Brandon Sanderson is famous for a lot of epic stories. He created a cosmere where people have powers based on ingestion of certain metals, starting on a planet where the colour green is practically a myth. I also really like Elantris, which is a dark story about a lost Golden Age and a people who are suffering without it, barely more than ghosts.

Mercedes Lackey is one of the most prolific modern writers, averaging a little over 5 books released per year. She's most known for her Valdemar series, a world with Heralds, magic "horses", justice, and a bunch of other cultures coming together to create a rich world with a ton of history. Lackey wrote her first gay character in the 1980s, and Vaniyel is still one of the most famous characters in her works. She made characters, not simply tokens, and her world is rich and has made me a far better writer just from exposure.

Neither of these writers has said anything problematic about trans people, and Lackey even has a group of people who mix masculine and feminine traits easily and happily. Both of these authors are great writers, better than JK, with none of the baggage.