Stephenie Meyer

Official Bio

Stephenie Meyer graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in English. She lives with her husband and three young sons in Phoenix, Arizona. After the publication of her first novel, Twilight, booksellers chose Stephenie Meyer as one of the "most promising new authors of 2005" (Publishers Weekly).

 

Praise for Twilight

• A New York Times Editor's Choice
• A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
• An Amazon "Best Book of the Decade...So Far"
• A Teen People "Hot List" pick
• An American Library Association "Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults" and "Top Ten Books for Reluctant Readers"
• Has been translated into 20 languages
• The movie version will be in theaters on November 21, 2008.

"Propelled by suspense and romance in equal parts <this story> will keep readers madly flipping the pages of Meyer's tantalizing debut."
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The novel's danger-factor skyrockets as the excitement of secret love and hushed affection morphs into a terrifying race to stay alive. Realistic, subtle, succinct, and easy to follow, Twilight will have readers dying to sink their teeth into it."
— School Library Journal (starred review)

 

Unofficial Bio

I was born in Connecticut in 1973, during a brief blip in my family's otherwise western U.S. existence. We were settled in Phoenix by the time I was four, so, considering that I have twenty-seven Arizona summers under my belt, I think of myself as a native. The unusual spelling of my name was a gift from my father, Stephen ( + ie = me ). Though I have had my name spelled wrong on pretty much everything my entire life long, I must admit that it makes it easier to google myself now.

I filled the "Jan Brady" spot in my family—the second of three girls. Unlike the Brady's, none of my three brothers are steps, and all of them are younger than all the girls. My big sister was, however, very similar to Marcia (only instead of being self-absorbed and vain, she was sweet and shy, which made her all the more perfect—Emily, Emily, Emily!!), and we did have a dog named after a non-canine animal (Eagle, in this case). We never had a maid, so my mom is clearly superior to Florence Henderson's character, and also has a better singing voice.

I went to high school in Scottsdale, Arizona, the kind of place where every fall a few girls would come back to school with new noses and there were Porsches in the student lot (for the record, I have my original nose, and never had a car until after I was in my twenties). Our football team was renowned statewide—for having the highest average GPA. I was awarded a National Merit Scholarship, and I used it to pay my way to Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah. On the list of the biggest party schools in the country, BYU consistently and proudly finishes dead last. I majored in English, but concentrated on literature rather than creative writing, mostly because I didn't consider reading books as work (as long as I was going to be doing something anyway, I might as well get course credit for it, right?). During my college years, I heard many lame jokes about English majors' future careers in the food services industries, and to all the people who made those jokes, I now say, "Ha, ha" (to be heard in the voice of Nelson Muntz).

I met my husband, Pancho (his real name is Christiaan, but no one calls him that—it's not a long story, but it is a stupid one, so I'll skip it), when I was four, but we were never anywhere close to being childhood sweethearts. In fact, though we saw each other at least weekly through church activities, I can't recall a single instance when we so much as greeted each other with a friendly wave, let alone exchanged actual words. This may have been for the best, because when we did eventually get around to exchanging words, sixteen years after our first meeting, it only took nine months from the first "hello" to the wedding. Of course, we were able to skip over a lot of the getting to know you parts—many of our conversations would go something like this: "This one time, when I was ten, I broke my hand at a party when—" "Yeah, I know what happened. I was there, remember?"

We've been married for ten and a half years now, and have three beautiful, brilliant, wonderful boys who often remind me of chimpanzees on crack. Gabe is eight, Seth is five, and Eli is three. When I started my writing career, they were each two years younger, and, looking back, I don't have any idea how I survived trying to do so many things at once.

Twilight is my very first novel, and it has been a crazy, rollercoaster-sans-seatbelts experience from the very beginning. (If you're interested in more about the writing of Twilight, click the "Twilight Series" tab at the top of this lame, rambling autobiography. (Sorry for being Capt. Obvious.))

My favorite authors/biggest influences are (in no particular order) Orson Scott Card, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, Maeve Binchy, Charlotte Bronte, Daphne DuMaurier, L.M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Eva Ibbotson, William Goldman, Douglas Adams, Janet Evanovich... the list goes on, but I think I hit the highlights. I can't write without music, and my biggest muse is the band Muse, ironically enough (see link below). My other favorite sources of inspiration are Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Coldplay, The All American Rejects, Travis, The Strokes, Brand New, U2, Kasabian, Jimmy Eat World, and Weezer, to mention a few.
 
 

Upcoming Releases

"Meyer's YA vampire novels (Breaking Dawn will be out in August) have been touted in the Wall Street Journal as successors to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. And with a fan base that has grown exponentially with each new release, they may not be far off. All of which makes the publication of Meyer's first adult novel even more noteworthy. It lives up to the hype, blending science fiction and romance in a way that has never worked so well. In this page-turner, Meyer explores what happens to relationships when two beings inhabit the same physical body. Earth has been overrun by an alien species called Souls, which invade human bodies and erase personalities. As the novel opens, Melanie Stryder, one of the few human holdouts, has been captured by the aliens and is implanted with a Soul named Wanderer, who is something of a legend among her own kind because of the many hosts and planets she has experienced. Inhabiting a human mind and body is unlike anything Wanderer has ever known, and soon she finds that Melanie isn't quite willing to give up to this invader. Overwhelmed by Melanie's memories and feelings, Wanderer finds herself driven to reconnect with Melanie's old life. As with her vampire novels, Meyer will make new fans of readers "who don't read books with aliens." - Jane Jorgenson from Library Journal

2008 MAJOR YEAR FOR MEYER WITH DEBUT OF ADULT NOVEL AND TWILIGHT MOVIE

February 7, 2008 (New York, NY) — The wait is over. At 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 2, 2008, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, a division of Hachette Book Group USA, will release the most anticipated novel of the year — Breaking Dawn, it was announced today by Megan Tingley, the division's Senior Vice President and Publisher. The fourth and final book in Stephenie Meyer's #1 international bestselling Twilight Saga will be available in a hardcover edition for $22.99/$23.99 Can.

The countdown to Breaking Dawn will begin on Saturday, May 31, 2008 with the publication of the Eclipse Special Edition which coincides with the annual BookExpo America show, the book publishing industry's largest convention. This deluxe hardcover version of the third book in the series not only includes the cover art for Breaking Dawn, but also the first chapter—both of which will be revealed to the public for the first time. The trade paperback of New Moon, the second book in the Twilight Saga, will also be released on Saturday, May 31, 2008.

"Stephenie Meyer has written a dazzling grand finale to an epic love story," commented Tingley. "And with the extraordinary excitement surrounding the publication of Breaking Dawn, I'm thrilled that legions of new readers will now discover the saga that has already captivated millions around the world."

Meyer's fans will have plenty, PLENTY, to keep them occupied until the release of the Eclipse Special Edition and Breaking Dawn. On May 6, 2008, Little, Brown and Company will release The Host, Meyer's highly-anticipated debut novel for adults. Little, Brown and Company has announced a 500,000 copy first-printing and Meyer will embark on a 10-city author tour for The Host.

"We are thrilled to be publishing two novels from this extraordinary talent in 2008," said David Young, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hachette Book Group USA. "Stephenie Meyer has already achieved so much in her young career and this year further establishes her as a major force in the publishing industry. Given her remarkable talent and her passionate, ever-growing fan base, there is no limit to Stephenie Meyer's success."

Meyer's amazing year will be capped off by a major motion picture event. Summit Entertainment will bring Twilight to the big screen, directed by Catherine Hardwicke ("Thirteen," "Lords of Dogtown") and starring Kristen Stewart ("Into The Wild") and Robert Pattinson ("Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"). It will be released nationwide on 21st November 2008.

Stephenie is planning to write another book entitled Midnight Sun, Telling the story of Twilight from Edward's point of view. You can read more about it here.

In just two years, Stephenie Meyer has become a worldwide publishing phenomenon. Twilight was one of 2005's most talked about novels and translation rights have been sold in 33 countries. The sequel, New Moon, was released in September 2006, and spent over 30 weeks at the #1 position on The New York Times bestseller list. Eclipse, the latest book in the series released on August 7, 2007, catapulted to the #1 slot on bestseller lists nationwide after selling 150,000 copies its first day on-sale. There are over 5.5 million copies of the Twilight Saga in-print worldwide
 

Stephenie Meyer released Breaking Dawn, the fourth installment of the Twilight Saga, on August 2, 2008.
 

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