Libba Bray

{{Infobox person

| name = Libba Bray

| image = Libba Bray by David Shankbone.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Libba Bray

| birth_name = Martha Elizabeth Bray

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|03|11}}

| birth_place = Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality =

| alma_mater = University of Texas at Austin

| other_names =

| known_for = The Gemma Doyle Trilogy

| occupation = Author

| spouse = Barry Goldblatt

| children = 1

}}

Martha Elizabeth "Libba" Bray{{cite web|url=http://libbabray.com/about-libba|title=Libba Bray - Official Website of author Libba Bray - About Libba|website=libbabray.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222024322/http://libbabray.com/about-libba|archive-date=2014-02-22}} (March 11, 1964) is an American writer of young adult novels including the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, Going Bovine, Beauty Queens, The Diviners series, and Under the Same Stars.

Early life

Martha Elizabeth Bray was born in Montgomery, Alabama.{{Cite web |title=About Libba |url=https://libbabray.com/about/ |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Libba Bray |language=en-US}} Her father was a gay Presbyterian minister, and her mother was an English teacher.{{Cite web |title=Bray, Libba (Martha E. Bray) |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/bray-libba-martha-e-bray |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Encyclopedia.com}}

She and her family moved to West Virginia for a brief period, then to Corpus Christi, Texas and finally to Denton, Texas, where Bray attended high school. At the age of eighteen, three weeks after graduating high school, Bray was involved in a serious car accident. She had to undergo thirteen surgeries over six years to reconstruct her face, and has an artificial left eye because of the accident.{{cite web|url=http://www.libbabray.com/LBAutobiography.html|title=Libba Bray's Accident at 18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509095114/http://www.libbabray.com/LBAutobiography.html|archive-date=2007-05-09}}

Bray graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1988 as a Theatre major. As a budding playwright, she felt it important to be in New York City. When her childhood best friend, already living in Manhattan, called saying she was looking for a roommate, Bray moved to New York.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

Bray is married to Barry Goldblatt, a children's book agent, and the couple have a son, Josh.{{Cite web |last=Corbett |first=Sue |date=2007-11-29 |title=PW Talks with Libba Bray |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/3894-children-s-bookshelf-talks-with-libba-bray.html |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Publishers Weekly |language=en}}

Career

Bray's first job was in the publicity department of Penguin Putnam, followed by three years at Spier, an advertising agency specializing in book advertising.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

Bray was encouraged to write a young adult novel by her husband, Barry Goldblatt, a children's book agent and Ginee Seo, an editor at Simon & Schuster. Before this, using a pseudonym, she had written three books for 17th Street Press (a publisher of romances).{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}{{clarify|date=March 2013|reason=what pseudonym? what books? the book mentioned next is not her first}}

Her first novel, A Great and Terrible Beauty became a New York Times bestseller. In November 2006, a video promoting the book was a part of The Book Standard's Teen Book Video Awards.[http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003439349 Teen Book Video Awards Debut Tonight] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311181152/http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003439349 |date=2007-03-11 }} She wrote two more books to finish the trilogy she had started with A Great and Terrible Beauty: Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing.

Bray is friends with many young adult authors such as John Green and Maureen Johnson, and with fellow YA fantasy authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. Her blog can be read on https://web.archive.org/web/20101023044746/http://libba-bray.livejournal.com/.

Going Bovine was published by Delacorte in 2009 and won the annual Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association recognizing literary excellence in young adult literature. It is a dark comedy about a 16-year-old boy named Cameron who has mad cow disease and a 16-year-old dwarf named Gonzo whom he met in the hospital. Gonzo is a video gamer who thinks that everything is trying to kill him. Cameron has visitation from a punkish angel named Dulcie who has a propensity for spray-painting her wings. They are all on a mission to cure Cameron's mad cow disease.

Beauty Queens, about a group of beauty pageant contestants whose plane crashes on an island, was published by Scholastic Press on May 24, 2011.

Bray's novel, The Diviners, was published on September 18, 2012. It centers around Evie O'Neill, a seventeen-year-old with a special power who has been sent to live with her uncle in New York City in 1926. The sequel, Lair of Dreams, was released in August 2015{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/21848181-lair-of-dreams|title=Lair of Dreams (The Diviners, #2)|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=2019-02-19}} and the third book, Before The Devil Breaks You, was released in October 2017.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/45897241-before-the-devil-breaks-you|title=Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners, #3)|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=2019-02-19}} The fourth and final book in the series, The King of Crows, was released in February 2020.

Awards and honors

= Awards =

class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" !Year !Title !Award !Result !Ref.
rowspan="2" \|2010 \| rowspan="2" \|Going Bovine \|Michael L. Printz Award \|Winner \|{{Cite web \|last= \|date=2010-01-13 \|title=2010 Michael L. Printz Award \|url=https://www.ala.org/yalsa/2010-michael-l-printz-award \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) \|language=en}}{{Cite web \|last=Morales \|first=Macey \|last2=Petersen \|first2=Jennifer \|date=2010-01-18 \|title=“Going Bovine” Wins 2010 Printz Award \|url=https://www.ala.org/news/news/pressreleases2010/january2010/2010printz_pio \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=American Library Association \|language=en}}
Audie Award for Young Adult Title \|Finalist \|{{Cite web \|title=2010 Audie Awards® \|url=https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2010-audies \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=www.audiopub.org}}
rowspan="3" \|2012 \| rowspan="3" \|Beauty Queens \|Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults \|Top 10 \|{{Cite web \|last= \|date=2012-01-24 \|title=2012 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top Ten \|url=https://www.ala.org/yalsa/audiobooks/2012/topten \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) \|language=en}}{{Cite web \|date=2012-03-01 \|title=Best Fiction for Young Adults: 2012 \|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Best-Fiction-for-Young-Adults/pid=5313983 \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=Booklist}}
Audie Award for Narration by the Author \|Winner \|{{Cite web \|last=Boretz \|first=Adam \|date=May 29, 2014 \|title=Billy Crystal Takes Top Honors at 2014 Audie Awards \|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/audio-books/article/62580-billy-crystal-takes-top-honors-at-audie-awards.html \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=Publishers Weekly \|language=en}}{{Cite web \|title=2012 Audie Awards® - APA (en-US) \|url=https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2012 \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=www.audiopub.org}}
Audie Award for Young Adult Title \|Finalist \|{{Cite web \|last=Seattle_Quick_Picks \|title=Audie Award Winners: Best Audio Books 2012 \|url=https://seattle.bibliocommons.com/list/share/86922331/113123884 \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=Seattle Public Library \|language=en-US}}
2013 \|{{Sortname\|The\|Diviners\|link=The Diviners (Bray novel)}} \|Audie Award for Young Adult Title \|Finalist \|{{Cite web \|title=2013 Audie Awards® - APA (en-US) \|url=https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2013-audies \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=www.audiopub.org}}
rowspan="3" \|2016 \| rowspan="2" \|Lair of Dreams \|Audie Award for Narration by the Author \|Finalist \|{{Cite web \|title=2016 Audie Awards® - APA (en-US) \|url=https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2016-winners-circle \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=www.audiopub.org}}
Audie Award for Young Adult Title \|Winner \|
Before the Devil Breaks You \|Audie Award for Young Adult Title \|Finalist \|{{Cite web \|title=2018 Audie Awards® - APA (en-US) \|url=https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2018-audies \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=www.audiopub.org}}{{cite web \|title=Audies Award Finalists and Winners 2018 \|url=https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/audies/2018/?category=&winners=true \|access-date=17 May 2019 \|website=AudioFileMagazine.com \|publisher=AudioFile Publications, Inc.}}

class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"

!Year

!Title

!Award

!Result

!Ref.

rowspan="2" |2010

| rowspan="2" |Going Bovine

|Michael L. Printz Award

|Winner

|{{Cite web |last= |date=2010-01-13 |title=2010 Michael L. Printz Award |url=https://www.ala.org/yalsa/2010-michael-l-printz-award |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Morales |first=Macey |last2=Petersen |first2=Jennifer |date=2010-01-18 |title=“Going Bovine” Wins 2010 Printz Award |url=https://www.ala.org/news/news/pressreleases2010/january2010/2010printz_pio |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=American Library Association |language=en}}

Audie Award for Young Adult Title

|Finalist

|{{Cite web |title=2010 Audie Awards® |url=https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2010-audies |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=www.audiopub.org}}

rowspan="3" |2012

| rowspan="3" |Beauty Queens

|Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults

|Top 10

|{{Cite web |last= |date=2012-01-24 |title=2012 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top Ten |url=https://www.ala.org/yalsa/audiobooks/2012/topten |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2012-03-01 |title=Best Fiction for Young Adults: 2012 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Best-Fiction-for-Young-Adults/pid=5313983 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Booklist}}

Audie Award for Narration by the Author

|Winner

|{{Cite web |last=Boretz |first=Adam |date=May 29, 2014 |title=Billy Crystal Takes Top Honors at 2014 Audie Awards |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/audio-books/article/62580-billy-crystal-takes-top-honors-at-audie-awards.html |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Publishers Weekly |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=2012 Audie Awards® - APA (en-US) |url=https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2012 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=www.audiopub.org}}

Audie Award for Young Adult Title

|Finalist

|{{Cite web |last=Seattle_Quick_Picks |title=Audie Award Winners: Best Audio Books 2012 |url=https://seattle.bibliocommons.com/list/share/86922331/113123884 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Seattle Public Library |language=en-US}}

2013

|{{Sortname|The|Diviners|link=The Diviners (Bray novel)}}

|Audie Award for Young Adult Title

|Finalist

|{{Cite web |title=2013 Audie Awards® - APA (en-US) |url=https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2013-audies |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=www.audiopub.org}}

rowspan="3" |2016

| rowspan="2" |Lair of Dreams

|Audie Award for Narration by the Author

|Finalist

|{{Cite web |title=2016 Audie Awards® - APA (en-US) |url=https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2016-winners-circle |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=www.audiopub.org}}

Audie Award for Young Adult Title

|Winner

Before the Devil Breaks You

|Audie Award for Young Adult Title

|Finalist

|{{Cite web |title=2018 Audie Awards® - APA (en-US) |url=https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2018-audies |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=www.audiopub.org}}{{cite web |title=Audies Award Finalists and Winners 2018 |url=https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/audies/2018/?category=&winners=true |access-date=17 May 2019 |website=AudioFileMagazine.com |publisher=AudioFile Publications, Inc.}}

= Honors =

A Great and Terrible Beauty,{{Cite web |date=2003-12-08 |title=A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY by Libba Bray |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385730280 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Publishers Weekly}} The Sweet Far Thing,{{Cite web |date=2007-10-29 |title=The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385730303 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Publishers Weekly}} received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly. Going Bovine received starred reviews from Booklist{{Cite web |date=August 2009 |title=Going Bovine |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Going-Bovine-Libba-Bray/pid=3535357 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Booklist}} and Publishers Weekly.{{Cite web |date=2009-08-03 |title=Going Bovine by Libba Bray |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385733977 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Publishers Weekly}} Before the Devil Breaks You{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Julia |date=2017-11-01 |title=Before the Devil Breaks You |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Before-the-Devil-Breaks-You-Libba-Bray/pid=9189758 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Booklist}} and the audiobook renditions of Beauty Queens{{Cite web |title=2011-09-15 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Beauty-Queens-/pid=4897514 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Booklist}} and The King of Crows{{Cite web |last=Booth |first=Heather |date=2020-05-15 |title=The King of Crows |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/The-King-of-Crows-/pid=9733530 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Booklist}} received starred reviews from Booklist. The Diviners received starred reviews from Booklist,{{Cite web |date=July 2012 |title=The Diviners |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/The-Diviners-Libba-Bray/pid=5604302 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Booklist}} Kirkus Reviews,{{Cite web |date=July 18, 2012 |title=The Diviners |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/libba-bray/diviners/ |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Kirkus Reviews}} and Publishers Weekly.{{Cite web |date=2013-01-28 |title=The Diviners by Libba Bray |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780449808733 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Publishers Weekly}} Lair of Dreams received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews{{Cite web |date=June 16, 2015 |title=Lair of Dreams |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/libba-bray/lair-of-dreams/ |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Kirkus Reviews}} and Publishers Weekly.{{Cite web |date=2015-08-17 |title=Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780316126045 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Publishers Weekly}}

A Great and Terrible Beauty,{{Cite web |last=Maryles |first=Daisy |date=2005-08-15 |title=Children's Fiction Bestsellers |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20050815/33502-children-s-fiction-bestsellers.html |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Publishers Weekly |language=en}} Rebel Angels,{{Cite web |last=Roback |first=Diane |date=2007-02-12 |title=Children's Fiction Bestsellers |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20070212/14144-children-s-fiction-bestsellers.html |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Publishers Weekly |language=en}} The Sweet Far Thing{{Cite web |last=Roback |first=Diane |date=2008-01-14 |title=Children's Fiction Bestsellers |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20080114/10699-children-s-fiction-bestsellers.html |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Publishers Weekly |language=en}} were national best sellers for children's fiction.

class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" !Year !Title !Honor !Ref.
2006 \|Rebel Angels \|ALA Best Books for Young Adults \|{{Cite web \|date=2010-03-28 \|title=Rebel Angels {{!}} Awards & Grants \|url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/content/rebel-angels \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=American Library Association}}
2011 \|Beauty Queens \|Booklist Editors' Choice: Media \|{{Cite web \|date=2012-04-30 \|title=Beauty Queens {{!}} Awards & Grants \|url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/beauty-queens-1 \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=American Library Association}}
2012 \|Beauty Queens \|ALA Amelia Bloomer List \|{{Cite web \|title=2012-03-01 \|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Amelia-Bloomer-List/pid=5315863 \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=Booklist}}
2012 \|Beauty Queens \|ALA Rainbow Book List \|{{Cite web \|date=2012-03-01 \|title=Rainbow List: 2012 \|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Rainbow-List/pid=5315878 \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=Booklist}}
2012 \|Going Bovine \|Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults \|{{Cite web \|date=2012-05-02 \|title=Going Bovine {{!}} Awards & Grants \|url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/going-bovine \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=American Library Association}}
2013 \|The Diviners \|Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults \|{{Cite web \|date=2013-02-01 \|title=The Diviners {{!}} Awards & Grants \|url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/diviners \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=American Library Association}}
2013 \|The Diviners \|Best Fiction for Young Adults \|{{Cite web \|date=2013-02-04 \|title=The Diviners {{!}} Awards & Grants \|url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/diviners-0 \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=American Library Association}}
2016 \|Lair of Dreams \|ALA Rainbow Book List \|{{Cite web \|date=2017-12-07 \|title=Lair of Dreams {{!}} Awards & Grants \|url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/lair-dreams \|access-date=2022-09-13 \|website=American Library Association}}

class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"

!Year

!Title

!Honor

!Ref.

2006

|Rebel Angels

|ALA Best Books for Young Adults

|{{Cite web |date=2010-03-28 |title=Rebel Angels {{!}} Awards & Grants |url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/content/rebel-angels |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=American Library Association}}

2011

|Beauty Queens

|Booklist Editors' Choice: Media

|{{Cite web |date=2012-04-30 |title=Beauty Queens {{!}} Awards & Grants |url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/beauty-queens-1 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=American Library Association}}

2012

|Beauty Queens

|ALA Amelia Bloomer List

|{{Cite web |title=2012-03-01 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Amelia-Bloomer-List/pid=5315863 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Booklist}}

2012

|Beauty Queens

|ALA Rainbow Book List

|{{Cite web |date=2012-03-01 |title=Rainbow List: 2012 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Rainbow-List/pid=5315878 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Booklist}}

2012

|Going Bovine

|Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

|{{Cite web |date=2012-05-02 |title=Going Bovine {{!}} Awards & Grants |url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/going-bovine |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=American Library Association}}

2013

|The Diviners

|Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults

|{{Cite web |date=2013-02-01 |title=The Diviners {{!}} Awards & Grants |url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/diviners |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=American Library Association}}

2013

|The Diviners

|Best Fiction for Young Adults

|{{Cite web |date=2013-02-04 |title=The Diviners {{!}} Awards & Grants |url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/diviners-0 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=American Library Association}}

2016

|Lair of Dreams

|ALA Rainbow Book List

|{{Cite web |date=2017-12-07 |title=Lair of Dreams {{!}} Awards & Grants |url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/lair-dreams |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=American Library Association}}

Publications

=Gemma Doyle trilogy=

{{ordered list|start=

| A Great and Terrible Beauty, Delacorte (2003)

| Rebel Angels, Delacorte (2005)

| The Sweet Far Thing, Delacorte (2007)}}

=The Diviners series=

{{ordered list|start=

| The Diviners, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (2012)

| Lair of Dreams, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (2015)

| Before the Devil Breaks You, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (2017)

| The King of Crows, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (2020)

}}

=Standalone novels=

Going Bovine, Delacorte (2009)
Beauty Queens, Scholastic Press (2011)
Under the Same Stars, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2025)

=Anthologized short stories=

21 Proms, Scholastic Paperbacks (2007)
The Restless Dead, Candlewick Press (2007)
Up All Night, HarperTeen (2008)
Vacations from Hell, HarperTeen (2009)
"The Thirteenth Step", a short story in The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire, ed. Trisha Telep, Running Press (2009)
"The Last Ride of the Glory Girls," Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories (2015)

References

{{reflist |refs=

[http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards/printzaward/previouswinners/winners "Michael L. Printz Winners and Honor Books"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326175223/http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards/printzaward/previouswinners/winners |date=March 26, 2014 }}. YALSA. American Library Association. Retrieved 2013-03-08.

}}

External links

{{official website }}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20101023044746/http://libba-bray.livejournal.com/ Live Journal fan site]
[https://archive.today/20070616124049/http://www.booktrailerpark.com/book_trailerpark/2006/12/social_networki.html Video for A Great and Terrible Beauty]
{{isfdb name|29198}}
[http://thedivinersseries.com The Diviners] (official)
{{LCAuth|n00032935|Libba Bray|10|}}