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Leigh Bardugo
Bardugo in 2017
Bardugo in 2017
Born (1975-04-06) April 6, 1975 (age 49)
Jerusalem
Occupation Novelist
Citizenship Israeli, American
Education Yale University (B.A.)
Period 2012–present
Genre Young adult fiction, Fantasy, Superhero fiction, horror fiction
Notable works Shadow and Bone trilogy, Six of Crows duology, King of Scars duology
Notable awards Inkpot Award

Leigh Bardugo (born April 6, 1975) is an American fantasy author. She is best known for her young adult Grishaverse novels, which include the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows and King of Scars duologies. She also received acclaim for her paranormal fantasy adult debut, Ninth House. The Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows series have been adapted into Shadow and Bone by Netflix, and Ninth House will be adapted by Amazon Studios; Bardugo is an executive producer on both works.

Early life

Bardugo was born in Jerusalem, on April 6, 1975, and grew up in Los Angeles, California, where she was raised by her grandparents. She describes herself as Jewish-Spanish on one side, Russian and Lithuanian on the other.

She attended Yale University, graduating with a degree in English in the spring of 1997. She was a member of the Wolf's Head secret society. Before publishing her first novel, she worked in copywriting and journalism, as well as makeup and special effects.

Career

Bardugo's debut novel, Shadow and Bone, the first book in the Grisha trilogy, was published in 2012 by Macmillan. Shadow and Bone was nominated for the Romantic Times Book Award and the South Carolina Children's Book Award, named an Indie Next List Book, and reviewed in The New York Times. The novel hit #8 on The New York Times Best Seller list, and was optioned for film by David Heyman and DreamWorks. The other books in the trilogy, Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising, were published by Macmillan in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Bardugo defines Shadow and Bone genre as Tsarpunk—fantasy with inspiration from early-19th-century Russia.

The Six of Crows duology (Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom) was published by Macmillan in 2015 and 2016. It is set in the same universe as the Grisha trilogy (sometimes collectively called the "Grishaverse"). Six of Crows was named a New York Times Notable Book and an ALA-YALSA Top Ten Pick of 2016. The Language of Thorns, a collection of Grisha fairy tales and folk tales, was published by Macmillan in 2017.

Bardugo then wrote the first book in the DC Icons series, which are novelizations of DC Comics' biggest superheroes; her novel, Wonder Woman: Warbringer, was published by Penguin Random House in 2017.

In 2019, Bardugo's first adult novel, Ninth House, was published by Flatiron Books. It won the 2019 Goodreads Choice Award for best fantasy novel. In January 2023, she published the sequel to Ninth House, Hell Bent.

Bardugo also has essays and short stories in anthology collections such as Last Night, A Superhero Saved My Life, Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, and Summer Days and Summer Nights. Her books have been translated into 22 languages and published in over 50 countries.

Bardugo appeared on a Grishaverse panel alongside showrunner Heisserer at New York Comic Con in October 2020. She was ranked the sixth most popular author between 2016 and 2021 on Goodreads.

In 2023, she reached a multi-book deal with Macmillan Publishers. She signed with WME agency. She picketed for the Writers Guild of America.

In April of 2024, Bardugo's novel, The Familiar, was published by Flatiron Books. The Familiar is a historical fantasy set in Spain during the Spanish Golden Age.

Adaptations

In September 2012, DreamWorks acquired the movie rights to Shadow and Bone with David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford producing, but the project was not realized. In January 2019, Netflix ordered an eight-episode series based on the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows book series. Bardugo made a cameo appearance in episode three of Shadow and Bone.

In October 2019, Amazon Studios announced that it would adapt Ninth House. Bardugo is set to executive produce the project alongside Pouya Shahbazian.

Personal life

In the acknowledgments section of Six of Crows, Bardugo reveals she has osteonecrosis and sometimes needs to use a cane; this was a source of inspiration for one of the story's six protagonists, master thief and gang boss Kaz Brekker, who uses a cane.

Bardugo was a singer in the band Captain Automatic from 2006 to 2007. In 2022, she eloped with her partner of four years.

Bardugo does not practice Judaism but identifies as a Jew.

Awards and nominations

The awards Bardugo has received are as follows:

Year Award Nominee/Work Category Result Ref
2020 Audie Award Ninth House Best Fantasy Nominated
2016 Dragon Awards Six of Crows Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel Nominated
2020 Ninth House Fantasy Novel Nominated
2018 German Fantasy Awards Six of Crows Best International Novel Won
2012 Goodreads Choice Awards Shadow and Bone Best Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction Nominated
2013 Siege and Storm Nominated
2014 Ruin and Rising Nominated
2015 Six of Crows Nominated
2016 Crooked Kingdom Nominated
2017 The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic Nominated
2019 King of Scars Nominated
Ninth House Best Fantasy Won
2021 Rule of Wolves Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction Won
2019 Inkpot Award Leigh Bardugo N/A Won
2017 Locus Award Crooked Kingdom Best Young Adult Book Nominated
2020 King of Scars Nominated
Ninth House Best Fantasy Novel Nominated

Accolades

Year-end lists
Year Publication Work Category Result Ref
2019 Amazon Ninth House Amazon's Best Books of 2019 List 18
2019 Book Riot Ninth House The best books of 2019 N/A
2021 Rule of Wolves Top Books of 2021 N/A
2015 Bustle Six of Crows The 25 Best YA Books Of 2015 16
2016 Crooked Kingdom The 30 Best YA Books Of 2016 N/A
2013 BuzzFeed Siege and Storm The 21 Best YA Books Of 2013 14
2014 Ruin and Rising The 17 Best YA Books Of 2014 7
2015 Six of Crows 16 Of The Best YA Books Of 2015 7
2015 Six of Crows The 32 Best Fantasy Books Of 2015 8
2019 King of Scars 31 Young Adult Books That We Deemed The Best Of 2019 2
2016 Entertainment Weekly Crooked Kingdom YA Books of 2016 6
2014 The Guardian Ruin and Rising What are the best children's books of 2014? N/A
2015 The Independent Six of Crows 10 best fantasy novels 3
2016 The Irish Times Six of Crows Our favourite children's and YA books of 2016 N/A
2021 Kobo Rule of Wolves Our top 20 Kids & Young Adult picks of 2021 N/A
2015 New York Times Six of Crows Notable Children's Books of 2015 N/A
2019 NPR Ninth House NPR's Favorite Books of 2019 N/A
2019 Parade Ninth House The 25 Best Books of 2019 N/A
2015 Paste Six of Crows The 30 Best Young Adult Books of 2015 25
2016 Crooked Kingdom The Best Books of 2016: Young Adult 23
2019 Ninth House The 19 Best Novels of 2019 9
2019 Ninth House The Top 19 Best Audiobooks of 2019 N/A
2015 PopSugar Six of Crows The Best YA Books of 2015 3
2016 Crooked Kingdom The Best YA Books of 2016 21
2017 Seventeen Wonder Woman 28 of the Best YA Books of 2017 24
2019 ShortList Six of Crows Best Young Adult books: great YA books to read today 3
2019 Time Ninth House The 100 Must Read Books of 2019 N/A
2019 Tor Ninth House The Best Books of 2019 N/A
2021 Rule of Wolves The Best Books of 2021 N/A
2019 USA Today Ninth House Best books of 2019 N/A
2019 Vox Ninth House Best of 2019: the 15 best books we read this year N/A
2015 The Wall Street Journal Six of Crows Best of the Best-of Lists: Best Young Adult N/A
2021 Wired Six of Crows 36 of the best fantasy books everyone should read N/A
Decade lists
Year Publication Work Category Result Ref
2019 Comic Years Shadow and Bone Series The Top 10 Fantasy Series Published In The Past Decade 8
2019 Paste Six of Crows The 30 Best Fantasy Novels of the 2010s 14
Six of Crows The 30 Best Young Adult Novels of the 2010s 18
All-time lists
Year Publication Work Category Result Ref
2018 Paste Crooked Kingdom The 50 Best Fantasy Books of the 21st Century (So Far) 38
Six of Crows 15
2020 Polygon Wonder Woman: Warbringer The greatest Wonder Woman comics of all time N/A
2020 Time Six of Crows 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time N/A

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Leigh Bardugo para niños

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