Gail Carson Levine

Gail Carson Levine (born September 17, 1947) is an American author of young adult books. Her first novel, Ella Enchanted, received a Newbery Honor in 1998.

Early life Levine grew up in New York City, New York in a Jewish family. She credits her parents David and Sylvia for her creative streak. Her father, whose childhood in the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of New York provided inspiration for her story Dave at Night, owned a commercial art studio, and her mother was a teacher who wrote plays for her students to perform. Her older sister, Rani, her senior by five years, became a painter.

As a child, Levine read avidly; her favorite book was James M. Barrie's Peter Pan, and she also enjoyed the works of Louisa May Alcott and L. M. Montgomery. She initially aspired to be an actress and painter, and participated in theater troupes before losing interest in acting.

Writing career

After taking a class in writing and illustrating for children, Levine discovered that she enjoyed writing far more than illustrating. In 2010, she released a second picture book titled Betsy Red Hoodie, an adaptation of the fable "Little Red Riding Hood".

Levine continued to write fantasy novels, beginning with The Two Princesses of Bamarre, an original fairytale that revolves around the relationship between two very different sisters as one must conquer her fears in an attempt to save the other.

Levine also wrote an illustrated novel for young readers called Fairy Dust and the Quest For the Egg, which was published in 2005 by Disney Press as the cornerstone of the new "Disney Fairies" franchise. In her workshops, Levine created a number of exercises for the students, which led to the development of her non-fiction book Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly, a book for children about writing. Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly (2006) The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales (2006) (compilation volume of all six Princess Tales stories) Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand (2008) Ever (2008) Fairies and the Quest for Never Land (2010) Betsy Red Hoodie (2010) A Tale of Two Castles (2011) Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It (2012) Stolen Magic (2015) Writer to Writer (2015) The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre (2017) – set centuries before The Two Princesses of Bamarre and inspired by "Rapunzel" Ogre Enchanted (2018) – set before the events of Ella Enchanted A Ceiling Made of Eggshells (2020) Sparrows in the Wind (2022)