Gillian Flynn

Gillian Schieber Flynn (; born February 24, 1971) is an American author, screenwriter, and producer, best known for her thriller and mystery novels Sharp Objects, Dark Places (2009), and Gone Girl (2012). and by 2016, Gone Girl had sold over 15 million copies worldwide.

Early life and education Flynn was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in the Coleman Highlands neighborhood. Both of her parents were educators: her mother, Judith Ann (née Schieber), was a reading-comprehension professor, and her father, Edwin Matthew Flynn, taught film. Flynn has an older brother, Travis, who works as a railroad machinist.

After spending two years in California writing at a trade magazine for human resources professionals, Flynn moved to Chicago. She attended Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, where she completed a master's degree in 1997. Initially aspiring to become a crime reporter, she ultimately chose to pursue a career in creative writing.

Career After graduating from Northwestern, Flynn worked freelance briefly at U.S. News & World Report before joining Entertainment Weekly in 1998 as a feature writer, Flynn credits her years in journalism with helping to hone her writing skills, stating that journalism taught her the discipline of writing without waiting for inspiration. She said, "I could not have written a novel if I hadn't been a journalist first, because it taught me that there's no muse that's going to come down and bestow upon you the mood to write. You just have to do it. I'm definitely not precious."

Flynn's portrayal of complex, morally ambiguous, and often unflattering female characters has drawn criticism from some critics, who have accused her of misogyny. She states, "the one thing that really frustrates me is this idea that women are innately good, innately nurturing." To her, people will dismiss "trampy, vampy, bitchy types – but there's still a big pushback against the idea that women can be just pragmatically evil, bad, and selfish." – for the independent publisher Zando. As of May 2025, she was working on her fourth novel, another psychological thriller, to be published by Penguin Random House.

Books As of 2025, Flynn had published three novels and one short story.

While working at Entertainment Weekly, the book was shortlisted for the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar for Best First Novel, and won the Crime Writers' Association's New Blood and Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. Sharp Objects was later adapted into a celebrated 2018 television miniseries starring Amy Adams.

Flynn's second novel, Dark Places (2009), follows a woman who begins to question whether her incarcerated brother was truly responsible for the murder of their family during the Satanic panic era of the 1980s, when she was a child. The novel garnered positive reviews, was criticized as "dull" and "implausible." Flynn made a cameo appearance in the film. As of 2024, Flynn is developing a limited series for HBO based on the book, where she will serve as co-creator, writer, and co-showrunner. with over two million copies sold by the end of 2012. starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.

Flynn's short story The Grownup won the Edgar Award for Best Short Story. Originally published under the title What Do You Do? in the 2014 anthology Rogues, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, it was later released as a standalone publication in 2015. The narrative follows a sex worker turned fake psychic, hired by a woman to cleanse her Victorian home, which is troubled by a deteriorating marriage and a disturbing stepson.

Comic book short story An avid reader of comic and graphic novels when she was a child, Flynn collaborated with illustrator Dave Gibbons and wrote a comic book short story called Masks. Part of the anthology series Dark Horse Presents, it was published by Dark Horse Comics in February 2015.

Screen adaptations

Television Alongside Marti Noxon, Flynn co-wrote and served as an executive producer for HBO's 2018 adaptation of Sharp Objects, for which she received nominations for the Primetime Emmy and the Writers Guild of America Award.

In 2014, it was announced that Flynn would write the scripts for an HBO adaptation of the British series Utopia. Initially, the HBO series was to be directed and executive produced by David Fincher, but budget issues between Fincher and the network led to its cancellation in 2015. The project was later revived by Amazon, which ordered it to series with a 2020 release. Flynn wrote all eight episodes and served as the project's showrunner. Utopia premiered on Prime Video on September 25, 2020, drawing mixed reviews. The series was canceled in November 2020 after one season.

In 2025 it was shared that Flynn started work on an upcoming HBO limited series adapting Dark Places. and which was nominated for the Writers Guild of America awards, as well as the Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

She also co-wrote, along with filmmaker Steve McQueen, the film adaptation of the ITV series Widows, Starring Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, and Liam Neeson. The film was released in November 2018 to high praise from movie critics.

Upcoming projects Flynn is working on her fourth novel, which is set to be published by Penguin Random House. As discussed in the Chanel Connects podcast in June 2022, Flynn is currently writing the film adaptation for her short story, The Grownup.

She is also developing a limited series for HBO based on her novel Dark Places. Flynn retains the rights to the novel, with Brett Johnson and Guerrin Gardner joining her as co-showrunners, co-creators, and writers. Furthermore, she is collaborating with Tim Burton on a remake of Nathan H. Juran's classic Attack of the 50 Foot Woman film for Warner Bros.

Personal life Flynn married lawyer Brett Nolan in 2007, when she was 36, having met him during graduate school at Northwestern. Their relationship developed in their thirties. The family resides in Chicago.

Awards and nominations

Literature

Year Award Category Work Result Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Sharp Objects Crime Writers' Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Crime Writers' Association New Blood Dagger Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel Crime Writers' Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Dark Places Dark Scribe magazine Dark Genre Novel of the Year Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best NovelGone Girl Women's Prize for Fiction Women's Prize for Fiction Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best Short Story The Grownup

Film

Year Award Category Work Result Austin Film Critics Association Award Best Adapted Screenplay Gone Girl Awards Circuit Community Award Best Adapted Screenplay Black Film Critics Circle Award Best Adapted Screenplay Chicago Film Critics Association Award Best Adapted Screenplay Florida Film Critics Circle Award Screenwriter of the Year Award IndieWire Critics Poll Best Screenplay Golden Schmoes Award Best Screenplay of the Year Hollywood Film Award Best Screenplay NewNowNext Award Best New Screenwriter Online Film Critics Society Award Best Adapted Screenplay Phoenix Critics Circle Award Best Screenplay Phoenix Film Critics Society Award Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium San Diego Film Critics Society Award Best Adapted Screenplay San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award Best Adapted Screenplay Screenwriters Choice Awards, Online Best Adapted Screenplay Southeastern Film Critics Association Award Best Adapted Screenplay St. Louis Film Critics Association Award Best Adapted Screenplay Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award Best Adapted Screenplay Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award Best Woman Screenwriter Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award Best Adapted Screenplay Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award Best Adapted Screenplay Cinema Bloggers Award, Portugal Best Screenplay Critics' Choice Movie Award Best Adapted Screenplay Denver Film Critics Society Award Best Adapted Screenplay Georgia Film Critics Association Award Best Adapted Screenplay Gold Derby Award Adapted Screenplay Golden Globe Award Best Screenplay Italian Online Movie Award Best Adapted Screenplay International Cinephile Society Award Best Adapted Screenplay International Online Cinema Award Best Adapted Screenplay North Carolina Film Critics Association Award Best Adapted Screenplay Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Award Best Adapted Screenplay Online Film & Television Association Award Best Feature Debut Satellite Award Best Adapted Screenplay Seattle Film Critics Society Award Best Screenplay, Adapted USC Scripter Award USC Scripter Award Writers Guild of America Award Best Adapted Screenplay Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Award Best Adapted Screenplay Widows Online Association of Female Film Critics Award Best Adapted Screenplay St. Louis Film Critics Association Award Best Adapted Screenplay Black Reel Award Outstanding Screenplay, Adapted or Original Columbus Film Critics Association Award Best Adapted Screenplay London Critics Circle Film Award Screenwriter of the Year Online Film Critics Society Award Best Adapted Screenplay Gold Derby Award Best Screenplay of the Decade Gone Girl USC Scripter Award USC Scripter Award (shared with Marti Noxon; for the episode "Vanish") Producers Guild of America Award Best Limited Series Television Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series Writers Guild of America Award for Television Award Long Form – Adapted

Published works

Fiction Sharp Objects (2006) Dark Places (2009) Gone Girl (2012) "Masks" (comic book short story) (2014) "The Grownup" (short story) (2014)

Non-fiction

Gillian Flynn's Entertainment Weekly articles

Filmography

Film Year Title Credited as Writer Notes 2014 Gone Girl Directed by David Fincher 2018 Widows Co-writer with director Steve McQueen

TV

Year Title Credited as Writer Executive producer Creator Showrunner Notes 2018 Sharp Objects Network: HBO 2020 Utopia Network: Amazon Prime Video