Novelist Brit Bennett graces the cover of this week’s Time magazine.
The author of The Mothers and The Vanishing Half is only the second living American novelist to be featured on the newsmagazine’s cover in a decade.
Bennett is one of six honorees representing the “TIME100 Next” list for 2021 on worldwide covers, joining performer Dua Lipa, actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, athlete Marcus Rashford, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, and fashion designer Telfar Clemens. The list recognizes 100 rising stars in entertainment, health, politics, business, and beyond.
“Never thought I’d be on a list with Dua Lipa and Luka Dončić—thanks @TIME for including me in the 2021 #Time100Next list!” Bennett tweeted.
Never thought I’d be on a list with Dua Lipa and Luka Dončić—thanks to @TIME for including me in the 2021 #Time100Next list! https://t.co/i0wSrdQVIE
— Brit Bennett (@britrbennett) February 17, 2021
In an accompanying article, author Tayari Jones praises Bennett’s storytelling, identifying her as an artist “informed and inspired by the intensities and complexities of our present moment.
“In jazz, many artists sing the standards, but in literature only the most gifted can revoice the classics, rendering them recognizable yet, well, novel,” Jones writes. “Brit Bennett, take a bow.”
An American novelist on the cover of Time has become an increasingly rare event in recent years. Before Bennett, the last authors to be featured were Colson Whitehead in 2019 and Jonathan Franzen in 2010.
Editor at large Megan Labrise is the host of Kirkus’ Fully Booked podcast.
