Laini Taylor (born December 22, 1971) is an American young adult fantasy author and a finalist for the National Book Award in Young People's Literature,[1] best known for the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, Strange the Dreamer, and Muse of Nightmares.
Laini Taylor | |
|---|---|
 Taylor in March 2018 | |
| Born | December 11, 1971 Chico, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Period | 2004–present |
| Genre | Young adult fantasy |
| Notable works |
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| Notable awards |
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| Spouse | Jim Di Bartolo (2001–present) |
| Children | Clementine |
| Relatives |
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| Signature | |
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| Website | |
| lainitaylor | |
Biography
editTaylor was born in Chico, California, grew up as a US military kid in Europe and California, and earned her English degree from UC Berkeley. She currently lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and daughter.[2] She always wanted to be a writer, and was 35 before she finished her first novel.[3]
Career
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In 2004, she wrote a graphic novel for Image Comics, illustrated by her husband, Jim Di Bartolo.[4] Her first novel, Dreamdark: Blackbringer, was published in 2007. The sequel, Dreamdark: Silksinger, was a winner of the 2009 Cybil Award.[5] In 2011, she published Daughter of Smoke and Bone, a young adult fantasy series. The first book in the series was chosen by Amazon as the Best Teen Book of 2011,[6] and the sequel, Days of Blood and Starlight, was also on the list in 2012.[7] In 2017, she published Strange the Dreamer, followed by its sequel Muse of Nightmares in 2018, in which protagonist Lazlo Strange, a scribe and polyglot, journeys to the Lost City of Weep. Taylor created a unique language for this world, which she weaves into the plot. Strange the Dreamer became a Michael L. Printz Honor Book[8] as well as the 2018 Leslie Bradshaw Award for Young Adult Literature.[9]
Works
editFaeries of Dreamdark
edit- Dreamdark: Blackbringer (2007)
- Dreamdark: Silksinger (2009)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone
edit- Daughter of Smoke and Bone (2011)
- Days of Blood and Starlight (2012)
- Dreams of Gods and Monsters (2014)
- Night of Cake and Puppets (novella) (2013)
Strange the Dreamer
edit- Strange the Dreamer (2017)
- Muse of Nightmares (2018)
Graphic novels
edit- The Drowned, illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo (2004)
Collections
edit- Lips Touch: Three Times (2009)
- "Spanking Robots" in Fractured Fables (2010)
- "Gentleman Send Phantoms" in Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction (2012)
- "The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer" in My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories(2014)
References
edit- ^ "Portland Writer Laini Taylor is National Book Award finalist". Retrieved June 5, 2017.
- ^ "Laini Taylor's Blog: About Laini". Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ^ "5 Writing Tips from Laini Taylor". Publishers Weekly. November 16, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ^ "This July, "The Drowned" surfaces from Image" (Press release). Comic Book Resources. April 13, 2004. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ^ "The 2009 Cybils Winners". Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ^ "Best Books of 2011: Young Adult". Amazon.com. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ^ "Best Teen Books of 2012". Amazon.com. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ^ "PRINTZ HONOR!!!". www.lainitaylor.com. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Amy Wang | The (May 2, 2018). "2018 Oregon Book Awards honor 10 authors". oregonlive. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
External links
edit
- Official website
- Laini Taylor at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Laini Taylor at Library of Congress, with 6 library catalog records
- Fisher, Rebecca (August 30, 2014). "Interview at Fantasy Literature". FantasyLiterature.com.
