Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer (née Morgan; /ˈmaɪ.ər/   MY  -ər; born December 24, 1973) is an American children's author and producer, best known for her vampire romance series Twilight.[1] [2] [3] The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies globally,[1] [4] with translations into 37 different languages.[2] [3] Meyer was the bestselling author of 2008 and 2009 in America, having sold over 29 million books in 2008,[5] [6] and 26.5 million books in 2009.[7] Twilight was the best-selling book of the year.[8]

Meyer was ranked #49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2008",[9] and was included in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list of the world's most powerful celebrities in 2009, entering at #26. Her annual earnings exceeded $50 million.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9">[10] In 2010, Forbes ranked her as the #59 most powerful celebrity with annual earnings of $40 million.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10">[11] {| class="toc" id="toc"

Contents

 * 1 Early life
 * 2 The Twilight series
 * 2.1 Twilight
 * 2.2 Subsequent novels
 * 2.3 Inspiration
 * 2.4 Film adaptations
 * 3 Analysis
 * 3.1 Reception
 * 3.2 Fan following
 * 3.3 Criticism
 * 4 Personal life
 * 5 Film producer
 * 6 Other works
 * 7 Publications
 * 8 References
 * 9 External links
 * }

Early life
Stephenie Meyer was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Stephen and Candy Morgan. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, with five siblings: Seth, Emily, Jacob, Paul, and Heidi. She attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. She then attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she received a B.A. in English in 1997.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11">[12] Meyer met her husband Christiaan when she was 4 years old in Arizona, and married him in 1994 when they were both 21. Together they have three sons: Gabe, Seth, and Eli. Christiaan Meyer, formerly an auditor, has now retired to take care of the children.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Whitworth_12-0">[13]

Meyer is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; she has stated that she is strait-laced about her beliefs and does not drink alcohol or smoke.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mills_13-0">[14] Meyer had never written even a short story before Twilight and had considered going to law school because she felt she had no chance of becoming a writer; she later noted that the birth of her oldest son Gabe changed her mind, saying, "Once I had Gabe, I just wanted to be his mom."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mills_13-1">[14] Before becoming an author, Meyer's only professional work was as a receptionist in a property company.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Whitworth_12-1">[13] Meyer lives in Cave Creek, Arizona,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14">[15] and also owns a home on Marrowstone Island, Washington.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15">[16]

Twilight
Meyer says that the idea for Twilight came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-story_16-0">[17] The dream was about a human girl and a vampire who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-story_16-1">[17] Based on this dream, Meyer wrote the draft of what became Chapter 13 of the book.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17">[18] In a matter of three months she had transformed her dream into a complete novel,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Grossman_0-2">[1] though she claims that she never intended to publish Twilight and was writing for her own enjoyment.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18">[19] Her sister's response to the book was enthusiastic and she persuaded Meyer to send the manuscript to literary agencies.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Whitworth_12-2">[13]

Of the 15 letters she wrote, five went unanswered, nine brought rejections, and the last was a positive response from Jodi Reamer of Writers House.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Numbers_19-0">[20] Eight publishers competed for the rights to publish Twilight in a 2003 auction.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Numbers_19-1">[20] By November, Meyer had signed a $750,000 three-book deal with Little, Brown and Company.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20">[21] Twilight was published in 2005 with a print run of 75,000 copies.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Numbers_19-2">[20] It reached #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Chapter Books within a month of its release,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21">[22] and later rose to #1.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22">[23] Foreign rights to the novel were sold to over 26 countries.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23">[24] The novel was named the Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Editor's Choice.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">[25]

Subsequent novels
Following the success of Twilight (2005), Meyer expanded the story into a series with three more books: New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007), and Breaking Dawn (2008). In its first week after publication, New Moon reached #5 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Children's Chapter Books, and in its second week rose to the #1 position, where it remained for the next 11 weeks. In total, it spent over 50 weeks on the list.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25">[26] After the release of Eclipse, the first three "Twilight" books spent a combined 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Grossman_0-3">[1] The fourth installment of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, was released with an initial print run of 3.7 million copies.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-BDsales_26-0">[27] Over 1.3 million copies were sold on the first day.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27">[28] The novel won Meyer her first British Book Award, despite competition with J. K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28">[29] The series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sellers_3-1">[4] in 37 languages.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29">[30] In 2008, the four books of the series claimed the top four spots on USA Todays year-end bestseller list, making Meyer the first author to ever achieve this feat as well as being the bestselling author of the year.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-basked_4-1">[5] The Twilight novels held the top four spots on USA Todays year-end list again in 2009.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30">[31] Meyer, November 2008In August 2009, USA Today revealed that Meyer broke J.K. Rowling's record on their bestseller list; the four Twilight books had spent 52 straight weeks in the top 10.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31">[32] The books have spent more than 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List. Upon the completion of the fourth entry in the series, Meyer indicated that Breaking Dawn would be the final novel to be told from Bella Swan's perspective.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-breakingdawn_32-0">[33] Midnight Sun was to be a companion novel to the series. It would be a retelling of the events of the novel Twilight, but from the perspective of Edward Cullen (as opposed to Bella Swan).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-midnight_33-0">[34] Meyer had hoped to have Midnight Sun published some time shortly after the release of Breaking Dawn, but after an online leak of a rough draft of its first 12 chapters, Meyer chose to delay the project indefinitely.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-midnight_33-1">[34] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34">[35] Meyer has decided to pursue non-Twilight related books as a result of the leak, she made the rough chapters of "Midnight Sun" available on her website.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-midnight_33-2">[34]

Inspiration
Meyer cites many novels as inspiration for the Twilight series, including Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35">[36] Each book in the series was also inspired specifically by a different literary classic: Twilight by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; New Moon by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; Eclipse by Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights; and Breaking Dawn's theme by Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-BDFAQ_36-0">[37] and A Midsummer Night's Dream.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-meridian_37-0">[38] Meyer said, "I've been reading books for adults my entire life. Growing up I was an avid reader—the thicker the book, the better."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Hachette_38-0">[39] She also said she is a huge fan of Orson Scott Card, and "can't go through a year without re-reading" Jane Austen's books.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Hachette_38-1">[39]

She also says that her writing is strongly influenced by music, and she posts playlists on her website of songs which specifically inspired her books. Bands included most often in her playlists are Muse, Blue October, My Chemical Romance, Coldplay and Linkin Park.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-39">[40] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-40">[41] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-41">[42] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-42">[43] As a Mormon, Meyer acknowledges that her faith has influenced her work. In particular, she says that her characters "tend to think more about where they came from, and where they are going, than might be typical."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Tales_43-0">[44] Meyer also steers her work from subjects such as sex, despite the romantic nature of the novels. Meyer says that she does not consciously intend her novels to be Mormon-influenced, or to promote the virtues of sexual abstinence and spiritual purity, but admits that her writing is shaped by her values, saying, "I don't think my books are going to be really graphic or dark, because of who I am. There's always going to be a lot of light in my stories."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-times-online_44-0">[45]

Film adaptations
Main article: The Twilight Saga (film series)Summit Entertainment optioned Twilight in April 2007. Catherine Hardwicke directed the film and the screenplay was written by Melissa Rosenberg.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-45">[46] It stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-46">[47] The movie was released on November 21, 2008.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-47">[48] Meyer makes a brief cameo appearance in a diner scene.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-48">[49] Following the success of Twilight, Summit greenlit a film adaptation of the sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, in November 2008.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-49">[50] Chris Weitz directed the film,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-50">[51] which was released on November 20, 2009.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EW_51-0">[52] Summit confirmed an adaptation of the third book in the series, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, in February 2009.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Summit_52-0">[53] David Slade directed the film, which was released on June 30, 2010. Summit also obtained the rights to Breaking Dawn in November 2008,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-53">[54] and approved a two-part adaptation in June 2010 that was scheduled to start production in late 2010.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bd2_54-0">[55] The first part was released on November 18, 2011, and the second part is scheduled for November 16, 2012.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-55">[56]

Reception
Meyer on her book tour for Eclipse in 2007.Entertainment Weekly has stated that Meyer is "the world's most popular vampire novelist since Anne Rice",<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-56">[57] while The Guardian described her as an "imaginative storyteller, a prolific author and a newly powerful figure in the publishing market."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-57">[58] Wayne Janes of Toronto Sun agreed, saying "Meyer's success points up another trend — the virtual domination of the best-seller lists the last few years by what would normally be classified as young adult fiction," and noted, "In the absence of a new Harry Potter adventure, teens, fantasy enthusiasts and women (sales are mostly to females) who swoon at the idea of a virginal James Dean-ish vampire made Meyer the go-to gal for chaste love."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-58">[59] Tymon Smith of The Times has described her as the "superstar of young adult fiction".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-59">[60] Meyer was named USA Today's "Author of the Year" in 2008,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-60">[61] and one of MSN Lifestyle's "Most Influential Women of 2008" where she was described as a "literary luminary".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-61">[62] She was also ranked #49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2008",<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_2008_Time_100_Finalists_8-1">[9] and was included in their list of "People Who Mattered", with Lev Grossman noting, "Maybe Americans aren't ready for a Mormon presidential nominee yet. But they're more than ready to anoint a Mormon as the best-selling novelist of the year."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-62">[63] Meyer was included in The Arizona Republic's "Valley's Most Fascinating People" in December 2008.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-63">[64]

Novelist Orson Scott Card said, "[Stephenie Meyer] writes with luminous clarity, never standing between the reader and the dream they share. She's the real thing".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-64">[65] Scott described Meyer as an "amazing phenomenon".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-65">[66] In an interview with Newsweek, author Jodi Picoult said, "Stephenie Meyer has gotten people hooked on books, and that's good for all of us."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-66">[67] Meyer was ranked #5 on Forbes' list of "Hollywood's Top-Earning Women", the only author on the list, and it was noted that the "Twilight series of young-adult vampire books have taken the publishing and film worlds by storm."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67">[68]

She was ranked #82 on Vanity Fair's list of the "Top 100 Information Age Powers" of 2009.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68">[69] Meyer was featured in an issue of the biographical comic Female Force, a Bluewater Productions title which celebrates influential women in society and pop culture.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EW_51-1">[52] The comic has previously published biographies of women such as Oprah Winfrey and Princess Diana.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EW_51-2">[52] In 2011 CEOWORLD Magazine ranked her among CEOWORLD magazine's Top Accomplished Women Entertainers.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-69">[70] Meyer was the second bestselling author of the decade, according to a list published by Amazon, beaten by JK Rowling.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-70">[71]

Fan following
Meyer has gained a following among young adult readers of her Twilight novels, which are set in the small town of Forks on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. Forks has thus received attention from fans, and celebrates "Stephenie Meyer Day" on September 13, the date of character Bella Swan's birthday.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-71">[72] Fans express themselves in other ways: "[They] dress up like her characters. They write their own stories about them and post their tales on the Internet. When she appears at a bookstore, 3,000 people go to meet her. There are Twilight-themed rock bands."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Grossman2_72-0">[73]

Criticism
Comparing Meyer to J. K. Rowling, Stephen King stated, "the real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer, and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-73">[74] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-msnbc_74-0">[75] King went on to say that "people are attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it's very clear that she's writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It's exciting and it's thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because it's not overtly sexual." He further explains, “A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like, the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that’s a shorthand for all the feelings that they’re not ready to deal with yet.”<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-msnbc_74-1">[75] Meyer has been criticized by feminists<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[who?] who consider Meyer an anti-feminist writer, saying that the series romanticizes a physically abusive relationship, pointing to red flags that include Bella's entire life revolving around Edward; never being in control of her own life; being absolutely dependent on Edward’s ability to protect her life, her virginity, and her humanity; and the physical injuries Bella suffers from finally consummating her relationship with Edward.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Salon_Magazine_75-0">[76] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Bitch_Magazine_76-0">[77] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Ms._Magazine_Blog_77-0">[78] Meyer has dismissed such criticisms, arguing both that the books center around Bella's choice, and that her damsel in distress persona is due only to her humanity.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Stephenie_Meyer.com_78-0">[79]

Personal life
Meyer married her husband Christian Meyer in 1994. They have three sons together: Gabe, Seth and Eli. The family lives in Arizona, USA.

Film producer
Meyer is also a film producer. Meyer started her own production company in 2011 with producer Meghan Hibbett. The company is called Fickle Fish Films. Meyer spent much of 2011 producing both parts of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn as well as the film adaptation of Shannon Hale's novel Austenland. On February 12, 2012, Meyer announced on her personal website that filming for The Host, for which she is also a producer, would begin Monday, February 13, 2012. In April 2012, Meyer announced that she would be producing a film adaptation of Lois Duncan's Down a Dark Hall.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-79">[80]

Other works
One of Meyer's short stories was published in Prom Nights from Hell, a collection of stories about bad prom nights with supernatural effects. Meyer's story "Hell on Earth", was about a demon named Sheba and a half-angel named Gabe who fall in love with each other. Other authors who contributed to the collection are Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe and Lauren Myracle. Prom Nights from Hell was released in April 2007.

In May 2008, Meyer's adult sci-fi novel The Host, was released by the adult division of Little, Brown and Company. It follows the story of Melanie Stryder and Wanderer, a young woman and an invading alien "soul," who are forced to work as one. The Host debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-80">[81] and remained on the list for 26 weeks.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-81">[82] In March 2008, Meyer said she was "almost done" writing a possible sequel to The Host, entitled The Soul.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-82">[83] If she were to continue the series, the third book would be called The Seeker.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-83">[84]

Meyer mentions having several other book ideas on file, including a ghost story titled Summer House and a novel involving time travel,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-84">[85] as well as another about mermaids.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-85">[86] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-86">[87] On August 28, 2008, it was announced that Meyer had written the treatment for Jack's Mannequin music video "The Resolution", which she co-directed the following week.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-87">[88] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-88">[89]

In 2009, Meyer teamed with the skateboard and clothing company Hobo Skate Company to produce her own clothing line, consisting of a line of T-shirts and skateboards related to her science-fiction novel The Host.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Hobo_89-0">[90] On March 30, 2010, it was announced that Meyer had written a 200-page novella The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. The book was released on June 5, 2010, by Atom and was available for free between June 7 and July 5 on the official website.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-90">[91] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Bree_Tanner_91-0">[92]

In April 2009, Meyer took part in Project Book Babe, a benefit designed to help pay her friend Faith Hochhalter's medical bills after Hochhalter was diagnosed with breast cancer. Meyer donated many advance reader copies and original manuscripts for auction.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-92">[93] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-93">[94] The same year, Meyer teamed up with Hobo Skate Company to auction off a The Host-themed skateboard, which sold for $1500 that was donated to charity.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Hobo_89-1">[90]