Adam Gidwitz (born February 14, 1982) is an American author of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

, best known for ''A Tale Dark and Grimm'' (2010), ''In a Glass Grimmly'' (2012), and ''The Grimm Conclusion'' (2013). He received a 2017

Newbery Honor The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

for '' The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog'' (2016). In 2021, his book ''A Tale Dark and Grimm'' was adapted into an animated miniseries on Netflix.

Biography

He was born in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 1982 but grew up in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland. His grandfather, Willard Gidwitz, was a president at Helene Curtis. Through his father's family, he is also related to Illinois GOP gubernatorial candidate and Trump appointee Ronald Gidwitz. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where he majored in English literature and spent his junior year abroad in the university's Oxford/Cambridge Scholars program. After university, Gidwitz became a teacher at Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn. He credits a stint as a substitute librarian as the inspiration for writing The Grimm Trilogy. In 2011, Gidwitz married Lauren Mancia, whom he met in university. They now live in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York and Gidwitz writes full-time.

Awards and honors

''A Tale Dark and Grimm'' was named a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Editor's Choice. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

,'' ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

'',' and ''

Shelf Awareness Shelf Awareness is an American publishing company that produces two e-zines focused on bookselling, books, and book reviews: ''Shelf Awareness'' is aimed at general consumers, while ''Shelf Awareness Pro'' caters for industry professionals. ...

'' editor Jennifer M. Brown named it one of the best children's books of 2010. An animated series based on the book was one of the top ten most watched shows for kids on Netflix in October 2021. '' The Inquisitor's Tale'' is a ''New York Times'' Bestselling book. Both and book and audiobook are

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial Book sales club, book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samue ...

selections. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'','''' ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

'','''' and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' named it one of the best children's books of 2016. ''Booklist'' included it on their 2016 "Top 10 Religion and Spirituality Books for Youth" and 2017 "Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth" lists. They also included the audiobook edition on their 2017 "Top 10 Middle-Grade Fiction on Audio" and "Top 10 Youth Historical Fiction on Audio" lists. In 2019, ''Booklist'' included it on their list of the "50 Best Middle-Grade Novels of the 21st Century." The first two books of ''The Unicorn Rescue Society'' were included on ''Booklist'''s 2018 "Audio Stars for Youth" and "Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror Audiobooks for Youth" lists. ''The Creature of the Pines'' is a Junior Library Guild book.

Publications

Standalone books

* ''The Empire Strikes Back - So You Want to Be a Jedi''. Los Angeles, Disney Lucasfilm Press, 2015. * '' The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog''. New York:

Dutton Penguin E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton (January 1, ...

, 2016.

''Grimm'' trilogy

#'' A Tale Dark and Grimm''. New York:

, 2010. # ''In a Glass Grimmly''. New York:

, 2012. # ''The Grimm Conclusion''. New York:

, 2013.

''The Unicorn Rescue Society'' series

# ''The Creature of the Pines'', Illustrated by Hatem Aly. New York:

, 2018. # ''The Basque Dragon''. Co-authored by Jesse Casey. Illustrated by Hatem Aly. New York: Dutton Penguin, 2018. # ''Sasquatch and the Muckleshoot''. Co-authored by Joseph Bruchac. Illustrated by Hatem Aly. New York: Dutton Penguin, 2018. # ''The Chupacabras of the Rio Grande''. Co-authored by David Bowles. Illustrated by Hatem Aly. New York: Dutton Penguin, 2019. # ''The Madre de Aguas of Cuba.'' Co-authored by Emma Otheguy. Illustrated by Hatem Aly. New York: Dutton Penguin, 2020.

''Operation Kinderspion'' duology

# ''Max in the House of Spies''. New York, Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2024. # ''Max in the Land of Lies''. New York, Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2025.

References

External links

* * ''The New York Times'', "When Stories Had Sharp Teeth

* American Library Association Notable Book Lis

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gidwitz, Adam 1982 births Living people American children's writers Park School of Baltimore alumni Writers from San Francisco Columbia College (New York) alumni Newbery Honor winners