Jennifer Donnelly (born August 16, 1963) is an American writer of

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

best known for the

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

'' A Northern Light''. ''A Northern Light'' was published as ''A Gathering Light'' in the U.K. There, it won the 2003 Carnegie Medal, recognizing the year's outstanding children's book. For the 70th anniversary of the Medal a few years later, it was named one of the top ten winning works, selected by a panel to compose the ballot for a public election of the all-time favorite. Similarly, it was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time in 2015.

Early life

Donnelly was born in

Port Chester, New York Port Chester is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the largest part of the town of Rye (town), New York, Rye in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County by populat ...

. Her paternal great-grandparents immigrated from

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

to New York state and settled in the Adirondack region where her grandmother worked at a hotel on

Big Moose Lake Big Moose Lake, at the head of the Moose River, is a large lake about north of Fourth Lake in the Adirondacks in upstate New York. The lake is within both Herkimer and Hamilton counties, and covers portions of the towns of Webb and Long La ...

, the setting for ''A Northern Light''. Donnelly's own childhood was divided between the communities of Rye and

Port Leyden, New York Port Leyden is a village in Lewis County, New York, United States. The population was 672 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from the village's early history as a port on the Black River Canal. The village of Port Leyden is mostly in the ...

. Donnelly attended the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

, where she earned a degree in English Literature in 1985. She also attended

Birkbeck College, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £109 ...

, in England.

Career

Donnelly returned to New York at age 25, moving to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Her first book was published by Atheneum in 2002: ''Humble Pie'', a

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

with the veteran illustrator Stephen Gammell. That year she also published her first novel. ''The Tea Rose'' (Thomas Dunne, 2002) is the first book of a trilogy set in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

late in the 19th century, with ties to the story of

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...

. The second book, ''The Winter Rose'', continues the tale, following the Finnegan family and related characters from London to Africa to the coast of Northern California. The third novel in the series, ''The Wild Rose'', which explores Willa and Seamie's story, follows the characters from London on the verge of World War I to Arabia in 1918. Her second novel, ''A Northern Light'', is based on the

murder of Grace Brown Grace Mae Brown (March 20, 1886 – July 11, 1906) was an American woman who was murdered by her boyfriend, Chester Gillette, on Big Moose Lake, New York, after she told him she was pregnant. The murder, and the subsequent trial of the suspect, ...

Chester Gillette Chester Ellsworth Gillette (August 9, 1883 – March 30, 1908), an American convicted murderer, became the basis for the fictional character Clyde Griffiths in Theodore Dreiser's novel ''An American Tragedy'', which was the basis of the 1931 fi ...

in the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...

in 1906 - which had been the basis for

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...

's epic ''

An American Tragedy ''An American Tragedy'' is a 1925 novel by American writer Theodore Dreiser. He began the manuscript in the summer of 1920, but a year later abandoned most of that text. It was based on the notorious murder of Grace Brown in 1906 and the trial of ...

'' and its adaptation, the 1951 film '' A Place in the Sun''. In 2004, ''A Northern Light'' won the Carnegie Medal for children's and young-adult books published in Britain - where it was entitled ''A Gathering Light'' and may have been her first work published in the U.K. In the U.S., it won the

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The Prizes currently have nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), history, mystery/thriller ( ...

for young-adult literature and was a runner-up for the

Printz Award Printz is a surname and may refer to: People * Armegot Printz (1625–1695), Swedish noblewoman, daughter of Johan Björnsson Printz * David Printz (born 1980), Swedish ice hockey player * Gisèle Printz (born 1933), French politician * Göran P ...

from the American Library Association (ALA), recognizing the year's best book for young adults. In 2015, Time Magazine named A Northern Light one of the best YA books of all time. Her second young-adult novel, ''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

'', is a tale of two teenage girls, one in present-day Brooklyn, and one in Paris during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. The book was published in October, 2010 by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House, with a first run of 250,000 copies. The book was nominated for a Carnegie Medal, and appeared on a number of "best-of" lists, including Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Amazon.com, BN.com, ALA-YALSA, among others. The audiobook edition from Listening Library, read by Emily Janice Card and Emma Bering, was a runner-up for the ALA's annual Odyssey Award. Donnelly was "captivated and amazed" by the rendition of what she calls "the hardest book I've written". From 2014-2016,

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

published Donnelly's four-book ''

Waterfire Saga Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints inclu ...

'' (''Deep Blue, Rogue Wave, Dark Tide and Sea Spell''), which have won numerous awards including the Nature Generation's 2015 Green Earth Book Award. The song "Open Your Eyes", released by

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records l ...

and sung by

Bea Miller Beatrice Annika Miller (born February 7, 1999) is an American singer and actress. She came in ninth place on season two of ''The X Factor'' (US) when she was 13 years old. She was later signed to Hollywood Records. Her debut EP '' Young Blood'' ...

, was drawn from the chant sung by the river witches in ''Deep Blue''. Donnelly worked with Disney again in 2017, when she published ''Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book'', an original story to accompany the

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

film. Lost in a Book expands on the film, exploring the friendship between Belle and the Beast as well as Belle's time within the pages of Nevermore, a magical book from which she narrowly escapes. Lost in a Book spent four months on the New York Times bestseller list, and rights have been sold in 11 countries. Donnelly returned to historical fiction with ''Fatal Throne'', a book about Henry VIII and his six wives published by Random House/Schwartz & Wade in May 2018. For this project, Donnelly joined six other authors (

Candace Fleming Candace Groth Fleming (born May 24, 1962) is an American writer of children's books, both fiction and non-fiction. She is the author of more than twenty books for children and young adults, including the ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize-honored ' ...

, M.T. Anderson, Stephanie Hemphill,

Deborah Hopkinson Deborah Hopkinson is an American writer of children's books, primarily historical fiction, nonfiction and picture books. She was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. Selected books *''Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt'' (1993) *''Maria's Comet'' (1999) ...

Linda Sue Park Linda Sue Park (born March 25, 1960) is a Korean-American author who published her first novel, ''Seesaw Girl'', in 1999. She has written six children's novels and five picture books. Park's work achieved prominence when she received the presti ...

, and

Lisa Ann Sandell Lisa Ann Sandell is an American author of young adult novels. She has written and published three books, ''A Map of the Known World'', '' Song of the Sparrow'' and ''The Weight of the Sky''. Biography Before she published her first book, Sande ...

), each of whom wrote the part of Henry or one of his wives. Donnelly wrote

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke of ...

, Henry's fourth wife. In September 2017, Donnelly announced a new project with

Scholastic Publishing Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...

called ''Stepsister,'' to be published in 2019. The story begins where the classic tale of

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

leaves off and follows her wicked stepsister Isabelle as "personifications of fate and chance battle for control of her life, hinting that there may be hope after all for a girl labeled ''ugly'' since her first appearances in literature". Film rights for ''Stepsister'' are being handled by

William Morris Endeavor Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, WME or WME-IMG) is an American holding company for talent and media agencies with its primary offices in Beverly Hills, California, United States. The compa ...

and a deal is said to be in the works.

Awards and nominations

Donnelly won the Carnegie Medal and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for ''A Northern Light''. Both ''A Northern Light'' and ''Revolution'' won other awards or were runners-up (often called Honor Books in the U.S.) and both were named to several annual book lists: ''A Northern Light'' (2003) *Charlotte Award, New York State Reading Association *

Michael L. Printz Award The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by ''Booklist'' magazine; administered by the ALA's y ...

Honor * American Library Association-

YALSA The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

Top Ten Best Book For Young Adults * ALA-''

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 ...

'' Editors' Choice * ''Booklist'' Top Ten Youth First Novel *

Book Sense IndieBound is a marketing movement for independent bookstores launched in 2008 by the American Booksellers Association. With resources targeted for "indie" booksellers, it promotes fiscal localism. IndieBound's curated reading lists include the In ...

76 Top Ten Books for Teens *

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samuel W. Craig and H ...

Selection *

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

Book for the Teen Age * Parent's Guide Children's Media Young Adult Honor Book * ''

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 B ...

'' Best Book of the Year * ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

'' Best Book of the Year *

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

Top 100 YA Books of All Time ''Revolution'' (2010) *New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Book of the Year * ALA Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Honor"REVOLUTION Wins Odyssey Honor"
Newsletter. January 18, 2011. Jennifer Donnelly. Retrieved 2014-01-07. *

American Booksellers Association The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and t ...

Indies Choice Young Adult Book of the Year * ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Book For Young Adults * ALA Amelia Bloomer Book *

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

Best Book of the Year * ''

Kirkus Reviews ''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 ...

'' Best Book of the Year * ''School Library Journal'' Best Book of the Year * Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book *

Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, two regional libraries, and branches distributed throughout the ...

Best of the Best Book * Carnegie Medal nominee ''Deep Blue'' (2015) * Green Book Award

Works

As of July 2012, the U.S.

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

catalogs six books by Donnelly, one 32-page

and five novels that surpass 2500 pages in sum."Donnelly, Jennifer"
Library of Congress Online Catalog. Retrieved 2012-07-10. * ''Humble Pie'' (

Atheneum Books Atheneum Books was a New York City publishing house established in 1959 by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr., Simon Michael Bessie and Hiram Haydn. Simon & Schuster has owned Atheneum properties since its acquisition of Macmillan in 1994 and it created Athene ...

, 2002), illustrated by Stephen Gammell * '' The Tea Rose'' (

Thomas Dunne Books Thomas Dunne Books was an imprint of St. Martin's Press, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers. From 1986 until April 2020, it published popular trade fiction and nonfiction. History The imprint signed David Irving, a scholar, for a Joseph ...

, 2002), a 500-page novel * '' A Northern Light'' ( Harcourt, 2003) * ''The Winter Rose'' ( Hyperion Books, 2008), sequel to ''The Tea Rose'' * ''

'' (

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertels ...

/Delacorte Press, 2010)The On-Sale Calendar: October 2010 Children's Books
''Publishers Weekly''. June 20, 2010. Retrieved 2014-01-07. * ''The Wild Rose'' (Hyperion, 2011), completing The Tea Rose series * ''Deep Blue'' (

Disney Publishing Worldwide Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints inclu ...

, 2014), Waterfire Saga * ''Rogue Wave'' (

, 2015), Waterfire Saga * ''Dark Tide'' (

, 2015), Waterfire Saga * ''These Shallow Graves'' (

/Delacorte Press, 2015) * ''Sea Spell'' (

, 2016) Waterfire Saga * ''Lost in a Book'' (

, 2017) Beauty and the Beast * ''Fatal Throne (Anna of Cleves Chapter)'' (

/Schwartz & Wade, 2018) * ''Stepsister'' ( Scholastic, 2019)

Notes

References

External links

*
''Just Add Books'' by Donnelly
at Facebook * {{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Jennifer American children's writers American people of Irish descent Carnegie Medal in Literature winners Writers of historical fiction set in the modern age Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London University of Rochester alumni People from Lewis County, New York People from Port Chester, New York 1963 births Living people