Which author would you choose?

I would separate authors I enjoy reading from authors that have a distinctive style that I could have some fun with. 800 words is not a huge amount so looking at chapter openings as a way of identifying stylistic features could be a start. Enid Blyton, JD Salinger and Franz Kafka spring to mind!

www.beyondthebookends.com/louise-penny-books-in-order/

"Still Life" the first in this wonderful, heart warming series...

"This is one of the best detective books and detective series I have ever read. You will fall in love with Three Pines and the people who live there. The wonderful community in this series is the best of what feel-good novels should be."

Its fine as a stand alone as the first in the series but some of your group will do what I did and read them all in order. The first 5 on Amazon were only around £18.

It would have to be Agatha Christie for me.

It would boil down to two quite different styles for me, Stephen King or Agatha Christie.

I remember lemongrove being a great parodist. Her take on Wodehouse was brilliant.
I’ve read some very funny Jilly Cooper parodies on MN

Probably Barbara Pym, though I doubt I’d ever be able to anything like equal one of her opening lines -

‘The new curate was quite a nice young man, but what a pity it was that his combinations showed, tucked carelessly into his socks, when he sat down.’ 😂

I really would separate 'favourite author' from 'best parody', as Marmin says.
But I would certainly choose an author with whom I was familiar. of the 4 you mention, I think Thomas Hardy & Ian Fleming lend themselves best to parody (indeed, reading IF now, he feels like a parody!)
I think you might have fun with IF struggling to write a female Bond, and keep giving her the typing to do.
Thomas Hardy would lend himself to parody the modern southern 'posh' village.
Have just realised it doesn't have to be a parody - but I can't help with that!
And Witzend - another Pym fan here - just wonderful!

I'd try a very creepy MR James type ghost story set in an ancient church!

I would find that an impossible assignment! You'd have to be a pretty good writer yourself to produce something in the style of Brookner or Pym.

The already mentioned Fleming, Cooper, Hardy would be easier to emulate, as would Dickens with his use of 10 words instead of one and eccentric naming of characters.

I'd go for Hunter S Thompson's gonzo-style

I enjoy Thrillers or Horrors, so Sarah Denzil, Shari Lapena or Louise Candlish for Horror it's Stephen King or James Herbert. I also enjoy V C Andrews for a slightly more somewhat different style. James Patterson is top of my list for a Great Detective style Thriller

Carl Geary - Montpellier Parade - brilliant use of second person throughout the story. A fun challenge for a short story if you've never tried this before. Also a very good read.

Thomas Hardy set in a new build 5 bedroomed cul de sack on the edge of a desirable town. For the description of families and their lives.
My other would be Barbara Erskin I like the time slip and creepiness of her novels.

Would have to be Terry Pratchett for me!

Sitting lake-side at the Hotel Du Lac….writing a parody…. Anita Brookner wound be my choice.

John Steinbeck for me!

John Buchan

Jane Austen for me, so witty.

Virginia Woolf in her ‘stream of consciousness’ style. I think it has a great deal of relevance as to how we think sometimes and I would love to have a go at it!

Graham Greene, I love his books and Brighton Rock is my favourite. I'd like to write something dark & sinister like this.

Another vote for Jane Austen! Subtlety puncturing society’s pretensions.

Thank you for your responses if only I was a good enough writer. I recently did a 'Jilly Cooper' for the humorous assignment with set characters ( garden centre and a rogue employee) that was a gift but this is a hard assignment. I am going to try Anita Brookner.

I'd go for George Orwell - his story Coming Up for Air is superb and very easy to read and is one of my favourites.

I would hate to have to pick just one author. However, if pushed, my first choice would probably be Mary Wesley. Her books are thoughtful with some very amusing episodes.
Terry Pratchett, Tom Holt, Margaret Atwood…

How about something completely different. Like Julia Quinn, the Bridgerton writer. Her books are very formulaic, so easy to parody.?