Amie Kaufman is a ''New York Times'' bestselling and internationally bestselling Australian author of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

for young adults. She is known for the ''Starbound Trilogy'' and ''Unearthed'', which she co-authored with

Meagan Spooner 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 standal ...

; for her series ''The Illuminae Files'', co-authored with

Jay Kristoff Jay Kristoff (born 11 November 1973) is an Australian author of fantasy and science fiction. He writes both for adult readers and young adults. He lives in Melbourne. Biography Kristoff was born in Perth, Australia in 1973. As a child, Kristo ...

; and for her solo series, ''Elementals''. Her books have been published in over 35 countries.

Biography

Kaufman grew up in both Ireland and Melbourne, Australia. She earned undergraduate degrees, with

honours Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

, in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. Later, she earned a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information abo ...

, and worked for seven years as a mediator before becoming a full-time author. She is a PhD candidate in

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

. She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and dog.

Literary career

Kaufman's debut, ''These Broken Stars'', was co-authored with Meagan Spooner. The book was a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 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 The Inky Awards recognise high-quality young adult literature, with the longlist and shortlist selected by young adults, and the winners voted for online by the teen readers of the Inside a Dog website. There are two awards: the Gold Inky Award fo ...

and was named the Huffington Post Best YA Novel of 2013, The series was in development for TV in 2016, 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 and singer. He is the lead singer of Born as Ghosts, formerly known as Fredalba. He made his film debut in the drama ''Shattered Image'' (1998), followed by roles in ''What Women Want' ...

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 award ...

producing. The sequel, ''This Shattered World'' was a nominee for the Aurealis Award for best science fiction novel. Kaufman's '' Illuminae'', co-authored with

, was acquired by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

in a

preempt Preempt (also spelled "pre-empt") is a bid in contract bridge whose primary objectives are (1) to thwart opponents' ability to bid to their best contract, with some safety, and (2) to fully describe one's hand to one's partner in a single bid. A ...

in 2013. The first book in the series was published in late October 2015. It debuted at #5 on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller List Young Adult Hardcover list, and eventually reached the #2 spot. In November 2015, it was announced that Brad Pitt and his production company,

Plan B Entertainment Plan B Entertainment, Inc., more commonly known as Plan B, is an American production company founded in November in 2001 by Brad Grey, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Kristin Hahn. In 2005, after Pitt and Aniston divorced, Grey became the CEO o ...

, had acquired the film rights to ''Illuminae''. ''Illuminae'' was nominated for the 2016

Prime Minister's Literary Award The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.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 Science Fiction novel, the 2016 Gold Inky Award for best teen fiction, and the 2016

Australian Book Industry Award The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) are publishers' and literary awards held by the Australian Publishers Association annually in Sydney "to celebrate the achievements of authors and publishers in bringing Australian books to readers". ...

Book of the Year for Older Children. The sequel ''Gemina'', debuted at #3 on the New York Times bestseller list and won the 2016 Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction novel. The third book in the series, ''Obsidio'', debuted at #6 on the New York Times children's series list, as the #1 young adult bestseller in Australia, and as a

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

bestseller. Kaufman's next series with Spooner 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. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, with

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), '' Ed ...

as director and producer alongside Cross Creek Productions. Screenwriters were

Jez Butterworth Jeremy "Jez" Butterworth (born March 1969) is an English playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He has written screenplays in collaboration with his brothers, John-Henry and Tom. Life and career In March 1969, Butterworth was born in Lo ...

and

John-Henry Butterworth John-Henry Butterworth is an English 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 The Paul Selvin Award is a special award presen ...

. Kaufman's first solo series and first series for younger readers, ''Elementals'', began with ''Ice Wolves'' in March 2018. The book was a Spring 2018 Indie Next Pick, and earned a starred review from Kirkus.

Bibliography

Novels

;Starbound trilogy The ''Starbound'' trilogy, co-authored with

, consists of the following novels: ''These Broken Stars'' (2013), ''This Shattered World'' (2014), and ''Their Fractured Light'' (2015). ''These Broken Stars'' received a starred review from

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

, as well as the following accolades: * Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel (2013) * Inky Awards Nominee for Gold Inky (2014) * Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2014) * The Inky Awards Shortlist for Gold Inky (2014) ''This Shattered World'' was an Aurealis Award Nominee for Best Fantasy Novel and for Best Science Fiction Novel (Shortlist) (2014) ''Their Fractured Light'' was an Aurealis Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2015) ;Unearthed series The ''Unearthed'' series, co-authored with

, consists of the following novels: ''Unearthed'' (2017) and ''Undying'' (2018). ;The Illuminae Files series ''The Illuminae Files'' series, co-authored with

, consists of the following novels: '' Illuminae'' (2015)'', Gemina'' (2016)'', Obsidio'' (2018), and the novella, ''Memento'' (2020). ''Illuminae'' was a

New York Times Bestseller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

. It received a starred review from

and

Kirkus ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

, as well as the following accolades: * Kirkus Reviews' Best Books Of 2015 * Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) for Older Children (ages 8-14) (2015) * Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2015) * Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2015) *

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, with 49,727 members ...

's (ALA)

Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults The American Library Association's Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults, formerly Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults, is a recommendation list of audiobooks presented yearly by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) division. The Y ...

Top Ten (2016) * ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2016) * ALA Teens' Top Ten (2016) * The Inky Awards Shortlist for Gold Inky (2016) * Premio El Templo de las Mil Puertas Nominee for Mejor novela extranjera perteneciente a saga (2016) * Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance (2016) * The Inky Awards for Gold Inky (2016) * Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2017) * Evergreen Teen Book Award Nominee (2018) * Lincoln Award Nominee (2019) ''Gemina'' received the following accolades: * Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2016) * Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2016) *

Top Ten (2017) ''Obsidio'' received starred reviews from

and

, as well as the following accolades: * Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2018) * American Library Association's

(2019) ;Elementals trilogy The ''Elementals'' trilogy consists of the following novels: ''Ice Wolves'' (2018), ''Scorch Dragons'' (2019), and ''Battle Born'' (2020). ''Ice Wolves'' received a starred review from ''

.'' ;Aurora Cycle trilogy The ''Aurora Cycle'' trilogy, co-authored with

, consists of the following novels: ''Aurora Rising'' (2019), ''Aurora Burning'' (2020), and ''Aurora’s End'' (2021). ''Aurora Rising'' received starred reviews from ''

'' and ''

'', as well as the following accolades: *

Booklist Editors' Choice Booklist Editors Choice is an annual list compiled and reviewed by Booklist's editorial staff as the best adult and youth books and videos, and audiobooks. Booklist is a publication "that has been published by the American Library Association ...

: Youth Audio (2019) * Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and for Best Young Adult Novel (2019) * Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2019) * Australian Independent Booksellers Indie Book Award Nominee for Young Adult (2020) *

's (ALA) Teens' Top Ten (2020) * ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2020) ''Aurora Burning'' was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2020). ;The Other Side of the Sky series # ;The World Between Blinks series # ''The World Between Blinks'', co-authored with Ryan Graudin, was published January 5, 2021 by

Quill Tree Books HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Publishing#Book publishing, Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette (publisher), Hachette, and Macmillan Publishers, Macmillan. The com ...

. The book received a starred review from

Short fiction

* "One Small Step..." in ''Begin, End, Begin'', edited by Danielle Binks (2017) * "I Swear This Part Is True" in ''Where The Shoreline Used To Be'', edited by Susan La Marca and Pam Macintyre (2016)

Critical studies and reviews of Kaufman's work

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

References

External links

Amie Kaufman's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaufman, Amie Australian science fiction writers Living people Women writers of young adult literature Writers of young adult science fiction Year of birth missing (living people) People educated at Firbank Girls' Grammar School Writers from Melbourne