10 Music Stars Who Have Written Novels

By JC Villamere. 26 Sep 2018 2:31 PM

Today, we’re doing a roundup of some of your favourite musicians who have written novels (spoiler alert: there’s a ton of Canadians on the list, eh?). We got really excited about Tanya Tagaq’s new novel and decided to do a whole big list. Please note: This is a list of novels, that’s why the new Buffy Sainte-Marie book, ‘Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography’ isn’t included here, it’s because that’s a biography. You should still read it, though, along with all of these:

Penguin Random House

HarperCollins Publishers

Avon

Penguin

Harper Collins

harpercollins

Dundurn Press

Dial Press

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

HarperCollins

START OVER

Next Gallery: Cancelled Or Renewed?

More Galleries

1 of 10

Tanya Tagaq
Penguin Random House
This Inuit throat singer won the Polaris Music Prize in 2014; her first novel, 'Split Tooth', made the long list for the esteemed Giller Prize before it was even released! "Veering back and forth between the grittiest features of a small Arctic town, the electrifying proximity of the world of animals and ravishing world of myth, Tanya Tagaq explores a world where the distinctions between good and evil, animal and human, victim and transgressor, real and imagined lose their meaning but the guiding power of love remains," according to the book's publisher, Penguin Random House.
Leonard Cohen
HarperCollins Publishers
You knew this guy was going to make the list. Sure, he's best-known for his songs and poems but the famed Montrealer's novels, like 'Beautiful Losers' and 'The Favourite Game', have been highly praised, even earning comparisons to James Joyce.
Jimmy Buffett
Avon
You thought this dude was all, just, like “Margaritaville” and whatnot but this guy has the EGOT of authors: he has topped the New York Times Bestseller list for fiction twice with 'Tales from Margaritaville' and 'Where is Joe Merchant?' He also reached the top of the New York Times Bestseller list for non-fiction with 'A Pirate Looks at Fifty', making him one of only eight authors who have topped both lists. Also, we understand that the plot of 'Where Is Joe Merchant?' is about Frank Bama and his ex-girlfriend, hemorrhoid-ointment heiress Trevor Kane, so it sounds like a must-read.
Morrissey
Penguin
Best-known as the lead singer of the Smiths and as a cranky vegetarian on the internet, Morrissey released his first book, 'List of The Lost', in 2015. Critics did not hail it, they did not hail it at all. In fact, The Telegraph ran a list of the 10 most embarrassing lines. Yikes.
Sylvia Tyson
Harper Collins
Best-known as half of the folk duo Ian and Sylvia, this Chatam, Ontario-born member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame released the sweeping epic 'Joyner's Dream' in 2011.
Nick Cave
harpercollins
Did we all know he was Australian? I'm not sure we all knew that this intense godfather of emo was Australian. Did we know he doesn't just write songs? Yes: He also writes poems, screenplays, soundtracks, and, so far, two novels: 'And the Ass Saw the Angel' and 'The Death of Bunny Monroe'.
Ron Sexsmith
Dundurn Press
The internationally renowned singer/songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, is a big fan of Charles Dickens and released his first book, 'Deer Life -- A Fairy Tale', last spring.
Josh Ritter
Dial Press
Literary critics really liked Ritter's novel, 'Bright's Passage,' when it was released in 2012. You probably know Ritter best as an Americana hero who sings with the Royal City Band but did you know that in 2006, Paste magazine called Ritter one of the “100 Greatest Living Songwriters”? Looks like that writing talent knows no bounds.
Steve Earle
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Yes! Rock, country, folk singer/songwriter/legend Steve Earle has written a novel and, of all the books on this list, this might be the one we're most inclined to pick up next (we've already read most of this list, we promise!). His book, 'I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive', sounds straight-up spooky: It tells the story of a doctor haunted by the ghost of Hank Williams. Boo! We mean Yay! Yay for books and the musicians who write them.
Colin Meloy of The Decemberists
HarperCollins
The lead singer of the Portland, Oregon, indie folk rockers released a trilogy of fantasy novels beginning in 2011 with 'Wildwood', which was followed by 'Under Wildwood', and 'Wildwood Imperium'. Each instalment is illustrated by his wife, Carson Ellis.

10 Music Stars Who Have Written Novels

More Galleries

Latest Galleries