Holly Black (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Riggenbach; born November 10, 1971) is an American writer and editor best known for her children's and young adult fiction. Her most recent work is the ''New York Times'' bestselling young adult ''Folk of the Air'' series. She is also well known for ''

The Spiderwick Chronicles ''The Spiderwick Chronicles'' is a series of children's fantasy books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. They chronicle the adventures of the Grace children, twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory, after they move into the Spid ...

'', a series of children's fantasy books she created with writer and illustrator

Tony DiTerlizzi Tony M. DiTerlizzi (born September 6, 1969) is an American fantasy artist, children's book creator, and motion picture producer. In the gaming industry, he is best known for his work in the collectible card game ''Magic: The Gathering'' and on ...

, and her debut trilogy of young adult novels officially called the ''Modern Faerie Tales''. Black has won an Eisner Award, a Lodestar Award, a Award, a Nebula Award, and a Newbery honor.

Early life and education

Black was born in

West Long Branch, New Jersey West Long Branch is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 8,097, in 1971, and during her early years her family lived in a "decrepit Victorian house." Black graduated with a B.A. in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

from

The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, or ...

in 1994. She worked as a production editor on medical journals including ''The Journal of Pain'' while studying at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

. She considered becoming a librarian as a backup career, but writing drew her away. She edited and contributed to the

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...

culture magazine '' d8'' in 1996. In 1999 she married her high school sweetheart, Theo Black, an illustrator and web designer. In 2008 she was described as residing in

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (althoug ...

Literary career

Modern Faerie Tales Black's first novel, '' Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale'', was published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

in 2002. There have been two sequels set in the same universe featuring different casts. The first, '' Valiant'' (2005), won the inaugural

Andre Norton Award The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction (formerly the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy) is an annual award presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) to the ...

for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy. By vote of ''Locus'' readers for the

Locus Awards The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...

, ''Valiant'' and '' Ironside'' (2007) ranked fourth and sixth among the year's young-adult books. The Spiderwick Chronicles In 2003, Black published the first two books of ''

'', a collaboration with artist

. The fifth and last book in the series reached the top of the ''New York Times'' Bestseller list in 2004. A film adaptation of the series was released in 2008, of which Black was co-executive producer. The Curse Workers '' White Cat'', the first in her Curse Workers Series, was published in 2010. ''White Cat'' was followed by '' Red Glove'' (2011) and the trilogy concluded with '' Black Heart'' in 2012. In 2011, Black stated that the Curse Workers books had been optioned by Vertigo Pictures and producer Mark Morgan. Magisterium In 2012, Scholastic acquired a five-book series written by Black and

Cassandra Clare Judith Lewis (née Rumelt; born July 27, 1973), better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her bestselling series The Mortal Instruments (series), ''The Mortal Instruments''.'' Per ...

to be called ''

Magisterium The magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the Word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition." According to the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Chur ...

''. Its first volume, ''

The Iron Trial ''The Iron Trial'', written by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare and published September 9, 2014 by Scholastic Corporation, is the first book in The Magisterium Series. Plot The protagonist of The Magisterium Series is twelve-year-old Callum (Ca ...

'', was published on September 9, 2014. The final book in the series, '' The Golden Tower'', was published in 2018. The Folk of the Air The Cruel Prince published in 2017. The first book of The Folk of the Air was critically acclaimed and nominated for the

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...

and the Lodestar Award. The sequel, The Wicked King (2018) debuted at the #1 position of the

New York Times Bestseller List ''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 ...

. The Wicked King was also nominated for the Lodestar Award. The Queen of Nothing released in November 2019. With that release the series debuted at #3 on the New York Times Bestseller List. Standalones A standalone novel, '' The Coldest Girl in Coldtown'', was released by

Little, Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily D ...

in September 2013. Black published a short story of the same name in the vampire anthology ''The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire''. ''The Coldest Girl in Coldtown'' was a Nebula Finalist in 2013. ''

Doll Bones ''Doll Bones'' is a 2014 children's novel by author Holly Black with illustrations by Eliza Wheeler. ''Doll Bones'' won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award in Children's Literature and was a Newbery Medal Honor Book in 2014. Plot ''Doll Bones'' is the ...

'' was published in May 2013, and was awarded a Newbery Honor"And the Newbery, Caldecott award winners are ..."
Ashley Strickland, CNN, January 27, 2014. and a

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Awar ...

. ''

The Darkest Part of the Forest ''The Darkest Part of the Forest'' is a 2015 young adult fantasy novel written by Holly Black. The book is a standalone but makes mention of characters from Black's Modern Tale of Faerie trilogy, establishing a shared continuity between that tri ...

'' was published in 2015. Her first adult fiction novel ''Book of Night'' was released in May 2022 by

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, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...

. Black has also written dozens of short works and co-edited at least three anthologies of

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

Bibliography

Adult novels

*''Book of Night'' (2022)

Young adult novels

;Modern Faerie Tales *'' Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale'' (2002) *'' Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie'' (2005) *'' Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale'' (2007) ;The Curse Workers *'' White Cat'' (2010) *'' Red Glove'' (2011) *'' Black Heart'' (2012) ;The Folk of the Air *''

The Cruel Prince ''The Folk of the Air'' is a young adult fantasy book series by Holly Black, published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers. The story follows the journey of mortal girl Jude Duarte and faerie prince Cardan Greenbriar as they navigate the wo ...

'' (2018) *''The Lost Sisters'' (2018, companion novella) *''The Wicked King'' (2019) *''Queen of Nothing'' (2019) *''How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories'' (2020, companion novella) ;Books of Elfhame * ''The Stolen Heir'' (forthcoming 2023) ;Standalone * '' The Coldest Girl in Coldtown'' (2013) * ''

'' (2015)

Middle grade novels

;Spiderwick, Black and

* ''

'' ** ''The Field Guide'' (2003) ** ''The Seeing Stone'' (2003) ** ''Lucinda's Secret'' (2003) ** ''The Ironwood Tree'' (2004) ** ''The Wrath of Mulgarath'' (2004) *''

Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles ''The Spiderwick Chronicles'' is a series of children's fantasy books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. They chronicle the adventures of the Grace children, twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory, after they move into the Spider ...

'' ** ''The Nixie's Song'' (2007) ** ''A Giant Problem'' (2008) ** ''The Wyrm King'' (2009) * Accompanying books ** ''Arthur Spiderwick's Notebook of Fantastical Observations'' (2005) ** ''Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You'' (2005) ** ''The Spiderwick Chronicles: Care and Feeding of Sprites'' (2006) ;

, Black and

, illustrator

Scott Fischer Scott Eugene Fischer (December 24, 1955 – May 11, 1996) was an American mountaineer and mountain guide. He was renowned for his ascents of the world's highest mountains made without the use of supplemental oxygen. Fischer and Wally Berg were t ...

* ''

'' (2014) * ''

The Copper Gauntlet The Copper Gauntlet is the second book in The Magisterium Series written by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare Judith Lewis (née Rumelt; born July 27, 1973), better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is an American author of young adult f ...

'' (2015) * '' The Bronze Key'' (2016) * ''

The Silver Mask ''The Silver Mask'' ( ro, Masca de argint) is a 1985 Romanian action historical film directed by Gheorghe Vitanidis. This is the fourth film in the ''Margelatu'' series, after '' Drumul oaselor'' (1980), '' Trandafirul galben'' (1982), '' Miste ...

'' (2017) * '' The Golden Tower'' (2018) ;Standalone * ''

'' (2013, Newbery Medal honor book), illus. Eliza Wheeler * ''Heart of the Moors: An Original'' Maleficent: Mistress of Evil ''Novel'' (2019)

Graphic novels and comics

;The Good Neighbors, illus.

Ted Naifeh Edward "Ted" Naifeh is an American comic book writer and artist known for his illustrations in the goth romance comic '' Gloomcookie''. Naifeh has since become most known as the creator of the Eisner-Award-nominated series ''Courtney Crumrin'', p ...

*''The Good Neighbors: Kin'' (2008) *''The Good Neighbors: Kith'' (2009) *''The Good Neighbors: Kind'' (2010) ;Lucifer *''Lucifer vol. 1: Cold Heaven'' (2016, trade paperback) *''Lucifer vol. 2: Father Lucifer'' (2017, trade paperback) *''Lucifer vol. 3: Blood in the Streets'' (2017, trade paperback)

Short fiction

;Collections * ''The Poison Eaters and Other Stories'' (2010), illus. Theo Black ;Short stories *"Hades and Persephone" (1997) in ''Prisoners of the Night'' *"The Night Market" (2004) in ''The Faery Reel: Tales from a Twilight Realm'' *"Heartless" (2005) in ''Young Warriors: Stories of Strength'' *"Going Ironside" (2007) in ''Endicott Journal of Mythic Arts'' *"In Vodka Veritas" (2007) in ''21 Proms'' *"Reversal of Fortune" (2007) in ''The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales'' *"The Poison Eaters" (2007), ''The Restless Dead: Ten Original Stories of the Supernatural'', ed. Deborah Noyes *"Paper Cuts Scissors" (October 2007) in ''Realms of Fantasy'' *"The Coat of Stars" (2007) in ''So Fey'' *"Virgin" (2008) in ''Magic in the Mirrorstone'' *"The Boy Who Cried Wolf" (2009) in ''Troll's Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales'' *"The Coldest Girl in Coldtown" (2009) in '' The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire'' *"A Very Short Story" (2009) in ''Half-Minute Horrors'' *"The Dog King" (2010) in ''The Poison Eaters and Other Stories'' *"The Land of Heart's Desire" (2010) in ''The Poison Eaters and Other Stories'' *"The Arn Thompson Classification Review" (2010) in '' Full Moon City'' *"Sobek" (2010) in ''Wings of Fire'' *"Lot 558: ''Shadow of My Nephew'' by Wells, Charlotte" (2011) in ''The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities''. *"Everything Amiable and Obliging" (2011) in ''Steampunk!'' *"The Perfect Dinner Party" (with

, 2011) in ''Teeth'' *"The Rowan Gentleman" (with

, 2011) in ''Welcome to Bordertown'' *"Noble Rot" (2011) in ''Naked City: New Tales of Urban Fantasy'' *"Coat of Stars" (2012) in ''Bloody Fabulous'' *"Little Gods" (2012) in ''Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron'' *"Millcara" (2013) in ''Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales'' *"Sisters Before Misters" (2014) (with

Sarah Rees Brennan Sarah Rees Brennan (born 21 September 1983) is an Irish writer best known for young adult fantasy fiction. Her first novel, '' The Demon's Lexicon'', was released June 2009 by Simon & Schuster. Rees Brennan's books are bestsellers in the UK. Li ...

and

) in ''Dark Duets: All-New Tales of Horror and Dark Fantasy'' *"Ten Rules for Being an Intergalactic Smuggler (the Successful Kind)" (2014) in ''Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales'' *"1UP" (2015) in ''Press Start to Play''

Anthologies edited

* ''Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd'' (2009), eds. Black and

Cecil Castellucci Cecil C. Castellucci (born October 25, 1969 in New York City), also known as Cecil Seaskull, is an American-born Canadian young adult novelist, indie rocker, and director. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California. Biography Castellucci gre ...

* ''Zombies vs. Unicorns'' (2010), eds. Black and

Justine Larbalestier Justine Larbalestier ( )' (born 23 September 1967) is an Australian writer of young adult fiction best known for her 2009 novel, '' Liar''. Personal life Larbalestier was born and raised in Sydney. She now alternates residence between Sydney ...

* ''Welcome to Bordertown'' (2011), eds. Black and

Ellen Kushner Ellen Kushner (born October 6, 1955) is an American writer of fantasy novels. From 1996 until 2010, she was the host of the radio program '' Sound & Spirit'', produced by WGBH in Boston and distributed by Public Radio International. Backgroun ...

Poetry

*"The Third Third: Israfel's Tale" (1996) in ''d8 Magazine'' *"Bone Mother" (Autumn 2004) in ''Endicott Journal of Mythic Arts''

Awards

* 2006:

for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, '' Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie'' * 2014:

in Children's Literature, ''Doll Bones'' * 2014:

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

Honor Book, ''Doll Bones'' * 2015:

Indies Choice Book Award The Indies Choice Book Award (formerly known as Book Sense Book of the Year 2000-2008) is an American literary award that was inaugurated at BookExpo America 2000. The American Booksellers Association (ABA) rededicated the award (previously kno ...

—Young Adult Book of the Year, ''The Darkest Part of the Forest''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Holly 1971 births Living people American children's writers American fantasy writers American magazine editors Female comics writers Writers from Amherst, Massachusetts People from West Long Branch, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni The College of New Jersey alumni Women science fiction and fantasy writers 21st-century American novelists American women novelists Novelists from New Jersey Novelists from Massachusetts American women children's writers 21st-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Women magazine editors