Note: Wow! The response to this piece has just been outstanding. While everyone is talking, I should emphasize that this post was just an one-off list and isn’t anywhere close to complete. I may well -probably have – left off your favorite authors, and any exclusion is entirely accidental on my part. I strongly encourage you to add to this list – to make it more complete – by making your own suggestions in the comments below.
A recent poll shows that eight percent of adult Americans use Twitter, the mini-blogging social media tool that enables members to chat with each other an dshare updates about their life in 140 characters or less. With every passing day It’s increasingly more likely that you’ll see your neighbor, pastor, teacher or grandma Tweeting away from their mobile phones, but they’re not the only ones who have learned to harness the power of this nearly ubiquitous communication tool: many of your favorite writers have too. While Tweeting with your idol may not share the same cache as an elevator ride with Neil Gaiman, Twitter, if used well, can provide fans with the kind of access to their favorite celebrities that a generation prior would have never dreamed possible.
With so many users, learning your way around Twitter can be a bit intimidating. To help get you started, I’ve put together a short list of Sci-Fi, fantasy and horror authors and their Twitter handles. All you need to do is sign up and start following them!
| Last Name | First Name | Twitter Handle |
|---|---|---|
| Aaronovitch | Ben | ben_aaronovitch |
| Adams | John Joseph | johnjosephadams |
| Armstrong | Kelley | @KelleyArmstrong |
| Atwood | Margaret | @MargaretAtwood |
| Barker | Clive | realclivebarker |
| Barron | Laird | lairdbarron |
| Barron | Natania | @NataniaBarron |
| Beamer | Amelia | amelia_beamer |
| Bear | Elizabeth | @matociquala |
| Black | Holly | @hollyblack |
| Black | Jenna | @jennablack |
| Bradley | Darin | darinbradley |
| Brett | Peter V. | @PVBrett |
| Brin | David | davidbrin1 |
| Burton | Bonnie | @bonniegrrl |
| Carriger | Gail | gailcarriger |
| Charlton | Blake | blakecharlton |
| Connolly | Harry | byharryconnolly |
| Crane | Carolyn | @CarolynCrane |
| Doctorow | Cory | doctorow |
| Doyle | Larry | thelarrydoyle |
| Duncan | Hal | hal_duncan |
| Elliott | Kate | @KateElliottSFF |
| Ellis | Warren | warrenellis |
| Enge | James | jamesenge |
| Fingerman | Bob | fingerbo |
| Flewelling | Lynn | @LynnFlewelling |
| Gaiman | Neil | neilhimself |
| Gibson | William | greatdismal |
| Gilman | Felix | felixgilman |
| Gischler | Victor | victorgischler |
| Grahame-Smith | Seth | sethgs |
| Gregory | Daryl | darylwriterguy |
| Grossman | Lev | leverus |
| Gussoff | Caren | @spitkitten |
| Hamilton | Laurell K. | @LKHamilton |
| Hill | Joe | joe_hill |
| Hobson | M.K. | @mkhobson |
| Holmes | Jeannie | @JeannieHolmes |
| Hunt | Stephen | sfcrowsnest |
| Jessup | Paul | pauljessup |
| Kane | Stacia | @StaciaKane |
| Kasai | Kirsten Imani | @KirstenIKasai |
| Kate | Lauren | @laurenkatebooks |
| Keene | Brian | briankeene |
| Kessler | Jackie | @JackieKessler |
| Kiernan | Caitlin R. | auntbeast |
| Kittredge | Caitlin | @caitkitt |
| Kowal | Mary Robinette | maryrobinette |
| Kushner | Ellen | Ellen Kushner |
| Lafferty | Mur | @mightymur |
| Lake | Jay | jay_lake |
| Larke | Rowan | @RowanLarke |
| Liu | Marjorie | @marjoriemliu |
| Long | Ruth F. | @RFLong |
| Mahoney | Karen | @kazmahoney |
| Mamatas | Nick | nmamatas |
| Marmell | Ari | mouseferatu |
| McDermott | J.M. | jmmcdermott |
| McKinley | Robin | robinmckinley |
| Meding | Kelly | @KellyMeding |
| Moon | Elizabeth | @emoontx |
| Mumford | Debbie | @debbie_mumford |
| Murphy | C.E. | @ce_murphy |
| Newton | Mark Charan | markcn |
| Nicholson | Scott | hauntedcomputer |
| Novik | Naomi | @naominovik |
| Peeler | Nicole | @NicolePeeler |
| Priest | Cherie | @cmpriest |
| Reardon | Renee | @ReneeRearden |
| Richardson | Kat | @katrchrdsn |
| Rowland | Diana | @dianarowland |
| Salvatore | R.A. | r_a_salvatore |
| Scalzi | John | @scalzi |
| Scott | Michael | flamelauthor |
| Sigler | Scott | scottsigler |
| Snyder | Lucy A. | @LucyASnyder |
| Sterling | Bruce | bruces |
| Teppo | Mark | markteppo |
| Tidhar | Lavie | lavietidhar |
| Tripp | Ben W. | benwtripp |
| Valente | Catherynne | @catvalente |
| VanderMeer | Jeff | jeffvandermeer |
| Wells | Jaye | @jayewells |
| Williams | David J. | davidjawilliams |
| Woods | Madison | @Madison_Woods |
| Yu | Charles | charles_yu |
Another few SF and Fantasy authors of my acquaintance and their handles on upon ye olde Twitter:
Tim Akers: @TimAkers
Peter V Brett: @PVBrett
CJ Cherryh: @CJCherryh
Merrie Destefano: @MerrieDestefano
Michael Stackpole: @MikeStackpole
Sam Sykes: @SamSykesSwears
Excellent additions! I’d love it if some of our other readers could share their own. Thanks for starting things off!
David Weber: @davidweber1
Dave McKean: @DaveMcKean
Sarah Rees Brennan: @sarahreesbrenna
Here are some more:
Orson Scott Card: @orsonscottcard
Terry Goodkind: @terrygoodkind
Paolo Bacigalupi: @paolobacigalupi
Brent Weeks: @brentweeks
Kevin J Anderson: @TheKJA
Brandon Sanderson: @BrandonSandrson
I recommend adding Brandon Sanderson to the list: https://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson
Hopefully I’ll be on that list next year.
Matt Stover = @MWStover
Naomi Novik = @naominovik
Jasper Fforde = @jasperfforde
Jim Butcher = @longshotauthor
F. Paul Wilson = @fpaulwilson
Scott Lynch = @scottlynch78
Only one to add.
Wells, Dan: @johncleaver
A few more:
Lauren Beukes: @laurenbeukes
Stephanie Burgis: @stephanieburgis
Jenn Reese: @jennreese
Patrick Samphire: @psamphire
Ken Scholes: @kenscholes
@brightweavings for Guy G. Kay
Thanks for the mention and the handle list!
Scott Nicholson
Hauntedcomputer
N.K. Jemisin @nkjemisin
Michelle Sagara (also writes as Michelle West) @msagara
Nalo Hopkinson @nalohopkinson
Tobias Buckell @tobiasbuckell
David B Coe @DavidBCoe
Nnedi Okorafor @Nnedi
Tricia Sullivan @trishsullivan68
Robert J Sawyer @RobertJSawyer