- Stephenie Meyer
Infobox Writer
name =Stephenie Morgan Meyer
caption =
pseudonym =
birthname = Stephenie Morgan
birthdate = Birth date and age|1973|12|24|mf=y
birthplace =Hartford, Connecticut ,United States
deathdate =
deathplace =
occupation =Novelist
nationality =
period =
genre =Fantasy , Romance, Young Adult
subject =
movement =
influences =Orson Scott Card ,Jane Austen ,William Shakespeare ,Maeve Binchy , Brontë sisters,Daphne du Maurier ,L. M. Montgomery ,Louisa May Alcott ,Eva Ibbotson ,William Goldman ,Douglas Adams ,Janet Evanovich
influenced =
website = http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/Stephenie Morgan Meyer (born December 24, 1973) is an American
author . She is the author of the popular books "The Host" and "Twilight", along with "Twilight"' s sequels "New Moon", "Eclipse", and the recently released "Breaking Dawn ". A film adaptation of "Twilight" will be released on November 21, 2008. She has also written a partial draft of "Midnight Sun", a companion novel in the series. However, Meyer has postponed writing this book after excerpts of it were illegally leaked on the Internet. [cite web|url=http://www.meeja.com.au/index.php?display_article_id=143 |title=Stephenie Meyer spits dummy, dumps book after spoiler post |publisher=www.meeja.com.au |date=2008-09-03 |accessdate=2008-09-03 ]Personal history
Stephenie Meyer was born in
Hartford, Connecticut to Stephen and Candy Morgan. She is named after her father. She grew up inPhoenix, Arizona with a large family. She has five siblings: Seth, Emily, Jacob, Paul,and Heidi. She attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, AZ. Meyer attendedBrigham Young University inProvo, Utah , where she received a B.A. in English in 1995. [cite web|url=http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=2155 |title=YA Novels and Mormon Memoirs |publisher=Brigham Young University Magazine |last=Cracroft |first=Richard H. |date=Winter 2008 |accessdate=2008-08-01 ] She met her husband Christiaan, nicknamed "Pancho", when she was growing up in Arizona, and married him in 1994. Together they have three sons, Gabe, Seth, and Eli. Meyer is a member ofThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .Meyer says that the idea for "Twilight" came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003 about a human girl and a vampire, who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood. Based on this dream, Meyer wrote the transcript of what is now Chapter 13 of the book. [cite web|url=http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=1972 |title=A Teenage Tale With Bite |publisher=Brigham Young University Magazine |last=Walker |first=Michael R. |date=Winter 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-01 ] She had not written anything much before the dream, but in a matter of three months her first novel was finished. [ [http://www.newyorktimesbestsellerlist.org/archives/17 Time Magazine Interview with Stephenie Meyer] ] After writing and editing the novel, she signed a three-book deal with
Little, Brown and Company for $750,000.The sequel to "Twilight", "New Moon", had an unintentional staggered release all over North America, beginning in early August 2006. Stephenie Meyer initially wrote an alternative sequel to "Twilight", called "Forever Dawn", which she then used as an outline for the remainder of the series. She has stated that the novel will never be published, as it doesn't fall into the genre of young adult. [ [http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_faq.html#forever StephenieMeyer.com | Twilight Series | Twilight FAQ] ] The third book in the series, "Eclipse", was released on August 7, 2007. The fourth book, "
Breaking Dawn ", was released on August 2, 2008 in the United States and Canada and on August 4, 2008 outside of North America. Meyer revealed that "Breaking Dawn" will be the last book written fromBella Swan 's perspective. [http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/breakingdawn.html StephenieMeyer.com | Twilight Series | Breaking Dawn] ] Meyer has also stated that her other novel, "Midnight Sun", will be more of a companion piece to the series than a genuine sequel, as it will describe "Twilight" from the view of Edward Cullen. [http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html StephenieMeyer.com | Twilight Series | Midnight Sun] ] A rough first chapter of "Midnight Sun" was posted on Meyer's website, though she stated that it would be edited and otherwise changed before being released as part of the novel. [ [http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/pdf/midnightsun_chapter1.pdf StephenieMeyer.com | Twilight Series | Midnight Sun Preview] ] However, the novel has been indefinitely put on hold due to a recent leak of the transcript. In response, Meyer has made a rough draft of the first 12 chapters available on her website.Bands included in her playlists include
Muse ,Blue October ,Coldplay , andLinkin Park . [ [http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_playlist.html StephenieMeyer.com | Twilight Series | Twilight | Playlist ] ]Published works
Meyer's first novel, "Twilight", was published in October 2005. By November, "Twilight" had reached #5 on the "New York Times" Best Seller list for young adult chapter books. [cite news | author=Carma Wadley | url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20080511/ai_n25425697 | title=Meyer on fire with books | publisher=Deseret News | date=
2008-05-11 | accessdate=2008-06-30 ]Meyer soon published the sequel to "Twilight", "New Moon", in August 2006. In its first week of release, it debuted at the number 5 position on the "
New York Times " Best Seller List for Children's Chapter Books. In its second week it rose to the number 1 position, where it remained for the next eleven weeks. In total, it spent over 50 weeks on the list. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/books/bestseller/0812bestchildren.html?scp=5&sq=children%27s+august+12%2C+2007&st=nyt Children's Books: Best Sellers] from "The New York Times ", August 2007]One of Meyer's stories was published in "
Prom Nights from Hell ", a collection of stories about bad prom nights with supernatural effects. Other authors who contributed to this collection areMeg Cabot ,Kim Harrison ,Michele Jaffe , andLauren Myracle . "Prom Nights from Hell" was released April 10, 2007.On May 5, 2007, the special edition of "New Moon" was released. It included "New Moon" temporary tattoos, an "Eclipse" poster, and the first chapter of "Eclipse".
On August 7, 2007, "Eclipse", the third book in the "Twilight" series, was released. In total, the three books have spent a combined 143 weeks on the "New York Times" Best Seller list. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1734838,00.html Stephenie Meyer: A New J.K. Rowling? | "Time" magazine] ]
On May 6, 2008, Meyer's adult sci-fi novel, "The Host", was released by the adult division of
Little, Brown and Company ; it follows the story of Melanie Stryder and Wanderer, a young woman and an invading "soul", who are forced to work as one in order to find Jamie and Jared, Melanie's little brother and the love of Melanie's life respectively.On May 31, 2008, the special edition of "Eclipse" was released. It contains the cover art and first chapter of "Breaking Dawn" as well as "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob" t-shirt transfers.
On August 2, 2008, the fourth installment of the "Twilight" series, "
Breaking Dawn ", was released. 3.7 million copies were printed of the 754-page book, with over 1.3 million copies being sold on the first day alone.cite news |first= Brian | last=Jacks | url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/08/04/breaking-dawn-sells-13-million-copies-in-one-day | title='Breaking Dawn' Sells 1.3 Million Copies in One Day | publisher=MTV.com | date=2008-08-04 | accessdate=2008-08-09 ]Critical reception
"Twilight" quickly gained recognition and won numerous honors, including:
*A "
New York Times " Editor's Choice
*APublishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
*AnAmazon.com "Best Book of the Decade...So Far"
*A "Teen People " "Hot List" pick
*AnAmerican Library Association "Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults" and "Top Ten Books for Reluctant Readers”
*Translation into 20 languages [ [http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/bio.html StephenieMeyer.com | Official Bio] ]However, critical reception has been mixed. "
Booklist " wrote, "There are some flaws here—a plot that could have been tightened, an overreliance on adjectives and adverbs to bolster dialogue—but this dark romance seeps into the soul." [ [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0316015849 Booklist review cited on amazon.com] ] "Kirkus" wrote: " ["Twilight"] is far from perfect: Edward's portrayal as monstrous tragic hero is overly Byronic, and Bella's appeal is based on magic rather than character. Nonetheless, the portrayal of dangerous lovers hits the spot; fans of dark romance will find it hard to resist." [ [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Twilight/Stephenie-Meyer/e/9780316160179 Kirkus Reviews cited on bn.com] ]Fan following
Meyer has gained a following among young adult readers for her "Twilight" novels, which are set in the small town of Forks on the
Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. Forks has thus received an unusual amount of attention, and celebrates "Stephenie Meyer Day" on September 13, the date of character Bella Swan's birthday, in honor of the author. [ [http://www.forkswashington.org/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_detail&agid=83&year=2007&month=09&day=13&Itemid=0 City of Forks, Washington: Stephenie Meyer Day] ]Fans express themselves in other ways: " [They] dress up like her characters. They write their own stories about them and post their tales on the Internet. When she appears at a bookstore, 3,000 people go to meet her. There are Twilight-themed rock bands." [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1734838,00.html Stephenie Meyer: A New J.K. Rowling?] ]
Completed and upcoming works
Meyer had hoped to have "Midnight Sun", a retelling of the events of "Twilight" written from Edward Cullen's perspective, published some time after the release of "Breaking Dawn", but due to recent online leak of its rough draft, she has halted its progress indefinitely.
She is also "almost done" writing a possible sequel to "The Host", entitled "The Soul". [ [http://www.twilightlexiconblog.com/?p=645 More From Berlin | Twilight Lexicon ] ] If she were to continue the series, the third book would be called "The Seeker". [ [http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1585112/story.jhtml 'Twilight' Writer Stephenie Meyer Wants Matt Damon For 'Host' Movie - Movie News Story | MTV Movie News ] ]
She mentions having several other book ideas on file, including a ghost story titled "Summer House" and a novel involving time travel, [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20211938_4,00.html Stephenie Meyer's vampire empire | Stephenie Meyer | Cover Story | Books | Entertainment Weekly | 4 ] ] as well as another about mermaids. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/meyer.html Twilight series offers young people a twist on vampire fiction - CBC Arts | Books ] ]
"The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide", which will give further information on the world of the "Twilight" series, is slated for release on December 30, 2008.
On August 28, 2008, it was revealed that Meyer had written the treatment for the new
Jack's Mannequin music video, "The Resolution", which she directed the following week. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1593776/20080828/jacks_mannequin.jhtml]Film adaptation
Summit Entertainment optioned "Twilight" in April 2007. The film version is currently categorized as "Coming Soon" on Summit Entertainment's website. [ [http://www.summit-ent.com/ Summit Entertainment ] ]Catherine Hardwicke has signed on to direct, with a script byMelissa Rosenberg . [Fleming, Michael [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117973209.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2564 Hardwicke to direct Meyer's 'Twilight'] , "Variety" (October 2, 2007)] It will starKristen Stewart asBella Swan andRobert Pattinson as Edward Cullen. [ [http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_movie.html StephenieMeyer.com | Twilight Series | Twilight | Twilight the Movie ] ] The movie is set to be released on November 21, 2008. [ [http://themovie-fanatic.com/the_buzz!/movie_news/twilight_new_date_of_release/ A Strategic Move? Twilight moves release date to November 21! - The Movie-Fanatic] ]References
External links
* [http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/ Stephenie Meyer's official website]
* [http://www.thetwilightsaga.com/ The Twilight Series's official website]
* [http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/Stephenie_Meyer_Page/Stephenie_Meyer_Page-promo.html/ Exclusive Stephenie Meyer video & interview]
* [http://www.newyorktimesbestsellerlist.org/archives/category/authors/stephenie-meyer Interview with Stephenie Meyer]
* [http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/stepheniemeyereBooks.htm Stephenie Meyer eBooks]
*imdb name|2769412
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
