Justin Tadlock

X3P0: Authors is a block that lets you display a simple list of post authors for your site. This is especially useful if you’re coming over from using a classic WordPress theme and need a block that’s similar to the old <code>wp_list_authors()</code> template tag.
Aside from the full array of normal block design tools, the block lets you choose from several options:
<ul>
<li>Number: Decide the number of authors to list.</li>
<li>Order By: Choose from a variety of fields to order the list by.</li>
<li>Order: Whether to display the list in ascending or descending order.</li>
<li>Has Published Posts: Whether to only show authors who have published posts.</li>
<li>Show Feed Link: Whether to show an icon linked to the author’s RSS feed.</li>
<li>Show Post Count: Whether to display the author’s published post count.</li>
</ul>
You can find the full source code for this plugin via its <a href="https://github.com/x3p0-dev/x3p0-authors" rel="nofollow ugc">GitHub repository</a>.

X3P0: Authors

A customizable authors list block that lets you showcase post authors, their feed links, and post counts.

OTWthemes

You can create a fully functional website using this widget. Check out the showcase. 
Drag & drop the widget in as many sidebars or custom widget areas as you like and build as many independent lists as you like. It is very easy to build any type of list you’d like. 
It works similar to SQL query but no coding knowledge is required! 
<a href="http://otwthemes.com/demos/smart-post-lists-light/?utm_source=wp.org&utm_medium=page&utm_content=demo&utm_campaign=spll" rel="nofollow ugc">Check out demo site</a>
<blockquote>
<a href="https://1.envato.market/c/1246358/275988/4415?subId1=spl&subId2=2020&subId3=https%3A%2F%2Fcodecanyon.net%2Fitem%2Fsmart-post-lists-widget-for-wordpress%2F935289&u=https%3A%2F%2Fcodecanyon.net%2Fitem%2Fsmart-post-lists-widget-for-wordpress%2F935289" rel="nofollow ugc">Upgrade to Pro Version</a> | 
 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A8q7UQJzLg" rel="nofollow ugc">Video demonstration</a>.
</blockquote>
How it works
Go to your widgets section. Drag and Drop the widget in a sidebar(widget area) that you want your list to appear in. Fill in the form and click save. Here are the options you can choose from:
<ul>
<li>Select multiple categories and tags to list posts from.</li>
<li>Choose the number of posts to list and where to start listing from.</li>
<li>Order the list by: author, date created, date modified, post title.</li>
<li>Order to display posts: ascending, descending.</li>
<li>Select fields you want to show: title, date, excerpt, number of comments.</li>
<li>Select excerpt length in words</li>
<li>Choose to show image on: all posts, first only or none</li>
<li>Choose size of the image: thumb, medium, large</li>
<li>Choose image float: top of text, left of text, right of text</li>
</ul>
By filling a simple form this plugin will build an SQL SELECT query, return a result set and build html code based on it. The form controls select expression, where condition, order by expression, limit expression. 
No coding is required!
Showcase
You can create a fully functional website using this widget. Get some ideas at the <a href="http://otwthemes.com/demos/smart-post-lists-light/?utm_source=wp.org&utm_medium=page&utm_content=demo&utm_campaign=spll" rel="nofollow ugc">demo site</a>.
<ul>
<li>Sidebar examples</li>
<li>Footer examples</li>
<li>Blog examples</li>
<li>Portfolio example</li>
<li>Products example</li>
<li>Widgetized page</li>
</ul>
Customize front-end
By default the widget looks like all other widgets from the same sidebar (widget area) you drop it in. It has its own CSS file that overrides the default styles for your list elements. You can use that file to further customize the front-end outlook.
Get more of this plugin
Most themes for WordPress will come with default sidebars and a few footer areas where you can drop widgets in. If you want to have custom widget areas for instance in content areas of your pages and post, or any other area of your site:
<ul>
<li>Create your custom widget areas by using a plugin. It’s fast and easy.</li>
<li>Create your custom widget areas by little coding – advanced users.</li>
<li>Use an advanced theme with more widget areas defined.</li>
</ul>

Smart Post Lists Light

Create custom post lists based on options you choose from a form in a widget. Different types of lists, blog, portfolio, services pages. No coding.

X3P0: Authors vs Smart Post Lists Light