Naomi Novik (born April 30, 1973) is an American author of

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, nat ...

. She is known for the ''Temeraire'' series (2006–2016), an

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...

of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

involving dragons, and her ''Scholomance'' fantasy series (2020–2022).. Her standalone fantasy novels '' Uprooted'' (2015) and ''

Spinning Silver ''Spinning Silver'' is a 2018 fantasy novel written by Naomi Novik. Novik originally published a short story called "Spinning Silver" in ''The Starlit Wood'' anthology in 2016 and later expanded it into a novel. ''Spinning Silver'' won the America ...

'' (2018) were inspired by Polish folklore and the

Rumpelstiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; german: Rumpelstilzchen) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of '' Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about a little imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a ...

fairy tale, respectively; Novik has won many awards for her work, including the

Alex Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple p ...

, Audie, British Fantasy, Locus, Mythopoeic and Nebula Awards.

Early life

Novik grew up in

Roslyn Heights Roslyn Heights is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered part of the Greater Roslyn area, which is anchored by the Incorporated Vil ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

. She is a second-generation American; her father's family were

Lithuanian Jews Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent are ...

, and her mother's family were Polish

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Displaying an interest in reading at a young age, she read ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's bo ...

'' at age six, and developed a love for

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

soon afterward. She received a bachelor's degree in English literature at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

and holds a master's degree in computer science from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. She participated in the design and development of the computer game '' Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide'', until she discovered that she preferred writing over game design.

Career

Novik's first novel, ''

His Majesty's Dragon ''His Majesty's Dragon'', published in the UK as ''Temeraire'', is the first novel in the '' Temeraire'' alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik. The story is set during an alternate-history version of the Napoleonic Wars ...

'' (''Temeraire'' in the UK) is the first novel in the ''Temeraire'' series, an

of the

in a "Flintlock Fantasy" world where dragons are abundant and are used in aerial combat. ''His Majesty's Dragon'' won the

Compton Crook Award The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best English language first novel of the year in the field of science fiction, fantasy, or horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society at their annual science fiction convention, Balti ...

in 2007 and was nominated for the

Hugo Award for Best Novel The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is available for works of fiction of 40,000 ...

. ''Temeraire: In the Service of the King'' is omnibus volume collecting the first three books of the series (''His Majesty's Dragon'', ''

Throne of Jade ''Throne of Jade'' is the second novel in the ''Temeraire (series), Temeraire'' alternate history/fantasy series written by American author Naomi Novik. It was published by Del Rey Books, Del Rey first in the United States on April 25, 2006, and ...

'', and ''

Black Powder War ''Black Powder War'' is the third novel in the '' Temeraire'' alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik. The novel was first published by Del Rey in the United States on May 30, 2006, and by Voyager in the United Kingdom ...

''); it won the

Locus Award for Best First Novel The Locus Award for Best First Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus''. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award for Best Fi ...

in 2007. In September 2006,

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

optioned the rights to the ''Temeraire'' series, intending to produce three or more live-action films, but the rights have since reverted to Novik. The ''Temeraire'' series has also been released in

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

format. The first five audiobooks were released by Books on Tape, beginning in 2007, and read by

Simon Vance Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

. The sixth audiobook was released by Tantor Audio in September 2010, also read by Vance. In September 2007, Novik was awarded the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer for best new science fiction writer of 2006. In 2011, Novik wrote ''Will Supervillains Be on the Final?'', a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

about the next generation of high-flying costumed crusaders. Yishan Li illustrated the

comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

with

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

-styled art. In 2015, Novik published '' Uprooted'', a standalone novel "set in a fantasy world inspired by the Kingdom of Poland". It won the

Nebula Award for Best Novel The Nebula Award for Best Novel is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novels. A work of fiction is considered a novel by the organization if it is 40,000 words or longer; a ...

, the

British Fantasy Award The British Fantasy Awards (BFA) are awarded annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS), first in 1976. Prior to that they were known as The August Derleth Fantasy Awards (see August Derleth Award). First awarded in 1972 (to ''The Knight of ...

for Best Fantasy Novel, the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and the

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Awar ...

. Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to ''Uprooted'';

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...

and Jeff Kleeman signed on to produce the film through their production company,

A Very Good Production A Very Good Production is an American film and television production company founded by comedian, television host, actress Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros. Television's Telepictures in 2003. It is known for producing the long-running series ''Th ...

. In 2016, Novik published "Spinning Silver", a short story retelling the

fairy tale, in the fantasy anthology ''The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales''. Two years later, she expanded the story into her second standalone novel, ''

'', which won the 2019 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, the 2019

Alex Award The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Essentially, the award is a listing by the American Library Association parallel to its annual Best Books for Young A ...

, and the 2019

Audie Award The Audie Awards (, rhymes with "gaudy"; abbreviated from ''audiobook''), or simply the Audies, are awards for achievement in spoken word, particularly audiobook narration and audiodrama performance, published in the United States of America. They ...

for Fantasy. In 2020, Novik published '' A Deadly Education'', the first in a trilogy set in the Scholomance, the retelling of folklore about a school of

black magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 14 ...

. The main character, Galadriel "El" Higgins, a half-Welsh, half-Indian sorceress, must survive to graduation while controlling her destructive abilities.

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

purchased the film rights to the ''Scholomance'' series in advance, assigning

Todd Lieberman Todd Darren Lieberman (born February 20, 1973) is an American film and television producer. He founded Hidden Pictures Media in 2022 and won an Emmy for Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers in 2022. He co-founded Mandeville Films and Television with ...

and

David Hoberman David Elliot Hoberman (born September 19, 1952) is an American film and television producer, best known as the co-creator and executive producer of the USA Network television series '' Monk'', and the founder and co-owner of Mandeville Films. He ...

of Mandeville Films to develop and produce the films. Upon its release, ''A Deadly Education'' was criticized for a passage where the hairstyle known as

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair. Origins Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe ...

is described as susceptible to an infestation of bug-like magical creatures. Novik later apologized for "evok nga racist stereotype" about

Afro-textured hair Afro-textured hair, or kinky hair, is a human hair texture originating from sub-Saharan Africa. Each strand of this hair type grows in a tiny, angle-like helix shape. The overall effect is such that, contrasted with straight, wavy, or curly hai ...

. She revised the passage for future reprints, and promised that the sequel novels will not be sent to reviewers and publishers before "revisions are fully complete and a final sensitivity read has happened."

Activism

Novik helped to organize the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW), a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of fan-media including

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, setti ...

, fan videos (vids), and real-person fiction. In 2007 she was one of the three directors of the nonprofit. Novik was a co-founder of

Archive of Our Own Archive of Our Own (often shortened to AO3) is a nonprofit open source repository for fanfiction and other fanworks contributed by users. The site was created in 2008 by the Organization for Transformative Works and went into open beta in 2009. ...

(AO3), a project of OTW that began in 2007 to create an online archive of fan fiction. At the 2019

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

ceremony, AO3 won the award for Best Related Work; Novik accepted the prize on behalf of all AO3's creators and readers.

Personal life

Novik is married to entrepreneur and writer

Charles Ardai Charles Ardai (born 1969) is an American entrepreneur, businessperson, and writer of award winning crime fiction and mysteries. He is founder and editor of Hard Case Crime, a line of pulp-style paperback crime novels. He is also an early employe ...

. They live in Manhattan. They have one child, a daughter named Evidence Novik Ardai, who was born in 2010.

Awards and nominations

Novik has won the British Fantasy, Locus, Mythopoeic and Nebula Awards, and received nominations for the Hugo and

World Fantasy Awards The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

Publications

Standalone novels

*'' Uprooted'' (Del Rey, 2015) *''

'' (Del Rey / Macmillian, 2018)

''Temeraire'' series

# ''

'' (Del Rey, 2006) # ''

Empire of Ivory ''Empire of Ivory'' is the fourth novel in the '' Temeraire'' alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik. Set in Africa, the novel follows William Laurence and his dragon Temeraire's search for a cure to the disease that ha ...

'' (Del Rey, 2007) # '' Victory of Eagles'' (Del Rey, 2008) # ''

Tongues of Serpents ''Tongues of Serpents'' is the sixth novel in the '' Temeraire'' alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik. This installment follows William Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire's adventures in Australia. ''Tongues of Serpe ...

'' (Del Rey, 2010) # ''

Crucible of Gold ''Crucible of Gold'' is the seventh novel in the '' Temeraire'' alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik. This installment features the adventures of William Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire, in South America. ''Crucibl ...

'' (Del Rey, 2012) # ''

Blood of Tyrants ''Blood of Tyrants'' is the eighth novel in the '' Temeraire'' alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik. It was first published by Voyager Books in August 2013. This installment features the adventures of William Laurence ...

'' (Del Rey, 2013) # ''

League of Dragons ''League of Dragons'' is the ninth and final novel in the '' Temeraire'' alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik. It was released by Del Rey Books on June 14, 2016. Plot Napoleon’s invasion of Russia has been roundly th ...

'' (Del Rey, 2016)

Omnibus editions

*''Temeraire: In the Service of the King'' (Science Fiction Book Club, 2006) *''In His Majesty's Service: Three Novels of Temeraire'' (Del Rey, 2009)

''Scholomance'' trilogy

*'' A Deadly Education'' (Del Rey, 2020) *'' The Last Graduate'' (Del Rey, 2021) *'' The Golden Enclaves'' (Del Rey, 2022)

Short stories in anthologies

*"Araminta, or, the Wreck of the Amphidrake" in ''Fast Ships, Black Sails (''

Night Shade Books Night Shade Books is an American, San Francisco–based imprint, formerly an independent publishing company, that specializes in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Among its publications have been the U.S. edition of Iain M. Banks' novel ...

, 2008) . * "Commonplaces" in ''The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (''Night Shade Books, 2009) * "In Autumn, a White Dragon Looks Over the Wide River" in ''In His Majesty's Service: Three Novels of Temeraire'' (Del Rey, 2009) *"Vici" in ''The Dragon Book: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy'', edited by

Jack Dann Jack Dann (born February 15, 1945) is an American writer best known for his science fiction, an editor and a writing teacher, who has lived in Australia since 1994. He has published over seventy books, in the majority of cases as editor or co-edit ...

and

Gardner Dozois Gardner Raymond Dozois ( ; July 23, 1947 – May 27, 2018) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the founding editor of ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'' anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of '' Asimov's Science Fictio ...

(

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first scien ...

, 2009) * "Purity Test" in ''Zombies vs. Unicorns'', edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier ( Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010) * "Seven Years from Home" in '' Warriors'', edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scienc ...

, 2010) * "Priced to Sell" in ''Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy'', edited by

Ellen Datlow Ellen Datlow (born December 31, 1949) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award (Horror Writers Association). Career Datlow began her career ...

(

St. Martin's Griffin St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

, 2011) * "Lord Dunsany's Teapot" in ''The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities'', edited by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer (Harper Voyager, 2011) * "Rocks Fall" in ''

The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination ''The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination'' is a short story anthology edited by John Joseph Adams and published by Tor Books on February 19, 2013. Contents The collection contains the following stories: # Foreword by Chris Claremont # "P ...

'', edited by John Joseph Adams (Tor Books, 2013) * "In Favour with Their Stars" in '' Unfettered'', edited by Shawn Speakman (Grim Oak Press, 2013) * "Castle Coeurlieu" in ''Unfettered II'', edited by Shawn Speakman (Grim Oak Press, 2016) *"Spinning Silver" in ''The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales'', edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe (

Saga Press Gallery Publishing Group is a general interest publisher and a division of Simon & Schuster which houses the imprints Gallery Books, Pocket Books, Scout Press, Gallery 13, and Saga Press. Jen Bergstrom is the Senior Vice President and Publisher. ...

, 2016) *"Seven" in ''Unfettered III'', edited by Shawn Speakman (Grim Oak Press, 2019)

Short stories

* "Feast or Famine" (Novik's official website) * "Apples" (Novik's official website, 2005) * ''Golden Age and Other Stories (''Subterranean Press, 2017)

Notes

References

External links

Archive of Naomi Novik's LiveJournal pageOrganization for Transformative Works
* *Interviews
''Strange Horizons'' (2006)''Ain't it Cool News'' (2007)''The Portalist'' (2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novik, Naomi 1973 births 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American alternate history writers American fantasy writers American historical novelists American women novelists American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Brown University alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Fan fiction writers Jewish American novelists John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer winners Living people Nebula Award winners Novelists from New York (state) People from Roslyn Heights, New York Women science fiction and fantasy writers Women historical novelists