I find myself picking up a lot of books with writers for heroines. The role is something an author is intimately familiar with--write what you know, am I right?--and it's been fun to read these authors' takes on the writer as a character. I enjoy reading about the "writing life" as well--are these characters broke but get to work only 4 hours each day? Are they successful and rich? Writer's block is a common plot point! These stories are great for escapist reading.
I am focusing on women writers for this list because I read so much in the "strong female protagonist" genre, but there's no dearth of novels about writers who are men. I had a hard time narrowing my list down to these 15 novels as it was. Some authors have written several books with different types of writers as their protagonists. Sorry, Elin Hilderband and Emily Henry, I must limit you to one!
This list is a mix of literary fiction, mystery, romance, and women's fiction.
Lady Oracle
Atwood, Margaret, 1939-
FICTION Atwood, Margaret
Joan Foster is a woman with numerous identities and a talent for shedding them at will. She has written trashy gothic romances, had affairs with a Polish count and an absurd avant-garde artist, and played at being a politically engaged partner to her activist husband. After a volume of her poetry becomes an unexpected literary sensation, her new fame attracts a blackmailer threatening to reveal her secrets. Joan’s response is to fake her own death and flee to a hill town in Italy. Studded with hair-raising comic escapades and piercing psychological insights, Lady Oracle is both hilarious and profound. -- www.penguinrandomhouse.com
The perfect couple
Hilderbrand, Elin, author.
FICTION Hilderbrand, Elin
It's Nantucket wedding season, also known as summer-the sight of a bride racing down Main Street is as common as the sun setting at Madaket Beach. The Otis-Winbury wedding promises to be an event to remember: the groom's wealthy parents have spared no expense to host a lavish ceremony at their oceanfront estate. But it's going to be memorable for all the wrong reasons after tragedy strikes: a body is discovered in Nantucket Harbor just hours before the ceremony-and everyone in the wedding party is suddenly a suspect. As Chief of Police Ed Kapenash interviews the bride, the groom, the groom's famous mystery-novelist mother, and even a member of his own family, he discovers that every wedding is a minefield-and no couple is perfect.
Reproduction : a novel
Hall, Louisa, 1982- author.
FICTION Hall Louisa
"A novelist attempts to write a book about Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, a mother and artist whose harrowing pregnancies reveal the cost of human reproduction. Soon, however, the novelist's own painful experiences of pregnancy and childbirth, as well as her increasing awareness of larger threats from climate change to pandemic, force her to give up on the book and turn instead to writing a contemporary Frankenstein, based on the story of an old friend who mysteriously reappears in her life"--
In a dark, dark wood
Ware, Ruth.
FICTION Ware Ruth
"What should be a cozy and fun-filled weekend deep in the English countryside takes a sinister turn in Ruth Ware's suspenseful, compulsive, and darkly twisted psychological thriller. Leonora, known to some as Lee and others as Nora, is a reclusive crime writer, unwilling to leave her "nest" of an apartment unless it is absolutely necessary. When a friend she hasn't seen or spoken to in years unexpectedly invites Nora (Lee?) to a weekend away in an eerie glass house deep in the English countryside, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. Forty-eight hours later, she wakes up in a hospital bed injured but alive, with the knowledge that someone is dead. Wondering not "what happened?" but "what have I done?", Nora (Lee?) tries to piece together the events of the past weekend. Working to uncover secrets, reveal motives, and find answers, Nora (Lee?) must revisit parts of herself that she would much rather leave buried where they belong: in the past. In the tradition of Paula Hawkins's instant New York Times bestseller The Girl On the Train and S. J. Watson's riveting national sensation Before I Go To Sleep, this gripping literary debut from UK novelist Ruth Ware will leave you on the edge of your seat through the very last page"--
Murder in the margins
Loudon, Margaret, author.
MYSTERY Loudon Margaret
Hit with a bad case of writer's block, American gothic author Penelope Parish heads to England where she, while working in a bookstore, gets embroiled in a murder investigation that leads to new friendships and new tricks to help her finish her novel.
To tell you the truth : a novel
Macmillan, Gilly, author.
FICTION Macmilla Gilly
Bestselling mystery writer Lucy Harper has fame, fortune, an army of adoring readers-- and her fawning husband Dan. When Dan goes missing, it evokes dark memories that take Lucy back thirty years to the day her brother vanished without a trace. The police investigation revealed few confirmed details-- and young Lucy was the only witness. As Lucy's past and present collide, is she revealing all she knows-- about both disappearances? -- adapted from jacket
Finlay Donovan is killing it
Cosimano, Elle, author.
MYSTERY Cosimano Elle
"Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano's adult debut Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a witty, fast-paced mystery series, following struggling suspense novelist and single mom Finlay Donovan, whose fiction treads dangerously close to the truth as she becomes tangled in real-life murder investigations. Finlay Donovan is killing it... except, she's really not. She's a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay's life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn't written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors. When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she's mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet... Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation. Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and wholeheartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moments, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from award-winning author Elle Cosimano."--
Book lovers
Henry, Emily, author.
FICTION Henry Emily
"A by-the-book literary agent must decide if happily ever after is worth changing her whole life for in this insightful, delightful new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation. Nora Stephens' life is books--she's read them all--and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby. Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters' trip away--with visions of a small town transformation for Nora who she's convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they've met many times and it's never been cute. If Nora knows she's not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he's nobody's hero, but as they are thrown together again and again--in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow--what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they've written about themselves"--
Nora goes off script
Monaghan, Annabel, author.
FICTION Monaghan Annabel
"Evvie Drake Starts Over meets Beach Read in this heartwarming and hilarious novel about a divorced romance channel screenwriter whose script about her marriage's collapse just might help her reclaim her life and find love." --
Romantic comedy : a novel
Sittenfeld, Curtis, author.
FICTION Sittenfe Curtis
"Sally Milz is a sketch writer for The Night Owls, the late night live comedy show that airs each Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she's long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life. But when Sally's friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actress who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show-and in society at large-who've gotten romantically involved with incredibly beautiful and accomplished women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch called the Danny Horst Rule, poking fun at this phenomenon while underscoring how unlikely it is that the reverse would ever happen for a woman. Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week's show. Dazzled by his charms, Sally hits it off with Noah instantly, and as they collaborate on one sketch after another, she begins to wonder if there might actually be sparks flying. But this isn't a romantic comedy-it's real life. And in real life, someone like him would never date someone like her . . . right?"--
Just haven't met you yet
Cousens, Sophie, author.
FICTION Cousens Sophie
Lifestyle reporter Laura's business trip to the Channel Islands isn't exactly off to a great start: she arrives at her hotel only to realize she's grabbed the wrong suitcase from the airport. Her only consolation? The irresistibly appealing contents of the case: a copy of her favorite book; piano music; and a rugged, heavy knit fisherman sweater. She's sure the owner of this suitcase is her dream man-- she just has to find him. Laura commissions surly cab driver Ted to ferry her around in hopes of tracking down the mystery suitcase owner. She may have to rethink her whole outlook on love to discover what she really wants. -- adapted from back cover
Talk bookish to me
Bromley, Kate, author.
FICTION Bromley, Kate
Kara Sullivan's life is full of love--albeit fictional. As a bestselling romance novelist and influential bookstagrammer, she's fine with getting her happily-ever-after fix between the covers of a book. But right now? Not only is Kara's best friend getting married next week--which means big wedding stress--but the deadline for her next novel is looming, and she hasn't written a single word. The last thing she needs is for her infuriating first love, Ryan Thompson, to suddenly appear in the wedding party. But Ryan's unexpected arrival sparks a creative awakening in Kara that inspires the steamy historical romance she desperately needs to deliver. With her wedding duties intensifying, her deadline getting closer by the second and her bills not paying themselves, Kara knows there's only one way for her to finish her book and to give her characters the ever-after they deserve. But can she embrace the unlikely, ruggedly handsome muse--who pushes every one of her buttons--to save the wedding, her career and, just maybe, write her own happy ending?--
The book proposal
Micciche, K. J., author.
FICTION Micciche K
Broke up with, broke, and with a vicious case of writer's block, romance writer Gracie Landing is a hot mess. She can hardly be blamed for drinking one (or a few) too many cocktails when out with her besties in an attempt to cheer herself up. Sometime in the foggy wee hours, she recklessly emails her unrequited high-school crush, Colin Yarmouth, who is now a successful attorney harboring regrets of his own.
The matzah ball
Meltzer, Jean, author.
FICTION Meltzer Jean
For a decade Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt has hidden her career as a Christmas romance novelist from her family. Her talent has made her a bestseller even as her chronic illness has always kept the kind of love she writes about out of reach. When her diversity-conscious publisher insists she write a Hanukkah romance, her well of inspiration runs dry. Rachel is determined to find her muse at the Matzah Ball, a Jewish music celebration on the last night of Hanukkah, even if it means working with her summer camp archenemy-- Jacob Greenberg. Their grudge still glows brighter than a menorah, but as they spend time together Rachel finds herself drawn to Hanukkah-- and Jacob.-- adapted from jacket