What started for the iconic magazine as a celebration of the world’s most influential people affecting major global challenges, from climate to public health to democracy to equality, has expanded to something even bigger. The Time100 list now represents innovators, titans, leaders, artists and trendsetters. The literary world is represented once again this year on the newly revealed 2023 TIME100 list of the most influential people in the world.
TIME has been running its 100 Most Influential People list for 20 years. Each year, they select 100 individuals who are setting an example and transforming the world with their ideas, talents and discoveries. Last year, writers Sally Rooney (Normal People), Michelle Zauner (Crying in H Mart), and Elizabeth Alexander (The Trayvon Generation), among other journalists and playwrights, were recognized.
The 2023 list includes Colleen Hoover, whose books have literally monopolized the bestseller listings; Neil Gaiman, described as “bringing dreamscapes to life”; Salman Rushdie, the novelist with “a defiance and a determination not to be silenced”; and Judy Blume, for her groundbreaking young adult fiction and coming of age tales. Among the 100 names are several other people in the writing world, including playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, librarian Tracie D. Hall, and numerous journalists.
Judy Blume is known for her books for children and young adult readers that deal with taboo topics of adolescence like puberty, sex, and growing up. She is the award-winning author of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., which has been adapted for the big screen and will release later this month. She is also known for other books, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge, among others, and for the awkward, funny and realistic characters that star in them.
Actress Molly Ringwald says of Judy Blume, “Her books have been banned many times in various places over the years, since there are always people for whom the thought of an empowered young woman’s autonomy over her mind and body is objectionable. But good books will find their way into kids’ hands, and I’m so grateful they found mine.”
Neil Gaiman is a storyteller, focused on bringing the fantastical and occult into the real world. “The way he writes makes you feel like you’re being let in on a massive secret. His worlds are hidden, shrouded in mystery, yet they’re never that far removed from ours,” says James McAvoy, the actor who recently starred in the television adaptation of Gaiman’s The Sandman.
Gaiman has tackled writing across various mediums, including novels, biographies, graphic novels, screenwriting, and audio. His popular novels Good Omens, Coraline and American Gods have practically become modern classics and their screen adaptations are highly praised.
Salman Rushdie has spent a lot of time in the headlines, for the recent attack on his life this year. The Indian-born British-American novelist is best known for his 1988 book The Satanic Verses, which was widely banned and ignited a number of protests. A fatwa was issued calling for the death of Rushdie, leading him to seek refuge and live under protection for nearly a decade. In 2022, he planned to speak at a conference about the United States as a safe haven for exiled writers, when he was attacked.
Salman Rushdie has remained a prominent figure in the literary world, as book bans continue and freedom of speech is called into question. Bono, lead singer of the band U2, spoke highly of the author: “Salman’s continued creativity has become a different expression of that same liberation, a defiance and a determination not to be silenced.”
Colleen Hoover is a name everybody knows these days. Her romance novels have soared to fame with the help of BookTok, have made it to the NYT bestseller list, and have sold millions of copies worldwide. “She has motivated an entire generation of readers back to bookstores and libraries,” says Jenna Bush Hager of NBC’s Today with Hoda & Jenna and founder of Read with Jenna. Originally self-published, Colleen Hoover has since been contracted to release six books with three different publishers by 2028.
Hoover’s most popular novels, It Ends with Us and It Starts with Us, tackle complex themes of domestic violence and relationship violence. But, she’s written everything from contemporary romance to thrillers, to ghost stories, to young adult novels.
Read the article on TIME’s website.
Photo Credit: Mamadi Doumbouya, Saul Martinez/The New York Times, Jake Dockins and Time Magazine
