Soman Chainani is an American author and filmmaker, best known for writing the children's book series ''

The School for Good and Evil ''The School for Good and Evil'' is a fantasy fairytale hexalogy of books by Soman Chainani. The first novel in the series was published on May 14, 2013. The series is set in a fictional widespread location known as the Endless Woods. The orig ...

''. Soman's series, ''

'', debuted on 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 ...

, has sold more than 3.5 million copies, been translated into 32 languages across 6 continents, and has been adapted into a major motion picture from

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

that debuted at #1 in over 80 countries. His other books in the School for Good and Evil series – '' A World Without Princes'', '' The Last Ever After'', '' Quests for Glory'', '' A Crystal of Time'' and '' One True King'' – have all debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List as well. His book of retold fairytales, ''Beasts and Beauty,'' was released on September 21, 2021, to wide acclaim, with Kirkus Reviews calling the collection "expertly crafted... evoking the wonder, terror, and magic of the fantasy realms." ''Beasts & Beauty'' was an instant New York Times bestseller, Soman’s seventh New York Times bestseller in a row, and is slated to be a limited television series from Sony 3000, with Soman writing and executive producing. Together, Chainani's books have been on the New York Times Bestseller List for 44 weeks. His most recent book, ''Rise of the School for Good and Evil'' was released on May 31, 2022, to high acclaim and the New York Times Bestseller list. Publishers Weekly described it as “an episodic, adventurous fantasy offering.” A sequel, ''Fall of the School for Good and Evil'' is expected in May 2023.

Early life and personal life

Chainani grew up in

Key Biscayne, Florida Key Biscayne is an island town in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The population was 12,344 at the 2010 census. Key Biscayne lies south of Miami Beach and east of Miami. The village is connected to Miami via the Rickenbacker Causeway, originall ...

, where his family was one of the few of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

descent. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, where he graduated with a degree in English and American Literature in 2001. As of 2003 he resided in New York City. After graduation, he went on to attend

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he participated in their MFA Film Program.

Bibliography

''The School for Good and Evil''

''The School Years'' * ''

'' (2013) * '' A World Without Princes'' (2014) * ''The Last Ever After'' (2015) ** ''The Ever Never Handbook'' (companion) (2016) ''The Camelot Years'' * '' Quests for Glory'' (2017) * ''A Crystal of Time'' (2019) * '' One True King'' (2020) ''Prequel'' * ''Rise of the School for Good and Evil'' (2022) * ''Fall of the School for Good and Evil'' (2023)

Short stories

* "Flying Lessons" in ''Flying Lessons & Other Stories'', edited by Ellen Oh (2017) * "Gwen and Art and Lance" in ''Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy'', edited by

Amerie Amerie Mi Marie Nicholson ( Rogers; born January 12, 1980) is an American singer. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she gained an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother Mi Suk Rogers and of music from her father Charles Rogers, and ...

(2017)

Other titles

* ''Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales'' (2021)

Awards

''The School for Good and Evil'' *'' New York Times Bestseller'' *''ABA Indie List Bestseller'' *''

Waterstone's Children's Book Prize The Waterstones Children's Book Prize is an annual award given to a work of children's literature published during the previous year. First awarded in 2005, the purpose of the prize is "to uncover hidden talent in children's writing" and is there ...

for Best Fiction for 5–12 (2014, nominee for'' ''The School for Good and Evil)'' *''A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2013'' *''A Books-a-Million Best Book of 2013'' *''Entertainment Weekly PopWatch Pick'' *''Children's Choice Reading List Selection'' *''Goodreads Choice Semi-finalist (Best Children's Book)'' *''IndieNext Pick'' ''A World Without Princes'' *''New York Times Bestseller'' *''ABA Indie List Bestseller'' *''Goodreads Choice Finalist (Best Children's Book)'' ''The Last Ever After'' * ''New York Times Bestseller'' * ''ABA Indie List Bestseller'' * ''A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2015'' * ''Goodreads Choice Runner-up (Best Children's Book)''

Filmography

* 2006: ''

Davy and Stu Davy may refer to: * Davy (given name) * Davy (surname) * Davy lamp, a type of safety lamp with its flame encased inside a mesh screen * Davy, West Virginia, United States, a town * Davy Sound, Greenland * Davy (crater), a crater on the moon * ''D ...

'' (short) * 2007: ''

Kali Ma Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

'' (short), ''Boys Life 6'' * 2022: ''

(Executive Producer)''

References

External links

Official website
*
Princess Not So Charming
at '' Harvard Magazine'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chainani, Soman 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American children's writers American fantasy writers American filmmakers American male novelists American novelists of Indian descent Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Harvard College alumni LGBT American people of Asian descent LGBT people from Florida LGBT film producers LGBT film directors American gay writers LGBT screenwriters Living people Novelists from Florida People from Key Biscayne, Florida Writers from Miami People from Florida 1979 births The School for Good and Evil