Sara Shepard (born April 8, 1977) is an American author. She is known for the bestselling ''
Pretty Little Liars
''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...
'' and ''
The Lying Game'' book series, both of which have been turned into television shows on
Freeform.
Early and personal life
Shepard grew up with a sister named Alison. She graduated from
Downingtown High School in
Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Downingtown is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 7,898. Downingtown was settled by European colonists in the early 18th century and has a number of historic buildings a ...
in 1995. She attended
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
, where she graduated with a
B.S. degree in 1999 and an
MFA in Creative Writing from
Brooklyn College in 2004.
From 2000 to 2005, Shepard worked at Time, Inc. Custom Publishing and produced lifestyle magazines for corporate clients. She started ghostwriting as a freelancer in 2002 and writing her own books in 2005.
Shepard currently resides in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, Pennsylvania.
Television shows
Shepard's book series ''
Pretty Little Liars
''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...
'' and ''
The Lying Game'' have both been turned into television series by ABC Family (now under the name of
Freeform). The ''Pretty Little Liars'' series of novels is "loosely based on her experiences growing up in Chester County".
The adaptation television series ''
Pretty Little Liars
''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...
'' lasted for seven seasons. Actresses
Troian Bellisario,
Ashley Benson,
Shay Mitchell, and
Lucy Hale
Karen Lucille Hale (born June 14, 1989) is an American actress, singer, and television personality. She has received various accolades, including seven Teen Choice Awards (the most for any actress in a single series), a Gracie Award, a People's ...
star as the main characters
Spencer Hastings,
Hanna Marin,
Emily Fields
Emily Catherine Fields is a fictional character created in 2006 by author Sara Shepard. She is a character of both ''Pretty Little Liars'' books and television series, and initially appears as a " jock girl" and one of the main protagonists o ...
and
Aria Montgomery. Shepard had a cameo on two episodes of the show: "
The Homecoming Hangover", as a substitute teacher and "
I'm a Good Girl, I Am", as the news reporter.
''
The Lying Game'' premiered on August 15, 2011 on ABC Family. Like the former, ''The Lying Game'' is also loosely based on the book series. ABC Family took an unusually long time to decide whether or not to renew ''The Lying Game'' beyond season 2, and the cast's contract options lapsed in April 2013 with only Alexandra Chando signing a new option. The network confirmed the cancellation of ''The Lying Game'' in July 2013,
after Chando had announced the news on Twitter and Instagram.
[ Full Instagram message (at https://www.instagram.com/p/byvM6mqA_K/): To our awesome #lyinggame fans, thank you for these two amazing seasons. Unfortunately, ABC Family has decided not to bring us back for a third season. We so wanted to do 10 more for you guys! Thanks for your support and keep up with the cast to see what's next for us!] Chando starred as the main two characters Sutton Mercer and Emma Becker.
On September 25, 2017, it was announced that Shephard’s 2014 book series ''The Perfectionists'' would be loosely adapted into a television series, titled ''
Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists'', serving as a sequel to the television series ''Pretty Little Liars'' on Freeform.
Sasha Pieterse and
Janel Parrish have confirmed to reprise their original ''Pretty Little Liars'' roles as
Alison DiLaurentis and
Mona Vanderwaal. The series featured characters from ''The Perfectionists'' series played by actors
Sofia Carson
Sofía Daccarett Char (born April 10, 1993), known professionally as Sofia Carson, is an American actress and singer. Her first appearance on television was as a guest star on the Disney Channel series '' Austin & Ally''. In 2015, she received ...
,
Sydney Park, Eli Brown and
Kelly Rutherford as Ava Jalali, Caitlin Martell-Lewis, Dylan Wright and Claire Hotchkiss, respectively. The series is cancelled after one season. On September 29, 2017, it was announced that Shepard's 2014 book ''The Heiresses'' would be adapted into a television series for
ABC, with Shay Mitchell starring as Corrine Saybrook. As of 2018, the network has not move forward ''The Heiresses''.
In May 2019, it was announced that Shepard would produce the anthology web series ''
Crown Lake
''Crown Lake'' is an American anthology streaming television series produced and distributed by Brat TV. The series is written by Sara Shepard and produced by Shepard alongside Lilia Buckingham. It first premiered on June 20, 2019, and was renew ...
'', which debuted on
Brat on June 20, 2019. Shepard created a podcast series titled ''Cruise Ship'', which was released by
Meet Cute on July 6, 2021.
Bibliography
Young Adult
''
Pretty Little Liars
''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...
''
* ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2006)
()
* ''Flawless'' (2007)
()
* ''Perfect'' (2007)
()
* ''Unbelievable'' (2008)
()
* ''Wicked'' (2008)
()
* ''Killer'' (2009)
()
* ''Heartless'' (2010)
()
* ''Wanted'' (2010)
()
* ''Twisted'' (2011)
()
* ''Ruthless'' (2011)
()
* ''Stunning'' (2012)
()
* ''Burned'' (2012)
()
* ''Crushed'' (2013)
()
* ''Deadly'' (2013)
()
* ''Toxic'' (2014)
()
* ''Vicious'' (2014)
()
; Companion novels
* ''Alison's Pretty Little Diary'' (2010)
()
* ''Pretty Little Secrets'' (2012)
()
* ''Ali's Pretty Little Lies'' (2013)
()
* ''Pretty Little Love'' (2017)
* ''Pretty Little Lost'' (2017)
* ''It's Not Easy Being "A"'' (2017)
* ''Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists'' (2019)
* ''Pretty Little Love: The Entire Journey'' (2020)
'' The Lying Game''
* ''The Lying Game'' (2010)
()
* ''Never Have I Ever'' (2011)
* ''Two Truths and a Lie'' (2012)
* ''Hide and Seek'' (2012)
* ''Cross My Heart, Hope to Die'' (2013)
* ''Seven Minutes in Heaven'' (2013)
; Companion novelas
* ''The First Lie'' (2012)
* ''True Lies'' (2013)
''The Perfectionists''
* ''The Perfectionists'' (2014)
()
* ''The Good Girls'' (2015)
()
''The Amateurs''
* ''The Amateurs'' (2016)
()
* ''Follow Me'' (2017)
()
*'' Last Seen'' (2018)
()
Standalone
* ''Influence'' (January 5, 2021),
Adult fiction
* ''The Visibles'' (May 5, 2009)
()
* ''Everything We Ever Wanted'' (October 10, 2011)
()
* ''The Heiresses'' (May 20, 2014)
()
* ''The Elizas'' (April 17, 2018)
()
* ''Reputation'' (December 3, 2019)
()
* ''Memory Lane'' (January 13, 2021)
* ''Safe in My Arms'' (July 27, 2021)
* ''Wait for Me'' (November 1, 2022)
Filmography
Role credits
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shephard, Sara
1977 births
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American women writers
American children's writers
Brooklyn College alumni
Living people
New York University alumni
Writers from Philadelphia
American writers of young adult literature
American people of Canadian descent
Writers from Pittsburgh
American women novelists
Women writers of young adult literature
People from Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Novelists from Pennsylvania