I’ve really missed doing Friday Favorites, and since no one was currently hosting it, Cait @ Functionally Fictional decided to jump into the gap. Each week, she provides a prompt, and I get to talk about my favorite books that fit the topic. Feel free to join in – the more the merrier!

While this week’s prompt was originally Asian-American authors, I’m putting my own spin on it, and expanding this into authors of Asian descent. Because I’ve found some truly incredible authors, and since not all of them are Asian-American, I feel like I’d be doing you (and them) an injustice by leaving them off the list. So here are some of my favorites:

1. Amy Tan — the first book I remember reading by an Asian author was The Joy Luck Club. So I couldn’t possibly leave her off the list, as a woman who was groundbreaking at placing Asian female authors into the spotlight at a time when incorporating diversity was not much of a priority.
2. Fonda Lee — reading Jade City was an incredible experience, combining the family and gang aspects of The Godfather with mind-blowing martial arts sequences in a stunningly created, Asian-inspired world.
3. R.F. Kuang — The Poppy War took the historical events of WWII in China and incorporated fantasy elements and packing a powerful emotional punch, placing her on my radar, and then cementing her place in my list of favorite authors with her scathing look at colonialism and racism in Babel.
4. Shelley Parker-Chan — their debut novel was a historical fantasy about a girl in ancient China who poses as her brother to take his destiny to greatness after his death, and it was outstanding. I can’t wait for the next one!
5. Tasha Suri — I swear, anything she touches is gold, from The Jasmine Throne, a sapphic, Indian-inspired fantasy to a classic that I’d never normally touch (Wuthering Heights).
6. Alka Joshi — the author of The Henna Artist, she has managed to build an incredible cast of characters in this gorgeous historical fiction series in 1950s Jaipur and further on through India in later years.
7. June Hur — her historical mysteries are absolutely incredible, and I always love seeing historical Joseon and the strong female characters that she writes, like in The Silence of Bones.
8. Qian Julie Wang — the amazing memoir of her life, Beautiful Country, was so beautifully written and incredibly moving.
9. Celeste Ng — I’ve read quite a few of her books, and they’re always wonderful. I especially loved Little Fires Everywhere, and how the mystery slowly unfolds amidst family drama and all the little tension that occurs in a small town.
10. Vivien Chien — she writes the cutest cozy mysteries, starting with Death by Dumpling.

Who are some of your favorite Asian authors?