Meagan Spooner is an American author of science fiction and fantasy for young adults. She is best known for the Starbound Trilogy and Unearthed, which she co-authored with Amie Kaufman, as well as for her solo ''Skylark'' trilogy and her standalone fairytale retelling ''Hunted''.

Biography

Meagan Spooner was raised in the United States and graduated from

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (also known as TJHSST, Thomas Jefferson, or TJ) is a Virginia magnet high school in Fairfax County, Virginia operated by Fairfax County Public Schools. The school occupies the building of t ...

. She graduated from

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

with a degree in

playwriting A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwright" ...

. She has spent time living in Australia and has traveled to all seven continents, but currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina.

Works

Spooner's debut, ''Skylark'', was published by Carolrhoda Lab in 2012, and followed by sequels ''Shadowlark'' and ''Lark Ascending.'' Spooner's Starbound trilogy began with ''These Broken Stars'', co-authored with Amie Kaufman, published by

Disney Hyperion Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Experiences, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints include Disney Edition ...

. The book was a New York Times bestseller and won an

Aurealis Award The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award. History The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 by ...

for Best Young Adult novel of the year. The book was also shortlisted for a Golden Inky in the Australian Inky Awards and was named the Huffington Post Best YA Novel of 2013. The series is currently in development for TV with Freeform in the US and Sky UK, with MGM the studio and

Eric Balfour Eric Salter Balfour (born April 24, 1977) is an American actor. He made his film debut in the Lifetime movie ''No One Would Tell'' in 1996, followed by the drama '' Shattered Image'' (1998), followed by roles in '' What Women Want'' (2000), Rise ...

and

Warren Littlefield Warren W. Littlefield (born May 11, 1952) is an American television executive. Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Littlefield attended Montclair High School and graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York, where he was awar ...

producing. The sequel, ''This Shattered World'' was a nominee for the Aurealis Award for best science fiction novel. Spooner began a series of historical-style retellings in 2017 with ''Hunted'', inspired by

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

and the Russian story of the

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures ** Fenghuang, sometimes called Chinese phoenix * Vermilion bird, one of the four symbols of the Chinese constella ...

. The book was given a starred review by Kirkus. Spooner studied archery to prepare for writing the book. Spooner's next series with Kaufman began with ''Unearthed'' in January 2018. In June 2017, ahead of the book's publication, it was announced that film rights had been acquired by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. Director

Doug Liman Douglas Eric Liman (; born July 24, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Go'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005), '' Jumper'' (2008), '' E ...

is attached to the project, set to produce alongside Cross Creek Productions. Screenwriters

Jez Butterworth Jeremy Butterworth (born March 4, 1969) is a British playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He has gained recognition for his unique voice in contemporary theater, often blending themes of myth, folklore, and realism. He has received a T ...

and

John-Henry Butterworth John-Henry Butterworth is a British screenwriter who has co-written several screenplays with his brother Jez Butterworth. The brothers won the Writers Guild of America's 2011 Paul Selvin Award for their screenplay for the film '' Fair Game'' ...

are penning the script.

Bibliography

Novels

;Skylark Trilogy # ''Skylark'' (2012) # ''Shadowlark'' (2013) # ''Lark Ascending'' (2014) ;Starbound Trilogy (co-authored with Amie Kaufman) # ''These Broken Stars'' (2013) # ''This Shattered World'' (2014) # ''Their Fractured Light'' (2015) ;Retellings series # ''Hunted'' (2017) # ''Sherwood'' (2019) ;Unearthed series (co-authored with Amie Kaufman) # ''Unearthed'' (2018) # ''Undying'' (2019) ;The Other Side of the Sky series #

Critical studies and reviews of Spooner's work

;''The Other Side of the Sky'' *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spooner, Meagan Living people American writers Year of birth missing (living people) Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology alumni