Shannon Hale

Shannon Hale (née Bryner; born January 26, 1974) is an American author primarily of young adult fantasy, including the Newbery Honor book Princess Academy and The Goose Girl. Her first novel for adults, Austenland, was adapted into a film in 2013. She is a graduate of the University of Utah and the University of Montana. She has also co-written with her husband, Dean.

Early life Hale was born on January 26, 1974, in Salt Lake City to Wallace and Bonnie Bryner. She is the middle child of five children; she has two older sisters, one younger sister, and one younger brother. She enjoyed writing, reading, and acting as a young girl; she often created plays that she would act out with friends. She also began to write fantasy books at age 10, often featuring herself as the protagonist. Her elementary school teachers encouraged her creative endeavors, he was also involved in theater. Hale has said that her theater experience has improved her writing skills, particularly in character creation and world building. She later earned a master's degree in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. While studying at the University of Montana, Hale wrote 100 short stories and submitted many for publication, but none were accepted. The Goose Girl became her first published novel after being met with nine rejections; Hale received an offer in 2003 from Bloomsbury Publishing. She based the book on her favorite fairy tale of the same name. It was named an ALA Teens' Top Ten and was reprinted by Bloomsbury in 2017. Hundreds of thousands of copies of the novel have been printed in a total of fifteen languages.

Her novel Princess Academy was featured on The New York Times Best Seller list, as well as that of Book Sense and Publishers Weekly. It also received a Newbery Honor. After the positive response from readers and reviewers alike to Princess Academy, Hale wrote its sequel, Princess Academy: Palace of Stone. In 2015 she continued the story with a third installment, Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters. Hale has remarked that the series is "a love letter to education."

Her first adult novel, Austenland, was also featured by Book Sense. Twilight author Stephenie Meyer produced the film and Keri Russell starred as protagonist Jane Hayes. In 2012 Hale released a sequel novel, Midnight in Austenland. Another adult novel, The Actor and the Housewife, was published in 2009 and was named "the City Weekly readers' choice winner for best novel of the year." Its sequel, Best Friends, appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list for graphic books and manga in April 2020. In 2018, her Princess in Black series—which she wrote with her husband, Dean Hale—made The New York Times Best Seller list for children's series. The two also co-wrote the graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge, Hale ventured further into science fiction with her own YA superhero novel, Dangerous, in 2014.

Other work Before becoming a full-time author, Hale participated in stage and improvisational comedy, studied in Mexico and the United Kingdom, She has written a few articles about this subject. alt=shannon and dean hale

Personal life Hale is married to Dean C. Hale, with whom she has co-authored the Eisner-nominee graphic novels Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack, as well as The Princess in Black series and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl series.

She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). She stopped attending the LDS church in 2021, having disagreed with her community's apparent tolerance of misogyny and intolerance of LGBTQ people, but she still considers herself a Mormon. In a 2014 interview, Hale said that she doesn't "consciously make storytelling choices based on the [LDS] Church."

She is the mother of four children: Max, Magnolia,

In February 2016, Hale was a Literary Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the 34th annual Life, the Universe, & Everything professional science fiction and fantasy arts symposium.

In 2017, Real Friends landed on Booklist 's "Top 10 Graphic Novels for Youth" list.

Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn was a New York Times and IndieBound bestseller.

Publications

The Books of Bayern series The Goose Girl (2003), Enna Burning (2004), River Secrets (2006), Forest Born (2009),

Princess Academy series Princess Academy (2005), Adapted into Princess Academy: The Graphic Novel (2026), , illustrated by Victoria Ying Princess Academy: Palace of Stone (2012), Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters (2015),

Austenland series Austenland (2007), – premiered as a movie in January 2013 Midnight in Austenland (2012), Christmas in Austenland (2026),

Rapunzel's Revenge series The Rapunzel's Revenge series is co-authored with Dean Hale and illustrated by Nathan Hale (no relation). Rapunzel's Revenge (2008), Calamity Jack (2010),

Ever After High series Ever After High: The Storybook of Legends (2013), Ever After High: The Unfairest of Them All (2014), Ever After High: A Wonderlandiful World (2014), Once Upon a Time: A Story Collection (2014), Monster High/Ever After High: The Legend of Shadow High (2017),

Princess in Black series The Princess in Black series is co-authored with Dean Hale and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. The Princess in Black (2014), The Perfect Princess Party (2015), The Hungry Bunny Horde (2016), Takes a Vacation (2016), The Mysterious Playdate (2017), The Science Fair Scare (2018), The Bathtime Battle (2020), The Giant Problem (2020), The Case of the Coronavirus (2020), digital booklet The Mermaid Princess (2021), The Prince in Pink (2023), The Kitty Catastrophe (2024), The Trick-or-Treating Trouble (2026),

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl series The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl series is co-authored with Dean Hale. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World (2017), The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious (2018),

Real Friends series The Real Friends series graphic memoirs are illustrated by LeUyen Pham.

Real Friends (2017), Best Friends (2019), Friends Forever (2021),

Standalone novels Book of a Thousand Days (2007), The Actor and the Housewife (2009), Dangerous (2014), Kind of a Big Deal (2020), Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld (2021) , co-authored with Dean Hale and illustrated by Asiah Fulmore This Book Is Not For You! (2022) , illustrated by Tracy Subisak

Short stories "Bouncing the Grinning Goat" from Guys Read: Other Worlds (2013)

Diana: Princess of the Amazons series The Diana series is co-authored with Dean Hale and illustrated by Victoria Ying.

Diana: Princess of the Amazons (2020) Diana and Nubia: Princesses of the Amazons (2022)

Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn series The Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn picture books are illustrated by LeUyen Pham.

Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn (2021), Pretty Perfect Kitty-Corn (2022), Party Hearty Kitty-Corn (2023), Bubbly Beautiful Kitty-Corn (2024), Holly Jolly Kitty-Corn (2025),

Kitty-Corn Club series The Kitty-Corn Club board books are illustrated by LeUyen Pham.

Things That Go (2024), Parts of Us (2025),

Dream On series The Dream On series graphic novels are illustrated by Marcela Cespedes.

Dream On (2025), Dream Big (2026),

Articles

What are we teaching boys when we discourage them from reading books about girls? for The Washington Post

Other Spirit Animals Book 4: Fire and Ice (2014)