Victoria Elizabeth Schwab (born July 7, 1987) is an American writer. She is known for the 2013 novel '' Vicious'', the '' Shades of Magic'' series, and ''

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue ''The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue'' is a fantasy novel by the American author V. E. Schwab. It was published by Tor Books on October 6, 2020. The story follows a young French woman in 1714 who makes a bargain with the Dark that makes her imm ...

'', which was nominated for the 2020

Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel The Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel is a literary award given annually by ''Locus Magazine'' as part of their Locus Awards. Winners References External links The Locus Award Index: FantasyThe Locus Award: 2011 winnersExcerpts and summaries ...

''.'' She publishes

children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...

and

young adult fiction Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

books under the name Victoria Schwab. She is the creator of the supernatural teen drama series '' First Kill'', based on her short story of the same name originally published in the 2020 anthology ''Vampires Never Get Old: Tales With Fresh Bite.''

Early life and education

Schwab was born on July 7, 1987, in California and grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. Schwab went to

Harpeth Hall School Harpeth Hall School is a Independent school, private, college-preparatory school for Single-sex education, girls in the Green Hills, Nashville, Tennessee, Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Its beginning dates back ...

, an all-girls Southern preparatory school. She graduated from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

in 2009. She had originally planned to study

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

, but changed directions after taking art and literature courses. She completed her first novel (unpublished) in her sophomore year, and sold her debut novel, ''The Near Witch'', to

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

before graduating.

Career

Schwab's debut novel, ''The Near Witch'', was published by

in 2011. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' called ''Vicious'' "a brilliant exploration of the superhero mythos, and a riveting revenge thriller". Additionally, it received a

starred review A starred review is a book review marked with a star to denote a book of distinction or particularly high quality. A starred review can help to increase media coverage, bookstore placement and sales of a book. Outlets that published starred review ...

from ''

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 ...

'', which also named the novel one of its best books of 2013 for Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror. The

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

Reference and User Services Association The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) is a division of the American Library Association. RUSA honors books and media with major annual awards. Awards are selected by RUSA's Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) commit ...

likewise awarded it the top fantasy book in their 2014 Reading List. In late 2013, the rights for a film adaptation of ''Vicious'' were bought jointly by Story Mining & Supply Co and

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

Scott Free Productions Scott Free Productions is a film and television production company founded by English filmmakers and brothers Ridley and Tony Scott in 1995. The result of multiple mergers between companies established by the Scott brothers since 1971, it curre ...

. In 2014, Schwab signed a two-book deal with

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

, which included ''A Darker Shade of Magic'' and its sequel''.'' The former was published in February 2015, and also received a starred review from ''Publishers Weekly''. In 2017, they signed another book deal with Tor for ''Vengeful'', the sequel to ''Vicious''; a new trilogy set called ''Threads of Power'', which takes place in the same world as the Shades of Magic series; and an "homage to ''Blade Runner''" called ''Black Tabs''. In May 2018, Schwab gave the sixth annual

Tolkien Lecture The J. R. R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature is a free public lecture delivered annually at Pembroke College, Oxford. The series was founded by Pembroke postgraduate students Will Badger and Gabriel Schenk in memory of J. R. R. Tolkien, ...

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

. In 2020, Schwab joined the panel of Podcast ''

Writing Excuses ''Writing Excuses'' is a podcast hosted by authors Dan Wells (author), Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Erin Roberts, DongWon Song, and author and web cartoonist Howard Tayler, and formerly also hosted by author Brandon Sanderson. Promoted as " ...

'' to discuss book themes and other topics. ''

'' was published by

on October 6, 2020. It was heavily praised and nominated for the 2020

''.'' Schwab's short story "First Kill" was published in the 2020 anthology ''Vampires Never Get Old: Tales With Fresh Bite.'' On October 15, 2020,

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

gave a series order to the production ''

First Kill (TV series) '' First Kill'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series created by Victoria Schwab that premiered on Netflix on June 10, 2022. The series is based on Schwab's short story of the same name. In August 2022, the series was cancele ...

.'' Schwab served at the creator and an executive producer of the series and as a writer for a number of episodes. The first season of the series premiered on June 10, 2022, on Netflix. Schwab has been the host of the podcast ''No Write Way with V. E. Schwab'', in which she discusses the craft of writing with successful authors, since 2023. In June 2025, Schwab published ''Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil,'' which topped the USA Today Bestseller List and the New York Times Bestseller List.

Personal life

Schwab grew up in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, and has lived in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. She first came out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

at age 28. Schwab uses she/they pronouns.

Bibliography

As Victoria Schwab

''The Dark Vault'' series

*''The Archived'' (2013) *''The Unbound'' (2014) *''Leave the Window Open'' (2015) (short story) *''The Returned'' (TBD)

''Everyday Angel'' series

*''New Beginnings'' (2014) *''Second Chances'' (2014) *''Last Wishes'' (2014)

''Monsters of Verity'' series

*''This Savage Song'' (2016) *''Our Dark Duet'' (2017)

''Cassidy Blake'' series

*''City of Ghosts'' (2018) *''Tunnel of Bones'' (2019) *''Bridge of Souls'' (2021)

Standalone works

* ''Spirit Animals: Fall of the Beasts - Broken Ground'' (2015) (Book 2 of a series by various authors) * ''Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy'' (2017) (contributing writer) * ''(Don't) Call Me Crazy'' (2018) (contributing writer)

As V. E. Schwab

''Villains'' Series

*''Warm Up'' (2013) (short story) *'' Vicious'' (2013) *''Vengeful'' (2018) *''Victorious'' (TBD)

''Villains Graphic Novels''

*''ExtraOrdinary'' (2021)

''Shades of Magic'' series

*'' A Darker Shade of Magic'' (2015) *''A Gathering of Shadows'' (2016) *''A Conjuring of Light'' (2017)

''Threads of Power'' Series (spin off to Shades of Magic)

* ''The Fragile Threads of Power'' (2023)

''Shades of Magic Graphic Novels'' series

*''Shades of Magic Vol. 1: The Steel Prince'' (2019) *''Shades of Magic Vol. 2: Night of Knives'' (2019) *''Shades of Magic Vol. 3: The Rebel Army'' (2020)

''The Near Witch'' series

*''The Ash-Born Boy'' (2012) (novella) *''The Near Witch'' (2011) (republished in 2019 under V. E. Schwab)

Standalone works

*''First Kill'', a short story within the anthology ''Vampires Never Get Old: Tales With Fresh Bite'' (2020) *''

'' (2020) * ''Gallant'' (2022) * ''Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil'' (2025) * ''Black Tabs'' (announced

Awards

* 2018 Winner

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

- Best Science Fiction for ''Vengeful'' * 2022 Winner

- Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction for ''Gallant''

References

External links

* * *
Interview on her writing process & experiences with publishers
published Jul 16, 2025 by The Portalist {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwab, V. E. 21st-century American women writers Living people American LGBTQ novelists American women science fiction and fantasy writers American women writers of young adult literature American young adult novelists 1987 births Washington University in St. Louis alumni LGBTQ people from Tennessee American lesbian writers 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American novelists American women novelists