Half Price Books continues to celebrate our 50th Anniversary with a look back on the last 50 years, and since November is National Novel Writing Month, we’d like to remind all the aspiring authors out there that every author was once a beginner! Take a look at our list of 50 debut novels released during the last 50 years for a little writing encouragement.
- Gorilla, My Love, by Toni Cade Bambara
- Rubyfruit Jungle, by Rita Mae Brown
- Jaws, by Peter Benchley
- Black Sunday, by Thomas Harris
- Patternmaster, by Octavia E. Butler
- The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks
- Sideways Stories from Wayside School, by Louis Sachar
- Flowers in the Attic, by V.C. Andrews
- The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco
- A Good Man in Africa, by William Boyd
- Angels, by Denis Johnson
- The Woman Who Owned the Shadows, by Paula Gunn Allen
- Less than Zero, by Bret Easton Ellis
- Anywhere But Here, by Mona Simpson
- Mama, by Terry McMillan
- The Swimming-Pool Library, by Allen Hollinghurst
- The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
- The South, by Colm Toibin
- How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents, by Julia Alvarez
- The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
- The Skating Rink, by Roberto Bolaño
- Every Light in the House Burnin’, by Andrea Levy
- The Horse Whisperer, by Nicholas Evans
- Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J. K. Rowling
- Brown Girl in the Ring, by Nalo Hopkinson
- The Intuitionist, by Colson Whitehead
- White Teeth, by Zadie Smith
- The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
- Everything is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer
- The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
- Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
- The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
- In the Country of Men, by Hisham Matar
- Before I Die, by Jenny Downham
- Before I Go to Sleep, by S. J. Watson
- The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
- Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver
- The Tiger’s Wife, by Téa Obreht
- A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman
- I Am Pilgrim, by Terry Hayes
- Queen Sugar, by Natalie Baszile
- Everything, Everything, by Nicola Yoon
- The Dry, by Jane Harper
- The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas
- Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi
- Red, White & Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston
- The Girl With the Louding Voice, by Abi Daré
- The Other Black Girl, by Zakiya Dalila Harris
You can find these debut novels and more at your local Half Price Books and on HPB.com. And remember, debut novels get published every year. So don’t get discouraged, and happy writing!