I snatched up this great-sounding topic from The Broke and the Bookish’s Top Ten Tuesday subject list! That is my good-to source for inspiration when I’m stuck on what to write about, and this particular idea takes the concept of what authors I’d like to meet (which I wrote about ages ago) to the next level. I took “bookish” to mean writers of any kind, whether they’re journalists, authors or general creators. These are people who inspire me, create escapist worlds, and remind me that pursuing the written word in a career is far from being silly.

Here we go!

1) J.K. Rowling

I mean, duh.

2) Heidi Thomas

Not only is Heidi the creator and main writer of one of my favorite shows, Call the Midwife (and married to Stephen McGann / Dr. Turner, which I’m low-key jealous of), she’s also the mind behind the recent adaptations of Ballet Shoes, the musical Gigi, and the upcoming (in the U.S.) version of Little Women. Call the Midwife is such an underrated show, but it celebrates women, their strength, and good men who support them so well. I admire Heidi so much, and I love how she works with mostly female directors on the show. She also uses her platform to share so many unique birth stories and highlight reproductive and general health issues women faced in the mid-twentieth century.

3) Sarah Dessen

I’m fairly certain I’ve officially outgrown Sarah Dessen’s books, but I don’t think that will ever stop me from reading her new releases. Loving her and her work is like feeling so warm and nostalgic about your favorite elementary school teacher despite the fact that you would never want to relive grades five through eight. Sarah also doesn’t hide her struggles with writing and is honest about not always feeling creative, which I appreciate.

4 & 5) Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

These two ladies are the co-authors of The Royal We, which is a must-read if you’re a royals fan. It’s perfect to read in preparation of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, as it’s about an American falling in love with a fictional British prince. Heather and Jessica also run the website Go Fug Yourself, which focuses on European royals, celebrities, and red carpet fashion. Their royals coverage cracks me up so much—they write up fake thoughts of George and Charlotte that suggest they’re child geniuses. It may sound bizarre, but don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.

6) Meg Cabot

Next to Judy Blume, Meg Cabot was like my epitome of that cool aunt that takes you out for lunch in middle school and breaks down all of life’s adult things that your parents have danced around. She and her books, particularly the Princess Diaries series, were so influential on me and the development of my personality. I’ve yet to reread any of the Princess Diaries books recently, but I would love to soon. I’m sure I’d get plenty of the adult humor that went straight over my head as a thirteen-year-old!

7) Lin-Manuel Miranda

I live for Lin’s positive, inspirational tweets. How this amazing man stays so humble and grateful despite what he has accomplished is incredible. His feed is also great for aspiring creators of any kind, and I feel like he’s someone who knows a little bit about everything, so he would be very easy to talk to!

8) Jacquelyn Middleton

I think it’s because I spent a year as a co-lead editor of an online, entirely intern-run magazine where I had to stay on top of emails and messaging groups, but my biggest pet peeve is when people take forever (i.e., more than a day) to respond to a simple email on a workday or even fail to answer a quick text within a day. It’s 2018. Everybody pretty much has their phone on them 24/7, and it’s just lazy and rude to ignore messages if you don’t have a genuine reason to be unresponsive. Even if you’re just not feeling technology that day, answer what you need to.  I love Jacquelyn Middleton for calling people out on this, and she’s amazing at reaching out to people who send her tweets or review her books online and thanking them. Plus, we’d totally bond over everything London-related.

What about you? What bookish people would you like to meet someday?