Shannon Hale is the best-selling, award-winning author of fifty books for all ages, selling more than fifteen million copies and translated into twenty-five languages.

Brief bio

Shannon Hale is the New York Times best-selling author of fifty books for preschoolers, kids, teens, and adults, including multiple award winners The Goose Girl, Book of a Thousand Days, and Newbery Honor recipient Princess Academy. One of her novels for the adult crowd, Austenland, was made into movie starring Keri Russell and Jennifer Coolidge. With LeUyen Pham, she created her best-selling graphic novel memoirs Real Friends, Best Friends, and Friends Forever, and the Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn picture books. She co-writes books with her husband Dean Hale, like the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge (with Nathan Hale), books for DC Comics about young Wonder Woman (with Victoria Ying), and best-selling chapter book series The Princess in Black (with LeUyen Pham). She lives in Utah with their four children and two ridiculous cats.

Slightly wordier bio

New York Times best selling author Shannon Hale started writing books at age ten and never stopped, eventually earning an MFA in Creative Writing. After nineteen years of writing and many rejections, she published The Goose Girl, the first book in her award-winning Books of Bayern series. Her other books for young adults include the acclaimed fantasy Book of a Thousand Days, the sci-fi adventure Dangerous, and genre-bending comedy Kind of a Big Deal. Her books for middle grade readers include the Newbery Honor winner Princess Academy and sequels, and the USA Today best-selling Ever After High series. With Caldecott-honoree LeUyen Pham, she created her award-winning graphic novel memoirs Real Friends, Best Friends, and Friends Forever and the bestselling Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn picture books. With director Jerusha Hess, Shannon co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of her novel Austenland. With her husband Dean Hale, Shannon co-wrote: Eisner-nominee Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack (with Nathan Hale), two books about Marvel's unbeatable super hero Squirrel Girl, DC’s Diana, Princess of the Amazons series (with Victoria Ying) and Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld (with Asiah Fulmore), and the popular early chapter book series The Princess in Black (with LeUyen Pham). Shannon's books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages and studied in classrooms from elementary schools to universities. She is a renowned public speaker and advocate for gender equality. She and Dean live with their four children near Salt Lake City, Utah.

Even meatier bio

Shannon's mother says she was a storyteller from birth, jabbering endlessly in nonsensical baby-talk. Once she could speak, she made up stories and bribed younger siblings to perform them in mini-plays until, thankfully, an elementary school teacher introduced her to the wonder of written fiction. At age 10, she started to write fantasy novels—but never managed to finish them. 

Embarrassed to have such an “impossible dream,” she wrote in secret for years while pursuing her other impossible passion—theater. School and community theater roles as well as improv comedy helped hone her storytelling toolbox. After completing a bachelor's degree in English, Shannon realized writing was the piece of herself she couldn’t live without and pursued a Masters in Creative Writing.

While in grad school, she and a fellow author dared each other to veer away from literary fiction short stories to compose the kind of writing they’d most loved as teens—a fantasy novel. Shannon worked on The Goose Girl for four years, attempting to marry the literary quality of writing she’d been studying with the kind of story that had thrilled her younger self. After many rejections, The Goose Girl became her first published book and received honors like the Josette Frank Award and ALA Teens' Top Ten. Her third book, Princess Academy, received the prestigious Newbery Honor.

Shannon immediately fell in love with the world of books for young readers, but continued to write for adults. Austenland became her first published novel for adults, and with director Jerusha Hess, Shannon co-wrote the screenplay for the film. Shot in England and starring Keri Russell and Jennifer Coolidge, the film was a competition selection at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and released theatrically by Sony Pictures Classics. Shannon relished the collaborative storytelling of movie-making and continues to work with other creators, often co-writing with her husband Dean Hale and co-creating with Caldecott Honoree LeUyen Pham and other fine artists.

Shannon’s books are recurrent best sellers (New York Times, USA Today, Indie) and have won awards like the Newbery Honor, Cybils, Teen Readers’ Choice, Nerdies, Eisner nominee, and numerous state awards, and have been chosen as a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, Amazon, Parents Magazine, City Weekly, Chicago Public Library, YALSA, Texas Library Association, LA Times, NPR, Bank Street College, Barnes & Noble, and others. Over her twenty-plus year career, she has continued to write and publish for all ages in a wide variety of genres.

PICTURE BOOKS

• Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn series of five books (with LeUyen Pham)

• Kitty-Corn Club series of two board books (with LeUyen Pham)

• This Book Is Not For You! (with Tracy Subisak)

EARLY CHAPTER BOOKS

• The Princess in Black series of eleven books (with Dean Hale and LeUyen Pham)

MIDDLE GRADE NOVELS

• Princess Academy and sequels Palace of Stone and Forgotten Sisters

• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl series of two novels (with Dean Hale)

• Spirit Animals: Fire and Ice

• The Ever After High series of five novels (with Dean Hale)

MIDDLE GRADE GRAPHIC NOVELS

• Dream On (with Marcela Cespedes)

• Shannon’s graphic novel memoirs: Real Friends, Best Friends, and Friends Forever (with LeUyen Pham)

• Rapunzel’s Revenge and Calamity Jack (with Dean Hale and Nathan Hale)

• Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld series (with Dean Hale and Asiah Fulmore)

• Diana & Nubia, Princesses of the Amazons series (with Dean Hale and Victoria Ying)

• Princess Academy, the graphic novel (with Victoria Ying)

YOUNG ADULT NOVELS

• The Books of Bayern series: The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, River Secrets, and Forest Born

• Book of a Thousand Days

• Dangerous

• Kind of a Big Deal

NOVELS FOR ADULTS

• The Austenland series

• The Actor and the Housewife

In her personal life, Shannon has been married to Dean for twenty-five years and is mother to four remarkable children and two ridiculous cats. She is joyously in love with her family, all trees but especially aspens, the moon, fresh peaches, the smell of lime zest, great storytelling in any medium, stuff kids say, people who nerd out about things they’re passionate about, good food, cozy reading chairs, libraries, book stores, long conversations with interesting people, and the twin wonders of curiosity and compassion.

Shannon’s curriculum vitae