Charlie N. Holmberg

Charlie Nicholes Holmberg was born in Salt Lake City, Utah,{{Cite web|title=About Charlie|url=https://charlienholmberg.com/about-charlie/|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=charlienholmberg.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724041003/http://charlienholmberg.com/about-charlie/ |archive-date=July 24, 2014 }} on April 4, 1988.{{Cite web|title=Charlie N. Holmberg|url=https://mormonarts.lib.byu.edu/people/charlie-n-holmberg/|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Mormon Literature & Creative Arts Database|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204624/https://mormonarts.lib.byu.edu/people/charlie-n-holmberg/ |archive-date=June 24, 2021 }} She has three sisters.{{Cite podcast|url=https://www.instituteforwriters.com/interview-with-charlie-n-holmberg/|title=Interview with Charlie N. Holmberg|website=Writing for Children|publisher=Institute of Children's Literature|host=|date=May 8, 2020|access-date=June 25, 2021|last=Davis|first=Katie}} At a young age, she enjoyed watching Star Trek: The Next Generation and grew up a fan of Star Trek in general.{{Cite web|date=March 3, 2021|title=Finalist Spotlight: Charlie N. Holmberg|url=https://whitneyawards.com/2021/03/03/finalist-spotlightcharlie-n-holmberg/|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Whitney Awards|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421232300/https://whitneyawards.com/2021/03/03/finalist-spotlightcharlie-n-holmberg/ |archive-date=April 21, 2021 }} After seeing an anime series entitled The Vision of Escaflowne when she was 13, Holmberg decided she wanted to write her own stories.{{cite web|title=Disney purchases movie rights to Utah author's 'Paper Magician' series {{!}} KSL.com|url=https://www.ksl.com/?sid=39333688&nid=1205|website=ksl.com|access-date=October 12, 2016}} She wrote fan fiction during her high school years. She played the French horn in her high school band, and first met her husband in band class.

She attended Brigham Young University (BYU), majoring in English (with a focus on creative writing) and minoring in editing. She took a class from fantasy author Brandon Sanderson while in college, and has cited that experience as helpful in her career.{{Cite web|last=Hyde|first=Becca|date=January 6, 2015|title=Interview with Charlie Holmberg|url=http://associationmormonletters.org/blog/2015/01/interview-with-charlie-holmberg/|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Association for Mormon Letters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927202117/http://associationmormonletters.org/blog/2015/01/interview-with-charlie-holmberg/ |archive-date=September 27, 2015 }} She graduated from BYU with a BA in English in 2010 and published a poem entitled "Aeos" in Leading Edge, BYU's science fiction and fantasy magazine, in December of that same year.{{Cite web|title=Title: Aeos|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2338801|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Internet Speculative Fiction Database|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204241/http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2338801 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 }} Holmberg then worked as a technical editor and freelance editor for several years.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}

Holmberg chose to write fantasy over science fiction so that she wouldn't be bound by the limitations of technology in her world building or writing.{{Cite web|last=Wactor|first=Kayla|date=October 6, 2016|title=Interview with Charlie Holmberg|url=https://www.pinereadsreview.com/blog/interview-with-charlie-holmberg/|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Pine Reads Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202003155/https://www.pinereadsreview.com/blog/interview-with-charlie-holmberg/ |archive-date=December 2, 2020 }} Her debut novel, The Paper Magician,{{Cite web|last=Debenham|first=Emily|date=February 11, 2021|title=A decade of novels (and more), #3: Speculative fiction|url=http://associationmormonletters.org/blog/2021/02/a-decade-of-novels-and-more-3-speculative-fiction/|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Association for Mormon Letters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211233748/http://associationmormonletters.org/blog/2021/02/a-decade-of-novels-and-more-3-speculative-fiction/ |archive-date=February 11, 2021 }} was published on September 1, 2014,{{Cite web|title=Title: The Paper Magician|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1758205|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Internet Speculative Fiction Database|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625192807/http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1758205 |archive-date=June 25, 2021 }} by 47North, an imprint of Amazon.{{cite web|title=Fiction Book Review: The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4778-2383-5|url-status=live|website=PublishersWeekly.com|access-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720002049/http://www.publishersweekly.com:80/978-1-4778-2383-5 |archive-date=July 20, 2014 }}{{cite web|title=Writing Excuses 10.35: Breaking In, With Charlie N. Holmberg|url=http://www.writingexcuses.com/2015/08/30/writing-excuses-10-35-breaking-in-with-charlie-n-holmberg/|website=writingexcuses.com|date=August 30, 2015|access-date=January 12, 2017}} It was the ninth novel Holmberg completed and was listed on the American Library Association's 2015 shortlist for fantasy.{{Cite news|last=Hornung|first=Susan|date=February 1, 2015|title=2015 Reading List announced: Year's best in genre fiction for adult readers|work=RUSA News|url=http://rusa.ala.org/blog/2015/02/01/2015-reading-list-announced-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/|access-date=June 25, 2021}} The Paper Magician was also a finalist for the 2014 AML Award for Best Young Adult Speculative Fiction Novel.{{Cite web|last=Goldberg|first=James|date=March 28, 2015|title=2014 AML Awards|url=http://associationmormonletters.org/blog/2015/03/aml-awards-for-2014/|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Association for Mormon Letters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909205601/http://associationmormonletters.org/blog/2015/03/aml-awards-for-2014/ |archive-date=September 9, 2015 }} The book follows protagonist Ceony Twill as she becomes permanently bound to manipulating paper through magic. Holmberg decided to limit her characters in The Paper Magician to be able to manipulate only one man-made material after being taught by Brandon Sanderson that "limits are more interesting than the powers themselves". Holmberg was inspired, in part, by the art of origami in her idea for The Paper Magician. The novel was expanded into a series, including The Glass Magician (2014),{{Cite book|title=The glass magician|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/991173440|access-date=June 25, 2021|via=WorldCat|oclc = 991173440}} The Master Magician (2015),{{Cite book|title=The master magician|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/991072385|access-date=June 25, 2021|via=WorldCat|oclc = 991072385}}{{Cite web|title=The Paper Magician Trilogy|url=http://charlienholmberg.com/books/the-paper-magician-trilogy/|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=charlienholmberg.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150608001901/http://charlienholmberg.com:80/books/the-paper-magician-trilogy/ |archive-date=June 8, 2015 }} and The Plastic Magician (2018). The Master Magician was featured as a Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Book (under fiction e-books) in June 2015. The complete series was optioned by Disney in 2016.{{cite web|title=Disney Nabs Movie Rights to 'The Paper Magician' Trilogy (Exclusive)|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-nabs-movie-rights-paper-877728|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=March 31, 2016|access-date=October 5, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://fox13now.com/2016/05/24/book-club-author-charlie-holmberg-and-the-paper-magician/|title=Book Club author Charlie Holmberg and "The Paper Magician"|last=|first=|date=May 24, 2016|website=fox13now.com/|publisher=|access-date=January 12, 2017}}

Holmberg has also written seven standalone novels, including The Hanging City, which was a finalist in the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards in the romantasy category.{{Cite web |title=Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Romantasy! |url=https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-romantasy-books-2023 |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=Goodreads}} She has described herself as "more of a standalone writer than{{Spaces}}... a series writer".{{Cite web|last=Dillon|first=Barbra|date=January 17, 2020|title=Fanbase Press Interviews Charlie N. Holmberg on the Novel, 'The Will and the Wilds'|url=http://www.fanbasepress.com/index.php/press/interviews/books/item/10599-fanbase-press-interviews-charlie-n-holmberg-on-the-novel-the-will-and-the-wilds|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Fanbase Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208052916/http://fanbasepress.com:80/index.php/press/interviews/books/item/10599-fanbase-press-interviews-charlie-n-holmberg-on-the-novel-the-will-and-the-wilds |archive-date=February 8, 2020 }} Her novel Followed by Frost was published in 2015,{{Cite book|title=Followed by frost|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/907195915|access-date=June 25, 2021|via=WorldCat|oclc = 907195915}} also by 47North.{{Cite news|last=Bulsiewicz|first=Michelle Garrett|date=February 23, 2019|title=A publisher's rejection spurred friendship of these two authors, BYU alumna. Here's how|work=Deseret News|url=https://www.deseret.com/2019/2/23/20666508/a-publisher-s-rejection-spurred-friendship-of-these-two-authors-byu-alumna-here-s-how#charlie-n-holmberg-is-the-author-of-the-paper-magician-and-the-fifth-doll|access-date=June 25, 2021}} Followed by Frost originated as an idea Holmberg had while scraping snow off her car. The novel was nominated for a RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance in 2016. Holmberg then came up with the concept for another standalone novel, The Fifth Doll (2017), while "preparing a class on magic systems for the LDStorymakers conference".{{Cite news|last=Bulsiewicz|first=Michelle Garrett|date=July 20, 2017|title=Utah author creates magical nesting dolls in new 'Giver'-like fantasy novel|work=Deseret News|url=https://www.deseret.com/2017/7/20/20616167/utah-author-creates-magical-nesting-dolls-in-new-giver-like-fantasy-novel#the-fifth-doll-is-by-charlie-n-holmberg|access-date=June 25, 2021}} The Fifth Doll won the 2017 Whitney Award for Speculative Fiction.{{Cite web|date=2017|title=2017 Winners {{!}} The Whitney Awards|url=https://whitneyawards.com/2017-winners/|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Whitney Awards|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510051437/http://whitneyawards.com/2017-winners/ |archive-date=May 10, 2018 }} Additionally, The Glass Magician, The Plastic Magician, Followed by Frost, Veins of Gold, and Smoke and Summons were all Whitney Award finalists. Veins of Gold made Barnes & Noble's list of "20 Favorite Indie Books of 2018" for its "hidden magic and{{Spaces}}... historical western setting". It was called "a unique tale coupled with talented writing".{{Cite web|last=Barnes & Noble Press|date=December 18, 2018|title=20 Favorite Indie Books of 2018|url=https://press.barnesandnoble.com/bnpress-blog/2018-favorite-indie-books/|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Barnes & Noble Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923195823/https://press.barnesandnoble.com/bnpress-blog/2018-favorite-indie-books/ |archive-date=September 23, 2020 }}

After being told by her agent that she needed to write another series, Holmberg published her Numina trilogy: Smoke and Summons, Myths and Mortals and Siege and Sacrifice.{{Cite web|title=Summary Bibliography: Charlie N. Holmberg|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?206349|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Internet Speculative Fiction Database|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911215742/http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?206349 |archive-date=September 11, 2017 }} She pulled together different ideas she'd had previously to write the story. All three books were published in 2019, just months apart. Holmberg has called Smoke and Summons "the best book [she's] ever written". She has stated that "sometimes current pop culture trickles into [her] novels", and cited Downton Abbey and Stranger Things as examples. Her focus in writing is to enable the reader to "feel something". Holmberg has since added the Spellbreaker and Star Mother duologies to her published works and in 2024, released Boy of Chaotic Making, the third installment in the Whimbrel House series.

Holmberg was on the board of directors of Deep Magic, a quarterly science fiction and fantasy magazine.{{cite web|title=About Us {{!}} DeepMagic|url=http://deepmagic.co/about-us/|url-status=live|website=deepmagic.co|access-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000933/http://deepmagic.co/about-us/ |archive-date=February 2, 2017 }} She interviewed Brandon Sanderson for issue 50 of Deep Magic, published in June 2016.{{Cite web|date=|title=Title: Interview with Brandon Sanderson|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2524093|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Internet Speculative Fiction Database|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205552/http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2524093 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 }} She also hosts the podcast Your Mom Writes Books with author Caitlyn McFarland.{{Cite web|title=About the show|url=https://yourmomwritesbooks.wixsite.com/my-site/home|url-status=live|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Your Mom Writes Books|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204838/https://yourmomwritesbooks.wixsite.com/my-site/home |archive-date=June 24, 2021 }}

Holmberg currently lives in Utah County, Utah. In addition to the French horn, Holmberg plays the piano, flute, and ukulele. She and her husband have two children.{{cite web |last1=Holmberg |first1=Charlie |title=About Charlie |url=https://charlienholmberg.com/about-charlie/}} She often writes in the mornings and takes care of her children in the afternoons. She enjoys reading fantasy novels by Brandon Sanderson, Juliet Marillier, Rosamund Hodge, Robert Jordan, and Martine Leavitt.

{{Hatnote|All books were published by 47North unless otherwise specified; all ISBNs refer to the paperback edition.}}

• {{Cite book |title=The Paper Magician |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4778-2383-5}}
• {{Cite book |title=The Glass Magician |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4778-2594-5}}
• {{Cite book |title=The Master Magician |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-4778-2869-4}}{{cite web|date=June 11, 2015|title=Best-Selling Books Week Ended June 7|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/best-selling-books-week-ended-june-7-1434050851|url-status=live|website=Wall Street Journal|access-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612141618/http://www.wsj.com/articles/best-selling-books-week-ended-june-7-1434050851 |archive-date=June 12, 2015 }}
• {{Cite book |title=The Plastic Magician |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-5039-5177-8}}{{cite web|title=Book Deals: Week of January 16, 2017|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/72502-book-deals-week-of-january-16-2017.html|website=Publishers Weekly|access-date=January 14, 2017}}

• {{Cite book |title=Smoke and Summons |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-5039-0243-5}}
• {{Cite book |title=Myths and Mortals |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-5420-4172-0}}
• {{Cite book |title=Siege and Sacrifice |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-5420-9259-3}}

• {{Cite book |title=Spellbreaker |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-5420-2009-1}}{{cite web |title=21 Incredible Books Coming Your Way This November |url=https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/photo-gallery/47906446/image/47906491/Spellbreaker-by-Charlie-N-Holmberg |website=PopSugar |date=November 2, 2020 |publisher=PopSugar Celebrity |access-date=January 2, 2021}}{{cite web |title=SPELLBREAKER |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/charlie-n-holmberg/spellbreaker-holmberg/ |website=Kirkus Reviews |publisher=Kirkus}}
• {{Cite book |title=Spellmaker |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-5420-2257-6}}

• {{Cite book |title=Star Mother |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-5420-3046-5}}
• {{Cite book |title=Star Father |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-5420-3428-9}}

• {{Cite book |title=Keeper of Enchanted Rooms |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-6625-0034-3}}
• {{Cite book |title=Heir of Uncertain Magic |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-6625-0869-1}}
• {{Cite book |title=Boy of Chaotic Making |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-6625-0873-8}}
• Wizard of Most Wicked Ways. March 2025.

• {{Cite book |title=Followed by Frost |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-5039-4632-3}}
• {{Cite book |title=Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-5039-3560-0}}
• {{Cite book |title=The Fifth Doll |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4778-0610-4}}{{cite web|title=The Fifth Doll|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-477806-10-4|website=Publishers Weekly|access-date=July 6, 2017}}
• {{Cite book |title=Veins of Gold |year=2018 |publisher=Mirror Press |isbn=978-1-947152-22-9}}
• {{Cite book |title=The Will and the Wilds |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-5420-0500-5}}
• {{Cite book |title=The Hanging City |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-6625-0870-7}}
• {{Cite book |title=Still the Sun |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-6625-1680-1}}

• Charlie N. Holmberg's Book of Magic. November 12, 2024.

• "Salt and Water" (2015, reprinted 2016)
• "The War and the Riddle" (2018)
• "Illusions of Love" (2019)

• Short-listed for the 2015 ALA Fantasy Reading List (The Paper Magician){{cite web|title=2015 Reading List announced: Year's best in genre fiction for adult readers|url=http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2015/02/2015-reading-list-announced-year-s-best-genre-fiction-adult-readers|website=ala.org|date=February 2015|access-date=January 12, 2017}}
• Finalist for the 2015 Whitney Award for Young Adult Speculative Fiction (The Glass Magician){{cite web|title=And the Finalists Are...|url=http://whitneyawards.com/2014-finalists/|website=whitneyawards.com|access-date=January 12, 2017}}
• Finalist for the 2015 Whitney Award for Young Adult Speculative Fiction (Followed by Frost){{cite web|title=FOLLOWED BY FROST – 2015 Whitney Awards Finalist|url=http://whitneyawards.com/finalist-spotlight-charlie-n-holmberg/|website=whitneyawards.com|access-date=January 12, 2017}}
• Finalist for the 2016 RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance (Followed by Frost){{cite web|title=2016 RITA & Golden Heart Finalists Announced|url=https://www.rwa.org/p/bl/et/blogid=20&blogaid=1465|website=www.rwa.org|access-date=October 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616001916/https://www.rwa.org/p/bl/et/blogid%3D20%26blogaid%3D1465|archive-date=June 16, 2018|url-status=dead}}
• Winner of the 2017 Whitney Award for Speculative Fiction (The Fifth Doll)
• Winner of the 2020 Whitney Award for Speculative Fiction and Novel of the Year: Adult (The Will and the Wilds){{Cite web |date=2021-10-29 |title=Current and Past Award Winners |url=https://storymakersguild.org/whitney-awards/award-winners |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=Storymakers |language=en-US}}
• Winner of the 2022 Whitney Award for Speculative Fiction (Star Mother)
• Finalist 2023 Goodreads Choice Award, Romantasy (The Hanging City)
• Winner of the 2024 Whitney Award for Adult Speculative Fiction (Keeper of Enchanted Rooms)

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7801879.Charlie_N_Holmberg Charlie N. Holmberg], Goodreads

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Category:21st-century American novelists

Category:American women novelists

Category:Living people

Category:1988 births

Category:21st-century American women writers

Category:Brigham Young University alumni

Category:Writers from Salt Lake City

Category:Novelists from Utah

Category:American women science fiction and fantasy writers

Category:American romantic fiction writers