Author Website Examples [Including Unpublished Author Examples]

Having an author’s website is important for advancing your writing career. A website will give you much-needed exposure and visibility and serve as a place to showcase your past works and future projects.

Building an author’s website isn’t always easy, though. If you’re hitting a mental block and unsure how to design your site or what to put on it, looking at examples of successful author websites can help and provide much-needed inspiration.

In this article, I will be showing you 18 examples of author websites – including a few unpublished author websites.

Even if you haven’t yet published a book, I recommend setting up an author website. It will make it more likely for you to get a publishing offer in the future – it make you appear more professional.

Let’s get into it.

Author Website Examples [Including Unpublished Author Examples]

1. Brit Bennett

Brit Bennett is the author of The Vanishing Half. The Vanishing Half is her second novel and was listed as #1 on the New York Times best-selling list in the fiction category.

In fact, the book was so successful that HBO entered into an agreement with Brit to start a drama series called The Vanishing Half, based on her book of the same name.

With that said, let’s look at Brit Bennett’s author website. Surely, such a successful author will have a great website.

What I like about her website is the simplicity of it. It has a light-colored background – kind of a beige tint – which is easy on the eyes.

The biggest thing that stands out about her website is how it puts her book upfront, in the center. The entire homepage focuses on her best-selling novel.

There is an image of the book in the center, with praises from publications like The Minneapolis Star Tribune and celebrities like Oprah all around it.

The fonts used are simple – there’s no need for anything extravagant. If you have a well-designed book cover and have received good reviews, you can use this kind of format.

The reviews don’t need to be from major publications or people like Oprah. They can be from Amazon or small book review sites – you’ll change them up as you grow and get more exposure and reviews.

Brit’s site lets her books and reviews speak for themselves. There are three call-to-action buttons at the bottom of the screen:

• Order Now
• Learn More
• The Vanishing Half Book Club Kit

In the header menu, there are options such as:

• Books
• Events
• Other works
• Press

In the footer menu, there are just three social icons that lead you to the author’s social media pages.

This kind of format works great. Too many authors overpopulate their homepage with a list of all their published articles and works, which can get confusing.

If you have one book that was the most successful, feature it on your homepage. You can add menu links for any additional works you created.

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2. Michael S. Jackson

Michael Jackson is the author of the Ringlander series, starting with The Path and the Way and continuing with the prequel The Battle That Was Lost.

His website is designed very well, with the title of his main book featured up front. The background fits the fantasy adventure niche, and I found the website easy to scroll through and navigate.

When you scroll down, you will see his other books, followed by the main characters in the series.

The header of the site lists the places where the book is available, which I thought was a nice touch. That way, nobody has to search needlessly where to find the book.

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3. Dan Brown

Dan Brown is the author of The Da Vinci Code, one of the best-selling novels in history. A film was made based on his novel, which sold over two hundred million copies in over 50 languages.

Named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine, Dan Brown has an excellent website that you can all get inspiration from. The design is just beautiful, starting with a splash page featuring his new show.

Scrolling down, you will see a brief but well-written author section, followed by links to his photo gallery and press section. Scroll down a bit more to see a full list of novels by this best-selling author – despite being known for The Da Vinci Code, Brown authored many other works as well.

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4. J. K. Rowling

Who hasn’t heard of J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series?

Only such a renowned author can have such a site, with a homepage divided into two sections – one for grownups and another interactive section for teens and other young readers.

J. K. Rowling’s website doesn’t feature her works upfront (although there is a page for it), because it doesn’t need to. Anyone visiting the site knows about her books.

Instead, her website focuses on news updates and blog posts by J. K. Rowling.

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5. E. L. James

E. L. James is another famous author – she wrote Fifty Shades of Grey.

The white and pink color scheme suits her niche, provocative romance, very well.

After a brief introduction to who she is accompanied by a professional portrait, you will find a schedule of her upcoming book tour, followed by a list of her books and a link to each one.

The header menu leads you to her other books, movies based on her books, blog, and more.

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6. Katherine Arden

Katherine Arden authored several fantasy novel books, and she featured them all upfront on her website.

I think one of the reasons this format works so well for her books is that they have beautiful cover designs, and she created a site background to match them.

Scrolling down, you see options for viewing her upcoming tours and a link to her about page. There is also a page that features fan art from her fans with the ability to upload your own, which I thought was interesting.

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7. Gail Gibbons

Gail Gibbons is a leading American author of children’s books. She has won many awards for her illustrated books.

Her site is not exactly the most modern-looking site, but it works. The funky color scheme wouldn’t work if she authored adult books, but for children’s books, it does.

The book provides information about the author and lists her most recent books. You can also find teaching resources, teacher’s guides, and more.

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8. Jane Friedman

Jane Friedman is an author and a reporter on the book publishing industry. Her website is awesome – while there is a section for her books, it mainly establishes her as an authority and resource for new and published authors.

She offers online classes for writers and two separate newsletters – one for creative people and one for professional authors. Both newsletters are free.

Her brief bio both emphasizes her experience – “I’ve been working in book publishing since the 1990s” – and her value to writers and others in the book publishing industry – “but my views are not from the 1990s. Amidst rapid change in the industry, writers need honest and unbiased guidance to make the best decisions for their careers.”

Her blog offers valuable advice to writers, guides on getting published, her thoughts and opinions on various topics of interest to aspiring authors, and more. The site adds authority with authority badges indicating she has been featured by major outlets like NPR and The New York Times.

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9. J. F. Penn

J. F. Penn is a New York Times best-selling author. Her website loudly proclaims the type of topics she writes about: “Thrillers. Dark Fantasy. Crime. Escape. Adventure. Travel.”

The theme is dark, gripping, and mysterious, just like her novels. It offers information about the author and what she’s working on right now, as well as links for those interested in purchasing her books.

She also offers a free thriller ebook, which is something I haven’t seen many authors do. This free ebook serves as a lead magnet for signing up for her newsletter – a tried-and-tested marketing tactic that works wonderfully.

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10. Karen Rinaldi

Karen Rinaldi is the author of The End of Men and (It’s Great to) Suck at Something. Her website is quirky and interesting.

Her short bio reads, “Karen Rinaldi is a professional preacher of the gospel of suckitude. Before she found surfing, she sucked at plenty of things.” The website also invites you to sign up for her newsletter to get your “weekly dose of suckitude.”

Of course, suckitude isn’t a real word. That’s what makes it so intriguing.

The title of her book and her entire premise – that it’s actually good to suck at things – is also quite fascinating. It immediately makes her stand out from the crowd.

I also liked how there was an audio excerpt of her book The End of Men uploaded to the site.

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11. George Donnelly

George Donnelly is a science fiction author who also writes about crypto and finance. The design is simple and intuitive, but I really liked the books section.

On that page, instead of simply listing the books he wrote as many authors do, he starts with an introduction of what kind of stories he writes and what you can expect to find in his books. It’s not a long-winded description but a short five-point list of what makes his books unique.

For authors who aren’t as well known as J. K. Rowling, this strategy can be very helpful for connecting with people who are researching books in your niche and come across your site.

The page also features reviews from Amazon and Goodreads and lists the ideas he is currently working on. It also offers not just a free book but an entire free starter library, accessible on Kindle, Google Play, Kobo, the iBookstore, and more.

Email subscribers get not only these free books but exclusive discounts, insider peeks, and more.

Overall, I thought his site did an incredible job of featuring the author, who he is, what his interests are, and his style of writing. His picture on the front page is more like a selfie than a professional portrait, which has the subtle effect of making him very relatable to readers.

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12. Leah Weiss

Leah Weiss is an author who found a nice slogan for herself – “Southern by Grace.” Being a southerner is part of her identity, especially as an author, and it is reflected in her works.

Her novel, If the Creek Don’t Rise, was a Southern Book Prize Nominee. She also wrote a book called All the Little Hopes, which followed two young southern girls who embarked upon a path of discovery when a Nazi prisoner of war camp came to their small town in North Carolina.

The site is well-designed and has a lot of empty white space, something that is missing on a lot of author sites. That makes it easy to navigate.

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13. Wordfire

Wordfire is the website of famed science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson, who wrote spin-off novels for Star Wars and The X-Files. Due to his fame, he is able to sell signed copies of his books on his website – a luxury that lesser-known authors can’t afford.

His website advertises his Kickstarter campaign for his upcoming novel. If you need fundraising for a novel, you can definitely try Kickstarter, although it works best if you already have a loyal fan base.

Wordfire also showcases his other projects, like the publishing Master of Arts that he launched in conjunction with Western Colorado University.

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14. Sally Koslow

Sally Koslow’s site is engaging and immediately hypes you up on her new release, The Real Mrs. Tobias. It features the book, alongside praise, with links to sites where you can purchase it.

In the Also by Sally Koslow section, you can see her other books. That’s it for the homepage – it’s pretty short, sweet, and simple.

The header menu is where you can find other information, such as her essays and contact information.

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15. Grady Hendrix

Grady Hendrix’s site is a bit interesting. It doesn’t feature his personal photo on the homepage or about page, unlike many of the other author sites you’ve seen.

Instead, the homepage simply lists all of his books, with a contact option at the bottom. It uses a simple white background and features the books in a photo gallery format.

At the top of the page, you can find links to his podcast, events, and FAQs page. You can also access the about page, where you can learn more about the author.

Unpublished Author Websites

Finding unpublished author websites is a bit more challenging, but I’ve managed to collect a few for you. Your unpublished author website should tell your story and perhaps give a brief insight into the type of things you’re working on, without giving away your entire unpublished book.

16. BB Writer

A minimalist design doesn’t mean your website has to look outdated. Just look at BB Writer – despite being minimalist, it has a nice user experience.

The author, Barbara Bordalejo, wrote The University of Shadows, a novel that doesn’t seem to be published anywhere yet.

It’s a good site, but still a work in progress. Some of the links just lead back to the homepage, and the social icons in the footer don’t lead to the author’s social media pages but rather Wix’s social media pages (the site was created with Wix, a free website builder).

17. Peppermint Sunshine

Peppermint Sunshine is the website of Amber Samuel, a teacher and writer. While there are no featured books on the site, it does showcase his short story writings, which are captivating, vivid, and thrilling.

It’s a good example of what you can do as an unpublished author. You shouldn’t publish an entire book on your site, but writing short stories can showcase your skills as a novelist and writer.

18. Rowyn Ramsky

If you’re an unpublished author, you might not have the money to afford a website. Fortunately, there are many free website builder platforms that allow you to build your online portfolio or page for free.

We already featured a Wix site, but another free website builder is Yola.

Rowyn Ramsky’s site is a good example of a small webpage you can use to showcase your interests or writing, even without being published. It’s a simple site with just a few pages, allowing readers to learn more about the author, sign up for their newsletter, and contact them.

According to the about page, Rowyn “has an undying fascination with paranormal topics and an absolute adoration for all ghostly things.”

While she doesn’t list any published books, the site does note her accomplishments on Wattpad, a writing platform that allows aspiring and published writers to showcase short stories and other works.

Rowyn’s New Adult and Young Adult manuscripts on Wattpad have received over one million reads and various awards, and she is now a Wattpad Star and a featured writer on the Paid Stories section on the site.

Final Thoughts

The author websites in this list vary greatly in design, style, and purpose. Some are minimalist, with little information other than a list of the author’s books, while others are loaded with stories, blog posts, and other information about the author.

Some have simple designs, while others have engaging and sometimes complex graphics.

Remember, your author website is supposed to reflect your tone of voice as an author. It should be unique, just like your books and personality are unique, which is why you’ll see such diversity in author websites.

Take the time to find your voice and format your author website accordingly.