Maggie Stiefvater

Early life

Stiefvater was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She described herself as an "anxious child with many phobias." As a child, she wanted to be a fighter pilot and race-car driver and was a voracious reader who enjoyed writing. By age 16, she was submitting manuscripts to publishers. After being home-schooled from sixth grade on, Stiefvater attended Mary Washington College, graduating with a B.A. in history. By the time she had entered college, she had already written over 30 novels, including four thrillers about the Irish Republican Army, a historical blockade runner novel, and a high-fantasy novel about "impassioned enchanters fighting among civil unrest." At 16, she legally changed her first name from "Heidi" to "Margaret". After graduating, she worked as a portrait artist, specializing in equestrian art, which is collected internationally.

Writing career

Stiefvater published her first novel, Lament, in 2008. Before Lament had been released, she sold the rights to Ballad, the sequel to Lament, and to Shiver, the first book in the trilogy The Wolves of Mercy Falls. Shiver spent more than 40 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. In 2010, Linger debuted at the number one spot on the New York Times Bestseller List. There are over 1.7 million copies of The Wolves of Mercy Falls series in print and more than thirty-six foreign editions have been licensed.

In 2011, Stiefvater published The Scorpio Races, which received 5 starred reviews and was named a Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book.

Music

Stiefvater is also known for her music. She played the highland bagpipes competitively while in college, and began a Celtic band, Ballynoola, that toured on the eastern seaboard. She plays multiple other instruments as well. With her sister, Kate Hummel, she writes and records a piece of music for each novel she releases. These are released to the public in the form of animated book trailers. "Stiefvater" is also known for drawing on guitars with Sharpies and giving them away to fans at major events.

Art

Before turning to writing full-time, Stiefvater was a professional portrait artist, specializing in colored pencil.

Stiefvater also animates the book trailers for each of her books, using both stop-motion animation and traditional animation techniques.

Personal life

Stiefvater is married and has two children.

Film adaptations

Unique Features, in association with Warner Bros., optioned Shiver's film rights shortly after the book was released. A screenplay was written by Nick Pustay. In 2011, the option lapsed. Warner Bros. optioned the film rights to The Scorpio Races shortly after that book was released. David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith’s KatzSmith Productions will produce the film. New Line Cinema, in conjunction with Weed Road, optioned the film rights for The Raven Boys shortly before the book's release in September 2012. No screenplay has been written; casting has not begun.

Shiver

Lament

The Scorpio Races

The Raven Boys

The Dream Thieves

Blue Lily, Lily Blue