Helene Deborah Wecker (born September 1975) is an American writer, author of the Mythopoeic Award-winning historical fantasy novel '' The Golem and the Jinni'' and its sequel, ''The Hidden Palace''.

Biography

Wecker was born and raised in Libertyville, a northern suburb of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

.Author entry for Helene Wecker
at harpercollins.com. After graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in English from

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...

, she worked in marketing and communications in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

before "deciding to return to her first love, fiction writing."Wecker, Helene.
About the Author
" Moving to New York, she received a Master of Fine Arts degree from

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 ...

. Wecker currently resides near San Francisco with her husband and daughter.

Literary career

Wecker's first novel, '' The Golem and the Jinni'', was published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

in April 2013. A sequel with the working title ''The Iron Season'', along with a third novel, was sold in 2015 in a rumored seven-figure deal according to ''

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 ...

''. It was initially projected for release in 2018, and was published on 8 June 2021 under the title ''The Hidden Palace''.Amazon.com entry for ''The Hidden Palace''
Wecker said in 2021 that while she was not "100% certain" about further sequels, she plans to write a third book in the series.

Bibliography

Chava and Ahmad series

*'' The Golem and the Jinni'' (2013) *''The Hidden Palace: A Tale of the Golem and the Jinni'' (2021)

Short fiction

*"Majnun" (2017)

Awards

''The Golem and the Djinni'' won the 2014 Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature, was nominated for the 2014

Nebula Award for Best Novel The Nebula Award for Best Novel is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (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; ...

and was a finalist for the 2013

James Tiptree Jr. Award The Otherwise Award, originally known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science ...

. It placed second in the 2014

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 Fir ...

and the 2013

Goodreads Choice Award The Goodreads Choice Awards is a yearly award program, first launched on Goodreads in 2009. Winners are determined by users voting on books that Goodreads has nominated or books of their choosing, released in the given year. Most books that Good ...

for Debut Author, and third in the 2013 Goodreads Choice Award for Fantasy.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wecker, Helene 1975 births Living people 21st-century American women writers American speculative fiction writers People from Libertyville, Illinois 21st-century American novelists Columbia University alumni American fantasy writers American women novelists Jewish American novelists Jewish women writers