In Brazil, the poet’s day is celebrated on October 20th. The commemoration was created in 1976 by the Brazilian journalist, novelist, lawyer, and artist Paulo Menotti Del Picchia.
Literature has always been present in society and many writers have become known for their poems, novels, short stories, and all kinds of works. But it also has always been renovated with time, and new authors have appeared with great, innovative works.
The contemporary authors range from the novels and stories of Dan Brown, Gillian Flynn, Rick Riordan, Colleen Hoover, to remembering poets such as Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Cecilia Meireles and Fernando Pessoa, as well as encompassing to the new phenomenon of today: Instapoetry.
So, check out 10 successful contemporary writers to know, read and follow.
- Courtney Peppernell
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Courtney is a best-selling Australian author and has over 130k followers at Instagram. She began writing when she was young and her career as a formal writer was launched in 2015. Her work focuses on novels for young adults and poetry collections about love, grief, identity, and many contemporary themes.
Her first poetry collection Pillow Thoughts was released in 2016. Today, that collection has four books and many readers and lovers. She also written other books of prose and poetry: I Hope You Stay (2020), The Road Between (2017), alongside other best-sellers.
- Ryane Leão
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Born in 1988, Ryane started to write and publish her prose on the Internet when she was a teenager. Black woman, poet, teacher, and content creator, she has acted even with street art. Nowadays, she has more than 500 thousand followers in Instagram and has become a success in Brazilian contemporary literature.
She has already sold thousands of copies of her books: Tudo nela brilha e queima (2017) and Jamais peço desculpas por me derramar (2019). In short and emotional poems, Ryane brings diverse reflections when approaching topics like overcoming, resistance, prejudice, and women’s empowerment. She has the same intensity and sensitivity when dealing with feelings, pain and loss that afflict the heart.
- Svetlana Alexievich
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In her novels, the focus is primarily on the former Soviet Union and its conflicts. The Belarusian journalist and writer received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2015 in recognition of her documentary work. Her best-known books are War Does Not Have a Woman’s Face (1985) and Voices from Chernobyl (1997).
Based on observation and a spectacular narrative, her books portray conflicts as they are and the consequences in people’s lives. From the reality and testimonies of Soviet women who survived World War II and its unfolding, Svetlana goes back to the horrors of the period and gathers the voices in her moving works.
- Rupi Kaur
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28-year-old Indian poet, artist, and performer. Her books have sold over 8 million copies and have been translated into more than 40 languages. Kaur’s poetry is simple and objective, but full of important meanings generates reflections about love, loss, different traumas, femininity, and identity.
She wrote, illustrated, and published her first book Milk and Honey in 2014, and soon after, in 2017, came The Sun and Her Flowers, touching once again the readers. Nowadays, she is also successful in Instagram, garnering more than 4 million followers.
- João Doederlein (@akapoeta)
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João is from Brasilia and has more than 1 million followers at Instagram, where he posts his touching texts and poems. He started to write at the age of 11, and, at 15, he began publishing his texts on the Internet. But it was at 19 years that he became famous for his resigned and poems with themes – and words – ranging from love, pain and passion to astrology, nature, and various dreams.
His first book, O livro dos ressignificados (2017), was a best-seller. Soon after he released Coração-Granada (2018) with verses and poems about the feelings, soul, and heart. O invisível aos olhos (2019), brings forth writings about love, inspired by the classic The Little Prince (1943), by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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Born in 1977, the Nigerian writer has had her works translated into more than 30 languages, successes all over the world. Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003), was nominated for major awards, but it was with Half Off a Yellow Sun (2008) that Chimamanda was awarded and, in view of the success, got the novel adapted into a movie. She later on published the short story book The Thing around Your Neck (2009) and Americanah (2013), which involves themes of immigration, inequality, and family relations.
Her speeches The Danger of a Single Story (2012) and We Should All Be Feminists, in 2012, are also recognize broadly, adding up to millions of views across platforms.
- Pedro Salomão
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Writer, singer, and hospital clown who makes success on the net with his texts and songs. In his first book, Eu tenho sérios poemas mentais (2018), the author’s feelings, thoughts and reflections have been transformed into exciting poems and texts that warm the hearts of all who read. Se você me entende, por favor me explica (2020) is Salomão’s most recent book and dialogues about personal transitions, freedom and love in a way that is hits close to the reader.
- Amanda Lovelace
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Starting to write at incredibly young age, Amanda Lovelace, today, has more than ninety-two thousand followers in Instagram. With sensitive and remarkable poetry, the poet approaches topics ranging from love to empowerment, taking up her own life stories and the reality of so many women.
Her best-known work is the three-volume series in which women have a kind of magic to discuss the difficulties that society imposes on women. The first book The princess saves herself on this one (2016) is more autobiographical and reflects the possibility of writing our own happy endings. The sequences are The witch doesn’t burn in this one (2018) and The mermaid’s voice returns on this one (2019).
- Elena Ferrante
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The identity of the Italian novelist is a mystery since the release of her first book. Under the pseudonym Elena Ferrante, the author has been listed as one of the 100 most influential people of the year in 2016, according to American magazine Time. Her works have international acclaim and have been translated into over 40 languages, giving rise to film productions.
Her most famous works include Neapolitan Novels, a series about the story of two friends in Naples. The writer escapes from the beautiful representation of the city and uses the suburbs and reality as the setting for her books. My Brilliant Friend (2012) is the first in the collection and other titles such as The Lost Daughter (2006), An Uncomfortable Love (1992) and The Lying Life of Adults (2019), which are also popular.
- Kazuo Ishiguro
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Nobel Prize winner in literature in 2017, he is the author of seven books – which have been translated into several languages and some of them counting on cinematographic adaptations and awards.
Kazuo is Japanese, but moved to England early in life. In his works, he uses moments of history as scenery and context to build the electrifying, ironic and reflective narratives. His first book was A Pale View of the Mountains (1982) and some like When We Were Orphans (2000) and Never Abandon Me (2005) are remarkably successful.
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The article above was edited by Isabella Gemignani.
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