Audrey Niffenegger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Audrey Niffenegger
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Niffenegger in 2009
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| Born | June 13, 1963 South Haven, Michigan, U.S. |
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| Education | Art Institute of Chicago Northwestern University (MFA) |
| Period | 2003–present |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Notable awards | Inkpot Award (2019) |
| Spouse | Eddie Campbell |
Audrey Niffenegger (born June 13, 1963) is an American writer and artist. She is famous for her bestselling first novel, The Time Traveler's Wife, which was published in 2003. Besides writing novels, she also creates "visual books" that tell stories through pictures.
Contents
Life and Career
Audrey Niffenegger was born in South Haven, Michigan. When she was two, her family moved to Evanston, Illinois, near Chicago, where she has lived for most of her life. Her love for storytelling started early, and she began writing her own books at just six years old.
Niffenegger went to college at the Art Institute of Chicago to become a visual artist. After that, she earned a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree from Northwestern University. For many years, from 1994 to 2015, she taught creative writing at Columbia College Chicago. There, she helped start a center for book and paper arts.
She is also a founding member of an artist and writer's group called Text 3 (or T3). In 2024, Niffenegger announced that her new project, the Artists Book House, would be built in Chicago. This center will be a place for people who love making books by hand.
Niffenegger's Famous Novels
Niffenegger is best known for her imaginative novels that mix fantasy with real-life emotions.
The Time Traveler's Wife
Niffenegger's first novel, The Time Traveler's Wife, became a huge success. The story is about a man who has a genetic disorder that causes him to travel through time unpredictably, and his wife who has to cope with his sudden disappearances and reappearances.
The book was so popular that it was made into a movie in 2009 and a TV series in 2022. Niffenegger has said she prefers the book version because that is where the characters truly belong to her. She first thought about making it a graphic novel, but decided it would be too hard to draw the time travel scenes.
In 2023, she released a companion novel titled The Other Husband.
Her Fearful Symmetry
Her second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry, was released in 2009. It is a ghost story set in London's famous Highgate Cemetery. To make the story feel real, Niffenegger spent time at the cemetery and even worked as a tour guide there. The book was praised by critics for its spooky atmosphere and clever ideas.
Other Works
Niffenegger has worked on other exciting projects. She wrote a story called Raven Girl (2013), which was turned into a ballet at the Royal Opera House in London. She also started writing a novel called The Chinchilla Girl in Exile.
Books Told with Pictures
Because she is also an artist, Niffenegger creates "visual books" or "novels in pictures," where the art is just as important as the words. She makes these books herself using special printing methods like etching and letterpress.
Her first visual book was called The Adventuress. Her second, The Three ... Sisters, was published in 2005. It tells the story of three sisters living in a house by the sea and has been compared to the art of Edward Gorey.
Another visual story, "The Night Bookmobile," was published as a book in 2010. It is about a woman who discovers a library on wheels that contains every book she has ever read.
Personal Life
Niffenegger is married to Eddie Campbell, who is also an artist and works on cartoons and graphic novels. They worked together on a visual novel called Bizarre Romance.
Adaptations of Her Work
Some of Niffenegger's books have been adapted for the screen.
- The Time Traveler's Wife (2009), a film based on her novel.
- The Time Traveler's Wife (2022), a TV series based on the same novel.
See also
In Spanish: Audrey Niffenegger para niños
