What an exciting day. If there is such a thing as having a productive day on twitter, I’d say today is one. After reading Meghan O’Rourke’s piece “Can a Woman Be a “Great American Novelist”?” I started thinking about my favorite overlooked writer, Helen DeWitt, and started the hashtag #overlookedgreatamericannovelist.

Perhaps I should say first that I think that the concept of a “Great American Novelist” is a delicious, not entirely healthy or helpful, but sometimes useful, piece of hyperbole. It’s not unlike a pork rind — all pop and crackle.

Still, I’ve been watching this list develop in awe. I’ve counted close to a hundred authors, over half of which have been mentioned (or retweeted) by at least two people. I will point out that my intention was to highlight overlooked women authors, but that isn’t what happened with the meme. It became an equal opportunity free-for-all, which doesn’t bother me in the slightest. As novelist Allison Lynn said in a tweet: “Asked recently who he thinks is overlooked, Coetzee said every writer today is overlooked—or soon will be.”

Here are some selected recommendations and a list of the ten writers who have risen to the top of the #overlookedgreatamericannovelist heap. This is not a scientific sampling. I used chicken scratches to count and I’m not particularly skillful at counting. I also factored in the retweets. (Sorta hoping I’m the first person to have used the phrase “factored in the retweets.”)

1. Percival Everett (congratulate novelist @mat_johnson and his 10+ retweets)

2. John Crowley (first suggested by novelist @jameshynes, I love Little, Big)

3. Dawn Powell (strong out of the starting gate with writer @thebookmaven‘s support)

4. Shirley Ann Grau (big ups first from librarian @wssstephens)

5. J. F. Powers (writer @levistahl first mentions)

6. Peter DeVries (writer @maudnewton nominates DeVries “on strength of The Blood of the Lamb alone”)

7. John P. Marquand (Mr. Moto spy novelist first mentioned by writer @sarahw)

8. Evan S. Cornell (on my facebook page by grad school classmate)

9. Kathryn Davis (with strong encouragement from @thebookslut)

10. Joy Williams (first by @rumaan, a hearty second from @katebernheimer who republished The Changeling at The Fairy Tale Review Press)

Runners-up: Ward Just, Andrew Holleran, Gayl Jones, and Jane Bowles (these folks essentially tied for the last few places but I wanted to stop the list at 10). Other top contenders include writers I personally wouldn’t consider overlooked like Willa Cather, Flannery O’Connor, Toni Morrison, and Sandra Cisneros. But it’s all a matter of perspective.

The thing I love most about the list: I haven’t read eight of the authors. Time to build a new bedside bookstack.

Lastly a shout out to @matthunte, who contributed the most overlooked-novelist suggestions. All excellent too.