James Dashner
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

James Smith Dashner (born November 26, 1972) is an American writer known for
speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...
. Many of his books are primarily aimed at children or young adults. He is best known for ''The Maze Runner'' series and the
young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...
fantasy series '' The 13th Reality''. His 2008 novel '' The Journal of Curious Letters'', first in the series, was one of the annual Borders Original Voices picks. In 2014, a film adaptation of ''
The Maze Runner ''The Maze Runner'' is a 2009 dystopian novel by American author James Dashner. It takes place in a world suffering from a coronal mass ejection and whose surviving civilians fight to avoid an apocalyptic illness called the Flare. It is writt ...
'' was released, followed by another two films in 2015 and 2018. Collectively, the three films grossed an estimated $949 million. The three films' collective box-office earnings make it the fourth-highest-grossing film series based on young-adult books, after the film series of ''Harry Potter'', ''The Twilight Saga'', and ''The Hunger Games'', respectively. In 2018, Dashner was dropped by his agent and publisher following accusations of sexual harassment; Dashner replied in a statement, "I am taking any and all criticisms and accusations very seriously, and I will seek counseling and guidance to address them."


Early life

James Dashner was born on November 26, 1972, in Austell, Georgia, as one of six children in the family. He was raised a member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
. At the age of 10, he would type on his parents' typewriter. He graduated from Duluth High School in 1991. He moved from
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Georgia to
Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...
to study at
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
, where he received a master's degree in accounting.


Career

Dashner released his first novel in 2003, titled ''A Door in the Woods''. Like many of his books, ''A Door in the Woods'' is a
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
aimed at teenagers. The story follows Jimmy Fincher, who notices person in the forest acting suspiciously. What he witnesses then sets off a chain of events changing Jimmy's life. ''A Door in the Woods'' became part of a series of books, known as The Jimmy Fincher Saga. In 2004, a second and third book were released as part of The Jimmy Fincher Saga. The second instalment was ''A Gift of Ice,'' which again follows Jimmy in his journey to save the world from The Stompers. The third instalment of the series was released later in 2004, titled ''The Tower of Air''. A fourth and final book concluded the series, ''War of the Black Curtain'', which was published in 2005. Following the conclusion of his Jimmy Fincher Saga series, Dashner began working on two new series. The first became known as '' The 13th Reality'' book series and the second was ''The Maze Runner'' series. Dashner published ''The Journal of Curious Letters'' in 2008, which was the first book in the 13th Reality Series. The book became a highly acclaimed children's book, receiving a Whitney Award the same year it was published. In 2009, the novel was recognized again as a Borders Original Voices pick. During 2009, Dashner released two more books. ''The Hunt for Dark Infinity'' was his second instalment in ''The 13th Reality'' series and ''
The Maze Runner ''The Maze Runner'' is a 2009 dystopian novel by American author James Dashner. It takes place in a world suffering from a coronal mass ejection and whose surviving civilians fight to avoid an apocalyptic illness called the Flare. It is writt ...
'' was the first book in a series of the same name. The popularity of ''The Maze Runner'' led
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
to obtain the rights in late 2010 for a film adaptation, with Catherine Hardwicke set to direct. ''The Maze Runner'' appeared on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list for the first time in late 2012, in the Children's category alongside dystopian novels, ''
The Hunger Games ''The Hunger Games'' are a series of Young adult fiction, young adult Dystopian fiction, dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The series consists of a trilogy that follows teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and two ...
'' and '' Divergent''. ''The Maze Runner'' remained on the list for years, making it one of the best-selling children's books of all time. In 2013, it was announced that ''The Maze Runner'' film has been pushed back to a September 2014 release. During the same period, it was announced that the second instalment, ''The Scorch Trials'', had been picked up by Fox as a potential sequel to the currently unreleased first film. Dashner then released ''The Eye of Minds'', which follows the life of Michael, a hacker employed by VirtNet. The book went onto become the first instalment of ''The Mortality Doctrine'' book series. In September 2014, ''The Maze Runner'' film adaptation was released and had a worldwide
box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...
total of $348.3million. Fox announced that the sequel to the first film would be released nearly a year to the date in September 2015. A third film, '' The Maze Runner: The Death Cure'', was set to be released in 2017. Actor Dylan O'Brien was injured on the set of the film in 2015, resulting in lengthy delays to filming while he recovered. The film was released in January 2018, and like the two previous films in the trilogy, broke $250 million in box office revenue. In July 2018, Dashner stated that he was writing a new book from scratch, the first time he had done it in 15 years. Following the release of ''Maze Runner: The Death Cure'', comments were posted anonymously on the ''
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 ...
'' website, alleging that Dashner had engaged in sexual harassment. Four comments claimed harassment by Dashner, and two more said that they had reported him in a Medium survey about harassment. A commenter later claimed to have been one of the accusers, and said that they "made it up". One of those commenters claimed to have been subject to "months of manipulation, grooming and gaslighting". Following this, Dashner's agent, Michael Bourret, stated that he "couldn't in good conscience continue working with im. Dashner published a statement on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, which said, in part: "I didn't honor or fully understand boundaries and power dynamics. I can sincerely say that I have never intentionally hurt another person. But to those affected, I am so deeply sorry. I am taking any and all criticisms and accusations very seriously, and I will seek counseling and guidance to address them." Dashner's publisher,
Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...
, stated that it will not publish any further books by him. The accusations were part of the larger
Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement and Consciousness raising, awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which women publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was init ...
. In October 2021, Dashner released the adult horror novel, ''The House of Tongues'' with Riverdale Avenue Books. The storyline follows single father David Player, who is trying to raise four children while dealing and processing a childhood trauma. It follows David's recollection of events both past and present in first person. The book received mainly positive press and reviews following its release.


Awards

*2008: Whitney Award, Best Youth Fiction, ''The 13th Reality'' *2011: ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults, ''The Maze Runner'' *2012: Young Reader's Choice Award, intermediate grades, ''The Maze Runner


Personal life

Dashner and his wife, Lynette Anderson, a former student of Brigham Young University, have four children and are now living in Utah.


Published books

Dashner's books are written for young teens. His work is typically within the adventure, survival, and science-fiction genres. ''
The Maze Runner ''The Maze Runner'' is a 2009 dystopian novel by American author James Dashner. It takes place in a world suffering from a coronal mass ejection and whose surviving civilians fight to avoid an apocalyptic illness called the Flare. It is writt ...
'', his most widely distributed book, reached 100 weeks' standing on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list for Children's Series on September 21, 2014, two days after the release of the motion picture adaptation of the book. ;''The Jimmy Fincher Saga'' *''A Door in the Woods'' (2003) *''A Gift of Ice'' (2004) *''The Tower of Air'' (2004) *''War of the Black Curtain'' (2005) ; ''The 13th Reality'' series *'' The Journal of Curious Letters'' (2008), selected as a Borders Original Voices pick *'' The Hunt for Dark Infinity'' (2009) *'' The Blade of Shattered Hope'' (2010) *''The Void of Mist and Thunder'' (2012) ; ''The Maze Runner'' series *''
The Maze Runner ''The Maze Runner'' is a 2009 dystopian novel by American author James Dashner. It takes place in a world suffering from a coronal mass ejection and whose surviving civilians fight to avoid an apocalyptic illness called the Flare. It is writt ...
'' (2009) *'' The Scorch Trials'' (2010) *'' The Death Cure'' (2011) *''Crank Palace'' (novella) (2020) ''The Maze Runner prequel books'' *'' The Kill Order'' (2012) *'' The Fever Code'' (2016) ''The Maze Cutter series'' (sequel trilogy) *''The Maze Cutter'' (2022) *''The Godhead Complex'' (2023) *''The Infinite Glade'' (2025) ;The '' Infinity Ring'' series *''A Mutiny in Time'' (Book 1) (2012) *''The Iron Empire'' (Book 7) (2014) ;''The Mortality Doctrine'' *'' The Eye of Minds'' (2013) *'' The Rule of Thoughts'' (2014) *''Gunner Skale'' (online-only short story, 2014) *'' The Game of Lives'' (2015) ;''Adult/Horror'' *''The House of Tongues'' (2021)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dashner, James 1972 births Living people American children's writers American science fiction writers American fantasy writers Latter Day Saints from Georgia (U.S. state) Brigham Young University alumni Novelists from Utah People from Austell, Georgia American male novelists Writers of young adult science fiction