Stefan Bachmann is a Swiss–American author of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

, and

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

, as well as a musician, composer, and artist. He is best known for his debut novel, ''The Peculiar'', a gothic alternate history novel published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

Personal life

Bachmann was born in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

in the United States, and grew up in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. At age 11 he began studying classical music at the Zürich Conservatory, where he studied piano under the tutelage of Carl Rütti. As a teenager, he competed in musical competitions, winning national awards for his compositions and performances. He later studied theory and composition at the Zürich University of the Arts, and lived in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. His debut novel, ''The Peculiar'', was published by

in the United States, and in multiple translations around the world, when he was nineteen years old. After university, he completed his obligatory military service, undergoing basic training in

Bülach , neighboring_municipalities= Bachenbülach, Eglisau, Embrach, Glattfelden, Hochfelden, Höri, Rorbas, Winkel , twintowns = Santeramo in Colle (Italy) Bülach () is an historic town and a municipality in Switzerland in the canton ...

, before working as an officer's aid in various locations across Switzerland. In 2022, he became a board member of Autillus, the Swiss Association of Authors and Illustrators. He currently teaches creative writing at the Junges Literaturlabor in Zürich.

Reception

His books have received critical acclaim from ''

The 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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and many others. In 2012, he was chosen by

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

as one of their "18 Under 18," alongside

Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...

and Tavi Gavinson. In 2017, he was chosen for the Aarhus 39, a selection of the best writers under the age of 40 in Europe, presented at the International Hay Festival in Denmark. His writing has been published in fifteen countries.

Awards

Bibliography

Children's Books

* ''The Peculiar'' (

Greenwillow Books HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...

, 2012) * ''The Whatnot'' (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, 2013) * ''Cinders and Sparrows'' (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, 2020)

Young Adult

* ''A Drop of Night'' (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, 2016)

Nonfiction

* ''Clandestine'' (forthcoming from Workman, 2023), in collaboration with

April Genevieve Tucholke April Genevieve Tucholke ( ) is an American author based in Georgia. She is best known for the Gothic horror novel ''Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea'' and its sequel '' Between the Spark and the Burn'', as well as a dark young adult myst ...

Anthologies

* ''The Cabinet of Curiosities: 36 Tales Brief & Sinister'' (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, 2014) — a book of short stories by

Claire Legrand Claire Legrand is an American writer of children's and young adult literature, including novels and short stories. She is best known for her ''New York Times'' bestselling ''Empirium'' trilogy, published by Sourcebooks Fire. Personal life Legra ...

, Katherine Catmull, and

Emma Trevayne Emma Trevayne is a British (expatriate American) speculative fiction author. Novels Trevayne's debut novel ''Coda'' released in May 2013. A young adult cyberpunk novel, the narrative follows Anthem, an eighteen-year-old boy who lives in a worl ...

; illustrated by Alexander Jansson * ''Slasher Girls & Monster Boys'' ( Dial, 2015) — short story collection edited by

, with stories by Bachmann,

Marie Lu Marie Lu (born 陸希未) is a Chinese-American young adult author. She is best known for the ''Legend'' series, novels set in a dystopian and militarized future, as well as the Young Elites series, the Warcross series, and ''Batman: Nightwalke ...

, Leigh Bradugo,

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 ...

, etc. * ''Quest: Stories of Journeys from Around Europe'' (

Alma Books Alma Books is a publishing house based in Richmond, London, founded in 2005 by Alessandro Gallenzi and Elisabetta Minervini, the founders of Hesperus Press. It publishes mainly fiction, both by authors from the English-speaking world and in tra ...

, 2017) — short stories edited by

Daniel Hahn Daniel Hahn (born 26 November 1973) is a British writer, editor and translator. He is the author of a number of works of non-fiction, including the history book ''The Tower Menagerie'', and one of the editors of The Ultimate Book Guide, a ser ...

, with stories by Bachmann,

Katherine Rundell Katherine Rundell (born 1987) is an English author and academic. She is the author of ''Rooftoppers'', which in 2015 won both the overall Waterstones Children's Book Prize and the Blue Peter Book Award for Best Story, and was short-listed for t ...

, Maria Turtschaninoff, etc.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bachmann, Stefan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Swiss novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Swiss male novelists Swiss children's writers Swiss children's literature