Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell (born February 24, 1973) is an American author known for young adult and adult contemporary novels. Her young adult novels Eleanor & Park, Fangirl (2013), and Carry On (2015) have been subjects of critical acclaim.

She was the writer of the 2017 revival of Marvel Comics' Runaways and for She-Hulk from 2022 to 2024.

Early and personal life Rainbow Rowell was born on February 24, 1973, in Nebraska. She spent much of her childhood living in rural areas, and often times lived in poverty without consistent access to electricity or running water. Rowell has said that her father's presence during her childhood was occasional and that he struggled with alcohol and drug abuse. She has also said that her mother provided the family stability and encouraged her to have a love of reading. She has a sister named Jade and a half sister, Abby, who owns a popular local coffee chain in Omaha, NE.

Rowell has said that during high school she was involved in the school newspaper and that she continued writing through college journalism work before moving into professional journalism and advertising. Rowell was a columnist and ad copywriter at the Omaha World-Herald from 1995 to 2012.

In a 2021 interview, Rowell stated that she wrote Carry On (2015) while ill and later learned she had an undiagnosed parathyroid disorder. She explained that the gap between when Carry On (2015) and Wayward Son (2019) was released was due to her focusing on her recovery and other projects at the time. Rowell also said Any Way the Wind Blows (2021) was shaped by her experiences writing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently Rowell lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband and two sons.

Career

Adult novels After leaving her position as a columnist, Rowell began working for an ad agency and writing what would become her first published novel, Attachments, as a pastime. Rowell gave birth to her first son during this period and paused work on the manuscript for two years.

In 2014, Rowell published Landline, a contemporary adult novel about a marriage in trouble.

In August 2023, Rowell sold the future publishing rights of four adult novels to William Morrow and Company. The first, titled Slow Dance, was released in July 2024. Rowell's next novel, Cherry Baby, was released in April 2026.

Young adult novels

Eleanor & Park In 2012, Rowell published the young adult novel, Eleanor & Park. In 2014, DreamWorks optioned Eleanor & Park, and Rowell worked on a screenplay, but in 2016, Rowell said the option timed out and the rights reverted to her. In 2019, it was announced that Picturestart had acquired the film rights, with Rowell writing the screenplay and executive producing.

Rowell's work garnered some negative attention in 2013 when a parents' group at a Minnesota high school challenged Eleanor & Park and Rowell was disinvited to a library event; a panel ultimately determined that the book could stay on library shelves. Rowell noted in an interview that the material that these parents were calling "profane" was what many kids in difficult situations realistically had to deal with, and that "when these people call Eleanor & Park an obscene story, I feel like they’re saying that rising above your situation isn’t possible."

Fangirl In 2013, Rowell published the young adult novel Fangirl about Cath, a college freshman who writes fan fiction of a fictional book series about Simon Snow, a young mage at a magical school. It was influenced by the popularity of fan fiction of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

In 2020, it was announced that Fangirl would receive a four-part manga adaptation, adapted by Sam Maggs and illustrated by Gabi Nam.

Simon Snow trilogy Rowell created a trilogy of novels based on the characters from Cath's fan fiction in Fangirl. Her 2015 novel Carry On shares a title with the popular fan fiction story Cath wrote in Fangirl. In the novel, Simon Snow, in his eighth year at school, comes to terms with his calling as the Chosen One meant to destroy the Insidious Humdrum, a magical force destroying the world of mages. He embarks on his quest with his best friend Penelope and his girlfriend Agatha, all the while "struggling" with Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Grimm-Pitch, his vampire "nemesis." Rowell's Simon Snow trilogy was completed with the 2019 novel Wayward Son and 2021's Any Way the Wind Blows.

Comics and graphic novels In January 2014, Rowell signed a two-book deal with First Second Books to author two young adult graphic novels, the first of which was illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks and released on August 27, 2019.

Rowell has also written for Marvel Comics. Between 2017 and 2021, Rowell wrote Runaways, and from 2022 to 2024 wrote She-Hulk. In 2025, Rowell returned to Marvel for a five issue limited series of Runaways.