Samantha Shannon (born 8 November 1991) is a British author of dystopian and

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, ...

fiction. Her debut novel, '' The Bone Season'', was published in 2013 and is the first of a seven-book series.

Life and career

Shannon was born in Hammersmith, London in November 1991 and grew up in

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is a suburb in the London Borough of Hillingdon in northwest London. Prior to 1965 it was in Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

. She first began writing at the age of fifteen, when she wrote her first novel, ''Aurora'', which remains unpublished. Shannon studied English Language and Literature at St Anne's College, Oxford and graduated in 2013.Kate Kellawa
"Samantha Shannon: 'Writing was a drug I couldn't stop taking'"
, ''The Observer'', 11 August 2013 She is of Irish descent on her father's side, her ancestors emigrating to England from

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

''The Bone Season''

In 2012 she signed a six-figure book deal with Bloomsbury Publishing, who bid following the London Book Fair, to publish the first three books in a seven-book series, beginning with '' The Bone Season''. Set in 2059, it follows Paige Mahoney, a "dreamwalker" resisting the Republic of Scion, which has led an oppressive campaign against clairvoyants for two centuries. Following its publication, Shannon was compared favorably to J. K. Rowling. Film and TV rights to ''The Bone Season'' were first optioned by The Imaginarium Studios in November 2012, with Andy Serkis slated to produce, and by British production company Lunar Park in 2019.

''The Roots of Chaos''

'' The Priory of the Orange Tree'', a standalone

high fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Pres ...

by Shannon, was published in February 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing. A reimagining of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon, it was named by '' Collider'' as a sapphic book that should be turned into a show or movie. A prequel, ''A Day of Fallen Night,'' was published in February 2023. Shannon has called the series ''The Roots of Chaos,'' having originally planned to only write one book within the universe and later stating that there were more stories to tell. In 2022, Shannon signed a contract for a third book in the ''Roots of Chaos'' cycle and a story inspired by the Greek goddess Iris.

Personal life

Shannon identifies as " sapphic".

Bibliography

''The Bone Season'' series

*'' The Bone Season'' (2013) *'' The Mime Order'' (2015) *'' The Song Rising'' (2017) *'' The Mask Falling'' (2021) *''The Dark Mirror'' (2025) Related works *''On the Merits of Unnaturalness'' (companion) (2015) *'' The Pale Dreamer'' (novella)(2016) *''The Dawn Chorus'' (novella) (2020)

''The Roots of Chaos'' series

*''A Day of Fallen Night'' (prequel) (2023) *''Among the Burning Flowers'' (prequel) (2025) *'' The Priory of the Orange Tree'' (2019)

Short stories

*''Amrita'' (2013) *"Marigold" in ''Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy'', edited by Amerie (2017)

References

External links

* * Living people 1991 births Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford British queer writers British women science fiction and fantasy writers English fantasy writers English LGBTQ novelists English LGBTQ writers English people of Irish descent English women novelists LGBTQ people from London People from Hammersmith People from Ruislip Queer novelists British queer women Writers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Writers from the London Borough of Hillingdon 21st-century English short story writers 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers {{UK-writer-stub British LGBTQ women Jewish LGBTQ women