Sarah J. Maas

Sarah J. Maas
Born
Sarah Janet Maas

(1986-03-05) March 5, 1986 (age 37)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationAuthor
Notable work
Children2
Websitesarahjmaas.com

Sarah Janet Maas (born March 5, 1986) is an American fantasy author known for her fantasy series Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City. As of 2022, she has sold over twelve million copies of her books and her work has been translated into 37 languages.

Early life

Maas was born on March 5, 1986, in New York City. She grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Born to a Catholic mother and Jewish father, she was raised Jewish. As a child, she enjoyed creating stories based on popular tales or myths. She also used to write Sailor Moon fanfiction in her youth.

In 2008, Maas graduated magna cum laude from Hamilton College in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, where she majored in creative writing and minored in religious studies.

Personal life

Maas married her husband Josh in 2010. She has a son and a daughter.

Career

Maas began writing what would become her debut novel, Throne of Glass, when she was sixteen years old. After writing several chapters of the novel, then titled Queen of Glass, Maas posted them on FictionPress.com, where it was one of the most popular stories on the site. It was later removed from the site when Maas decided to publish the novel. The story line of the series is based on the story of Cinderella, with the premise of "What if Cinderella was not a servant, but an assassin? And what if she didn't attend the ball to meet the prince, but to kill him, instead?" In 2008, Maas started sending the story to agents before signing with Tamar Rydzinski of The Laura Dial Literary Agency in 2009. Throne of Glass was purchased in March 2010 by Bloomsbury, who later purchased two additional books in the series. The series is available in 15 countries and 35 languages. While four prequel novellas set two years before the first novel were also published, these were later condensed into one book, The Assassin's Blade plus an original novella. The second book of the series, Crown of Midnight was a New York Times young adult best-seller. The final book in the series, Kingdom of Ash, was released on October 23, 2018; the finished series comprised seven books plus the novella collection.

A Court of Thorns and Roses, Maas' second fantasy series, is a loose retelling of the traditional Beauty and the Beast. The first book of the trilogy was written in 2009, but was not published until 2015. Due to the success and popularity of the original series, it was extended and a spin-off series was announced which would feature stories of other popular characters. The fifth book in the series and the first of the spin-offs, A Court of Silver Flames was published on February 16, 2021.

On May 16, 2018, Maas announced her third fantasy series which is also her first adult fantasy series, Crescent City. The first book, titled House of Earth and Blood, was released by Bloomsbury on March 3, 2020. It was ranked one of the top twenty Science Fiction & Fantasy books of 2020 on Kobo. The sequel, House of Sky and Breath, was released on February 15, 2022 and won the Best Fantasy award for Goodreads Choice Awards in 2022. The third installation of the series, House of Flame and Shadow, is set to release on January 30, 2024.

She was ranked the fifth most popular author between 2016 and 2021 on Goodreads.

The A Court of Thorns and Roses series was announced to be adapted into a television series for Hulu in 2021. In an interview with The New York Times, Maas confirmed that she was developing the project with the writers and the showrunner as executive producer.

In February 2023, the St. Johns (Florida) County School District removed three of her books and quarantined another.

In May 2023, an article in The Verge reported that the cover of the UK edition of House of Earth and Blood uses an AI-generated image.

Writing style and influences

In an interview with Writers & Artists, Maas told them that movie scores and classical music are her inspiration as a writer. She continued on to say that Sabriel written by Garth Nix and The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley began her love for reading fantasy and writing it. Her character development has been lauded as one of her best qualities for storytelling, with morally grey characters and strong world building.

Maas has mentioned that, "The sense of discovery is why I love writing so much. It’s a total thrill for me." Her books are known for heavy romantic themes, and Maas herself has said that her fantasy series A Court of Thorns and Roses "does skew older", sitting somewhere between young adult and adult genres.

Bibliography

Throne of Glass

Main

  • The Assassin's Blade (2014)
    • The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (2012)
    • The Assassin and the Desert (2012)
    • The Assassin and the Underworld (2012)
    • The Assassin and the Empire (2012)
    • The Assassin and the Healer (2013)
  • Throne of Glass (2012)
  • Crown of Midnight (2013)
  • Heir of Fire (2014)
  • Queen of Shadows (2015)
  • Empire of Storms (2016)
  • Tower of Dawn (2017)
  • Kingdom of Ash (2018)

Companion

  • Throne of Glass Coloring Book (2016)
  • The World of Throne of Glass (release date unknown)

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Main

  • A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015)
  • A Court of Mist and Fury (2016)
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin (2017)
  • A Court of Silver Flames (2021)

Novella

  • A Court of Frost and Starlight (2018)

Companion

  • A Court of Thorns and Roses Coloring Book (2017)

Crescent City

  • House of Earth and Blood (2020)
  • House of Sky and Breath (2022)
  • House of Flame and Shadow (2024)

Others

Adaptations

In March 2020, it was announced that Sarah and Ron Moore will work together on adapting A Court of Thorns and Roses into a Hulu television series. The project will be produced by 20th Television. The release date is yet to be set.

Awards and nominations

Mass has received the following awards and nominations:

Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2017 Dragon Awards Best Young Adult Novel A Court of Wings and Ruin Nominated
2012 Goodreads Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction Throne of Glass Nominated
2013 Crown of Midnight Nominated
2014 Heir of Fire Nominated
2015 Queen of Shadows Won
A Court of Thorns and Roses Nominated
2016 A Court of Mist and Fury Won
Empire of Storms Nominated
2017 A Court of Wings and Ruin Won
Tower of Dawn Nominated
2018 Best of the Best A Court of Mist and Fury Nominated
Queen of Shadows Nominated
A Court of Wings and Ruin Nominated
Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction Kingdom of Ash Won
A Court of Frost and Starlight Nominated
2020 Best Fantasy House of Earth and Blood Won
2021 A Court of Silver Flames Won
2022 House of Sky and Breath Won

Accolades

Year-end lists
Year Publication Work Category Result Ref
2021 Book Riot A Court of Silver Flames Top Books of 2021
2015 Bustle A Court of Thorns and Roses The 25 Best YA Books Of 2015 9
2015 BuzzFeed Queen of Shadows 16 Of The Best YA Books Of 2015 11
2015 A Court of Thorns and Roses The 32 Best Fantasy Books Of 2015 7
2018 A Court of Wings and Ruins 28 Of The Best YA Books Released in 2017 9
2018 Cosmopolitan A Court of Frost and Starlight The 71 Best Books of 2018 33
2021 Business Insider A Court of Thorns and Roses Series The 23 best fantasy book series to read right now
2021 A Court of Thorns and Roses The 21 best young adult romance books to read in 2021
2015 The Independent Queen of Shadows 10 best fantasy novels 4
2020 Kobo House of Earth and Blood Our top 20 Science Fiction & Fantasy picks of 2020
2021 A Court of Silver Flames Best audiobooks of 2021
A Court of Silver Flames Our top 20 Science Fiction & Fantasy picks of 2021
2013 PopSugar Crown of Midnight The Best YA Books of 2013 2
2015 Queen of Shadows 10 Best Young Adult Books of 2015 8
2015 A Court of Thorns and Roses 22
2016 A Court of Mist and Fury The Best YA Books of 2016 13
2016 Empire of Storms 20
2017 A Court of Wings and Ruin The Best YA Romance Books of 2017 11
2021 A Court of Silver Flames A Running List of the Best Books of 2021, For All Your TBR Needs 38
2021 Wired A Court of Thorns and Roses 36 of the best fantasy books everyone should read
Decade lists
Year Publication Work Category Result Ref
2019 BuzzFeed Throne of Glass The 30 Best YA Books of the Decade 10
2019 Comic Years Throne of Glass Series The Top 10 Fantasy Series Published in the Past Decade 10
2019 Cultured Vulture Throne of Glass Books of the Decade: 10 Best YA Books of the 2010s 5
2019 The Young Folks Throne of Glass The 25 Best Young Adult Books of the 2010s 9
A Court of Thorns and Roses 8
2019 A Court of Frost and Starlight 10 Best Holiday YA Novels of the 2010s

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