Ransom Riggs
{{short description|American writer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox writer
| image = Montreuil - Salon du livre jeunesse 2012 - Ransom Riggs - 002.jpg
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| caption = Riggs in 2012
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1979|2|3}}
| birth_place = Maryland, U.S.
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| occupation = Author
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| alma_mater = Kenyon College (BA)
University of Southern California (MFA)
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| genre = Children's literature
| movement =
| notableworks = Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
| spouse = {{marriage|Tahereh Mafi|2013}}
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| children = 1
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| website = {{URL|http://www.ransomriggs.com}}
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Ransom Riggs (born February 3, 1979){{Cite web|title=Ransom Riggs|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2207353/|access-date=2020-08-10|website=IMDb}} is an American writer and filmmaker best known for the book Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
Early life and education
Riggs was born in Maryland in 1979 on a 200-year-old farm, and grew up in Florida, where he attended Pine View School for the Gifted.{{cite web|url=http://www.ransomriggs.com/bio/|title=Ransom Riggs - Bio|work=ransomriggs.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016160059/http://www.ransomriggs.com/bio/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 16, 2012}}{{cite news|url=http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/06/21/freak-chic-ransom-riggs-new-novel-uses-vintage-photography-for-universal-creepiness/|title=Freak chic: The "universal creepiness" of Ransom Riggs' new novel|last=Medley|first=Mark|date=June 21, 2011|work=National Post|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130130050022/http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/06/21/freak-chic-ransom-riggs-new-novel-uses-vintage-photography-for-universal-creepiness/|url-status=live|archive-date=January 30, 2013}} He studied English literature at Kenyon College in Ohio,{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-missperegrine-idUSTRE74G6Z920110517|title=Heated auction begins by studios for unpublished book|last=Kit|first=Borys|date=May 17, 2011|work=Reuters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924212801/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/17/us-missperegrine-idUSTRE74G6Z920110517|url-status=live|archive-date=September 24, 2011}} where he was a good friend of John Green.{{Cite web |title=Very Peculiar |url=https://www.kenyon.edu/middle-path/story/very-peculiar/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029164106/http://www.kenyon.edu/middle-path/story/very-peculiar |archive-date=29 October 2015 |website=Kenyon.edu}} He later studied film at the University of Southern California.{{cite news|url=http://artssarasota.com/2011-12-16/featured/ransom-riggs-visits-alma-mater-to-discuss-miss-peregrines-home-for-peculiar-children/|title=Ransom Riggs visits alma mater to discuss 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'|last=Rife|first=Susan|date=December 16, 2011|work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201224927/http://artssarasota.com/2011-12-16/featured/ransom-riggs-visits-alma-mater-to-discuss-miss-peregrines-home-for-peculiar-children/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 1, 2012}}
Career
His work on short films for the Internet and blogging for Mental Floss got him a job writing The Sherlock Holmes Handbook which was released as a tie-in to the 2009 Sherlock Holmes film.
Riggs had collected curious vernacular photographs and approached his publisher, Quirk Books, about using some of them in a picture book. On the suggestion of an editor, Riggs used the photographs as a guide from which to put together a narrative. The resulting book was Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, which made The New York Times Best Seller list, and was adapted into the 2016 film of the same name.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2011-08-21/chapter-books/list.html|title=Best Sellers - Children's Chapter Books|date=August 21, 2011|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623100343/http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2011-08-21/chapter-books/list.html|url-status=live|archive-date=June 23, 2013}}
Another book inspired by old photographs, Talking Pictures, was published by HarperCollins in October 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Talking-Pictures-Ransom-Riggs?isbn=9780062099495&HCHP=TB_Talking+Pictures|title=Talking Pictures: Images and Messages Rescued from the Past by Ransom Riggs|date=October 5, 2012|publisher=Harper Collins|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027105608/http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Talking-Pictures-Ransom-Riggs?isbn=9780062099495&HCHP=TB_Talking+Pictures|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 27, 2012}}
The second novel in the Miss Peregrine series, Hollow City, was released in January 2014,{{cite press release|title=Announcing the HOLLOW CITY tour!|date=December 31, 2013|url=http://www.ransomriggs.com/blog/2013/12/31/announcing-the-hollow-city-tour.html|archive-date=January 15, 2014|archive-url=http://www.ransomriggs.com/}} with the third installment, Library of Souls, following in September 2015.{{cite news|last=Romney|first=Ginny|work=Deseret News|title=Author Ransom Riggs draws inspiration from old photos for Peculiar Children series, sequel 'Hollow City|date=February 21, 2015|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865622417/Author-Ransom-Riggs-draws-inspiration-from-old-photos-for-Peculiar-Children-series-sequel-Hollow.html?pg=all|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222081956/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865622417/Author-Ransom-Riggs-draws-inspiration-from-old-photos-for-Peculiar-Children-series-sequel-Hollow.html?pg=all|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 22, 2015}} A spin-off book of short stories, Tales of the Peculiar, was released in September 2016. The fourth novel in the series, A Map of Days, was released in October 2018. The fifth novel in the series, The Conference of the Birds, was released in January 2020. The sixth, The Desolations of Devil's Acre, was released on February 23, 2021.{{Cite web|date=2020-10-30|title=Miss Peregrine's Book Six: All we know about the release date, cover, plot|url=https://bookstacked.com/upcoming/miss-peregrines-book-six-release-date-desolations-devils-acre-cover-plot/|access-date=2021-01-27|website=Bookstacked|language=en}}
Personal life
Riggs married author Tahereh Mafi in 2013. They lived in Santa Monica, California{{Cite web|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/55267/future-books-experimental-home-tahereh-mafi-and-ransom-riggs|title=The Future of Books Is Experimental: At Home with Tahereh Mafi and Ransom Riggs|website=Mental Floss|date=February 27, 2014 |access-date=April 20, 2016}} and later moved to Irvine, California. Their first child, a daughter, Layla, was born on May 30, 2017.{{cite web|url= https://www.instagram.com/p/BUxHmiZBz6C/|website=Instagram|title=birth announcement}}{{cite web|url=
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/how-author-tahereh-mafi-made-her-family-friendly-kitchen-her-own/|title=How Author Tahereh Mafi Made Her Family-Friendly Kitchen Her Own|website=Architectural Digest|date=August 2, 2021}}
Works
= Young adult novels =
=Miss Peregrine series=
- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2011){{cite book|title=Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children|date=June 7, 2011|publisher=Quirk Books|isbn=978-1-59474-513-3}}
- Hollow City (2014){{cite book|title=Hollow City |date=January 14, 2014|publisher=Quirk Books|isbn=978-1-59474-612-3}}
- Library of Souls (2015){{cite book|title=Library of Souls |date=September 22, 2015|publisher=Quirk Books|isbn=978-1-59474-758-8}}
- A Map of Days (2018){{cite book|title=A Map of Days |date=October 2, 2018|publisher=Dutton Books for Young Readers|isbn=978-0-735-23214-3}}
- The Conference of the Birds (2020){{cite book|title=The Conference of the Birds |date=January 14, 2020|publisher=Dutton Books for Young Readers|isbn=978-0-593-11015-7}}
- The Desolations of Devil's Acre (2021){{cite book|title=The Desolations of Devil's Acre |date=February 23, 2021|publisher=Dutton Books for Young Readers|isbn=978-0241320945}}
==Companion Books==
- Tales of the Peculiar (2016), short stories collection{{cite book|title=Tales of the Peculiar |date=September 3, 2016|publisher=Dutton Children's Books|isbn=978-0-399-53853-7}}
- Miss Peregrine's Museum of Wonders: An Indispensable Guide to the Dangers and Delights of the Peculiar World for the Instruction of New Arrivals (2022){{cite book |title= Miss Peregrine's Museum of Wonders: An Indispensable Guide to the Dangers and Delights of the Peculiar World for the Instruction of New Arrivals |date= September 27, 2022|publisher=Dutton Books for Young Readers|isbn=978-0-399-53856-8}}
=Sunderworld series=
- Sunderworld, Vol. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry (2024)
- Sunderworld, Vol. II: The Unfortunate Responsibilities of Leopold Berry (2025)
==Stand-alone==
- Arcanum (2015)
= Comics =
==Miss Peregrine series==
- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel (2011), with Cassandra Jean
- Hollow City: The Graphic Novel (2016), with Cassandra Jean
= Non-fiction =
- The Sherlock Holmes Handbook: The Methods and Mysteries of the World's Greatest Detective (2009), guide{{cite book|title=The Sherlock Holmes Handbook: The Methods and Mysteries of the World's Greatest Detective|date=September 30, 2009|publisher=Quirk Books|isbn=978-1-59474-429-7}}
- Talking Pictures: Images and Messages Rescued from the Past (2012), photographies{{cite book|title=Talking Pictures: Images and Messages Rescued from the Past|date=February 14, 2012|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=978-0-06-209949-5}}
Adaptations
- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016), film directed by Tim Burton, based on young adult novel Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Wikiquote}}
- {{official website}}
- {{IMDb name|id=2207353|name=Ransom Riggs}}
- {{ISFDB name|id=155528|name=Ransom Riggs}}
{{Portal bar|Children's literature}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riggs, Ransom}}
Category:American male novelists
Category:Kenyon College alumni
Category:Writers from Maryland
Category:People from Irvine, California