Vampires and Wizards and Murder, Oh My!

By Candy

Perhaps the most controversial category of all in our Most Influential Women poll is Most Influential Fiction Author. You might not think so at first; after all, those tween stars can cause quite a stir among their fans. But think about it — vampires, wizards, murderous children, teen drama, steamy love stories… How can any one person possibly figure out which of these hot topics has had the most influence over pop culture!?

JK Rowling: Did you or did you not grow up under the spell of all things Harry Potter? Dressing up to go to the movies, waiting in huge lines to buy the books on the night they were released, pretending your pencil is a wand (wait, am I the only one who did that?)… You can’t tell me JK Rowling’s literary genius never affected your life.

Stephanie Meyer: Whether you’re now obsessed with vampires or resent the day the Twilight books were ever written, Mrs. Meyer single-handedly started the vampire craze.

Jodi Picoult: The go-to gal for heart-wrenching fiction. In every Barnes & Noble, down every Target book aisle and on almost every girl’s bookshelf is a copy of at least one Jodi Picoult novel.

Judy Blume: Ummm…can we just talk about Forever for a minute? I remember passing that book around like contraband among my friends in the fifth grade. I’m pretty sure that’s how we all learned about the sexier side of the birds and bees. All of Judy Blume’s books have been teen staples since…well, basically forever.

Suzanne Collins: For those who sought a departure from the innocence of Harry Potter and the epic love story of Twilight, The Hunger Games was a dream come true. Dark, gritty and still bearing a love story all its own, Suzanne Collins started a cult with her grim book series.