Launching Today: Goodreads Q&A! Ask Your Favorite Author or Fellow Readers Questions on Goodreads!

Posted by Patrick Brown on May 21, 2014


If you could ask Margaret Atwood, Khaled Hosseini, or James Patterson anything, what would it be? Maybe you want to know their writing inspiration, what they read as a guilty pleasure, or you have a burning question about one of their bestsellers. Now's your chance because these three are among the 54 major authors who are helping us launch an exciting new program on Goodreads—Ask the Author!

Ask the Author allows readers to ask questions and get answers from their favorite authors. At Goodreads, we believe the relationship between authors and readers is very special. Authors tell stories and create worlds that spark the imaginations of their readers. Now readers can deepen that connection by asking questions about the new worlds, ideas, and people they've discovered in books.

Starting today, you can submit your questions directly to any of the 54 authors participating in the Ask the Author launch. (Full list below!) If an author answers your question you'll be notified, and every answer will be shared on the author's page so that other readers can enjoy them, too. In the coming weeks, all of the 100,000+ authors in the Goodreads Author program will be able to opt in to the feature. (To check whether an author is participating, visit his or her author profile and look for the "Ask the Author" section.)

We asked international bestselling author Dan Brown a question of our own about his thoughts on Ask the Author. His answer: "One of the most rewarding things about being an author is hearing from readers. I love engaging in dialogue with them, and I'm excited to have a brand-new way to stay truly connected with my fans. I'm looking forward to discussing writing, secret codes, ancient mysteries, and anything else that comes up with the Goodreads community. Then, of course, I will need to get back to writing because the most common reader question I get seems to be: 'When is the next book coming, Dan?'"

Reader Q&A

Of course, fellow readers are an endless source of book knowledge, too! So, we're also starting to roll out Reader Q&A over the coming weeks to provide our passionate, opinionated, and curious community with another way to connect over the love of books.

Reader Q&A for The Goldfinch


Reader Q&A for The Power of Habit


Reader Q&A for Night Film


Once Reader Q&A is activated for you, you'll find a new Reader Q&A section on every book page, just below your friends' reviews. When other readers start responding to a question, Goodreads members can click "like" on the answers they find most interesting, and the best ones will rise to the top.

To try out Reader Q&A, go to the book page for your favorite book or a book you've just read and submit a question for the Goodreads community. You can also look for questions to answer! If Reader Q&A is not yet showing for you, it will be coming shortly!

We'll be opening up Ask the Author to all Goodreads Authors in the coming weeks, but right now you can ask a question of any of the following authors:

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERS
Isabel Allende
Author of The House of Spirits
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Margaret Atwood
Author of The Handmaid's Tale
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Dan Brown
Author of The Da Vinci Code
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Deepak Chopra
Author of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
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Khaled Hosseini
Author of The Kite Runner
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James Patterson
Author of Kiss the Girls
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FICTION
Michael Cunningham
Author of The Hours
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Kristin Hannah
Author of Firefly Lane
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James McBride
Author of The Color of Water
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Liane Moriarty
Author of What Alice Forgot
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Jojo Moyes
Author of Me Before You
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B.J. Novak
Author of One More Thing
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Robin Sloan
Author of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
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Jeff VanderMeer
Author of Annihilation
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Ayelet Waldman
Author of Red Hook Road
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Jesmyn Ward
Author of Salvage the Bones
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NONFICTION
Mark Bittman
Author of How to Cook Everything
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Geoff Dyer
Author of Another Great Day at Sea
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Tim Ferriss
Author of The 4-Hour Work Week
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Daniel Goleman
Author of Emotional Intelligence
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Arianna Huffington
Author of Third World America
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Anne Lamott
Author of Bird by Bird
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Frances Mayes
Author of Under the Tuscan Sun
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Michael Pollan
Author of The Omnivore's Dilemma
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Gretchen Rubin
Author of The Happiness Project
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YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN'S
Laurie Halse Anderson
Author of Speak
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Holly Black
Author of Tithe
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Sarah Dessen
Author of Just Listen
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Rebecca Donovan
Author of Reasons to Breathe
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Susan Ee
Author of Angelfall
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Gayle Forman
Author of If I Stay
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Jeff Kinney
Author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid
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E. Lockhart
Author of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks
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MYSTERY & THRILLERS
David Baldacci
Author of Absolute Power
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Joseph Finder
Author of Paranoia
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Douglas Preston
Author of Relic
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S.J. Watson
Author of Before I Go to Sleep
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ROMANCE
Bella Andre
Author of The Look of Love
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Kresley Cole
Author of A Hunger Like No Other
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Sylvia Day
Author of Reflected in You
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Barbara Freethy
Author of Just the Way You Are
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Christina Lauren
Author of Beautiful Bastard
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FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION
Kevin J. Anderson
Author of Jedi Search
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Jim Butcher
Author of Storm Front
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Warren Ellis
Author of Transmetropolitan, Vol. 1
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Lev Grossman
Author of The Magicians
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Laurell K. Hamilton
Author of Guilty Pleasures
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Brian Herbert
Author of The Butlerian Jihad
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Hugh Howey
Author of Wool
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Sherrilyn Kenyon
Author of Styxx
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Bob Mayer
Author of Lost Girls
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Richelle Mead
Author of Vampire Academy
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John Scalzi
Author of Old Man's War
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Michael J. Sullivan
Author of Theft of Swords
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Is your favorite author missing from the list above? Let us know which author you'd like to ask a question of in the comments below and we'll pass on the message!


Comments Showing 201-250 of 320 (320 new)


message 201: by Meg (new)

Meg Gherson I agree! This is going to be awesome! I great way for us to really connect with our readers!

Aurelia wrote: "Ooooh, I can't wait until this is rolled out to all authors. I'm all for interacting with anybody that looks me or my books up :-)"


message 202: by Pr!ya (new)

Pr!ya John Green
Nora Roberts
JK Rowling


message 203: by Tiff (new)

Tiff I would like to see JR Ward on the list of authors next time. I love this Q&A feature. This is great!


message 204: by Lynn (new)

Lynn Jarrett This is an excellent idea!! Kudos to the person who thought of it.


message 205: by Naomi (new)

Naomi please include Kiera Cass and Veronica Roth


message 206: by Tiff (new)

Tiff I would like to see Kevin Hearne on the list of authors next time.


Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* Lucia wrote: "Saakshi wrote: "Christine wrote: "Well maybe they will"

I don't think Goodreads will hoodwink us into believing some cock and bull story that the famous authors will reply and instead the staff re..."


Of course the Goodreads staff aren't going to publicly lie and pretend to be the authors. They would be caught instantly, sued, and maybe worse. It's a big deal to impersonate someone else, why would they do that? It'd be too easy to catch for one thing.

Not to mention, of course, they wouldn't have the answers these authors would provide.


message 208: by Pandemo (new)

Pandemo I am trying to find out what three books are included in Dakota trilogy (Dakota Series, #1-3) by Debbie Macomber. I have copies of Dakota Born and Dakota Home, books 1 &2 (but referred to as the Buffalo Valley trilogy inside the books).


message 209: by Rafa (new)

Rafa Cortes aguilera I would like ask to Kate morton


message 210: by Oné (new)

Oné Pagán Some science authors would be nice...


message 211: by mohamed (new)

mohamed eraisha it gtta be rolled to all goodreads authors! Im such keen on


message 212: by Rosie (new)

Rosie Can you also include the following authors, Lori Spielman and Kate De Goldi? Kate De Goldi is a young adult author from New Zealand.


message 213: by Olivier (new)

Olivier Delaye Awesome feature! Brilliant!


message 214: by Nour (new)

Nour I need to ask J.K. Rowling and Suzanne Collins?


message 215: by Dyah (new)

Dyah Tarquin Hall and Neil Gaiman, please.


message 216: by Ghi (new)

Ghi Dean What do I have to do to fine Bhind the Teacher's Desk by Chris Williams?


message 217: by Lisa (new)

Lisa Is there any way I could ask a question to either (or both) Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell?
(I think they belong either in Young Adult & Children, or Fantasy & SF.)


message 219: by Kimberly (new)

Kimberly Gibeson I love the following authors can you try to get these
Richelle Mead- Georgina Kincaid Series Richelle Mead
Suzanne Collins- Hunger Games Trilogy Suzanne Collins - The Hunger games Mockingjay
Veronica Roth- Divergent Trilogy Veronica Roth
Jacquelyn Mitchard- The Midnight Twins series Jacquelyn Mitchard

I love all of 'em they are awesome


message 220: by ◼Zaky◼ (new)

◼Zaky◼ I would love to ask JK Rowling!:)
pleeeaseeeee!


message 221: by Marva (new)

Marva Lorinda J. Taylor. I have a lot of questions about termites that need answering.

Lorinda J. Taylor


message 222: by Anjali (new)

Anjali i'd like to ask
jodi picoult
paulo coelho
j k rowling
alyxandra harvey


message 223: by Nilesh (new)

Nilesh Can you include

David A. Wells
Morgan Rice
Kaza Kingsley
Dan Brown

Please3, include them I want to ask some question.


message 224: by Paula (new)

Paula I'd really like to ask Amanda Hocking some questions. She started writing in a webpage, so she could give some advice to all the new authors.
And don't forget about John Green and Veronica Roth, I want to ask them (and I'm sure I'm not the only one)why they broke my heart.


message 225: by Sarah (new)

Sarah Ejaz I would definitely want to add Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth to this. I'm so glad authors can finally interact with their readers! :D This is great!


message 226: by Paaula (new)

Paaula Pedersen I would like to be able to Ask Author Ann Rule nonfiction writer!


message 227: by Theresa (new)

Theresa Maher Mitch Album


message 228: by Carol (new)

Carol How about featuring authors whose books have been nominated for particular prizes, e.g., the Edgar Award, etc. and other categories. It's fun to read the nominated books and to vote for a winner online. Think Oscar Nominee viewing parties.... Just a thought.
Scandinavian Gal


message 229: by Pamela (new)

Pamela Brandon Sanderson


message 230: by Thuto (new)

Thuto Moloi please add G.P Ching


message 231: by Sareen (new)

Sareen D.J. MacHale !!!!


message 232: by Sareen (new)

Sareen Veronica Roth, John Green


message 233: by ah li (new)

ah li Robin burcell please. Am a huge fan =)


message 234: by Deborah (new)

Deborah Farquhar Wonderful feature. Please add Stephen King (if he would agree!) It takes a brilliant inventive mind to write the books he writes.


message 235: by Bridget (new)

Bridget Wijnberg ha ha ha ha. oh thats funny :) thank you for making me laugh.

Kanai wrote: "It would be great to include:
-JK Rowling
-Rick Riordan
-Veronica Roth
-John Green
-Markus Zusak
-Neil Gaiman
-Katheryn Stockett
-S.E. Hinton
-and William Shakespeare. (Just kidding.)"



message 236: by Khushboo (new)

Khushboo This is such a wonderful initiative!

I think you should get Haruki Murakami on board on this one.


message 237: by Deepti (new)

Deepti Please include some Indian authors like Amitav Ghosh, Chetan Bhagat, Anuja Chauhan, Kiran Desai, Amish, Aravind Adiga etc. Also would really really appreciate a chat with Salman Rushdie.


message 238: by Teresa (new)

Teresa So interesting!


message 239: by Marcia (new)

Marcia Zuckerman What a thoughtful, insightful service -- long overdue!
Please consider adding Poets:
Edward Hirsch
Natasha Trethewey
Robert Hass
Also, please add more international authors to the excellent list given above by another reader: if possible:
Arturo Perez-Reverte
Henning Mankell
Umberto Eco
-back home:
Thomas Pynchon
Lindsey Davis
Playwrights:
Tom Stoppard
Harold Pinter
ALSO:
Carl Safina
Cormac McCarthy
THANKS!


message 240: by Lena (new)

Lena Jensen I would love to ask Jay Bell some questions


message 241: by Parva (new)

Parva Rahmaty how cool!
Elizabeth Gilbert pleeease :)Eat, Pray, LoveElizabeth Gilbert


message 242: by Govinda (new)

Govinda Hinduja Nicholas sparks


message 243: by Saunders (new)

Saunders Cormac McCarthy please! Author of "No Country for Old Men"


message 244: by Narges (new)

Narges R of course j.k.rowling and paulo coelho are missed from the list


message 245: by Laura (new)

Laura Stephen King please. I'm a huge fan, I actually live by his books


message 246: by Victoria (new)

Victoria Arlind wrote: "What about Markus Zusak? His novel "The book thief"is translated into more than 40 languages and was also awarded many times for the best YA book."

I'd love to ask Marcus Zusak some questions, I'd get so excited if he joined this feature! I've fallen in love with 'I Am The Messenger' and 'The Book Thief'! :D


message 247: by Paola (new)

Paola Pineda Jk Rowling & Suzanne Collins!


message 248: by Sandra (new)

Sandra Anderson Richard Russo is just about my favorite writer. I'd like to know what his next book will be and will it be available in paper and not just eB ook like his novella. Please add him to your list.


message 249: by Kyra (new)

Kyra Cassandra Clare!!
Markus Zusak
Rick Riordan


message 250: by Turab (new)

Turab Dedanwala Interesting feature and will help young authors.The Diamond Necklace


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