Charlie N. Holmberg

Charlie Nicholes Holmberg (born April 4, 1988) is an American fantasy writer best known for The Paper Magician series. She is from Salt Lake City, Utah, and graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in English in 2010. Her first novel, The Paper Magician, was released in 2014. Holmberg expanded the book into a series, the film rights for which were purchased by Disney in 2016. In addition to her other book series (the Numina trilogy, Spellbreaker duology, Star Mother duology, and The Whimbrel House Series), Holmberg has published seven standalone novels. She is a multi-Whitney Award recipient for The Fifth Doll, The Will and the Wilds (2020), Star Mother (2021), and Keeper of Enchanted Rooms (2022). The Hanging City was a 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist. Many of her other works have been nominated for literary awards as well. In addition to writing, Holmberg cohosts the podcast Your Mom Writes Books.

Early life Charlie Nicholes Holmberg was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 4, 1988. She has three sisters. At a young age, she enjoyed watching Star Trek: The Next Generation After seeing an anime series entitled The Vision of Escaflowne when she was 13, Holmberg decided she wanted to write her own stories. She wrote fan fiction during her high school years. She graduated from BYU with a BA in English in 2010 Holmberg then worked as a technical editor and freelance editor for several years.

Career Holmberg chose to write fantasy over science fiction so that she wouldn't be bound by the limitations of technology in her world building or writing. Her debut novel, The Paper Magician, was published on September 1, 2014, by 47North, an imprint of Amazon. It was the ninth novel Holmberg completed The Paper Magician was also a finalist for the 2014 AML Award for Best Young Adult Speculative Fiction Novel. The book follows protagonist Ceony Twill as she becomes permanently bound to manipulating paper through magic. The Master Magician (2015), and The Plastic Magician (2018). The Master Magician was featured as a Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Book (under fiction e-books) in June 2015.

Holmberg has also written seven standalone novels, She has described herself as "more of a standalone writer than... a series writer". Her novel Followed by Frost was published in 2015, also by 47North. Followed by Frost originated as an idea Holmberg had while scraping snow off her car. The Fifth Doll won the 2017 Whitney Award for Speculative Fiction. Additionally, The Glass Magician, The Plastic Magician, Followed by Frost, Veins of Gold, and Smoke and Summons were all Whitney Award finalists.

After being told by her agent that she needed to write another series, Holmberg published her Numina trilogy: She pulled together different ideas she'd had previously to write the story. All three books were published in 2019, just months apart. Holmberg has called Smoke and Summons "the best book [she's] ever written". She interviewed Brandon Sanderson for issue 50 of Deep Magic, published in June 2016. She also hosts the podcast Your Mom Writes Books with author Caitlyn McFarland.

Personal life Holmberg currently lives in Utah County, Utah. She often writes in the mornings and takes care of her children in the afternoons.

Numina trilogy

Spellbreaker duology

Star Mother duology

Whimbrel House Series

Wizard of Most Wicked Ways. March 2025.

Standalones

Non-Fiction

Charlie N. Holmberg's Book of Magic. November 12, 2024.

Short stories "Salt and Water" (2015, reprinted 2016) "The War and the Riddle" (2018) "Illusions of Love" (2019)

Awards and nominations Short-listed for the 2015 ALA Fantasy Reading List (The Paper Magician) Finalist for the 2015 Whitney Award for Young Adult Speculative Fiction (The Glass Magician) Finalist for the 2015 Whitney Award for Young Adult Speculative Fiction (Followed by Frost) Finalist for the 2016 RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance (Followed by Frost) Winner of the 2017 Whitney Award for Speculative Fiction (The Fifth Doll) Winner of the 2022 Whitney Award for Speculative Fiction (Star Mother) Finalist 2023 Goodreads Choice Award, Romantasy (The Hanging City) Winner of the 2024 Whitney Award for Adult Speculative Fiction (Keeper of Enchanted Rooms)