I can't talk abt scifi without talking about short stories! A lot of the genre's history is in anthologies, and a lot of its current action is in online magazines. Check out Caroline Yoachim's We Will Teach You How To Read in Lightspeed

busts down the door I got here as fast as I could

Are you including non-binary people who are femme presenting? If so, I’m nominating Janelle Monáe’s The Memory Librarian. Soooo good. So so good.

Thank you for making this list! Half the books were already ones I've read or plan to read!

Would dystopian also belong here? Like Handmaid’s Tale from Atwood?

I think Louise Erdich’s Future Home of a Living God might fit here.

I think Becky Chambers would fit here as well! Perhaps a Psalm for the Wild Built?

Oooh may I nominate some Lois McMaster Bujold, my love, my life? The Vorkosigan series has so many books but Cordelia's Honor is the chronological starting point I believe. Epic space opera featuring a disabled protagonist with mental illness who is also a military genius. She's been at it since the eighties. Queen 👑🙌

May I suggest Connie Willis? Doomsday Book is probably her best known and most celebrated one, so probably the right pick here, though my personal favorites are To Say Nothing of the Dog and Passage.

I think Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronuat series, starting with The Calculating Stars, would be a great addition here!