The advent of Social Media has given us previously unimaginable access to our literary heroes. Where once we scoured the entertainments section of newspapers, searched magazines for snippets of information or devoured the latest book’s About the Author section to discover what we could about the real lives of our favourite writers, we can now interact with them on a daily basis, see what they’ve eaten for breakfast, follow their daily itinerary or even (if we’re really lucky) have a conversation with them.
Twitter and Instagram are especially good hunting grounds for the terminally lazy stalker types with many an author being just as much of a Social Media junkie as the ordinary man in the street; Facebook is also well liked by many authors with a number of them linking their Twitter accounts so that users of Facebook never miss out.
These personal accounts give us access to a tiny part of the world our favourite author lives in, offers us chances to win newly released works, special editions, even dedicated novels.
Some of the authors listed are true geniuses when it comes to Social Media and are worth following purely for the witty quips and snappy comebacks and some are just worth fawning over from the comfort of your own armchair.
Here are just a few of the more vocal of our Tweeting, Instagramming, Facebooking Authors for you to follow.
Irvine Welsh
If expletives cause you distress give this one a miss; Irvine’s Tweets are littered with profanity, football references, and politics and if you’re not too delicate he’s well worth a follow on Twitter. His Facebook profile however seems to be his publicist’s and doesn’t represent Irvine the man, at all.
Caitlin Moran
I’ve actually had a few conversations with Caitlin on Twitter; she’s a prolific Tweeter and not shy about sharing her views on the world.
G.R.R Martin
I just wish he’d put as much effort into completing his Song of Fire and Ice Epic as he does his Social Media accounts. #SorryNotSorry
Of course these are but the tip of the enormous iceberg of Tweeting, Instagramming, Facebooking authors that are out there but these are the ones that we know about and enjoy following. If you follow any please let us know.