I made this list mainly to collect stories similar to what Le Guin and McKillip wrote. Their books aren't gargantuan tomes, but they always leave me with vivid imagery and a magical feeling. I also enjoy books that include inspirations from mythology and folklore, and the writing conveying a sense of information being passed down in oral tradition.

The problem is, there is a lot of fantasy written by white people with inspiration from things like Celtic or Norse myth or Arthurian legend.

I've tried to include some books from BIPOC authors that I think fit with either the writing style or mythical or folklore inspiration, namely El-Mohtar, Vo, and Patel. I also included Moreno-Garcia and Wilson, since I think their style of description and myth or folklore inspirations fit, while the speaking passages are definitely current/modern language.

If you have any suggestions from BIPOC authors, I would love to check them out! Thanks for looking 💖

Very cool list! I think Vaishnavi Patel’s books definitely belong here. Probably also Circe by Madeline Miller and The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi.

loooveee fantasy and folklore!! not sure how well this could fit into this list but the Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow has a ton of folklore, legends, nursery rhymes, and more in each chapter!!

Awesome list! Call me very much enchanted xD

Love this one! Thank you for sharing, friend! 💕

T. Kingfisher, Robin McKinney, Rosamund Hodge, and Naomi Novik all write fantasy based on fairy tales! 😊