Shannon Hale facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Shannon Hale
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Hale in 2016
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| Born | Shannon Bryner January 26, 1974 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Language | English |
| Alma mater | University of Utah University of Montana |
| Period | 2003–present |
| Genre | Young adult, fantasy |
| Notable works | The Goose Girl Princess Academy Book of a Thousand Days Austenland |
| Spouse | Dean Hale |
| Children | 4 |
Shannon Hale, born Shannon Bryner on January 26, 1974, is an American author. She is best known for her exciting young adult fantasy books. Some of her famous works include Princess Academy, which won a Newbery Honor award, and The Goose Girl.
Shannon Hale also writes books for adults. Her first adult novel, Austenland, was even made into a movie in 2013. She studied at the University of Utah and the University of Montana. Shannon often works with her husband, Dean Hale, to create stories.
Contents
Growing Up: Shannon Hale's Early Life
How Did Shannon Hale Start Writing?
Shannon Hale was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was born on January 26, 1974. She is one of five children in her family. From a young age, Shannon loved to write, read, and act. She often made up plays and performed them with her friends.
When she was just 10 years old, Shannon started writing fantasy books. She often imagined herself as the main character in her stories. Her teachers in elementary school really encouraged her creative ideas. In fourth grade, she decided she wanted to be a writer when she grew up.
Shannon's School Days and Theater
In junior high, Shannon was part of the school's literary magazine. She then went to West High School. There, she developed a strong love for English and drama. She took a creative writing class. She also helped edit the fiction section of her high school's literary magazine.
Shannon acted in many school and community plays. These included the musical The Secret Garden. She also joined drama competitions. She traveled around Utah and the U.S. with an improv theater group. This group performed plays about different issues teens face.
Meeting Her Husband and Learning to Write
Shannon met her husband, Dean Hale, during her first year at West High School. He was also involved in theater. Shannon believes her acting experience helped her writing. It especially helped her create interesting characters and build new worlds in her books.
She went to the University of Utah. She first studied both English and Theater. Later, she decided to focus only on English. She also spent 18 months as a missionary in Paraguay. She earned her bachelor's degree in English in 1998. Later, she got a master's degree in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. While studying, she wrote many short stories. She sent them to publishers, but none were accepted at first.
Shannon Hale's Books and Writing Career
The Goose Girl and Bayern Series
Shannon Hale started writing The Goose Girl during her master's program. She worked on it during her lunch breaks at her job. She had planned to write books for adults at first. But The Goose Girl became her first published novel. It was rejected nine times before Bloomsbury Publishing offered to publish it in 2003.
The book is based on her favorite fairy tale of the same name. It was chosen as an ALA Teens' Top Ten book. It was also the first book in her popular Books of Bayern series. The Goose Girl won the 2004 Josette Frank Award for fiction. Hundreds of thousands of copies have been printed in 15 languages. Other books in the Bayern series include Enna Burning, River Secrets, and Forest Born.
Princess Academy Series and Awards
Her novel Princess Academy became a The New York Times Best Seller. It also appeared on the Book Sense and Publishers Weekly best-seller lists. The book received a Newbery Honor, which is a very important award for children's books. Shannon said getting this award was an "unexpected gift" that changed her career.
Because readers loved Princess Academy so much, Shannon wrote two sequels. These are Princess Academy: Palace of Stone and Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters. She has said that this series is "a love letter to education."
Books for Adults and Graphic Novels
Shannon's first adult novel, Austenland, was also a Book Sense best-seller. Shannon and screenwriter Jerusha Hess wrote the movie script for Austenland. The movie came out in 2013 at the Sundance Film Festival. It was bought by Sony Pictures. Twilight author Stephenie Meyer helped produce the film. Keri Russell starred as the main character, Jane Hayes. In 2012, Shannon released a sequel novel, Midnight in Austenland.
Another adult novel, The Actor and the Housewife, was published in 2009. It was named "the City Weekly readers' choice winner for best novel of the year." Shannon has kept many rejection letters she received from publishers. She has even put them all together on a very long scroll!
Real Friends and Other Collaborations
In 2017, Shannon Hale released a graphic memoir called Real Friends. This book tells the story of her challenges in elementary school. It was illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Its sequel, Best Friends, was also a New York Times Best Seller for graphic books and manga in April 2020.
In 2018, her Princess in Black series became a New York Times Best Seller for children's series. She wrote this series with her husband, Dean Hale. They also wrote the graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge. They have written two young adult novels for Marvel superheroes: Squirrel Girl and Captain Marvel. Shannon also wrote her own young adult superhero novel, Dangerous, in 2014.
Other Interesting Work and Activities
Before becoming a full-time author, Shannon Hale did many different things. She performed in stage shows and improvisational comedy. She also studied in Mexico and the United Kingdom. She worked as an instructional designer, which means she helped create learning materials.
Shannon is a strong supporter of gender equality. She has noticed that her books are often marketed only to girls. This happens even though both boys and girls enjoy them. She has written articles about this topic.
Shannon Hale's Personal Life
Shannon Hale is married to Dean C. Hale. They have worked together on many books. These include the graphic novels Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack. They also co-wrote The Princess in Black series and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl series.
Shannon is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). She has mentioned that her children often give her new ideas for books. She is a mother of four children: Max, Magnolia, and twin girls Dinah and Wren. In her graphic novel memoirs about her childhood, Shannon chose to include pictures related to her religious upbringing, like her family going to church. She felt it was important to show this part of her life.
Awards and Recognitions
Shannon Hale's books have won many awards and honors.
- The Princess in Black was a New York Times bestseller. Kirkus Reviews also named it one of the best books of 2014.
- In February 2016, Shannon Hale was a special guest speaker at the Life, the Universe, & Everything science fiction and fantasy symposium.
- In 2017, Real Friends was on Booklist's "Top 10 Graphic Novels for Youth" list.
- Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn was a New York Times and IndieBound bestseller.
- Her graphic novel Real Friends won an AML Award in Comics in 2017.
- Rapunzel's Revenge won the Cybils Award for Elementary and Middle Grade Graphic Novel in 2008.
- Princess Academy received a Newbery Medal Honor in 2006.
