After a nice little chat with my mother about Charles de Lint yesterday, I started thinking about this wonderful genre of contemporary fantasy of which de Lint's books are a perfect example. My mother says that she doesn't think any other authors can compare, and I am inclined to agree, yet there is a surprising wealth of wonderful books in his genre that I've found recently. Thus I decided to put together my own (incomplete, of course) little list of what I consider to be the very best kind of fantasy--the kind that can be compared to Charles de Lint. The Endicott Scuttlebutt comes closest to describing it, as mythic fiction: ..."stories set in the modern or historical world...infused with mythic imagery, mystery, and magic...using timeless themes and symbolism drawn from world mythology, medieval romance, folklore, and fairy tales." So here are my favorite authors of contemporary fantasy/mythic fiction, followed by the titles of their books that I have read and/or preferred.

Charles de Lint, The Little Country, Memory and Dream, Moonlight and Vines
Pamela Dean, Tam Lin, Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary
Terri Windling, The Wood Wife
Jonathan Carroll, Sleeping In Flame, Bones of the Moon, The Land of Laughs
Emma Bull, War for the Oaks
Kara Dalkey, Crystal Sage
Neil Gaiman, Smoke and Mirrors, American Gods
Midori Snyder, Hannah's Garden
Holly Black, Tithe
Peter David, Knight Life
Elizabeth Hand, Waking the Moon, Black Light, Last Summer at Mars Hill
Nina Kiriki Hoffman, A Red Heart of Memories, The Silent Strength of Stones
Peter S. Beagle, Tamsin
Connie Willis, Miracle and Other Christmas Stories
Nancy Bond, The String in the Harp
Edward Eager, Knight's Castle
James A. Hetley, The Summer Country
Louise Marley, The Glass Harmonica