Erin Morgenstern
{{short description|American novelist}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Erin Morgenstern
| image = Erin morgenstern 2011.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =Morgenstern at the 2011 Texas Book Festival
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1978|07|08}}{{cite web |last=Morgenstern |first=Erin |title=not really a FAQ |url=http://erinmorgenstern.com/about/not-really-a-faq/ |access-date=30 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609115510/http://erinmorgenstern.com/about/not-really-a-faq/ |archive-date=9 June 2012 }}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| resting_place =
| occupation = Novelist
| language =
| nationality = American
| education = Smith College (BA)
| genre = Fantasy
| notableworks = The Night Circus
| awards = Locus Award for Best First Novel
| signature = Erin Morgenstern signature.svg
| website = {{URL|erinmorgenstern.com}}
}}
Erin Morgenstern (born July 8, 1978) is an American multimedia artist and the author of two fantasy novels. The Night Circus (2011) was published in more than a dozen languages by 2013 and won the annual Locus Award for Best First Novel. She is a 2012 recipient of an Alex Award. Her second book, The Starless Sea, was published in 2019.
Life
Erin Morgenstern was raised in Marshfield, Massachusetts and studied theater and studio art at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, graduating in 2000.{{cite news|last=Leavitt|first=Caroline|title=Her life just became a three-ring circus: With major buzz and a movie deal, Erin Morgenstern's debut fantasy novel has already cast a spell|url=http://articles.boston.com/2011-09-13/ae/30150304_1_three-ring-circus-ordinary-circus-night-circus|publisher=Boston Globe|access-date=2011-10-04|date=2011-09-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524035224/http://articles.boston.com/2011-09-13/ae/30150304_1_three-ring-circus-ordinary-circus-night-circus|archive-date=2012-05-24|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Morgenstern|first=Erin|title=About Erin Morgenstern |url=http://erinmorgenstern.com/about|access-date=2011-10-04}} In addition to writing, she paints, mostly in acrylics, including the Phantomwise tarot deck.{{cite web|last=Morgenstern|first=Erin|title=Phantomwise Tarot|url=http://www.phantomwise.com/|access-date=2011-10-04}} She signed with Inkwell Management in May 2010 after being rejected by thirty literary agents, and sold her debut novel to Doubleday in September 2010; The Night Circus was published in September 2011.{{cite web|last=Peabody|first=Richard|title=The Night Circus review|url=http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/the-night-circus/|publisher=The Washington Independent Review of Books}} She has participated in National Novel Writing Month since 2003, and first wrote about what would become The Night Circus in November 2005.{{cite web|title=First Fiction 2011: Erin Morgenstern: High-Wire Act|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/47866-first-fiction-2011-erin-morgenstern-high-wire-act.html|publisher=Publishers Weekly|access-date=2011-10-04}} Morgenstern has since moved to New York City.
''The Night Circus''
Morgenstern's debut novel, The Night Circus, was published in September 2011. It is a phantasmagorical fairy tale of magic and romance set in an ahistorical late 19th century London. The book has drawn comparison with the Harry Potter series, as well as the works of Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, Susanna Clarke, and Steven Millhauser;{{cite web|last=Miller|first=Laura|title="The Night Circus": Magician vs. Magician|url=http://entertainment.salon.com/2011/09/04/night_circus/|work=Salon|access-date=2011-10-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425021351/http://www.entertainment.salon.com/2011/09/04/night_circus/|archive-date=2012-04-25|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Behe|first=Rege|title=Erin Morgenstern's debut 'The Night Circus' draws comparisons to 'Potter'|url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/books/s_756978.html|publisher=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review|access-date=2011-10-04|date=2011-09-18|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131174739/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/books/s_756978.html|archive-date=2013-01-31|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last=Charles|first=Ron|title=Erin Morgenstern's "The Night Circus" reviewed by Ron Charles|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/erin-morgensterns-the-night-circus-reviewed-by-ron-charles/2011/09/07/gIQAXjPGQK_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=2011-09-13}} it is not aimed at young adults, but has been recommended for teens. The first printing runs to 175,000, and the rights have been sold in 30 countries; Summit Entertainment has contracted the film rights. Jim Dale, who narrates the American edition Harry Potter audiobooks, also narrates the audiobook of The Night Circus.{{cite web|last=Carstensen|first=Angela|title=The Debut: Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus (interview)|url=http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/newsletters/newsletterbucketsljteen/891576-444/the_debut_erin_morgenstern_the.html.csp|publisher=School Library Journal}} Harvill Secker, the UK publisher for The Night Circus, contracted Failbetter Games to create an interactive browser-based puzzle game to accompany the book.{{cite web|last=O'Hara|first=Jan|title=Author Interview at Writer Unboxed (Part II)|date=9 September 2011 |url=http://writerunboxed.com/2011/09/09/erin-morgenstern-part-ii/|publisher=Writer Unboxed}}[http://www.nightcircus.co.uk/signup The Night Circus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925222657/http://www.nightcircus.co.uk/signup |date=2011-09-25 }} interactive browser-based game
In an interview with the School Library Journal, Morgenstern describes the short, self-contained chapters as reflecting the myriad tents of the circus, and the black and white with a splash of red motif as showing dangerous passion simmering just below the surface.
The Night Circus won an Alex Award from the American Library Association,{{cite web | url = http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/alex/2012awards | title = YALSA's Alex Awards. 2012 Winners | access-date = 2012-01-29}} the 2012 Locus Award for Best First Novel,{{cite web | url = http://www.locusmag.com/News/2012/06/locus-awards-2012-winners/ | title = Locus Online News » 2012 Locus Awards Winners | date = 2015-05-05 | access-date = 2015-06-21 | publisher = Locus Publications | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120622070415/http://www.locusmag.com/News/2012/06/locus-awards-2012-winners/ | archive-date = 2012-06-22 | url-status = dead }} was nominated for the 2011 Goodreads Fantasy Award,{{cite web |title=Best Fantasy |url=https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-fantasy-books-2011 |website=Goodreads |publisher=Goodreads Inc |access-date=21 March 2021}} and spent seven weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.{{cite web | url = http://www.prhspeakers.com/speaker/erin-morgenstern/ | title = Erin Morgenstern - Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau | access-date = 2015-06-21 | publisher = Penguin Random House}}
''The Starless Sea''
On November 8, 2018, it was announced that Doubleday would publish a new novel by Morgenstern titled The Starless Sea. Entertainment Weekly described The Starless Sea as a "sweeping new novel interweaving romantic and fantastical elements."{{Cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/books/2018/11/08/erin-morgenstern-the-starless-sea-announcement/|title=The Starless Sea: Erin Morgenstern sets sweeping new novel for 2019|magazine=Entertainment Weekly }} The book was released on November 5, 2019.
References
External links
- {{official website}}, erin's emporium of discount dreams & well-worn wonders
- [https://twitter.com/erinmorgenstern Twitter feed]
- {{IMDb name|4651779}}
- [http://writerunboxed.com/2011/09/02/erin-morgenstern-part-i/ Interview] with Writer Unboxed
- [http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-09-22/erin-morgenstern-night-circus Interview] on The Diane Rehm Show
- [http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120907204100/http%3A//blog.booklistonline.com/2012/08/27/hostile%2Dquestions%2Derin%2Dmorgenstern/ Interview] with Booklist
- {{isfdb name|159605}}
- {{LCAuth|n2010079517|Erin Morgenstern|3|}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgenstern, Erin}}
Category:21st-century American novelists
Category:21st-century American women writers
Category:American fantasy writers
Category:Magic realism writers
Category:Novelists from Massachusetts
Category:People from Marshfield, Massachusetts
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)