I started my career as a librarian, and while I’ve been working as an editor now for longer than I worked as a librarian, the things I learned while working in the library have informed so much of my career and life. I published my first book while working in libraries, and it was a book written for librarians. But when I stepped out from behind the reference desk, it was my experience and depth of knowledge of the books that did–and did not–exist that helped me think about the kinds of books I wanted to write for teens in the future. My three anthologies, Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World, (Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation about Mental Health, and Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy, were all published when I was out of libraries. All three were deeply informed by that library work, though.
I’m far from alone. While the average reader may be surprised to learn that some of their favorite authors were or are librarians, for most librarians or former librarians, this dual career/hobby path makes sense. Many librarians spend their days working with books, whether they love to read or help patrons discover the resources they need to live their lives. That engagement with books is ripe for inspiration.
Task #15 of the 2026 Read Harder Challenge is to read a book by a librarian, and you’re in luck, no matter what your preferred category or genre of reading may be. Let’s take a look at several authors who are also librarians, many of whom have written several books. I’ve highlighted just one title for each, but know their catalogs may have you reading for weeks. There’s fiction and nonfiction, as well as books for adults and young readers, across a range of genres, formats, and styles. This list features only librarian-authors who are still alive; there are so many additional librarian-authors if you want to go back in time, too, including Beverly Cleary.
Librarians are rad. So, too, are the books that they’re writing.
Hearts on Hold by Charish Reid
If you’re looking for a sexy librarian romance, then you’ve come to the right place. Professor Victoria Reese knows it’ll be hard work to convince her colleagues at the elite university where she works to build a partnership with the local public library. The good news is that the children’s librarian at the library is not only all-in on the partnership, but he’s also pretty easy on Professor Reese’s eyes. There’s definitely chemistry between them, and there’s also a heck of a lot of flirting, thanks to a late fee for a steamy romance novel on the Professor’s record.
Read Woke Books by Cicely Lewis
Immediately after noting that I would be highlighting just a single title from each librarian-author, I’m breaking my own parameters. That’s because Cecely Lewis is the founder and author behind “Read Woke Books,” a series of nonfiction works for upper elementary and middle school readers that explore American history. Among the titles she’s published are The Real History of the White House, Focus On: Civil Rights Sit-Ins, Resistance to Slavery: From Escape to Everyday Rebellion, and Mass Incarceration, Black Men, and the Fight for Justice. Any or all of these would make for great reading, whether or not you’re the target readership–they’re texts intended to expand our understanding of the fullness of American history.
Want more from Lewis? Then you’ll want to share her emerging reader series, also part of the Read Woke franchise, with your youngest readers, “Hair Magic.” Start with Imani Finds the Right Notes.
Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare
This Rita Award-winning novel is the first in Dare’s “Castles Ever After” series. Romancing the Duke follows 26-year-old Isolde, who grew up as the daughter of an author who spun tales of knights and maidens. Isolde believed in those fairytales, including the idea she’d find her own happily ever after, too.
But as she grew up, Isolde’s dream of romantic love felt ever more distant from her reality. She’s feeling incredible financial strain, not to mention she’s never been kissed (gasp!).
But just as it seems there is no Happily Ever After awaiting Isolde, her prince arrives. Whether you’re new to romance looking for a way in or you’re a long-time fan, this steamy enemies-to-lovers regency read is a romp.
Radiant by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
It’s 1963, and fifth grader Cooper Dale is worried about what this school year is going to look like. She’s never struggled, but now, she’s got a strict teacher, and she’s dealing with bullying from a white boy named Wade Carter. His family is wealthy, and Cooper’s mother is his family’s housekeeper.
A big, bright light in her life? Spending time with her older sister enjoying the music of The Beatles.
Nelson’s an award-winning author, and this middle grade historical verse novel explores race, faith, and class through an era of significant social, cultural, and political change.
That Librarian by Amanda Jones
While not all librarian-authors write books about libraries, several do. That makes sense: when you’re an expert at something, a story, whether fictional or not, has far more nuance and context because of that lived experience.
Enter Amanda Jones.
When Jones stood up at her local public library to argue against the board’s proposed book ban, she found herself thrust into the spotlight. Her story is about becoming an advocate for access to literature, as well as the highs and lows of being known nationwide for speaking out against censorship.
As a bonus, Jones had the opportunity to add even more to her story in the paperback edition of her book, which was released last fall.
These Ghosts Are Family by Maisy Card
Readers who love intergenerational stories of families with complex histories will find much to love in Card’s debut novel, set between colonial Jamaica and present-day Harlem.
Stanford Solomon is near the end of his life, and he’s finally sharing a secret that he’s kept for over 30 years. He faked his own death, and in doing so, he stole the identity of his best friend, Abel Paisley. The book then follows the history of the Paisley family, including how and where Abel meets his first daughter, who has no idea she’ll be showing up at her job as a healthcare aide to help the father she’d never met before, because she thought he was dead.
This is a book about identity and the ghosts people wrestle with as they understand themselves, their trauma, and their place in time. If you liked Homegoing, this should be on your TBR.
Wake Now in the Fire by Jarrett Dapier and illustrated by AJ Dungo
In 2013, Chicago Public Schools banned Persepolis. It became clear pretty quickly that many within the district had no idea why the graphic novel became a target, nor why it was removed.
This graphic novel tells the story of the book’s removal from CPS, centering the voices, perspectives, and advocacy of students in the district who uncovered what was happening and why. Author Dapier, a Chicago-area librarian, conducted countless interviews with students who participated, and his early research into the ban helped inform the highly readable comic. Dungo’s illustrations do a great job of rendering the highs and lows of this censorship battle.
We Shall Be Monsters by Alyssa Wees
This is Wees’s debut adult novel, following two YA novels that are also worth picking up (Nocturne and The Waking Forest). It follows Gemma Cassata, who lives with her mother in an antiques shop in Michigan. The shop is near mysterious woods, into which Gemma is forbidden to ever step. But when you know there is a portal into fairyland, how could she resist the temptation?
Gemma’s mom is not mad about her daughter’s defiance. Indeed, Virginia herself had defied her mother and visited the woods. But the decision to do that was not one she could forget: her true love was cursed just before Gemma’s birth.
Now, Virginia will go to the ends of the world to protect Gemma from a similar fate. It might even mean wiping every memory Gemma’s ever made to keep her safe.
Want more books by librarians? Of course, we’ve got more. Check out this roundup of picture books written by librarians. Any of these would be perfect for the Read Harder Challenge task, too.
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