, a Lodestar Award, a Award, a Nebula Award, and a Newbery honor.
Martha Elizabeth "Libba" Bray is an American writer of young adult novels including the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, Going Bovine, and The Diviners.
Cynthia Leitich Smith is a New York Times best-selling author of fiction for children and young adults. A member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, she writes fiction for children centered on the lives of modern-day Native Americans. These books are taught widely by teachers in elementary, middle school, high school, and college classrooms. In addition, Smith writes fanciful, humorous picture books and gothic fantasies for ages 14-up. Regarded as an expert in children's-YA literature by the press, she also hosts a website for Children's Literature Resources. Smith is a current faculty member at Vermont College of Fine Arts, teaching in the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program. She was named the inaugural Katherine Paterson Chair in 2020. In addition, she was the winner of the 2021 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature.
Justine Larbalestier is an Australian writer of young adult fiction best known for her 2009 novel, Liar.
Into the Wild is a fantasy novel about the lives of fictional cats, written by a team of authors using the pseudonym Erin Hunter. The novel was published by HarperCollins in Canada and the United States in January 2003, and in the United Kingdom in February 2003. It is the first novel in the Warriors series. The book has been published in paperback, and e-book formats in twenty different languages. The story is about a young domestic cat named Rusty who leaves his human owners to join a group of forest-dwelling feral cats called ThunderClan, adopting a new name: Firepaw. He is trained to defend and hunt for the clan, becomes embroiled in a murder and betrayal within the clan, and, at the end of the book, receives his warrior name, Fireheart, after a battle with another clan. He must face the evil Tigerclaw. The novel is written from the perspective of Fireheart.
Judith Lewis, better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.
Sarah Rees Brennan is an Irish writer best known for young adult fantasy fiction. Her first novel, The Demon's Lexicon, was released June 2009 by Simon & Schuster. Rees Brennan's books are bestsellers in the UK.
The Mortal Instruments is a series of six young adult fantasy novels written by American author Cassandra Clare, the last of which was published on May 27, 2014. The Mortal Instruments is chronologically the third series of a planned five in The Shadowhunter Chronicles but was the first one published. It follows Clarissa Fray, who interacts with a group of Nephilim known as Shadowhunters while also discovering her own heritage and her family history. The Shadowhunters protect the world of mundane/human people, who are also called mundanes or "mundies", from dark forces beyond their world. The book series falls under the young adult genre, specifically that of the paranormal romance/urban fantasy and supernatural genres.
How to Ditch Your Fairy is a young adult novel by Justine Larbalestier. It was published in 2008 by Bloomsbury.
Untamed City: Carnival of Secrets, formerly published as Carnival of Souls is a young adult fantasy novel by author Melissa Marr. It was published by HarperTeen, a division of HarperCollins, in September 2012. Marr has stated that there will be at least one sequel to the book.
The Bane Chronicles is a series of connected novellas featuring the character of Magnus Bane from Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series. The novellas are co-written by Clare, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Rees Brennan. Release of the novellas began in April 2013 in e-book and audio versions, and were released in a combined print edition in November 2014. The Bane Chronicles has appeared on the New York Times Bestsellers list for Children's Books a number of times beginning in July 2013.
J. T. Ellison is a New York Times bestselling American author. She writes domestic noir and psychological thrillers, the latter starring Nashville Homicide Lt. Taylor Jackson and medical examiner Dr. Samantha Owens. She also pens the "A Brit in the FBI" series with #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter. With over a million books in print, Ellison's work has been published in twenty-eight countries and sixteen languages. She is also the co-host of the Emmy Award-winning television series, A Word on Words, which airs on Nashville Public Television. Ellison is also the founder of Two Tales Press, an independent publishing house, and The Wine Vixen, a wine review website. She lives with her husband in Nashville, Tennessee.
Etiquette & Espionage is a young adult steampunk novel by Gail Carriger. It is her first young adult novel, and is set in the same universe as her bestselling Parasol Protectorate adult series.
The Shadowhunter Chronicles is a media franchise based on the writings of American young adult fiction writer Cassandra Clare, which currently encompasses six series of novels, three short-story collections, five graphic novels, one film, a television series, and other media.
Sherry M. Thomas is an American novelist of young adult fantasy, historical romance, and contemporary romance. She has won multiple awards including the Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Historical Romance for Not Quite a Husband in 2010 and His at Night in 2011. Most best-of-romance lists include one of her titles.
Owen Laukkanen is a Canadian mystery writer, the creator of the Stevens and Windermere series. His first novel, The Professionals, was a finalist for the Anthony Award for Best First Novel at Bouchercon 2013, the annual World Mystery Convention. It was also listed as one of the top 100 novels of 2012 by Kirkus Reviews. Laukkanen lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Anna-Marie McLemore is a Mexican-American author of young adult fiction magical realism, best known for their Stonewall Honor-winning novel When the Moon Was Ours, Wild Beauty, and The Weight of Feathers.
Anica Mrose Rissi is an American author of children's books and young adult novels. Her first book, Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2015. Her nonfiction pieces have been published by the New York Times and The Writer magazine.
Blackout is a young adult novel written by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon. The book follows six interlinked stories about Black teen love during a power outage in New York City. The book was released on June 22, 2021.
