Genevieve Cogman is a British author of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), 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

role-playing games A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

Life

Cogman has an MSc in statistics with Medical Applications. She works for the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

as a clinical classifications specialist and lives in the north of England. Cogman has also worked as a freelance role-playing author, contributing towards the

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

titles ''

In Nomine In Nomine is a title given to a large number of pieces of English polyphonic, predominantly instrumental music, first composed during the 16th century. History This "most conspicuous single form in the early development of English consort musi ...

'' and ''

GURPS The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems w ...

'', the

White Wolf Publishing White Wolf Publishing was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant

titles ''

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...

'' and ''

Exalted ''Exalted'' is a high fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally published by White Wolf Publishing in July 2001. The game is currently in its third edition. It was originally created by Robert Hatch, Justin Achilli and Stephan Wieck, and wa ...

'', and the

Evil Hat Productions Evil Hat Productions is a company that produces role-playing games and other tabletop games. Chief among them is the free indie RPG, ''Fate'', which has won numerous awards. History Fred Hicks had been working with Lydia Leong, Rob Donoghu ...

title ''

The Dresden Files ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are wri ...

''.

Writing

Cogman's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

''The Invisible Library'' was released in January 2015. The book was the first in an eponymous series, continued by ''The Masked City'' (December 2015), ''The Burning Page'' (December 2016), ''The Lost Plot'' (2017), ''The Mortal Word'' (2018), ''The Secret Chapter'' (2019), ''The Dark Archive'' (2020) and its final title, ''The Untold Story'' (2021). The

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

revolves around a team of secretive undercover

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

s who travel to alternate realities to acquire works of fiction on behalf of a sprawling interdimensional

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

that exists outside of normal space and time. The main character is Irene, a Junior Librarian with a great British humour, and the adventures she has with her assistant and friend, the mysterious and charming Kai. The series incorporates numerous fantasy elements including

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

beings, and

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

Bibliography

The Invisible Library novels

*Book 1: ''The Invisible Library'' London: Pan Macmillan, 2015. *Book 2: ''The Masked City'' London: Pan Macmillan, 2015. *Book 3: ''The Burning Page'' London: Pan Macmillan, 2016. *Book 4: ''The Lost Plot'' London: Pan Macmillan, 2017. *Book 5: ''The Mortal Word'' London: Pan Macmillan, 2018. *Book 6: ''The Secret Chapter'' London: Pan Macmillan, 2019. *Book 7: ''The Dark Archive'' London: Pan Macmillan, 2020. *Book 8: ''The Untold Story'' London: Pan Macmillan, 2021.

Other books

*''Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga: Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game'' (2009)

Short fiction

*"Snow and Salt" (2004) *"The Final Path" (2016)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cogman, Genevieve Living people British women novelists 21st-century British novelists British fantasy writers Role-playing game designers White Wolf game designers Women science fiction and fantasy writers 21st-century British women writers Year of birth missing (living people)