my favorite authors are:

Gordon Korman
J.R.R. Tolkien
C.S. Lewis
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Michael Reisman

Jane Austen
C.S. Lewis
Charles Dickens
Rick Riordan
L.A. Kelly
Gordon Korman
Chuck Black
Margaret Peterson Haddix

C.S. Lewis (Duh!)

J.R.R. Tolkien

Bryan Davis (He writes some really awesome fantasy books!)

Gail Carson Levine (I love all her books to pieces, especially Fairest)

L.M. Montgomery

Wayne Thomas Batson (I especially like his pirate books, Isle of Swords and Isle of Fire)

Donita K. Paul

John Flanagan (I love all the Ranger's Apprentice books. And our library finally got Erak's Ransom! )

Jessica Day George

Shannon Hale (Love the Books of Bayern by her)

Jeanne DuPrau

Ted Dekker

Whew...guess that's it...

Hmm...let's see...

C.S. Lewis - I've only read the Narnia series by him, however, they're amazing.
Jane Austen - I love the way she writes. Humorous and witty, yet sensible and serious.
Ted Dekker - I love his thrillers, especially.
Frank Peretti - Favorite book by him is The Oath.
Gail Carson Levine - She writes wonderful fairytales, especially Ella Enchanted.
Cameron Dokey - Another author of fairytales. She puts really good spins on the classic stories.

I know there are more, but for some reason I can't remember anymore currently

Oh yeah I like Gail Carson Levine too! I've read alot of her books

This could be a long list... ahem

C.S. Lewis - of course. Til We Have Faces is my favorite book of his.
J.R.R.Tolkien
Madeleine L'Engle - whose books I've pretty much devoted this year to
Victor Hugo - Les Miserables is my all time favorite book
Neil Gaiman
J.K. Rowling - give us more, madam!
Charles Dickens
G.K. Chesterton
Jane Austen
Lloyd Alexander
Susan Cooper
James Howe - yes, of Bunnicula fame
Edgar Allen Poe
William Shakespeare
Alexander McCall Smith - who is really descended from the lovely...
Barbara Pym

To name a few.

I have a lot of other "favorite" authors, but in all honesty, for many of them, I've only read one of their books, so it's a bit hard to qualify them as such.

The first to leap to mind in this category are:

Susannah Clarke
Elizabeth Kostova
Bram Stoker
George Eliot
Anne Radcliffe - the mother of most English novelists
Stella Gibbons - though I would read more of her books if only I could get my hands on them - Cold Comfort Farm is genius
Dodie Smith - who captured the castle

Jeanne Duprau
Margaret Peterson Haddix
N.D. Wilson
Obert Skye
Jerry B. Jenkins
Chris Fabry
Chris Archer
Paul Zindel

C.S. Lewis--duh, again.
J.R.R. Tolkein
J.K. Rowling--Even a critic (like me) cannot deny that she writes brilliantly.
Sir Henry Ryder Haggard--He was very popular about 100 years ago.
Cornelia Funke
Along with the classics. I like classics. Shakespeare, Dickens, Twain, etc. Austen too, except I'm not really a romantic person.

Let's see:

(in no specific order)

1. C.S.Lewis And not just the Narnia series--The Great Divorce and Mere Christianity are some of my favourites alongside some others.

2. Louisa May Alcott (beyond the Little Women Triology.)

3. Megan Whalen Turner

4. J.R.R. Tolkien

5. Frances Hodgeson Burnett

6. George MacDonald

7. Jane Austen

8. Charles Dickens

9. L.M. Montgomery

Not top favourites, but I still do enjoy their writing some:

1. Gail Carson Levine

2. Shannon Hale (to an extent. I find some of her comparisions between two things rather... blunt.)

3. Cornelia Funke

4. Ted Dekker (Ted Dekker might make it to my favourite-authors list- I still need to read some more.)

Hm, well, that's all that comes to mind at the moment. I find it amusing that my favourite author list is all people who aren't alive anymore, whilst the not top favourite ones are.

Leo Tolstoy
Alexandre Dumas
G. K. Chesterton
Jane Austen
Gene Stratton Porter
Charles Dickens
L. M. Montgomery
C. S. Lewis
George MacDonald
Diana Wynn Jones
Patricia McKillip
Robin McKinley
J. R. R. Tolkien

Cymru, you've only read one each of George Eliot and Susanna Clarke? *prepares to throw copies of Silas Marner and The Ladies of Grace Adieu her way* (Oh, and I just finished reading Cold Comfort Farm for the first time. Brilliant.)

Anyway, my list (in alphabetical order):

Lloyd Alexander - Prydain and Westmark were important realms in my childhood imagination; more recently, I really enjoyed rereading The Iron Ring.

Jane Austen - ah, what is there to say? A lovely set of novels and a beautiful soul.

Susanna Clarke - Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell basically reignited my pursuit for new fantasy novels. Brilliant and witty.

George Eliot - It's peculiar the way she speaks to me. Her novels are cathartic reads.

Victor Hugo - Ze French contingent! I've only read Les Miserables, but it was enough. The man was absolutely brilliant.

Harper Lee - In her one novel she surpassed many writers' entire oeuvres. (Not that I wouldn't have liked her to write more, of course....)

Gaston Leroux - A bit of a guilty pleasure, to be honest. I love The Phantom of the Opera and the Rouletabille novels.

C. S. Lewis - Of course.

Patricia McKillip - One of the most creative and original voices out there in fantasy today. She can be alternately perceptive, outlandish, cozy, and tear-jerking.

Robin McKinley - I've probably read Beauty more than any other novel. One of those books that "baptized my imagination."

William Shakespeare - I've loved his plays ever since I went to see Much Ado About Nothing at the age of six. And his sonnets, oh, his sonnets....

Robert Louis Stevenson - A writer whose work has surprised and awed me during different periods of my life.

J. R. R. Tolkien - LotR. 'Nuff said.

Let's see.........

C.S.Lewis--he never fails to capture my imagination. Till We Have Faces is one of my all-time favorites.
J.R.R.Tolkien--he wrote LotR, do I need to give another reason?
Karen Kingsbury--the emotional journey can be a bit rough sometimes, but it always ends well. And her characters always seem very real.
L.M.Montgomery--I haven't read a book by her that I didn't like.
Noel Streatfield--I like good children's literature, and she wrote it.
Lori Wick--I don't like her historical fiction as much, but her contemporary novels are very good, especially the characters.
Gene Stratton Porter--Freckles is sort of a tradition in our family to read aloud. Life always gets in the way of ever finishing it together, but I finished it on my own and it was well worth it.
Dee Henderson--I can't handle a lot of suspense stories, but I like hers.
Frances Hodgeson Burnett--good children's literature that captures my imagination.
Louisa May Alcott--no specific reason, I just like her stories.
George MacDonald--he can be a little odd at times, but I like most of what I've read.

That wasn't really in any particular order other than what came to the top of my head first.

Corneilia Funke!!!!!! I am an "Inkheart" fan!

C.S. Lewis - I've only read the chronicles of narnia and the space trilogy. (The first two books of the space trilogy were very good, but the 3rd one That Hideous Strength was a little strange). But anyway, unquestionably a great author!

Dennis Lehane - his crime mysteries/thrillers are absolutely addicting. My favorite book in the world (Mystic River) is written by him. I also especially like his 4 books with the PI's Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro.

Michael Crichton - his thrillers are amazing, and the common emphasis on technology in his books is extremely interesting. Too bad so many movies made from his books weren't made well.

Dan Brown - His books are THE most difficult to put down. Period. Lol. I know some of his books are controversial, but I just read it for the great fiction that it is and enjoy it. (Side note: I was very impressed with the movie Angels and Demons, no changes from the book made me scream ).