Shannon’s mother says she was a storyteller from birth, jabbering endlessly in nonsensical baby-talk. Once she could speak, she made up stories and bribed younger siblings to perform them in mini-plays until, thankfully, an elementary school teacher introduced her to the wonder of written fiction. At age 10, she began to write books, mostly fantasy stories where she was the heroine.

She continued to write secretly for years while pursuing acting in television, stage, and improv comedy. After detours studying in Mexico, the UK, and a year and a half as an unpaid missionary in Paraguay, Shannon earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Utah. She was finally forced out of the writers’ closet when she received her Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Montana.

The Goose Girl, her critically acclaimed first book, is an ALA Teens' Top Ten and Josette Frank Award winner. Enna Burning and River Secrets are companion books to Goose. Princess Academy is a Newbery Honor Book and a New York Times bestseller. She's currently writing Austenland, an adult novel, and Rapunzel's Revenge, a graphic novel co-written with Dean Hale (her husband) and illustrated by Nathan Hale (no relation).

Currently Shannon makes her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her super-human husband, their indomitable toddler, Max Stonebreaker, and their pet, a small plastic pig.

Shannon Hale will appear on Saturday, Oct. 28, 5 pm, in the Salt Lake City Main Library, Conference Room A/B.