1. Joseph Conrad: Polish-English novelist ("Heart of Darkness", "Lord Jim")
2. Agatha Christie: British mystery writer ("Murder on the Orient Express", "Death on the Nile")
3. Ray Bradbury: American fantasy and science fiction writer ("Fahrenheit 451", "The Martian Chronicles")
4. Italo Calvino: Italian writer and journalist ("If on a winter's night a traveler", "The Baron in the Trees")
5. James Clavell: Australian novelist ("Shogun", "Tai-Pan")
6. William Faulkner: American writer and Nobel laureate ("The Sound and the Fury", "Absalom, Absalom!")
7. Richard Dawkins: British ethologist and evolutionary biologist ("The Selfish Gene", "The God Delusion")
8. Dan Brown: American thriller writer ("The Da Vinci Code", "Inferno")
9. Gillian Flynn: American novelist ("Gone Girl", "Sharp Objects")
10. Donna Tartt: American novelist ("The Goldfinch", "The Secret History")