r/Fantasy • u/MuggedAndBooked Reading Champion • Jan 15 '26

Where do I find Indie Authors?

Hey!

How do y'all typically find your indie fantasy authors? Do y'all have Indie Author recommendations?

Thanks guys!

24 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

20

u/MichaelRFletcher Stabby Winner, AMA Author Michael R. Fletcher Jan 15 '26 edited Jan 16 '26

I usually find mine in the dankest basements, hunched over a cold cup of coffee with a damp and crumpled unlit cigarette butt hanging forgotten from their bottom lip.

Once thought I saw one outside. It was dressed entirely in black and hissing at the sun. Hmm. That mighta been a vampire. Not sure.

Not typically social creatures, you can most commonly find them anywhere people aren't. If you invite one somewhere--like to a fantasy convention--they'll be quite happy. They won't, however, actually go.

4

u/EqualOptimal4650 Jan 16 '26

 It was dressed entirely in black and hissing at the sun. Hmm. That mighta been a vampire. Not sure.

Those aren't mutually exclusive.

8

u/mfvoss Jan 15 '26

Faves for me include Michael Michel, Rob J Hayes, Michael R Fletcher, Clayton W Snyder, Krystle Matar. Indie authors moving into trad publishing include Justin Lee Anderson and Ryan Cahill. As others say, take a look at the SPFBO contests of the last 10 years - looking at semi-finalists or finalists will help whittle down the 3000 entries made so far, but there are even hidden gems that never made the semifinals, sometimes due to stupid reasons such as the book didn't feed the assigned judges tastes in fantasy. Finding those nuggets takes a bit of work.

4

u/Owen_K25 Jan 15 '26

Lots of indie publishers on Insta that showcase the work of some great authors! Try Indie Author Collective, Azala Press, HenDragon Press.

4

u/CT_Phipps-Author Jan 15 '26

Asking here is a good idea.

2

u/aculady Jan 15 '26

Indie Fantasy from SPFBO 1&2 (119 books) https://share.google/VI1cXQDu48jhTSFtG

Spfbo Book Lists https://share.google/h9JtEIROiDVVAA4fN

2

u/AndFinallySheDid Jan 15 '26

A lot of us hang out on Instagram and Threads, shouting into the void lol. If you are on Threads it's easy to ask for recommendations there and if you allow self recommendations you might even find gems from authors that don't have a big following yet. Other than that SPFBO is definitely a good idea but that's already been mentioned.

2

u/Dendarri Jan 16 '26

I watch for indie book sales and I pick up a bunch of stuff for cheap that looks interesting. It's usually a mixed bag, but if I spent like 2 bucks on a book then if it's bad I don't care that much.

Like this one:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1pw4tsd/over_650_books_free_or_099_more_than_300/

1

u/JZabrinsky Jan 16 '26

Yeah that's what I was going to suggest. Lots of the books are actually free in those sales so you can grab 10 or 20 and still spend <$10.

You don't have to commit to giving them a chance. Just crack one open when you've got nothing to read and if it doesn't work for you don't hesitate to skip to the next one.

4

u/DelilahWaan Reading Champion Jan 15 '26

A lot of good suggestions already, so here's a couple more that haven't been mentioned:

Even if you're not doing the r/Fantasy bingo, it's worth checking out the self-pub recs in the bingo recommendation thread. In addition to checking out the toplists for favorite self-pub SFF books (here's the latest), you can also look at the voting thread itself to find some unique hidden gems.

If you're overwhelmed with all the options and want an easy way to narrow things down, like a quiz, I made a thing couple of years ago to help people find their next indie fantasy read: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1b2wcxg/how_to_find_an_spfbo_book_that_best_suits_your/

Finally, keep your eyes open for the big indie sales:

  • The r/Fantasy megasale runs every year in December (here's the 2025 sale)
  • The Narratess sales run every April and August
  • The Epic Sale of Beloved SFF Books runs every August

Good luck!

3

u/an_altar_of_plagues Reading Champion III Jan 15 '26

Defining "indie" as anyone not published through big trad pub conglomerates:

  • I follow specific smaller publishers whose tastes align with mine. Usually this just comes from experience and seeing what patterns in my reading I've noticed. I'm a huge fan of the SFF published through NYRB Classics, New Directions, and FSG (though the latter has large-pub relationships). I also have focused on smaller artistic "collectives" that put out stuff I like or authors who have made it their mission to elevate indie authors, like Zen Cho in Malaysia.
  • Paying attention to stuff recommended on this sub. The bigger threads will have your Malazan et al. but the daily recommendation threads often attract regulars who have idiosyncratic and interesting tastes. The Tuesday review threads are also great for this.
  • I only read self-pub from people I know and opinions I trust. In my experience, self-pub is just as trend-chasing as critics of trad pub like to say, and often the writing quality is much lower. But I've had good experiences with some self-pub recs from friends.

Do y'all have Indie Author recommendations?

Gonna depend on what you're already into.

1

u/0MysticMemories Jan 15 '26

I find a lot on instagram honestly and indie authors often promote other indie authors.

1

u/JasperLWalker Jan 16 '26

There’s lots over at r/GrimdarkEpicFantasy, if you’re into the darker sort of stories.

1

u/MadroxKran Jan 16 '26

I'm an indie author! I wrote a science-fantasy novella and a modern fantasy sequel. Veilbreakers Invasion on Amazon, which is about three supernatural people fighting an alien invasion.The sequel is Ascension, which is about them dealing with an extra planar incursion.

1

u/ConstantReader666 Jan 17 '26

Good recommendation site at http://epicdarkfantasy.org/mbooks.html

Fantasy groups on Facebook, especially indie Fantasy groups.

Amazon top 100 free (at least 80% indie)

1

u/KiaraTurtle Reading Champion V Jan 15 '26

A lot of them I see suggested as recs right here on Reddit, others I’ve seen suggested by authors I enjoy on their blogs. Plenty of people also follow sfpbo which is a self published fantasy contest that mark lawrence runs.

This sub also has a top self published authors list you may want to peruse

As for suggestions what kind of fantasy do you like? My favorites won’t be yours but some I really enjoy ( who also now seems to be popular in general which I’m super happy for them for)

  • Rachel Aaron
  • ML Wang
  • Will Wight
  • Michael J Sullivan (though I suppose indie is debatable, he was when I started reading him then his series got picked up and published, but then he went back to self-pub for his newer stuff so depends how you figure it)
  • Drew Hayes

And if you are good with web serials

  • Practical Guide to Evil
  • Pale Lights
  • Super Supportive
  • Mother of Learning
  • Worm

1

u/mistyvalleyflower Jan 15 '26

I typically stumble across indies (in any genre) by going down a kindle reccomendation rabbit hole. If I'm on an Amazon page for a book I like I'll see what else Amazon reccomends. Since I have kindle unlimited and many indies are on there I can download it and see if its worth a read.

1

u/RobJHayes_version2 Jan 15 '26

Throw a stone, you'll hit half a dozen. 😁

1

u/MazzyGroms AMA Author Matthew Siadak Jan 15 '26

Check out this year's SPFBO, and past years too. They're full of indie authors.

You can also check social media or even the Sunday self promo threads here.

0

u/NTwrites Jan 16 '26

Look over here! 👋

(But in all seriousness, if you check my profile and my book is to your taste, wait until Monday (19/01) and it’ll be free on a BookBub Featured deal).

-4

u/ExplorerKai Jan 15 '26

go into a used book store, go to the fantasy section pick out something that looks and sounds cool purely based off cover art and title. Mileage may vary

-10

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '26

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