Lev Grossman | |
|---|---|
 Grossman in 2011 | |
| Born | (1969-06-26)June 26, 1969 (age 56) |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse | Sophie Gee |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Judith Grossman(mother) Allen Grossman(father) |
| Relatives | Austin Grossman(brother) Bathsheba Grossman(sister) |
| Website | levgrossman |
Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wroteThe Magicians trilogy:The Magicians (2009),The Magician King (2011), andThe Magician's Land (2014). He was the book critic and lead technology writer atTime magazine from 2002 to 2016.[1] His recent work includes the children's bookThe Silver Arrow and its sequel,The Golden Swift;The Bright Sword, a reimagining of theKing Arthur legend; and the screenplay for the filmThe Map of Tiny Perfect Things, based on his short story.
Grossman was born on June 26, 1969, inConcord, Massachusetts.[2] He is the twin brother ofvideo game designer and novelistAustin Grossman, a brother ofsculptorBathsheba Grossman, and son of the poetAllen Grossman and the novelistJudith Grossman. Grossman's father was bornJewish[3] and his mother was raisedAnglican,[4] but Grossman has said, "I grew up in a veryunreligious household. Very. I have no religion at all. So I come at religion as about as much of an outsider as you can be in Western civilization."[5] On the assumption that he was raisedJewish, he has said, "I have this extremely old-world name, and people can invite me to as many Jewish book festivals as they want to—but I wasn't raised Jewish."[4]
After graduating fromLexington High School, Grossman studied literature atHarvard University, graduating with a degree in literature in 1991.[6]
Grossman has written forThe New York Times,Wired,Salon.com,Lingua Franca,Entertainment Weekly,Time Out New York,The Wall Street Journal, andThe Village Voice. He has served as a member of the board of directors of theNational Book Critics Circle and as the chair of the Fiction Awards Panel.[7] In May 2015, Grossman gave the third annualTolkien Lecture atPembroke College, Oxford.[8]
In writing forTime, he has also covered theconsumer electronics industry, reporting onvideo games,blogs,viral videos andWeb comics likePenny Arcade andAchewood. In 2006, he traveled toJapan to cover the unveiling of theWii console.[9] He has interviewedBill Gates,Steve Jobs,Salman Rushdie,Neil Gaiman,Joan Didion,Jonathan Franzen,J. K. Rowling, andJohnny Cash. He wrote one of the earliest pieces onStephenie Meyer'sTwilight series.[10] A piece written by Grossman on the gameHalo 3 was criticized for casting gamers in an "unfavorable light."[11] Grossman was also the author of theTime Person of the Year 2010 feature article onFacebook founderMark Zuckerberg.[12]
Grossman did some freelancing and wrote for other magazines. Some of the works he wrote at this time include "The Death of a Civil Servant," "Good Novels Don't Have to be Hard," "Catalog This", "The Gay Nabokov", "When Words Fail", and "Get Smart". He freelanced atThe Believer,the Wall Street Journal,New York Times,Salon,Lingua Franca, andTime Digital. It was soon after this that his first novel,Warp, was published.[1]
He quit his job atTime magazine in August 2016 to pursue writing full time.[1][13]
Lev Grossman's first novel,Warp, was published in 1997, after he moved to New York City.[6]Warp was about "the lyrical misadventures of an aimless 20-something in Boston who has trouble distinguishing between reality andStar Trek."[1] It received largely negative customer reviews on Amazon.com, and in response, Grossman submitted fake reviews toAmazon using false names. He then recounted these actions in an essay titled "Terrors of the Amazon".[14] His second novel,Codex, was published in 2004 and became an international bestseller.[6]
In an article forThe New York Times Grossman wrote: "I wrote fiction for 17 years before I found out I was a fantasy novelist. Up till then I always thought I was going to write literary fiction, likeJonathan Franzen orZadie Smith orJhumpa Lahiri. But I thought wrong. ... Fantasy is sometimes dismissed as childish, or escapist, but I take what I am doing very, very seriously.[15]
Grossman'sThe Magicians was published in hardcover in August 2009 and became a bestseller. The trade paperback edition was made available on May 25, 2010.The Washington Post called it "Exuberant and inventive...Fresh and compelling...a great fairy tale."[16] The book is a darkcontemporary fantasy about Quentin Coldwater, an unusually gifted young man who obsesses over Fillory, the magical land of his favorite childhood books. Unexpectedly admitted to Brakebills, a secret, exclusive college of magic in upstate New York (an amalgam ofBannerman's Castle andOlana), Quentin receives an education in the craft of modern sorcery. After graduation, he and his friends discover that Fillory is real.[17] Michael Agger ofThe New York Times said the book "could crudely be labeled a Harry Potter for adults," injecting mature themes into fantasy literature.[18]The Magicians won the 2010Alex Award, given to ten adult books that are appealing to young adults, and the 2011John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.[19]
In August 2011,The Magician King, the sequel toThe Magicians, was published, which returns readers to the magical land of Fillory, where Quentin and his friends are now kings and queens.The Chicago Tribune saidThe Magician King was "The Catcher in the Rye for devotees of alternative universes" and that "Grossman has created a rare, strange and scintillating novel."[20] It was an Editor's Choice pick ofThe New York Times, who called it "[A] serious, heartfelt novel [that] turns the machinery of fantasy inside out."[21]The Boston Globe said "The Magician King is a rare achievement, a book that simultaneously criticizes and celebrates our deep desire for fantasy."[22]
The third book in the series is titledThe Magician's Land[23][24] and was published on August 5, 2014.[25]
In July 2019, Grossman, with co-writer Lilah Sturges and illustrator Pius Bak, releasedThe Magicians: Alice's Story, a graphic novel told from the perspective of Alice, a secondary character from the book series.
Grossman's first children's book,The Silver Arrow, was published in September 2020. It debuted on theNew York Times Best Seller list on September 27, 2020.[26]The Golden Swift, its sequel, was published on May 3, 2022.
In September 2016, Grossman announced that his next novel would be a take onKing Arthur calledThe Bright Sword[27] and in November 2023, he revealed that the novel was done and would be out the following year.[28] In a post on his newsletter, Grossman explained that the book was a difficult project and outlined why it took nearly a decade to write, including historical research, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other projects.[29]
The Bright Sword was published July 16, 2024 to positive reviews.[30]
Grossman'sMagicians trilogy wasadapted for television bySera Gamble andJohn McNamara forSyfy. The series received five seasons and aired from December 2015 to April 2020.
Grossman wrote the screenplay for the filmThe Map of Tiny Perfect Things, based on his short story of the same name. The film was released throughAmazon Prime Video on February 12, 2021.[31]
Grossman lives inSydney, Australia,[32] with his wife and children.[33][34] Grossman is a self-professedatheist.[35]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–2020 | The Magicians | Series consultant | TV series based on his seriesThe Magicians |
| 2021 | The Map of Tiny Perfect Things | Screenwriter | Film based on his short storyMap |
| TBD | The Heavens | Story by | In development with theRusso brothers |
