Jennifer Niven

Jennifer Niven
OccupationAuthor, Screenwriter
NationalityAmerican
Years active2000–present
Notable worksAll the Bright Places
SpouseJustin Conway
Website
www.jenniferniven.com

Jennifer Niven is a New York Times and international best selling American author who is best known for the 2015 young adult book All the Bright Places.

Life and career

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Niven grew up in Richmond, Indiana.[1][2] As well as writing novels, Niven has also worked as a screenwriter, journalist and an associate producer at ABC Television.[3]

Her first two books were non-fiction narratives called The Ice Master (published in 2000) and Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic (published in 2003).[4][5] In 2010, she published a memoir of her years in high school called The Aqua Net Diaries: Big Hair, Big Dreams, Small Town.[6]

She began writing a series of historical novels in 2009. The first, Velva Jean Learns to Drive, was based on a short film of the same name that she had made. It won an Emmy Award and the Colin Higgins Award for Screenwriting.[3] The series also includes, Velva Jean Learns to Fly, Becoming Clementine and American Blonde.[7]

Niven's first young adult novel, All the Bright Places was released in 2015. The narrative follows two teenagers, Violet and Finch who are struggling with mental health issues.[8] It won a 2015 Goodreads choice award for Best Young Adult Fiction[9] and was longlisted for the 2015 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.[10] It has been adapted into a film by Netflix and stars Elle Fanning, Justice Smith, Keegan-Michael Key, Alexandra Shipp, and Luke Wilson.[11] Production on the film began in October 2018[12] and it was released on 28 February 2020.[13]

She released another bestselling young adult novel in 2016 called Holding Up the Universe,[14] and her third young adult novel, Breathless, was released in September, 2020.[15]

Bibliography

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Young Adult

  • All the Bright Places (2015) ISBN 0385755880
  • Holding Up the Universe (2016) ISBN 0385755929
  • Breathless (2020)
  • Take Me With You When You Go with David Levithan (2021)

Velva Jean Series

Non-fiction

References

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  1. ^ "Jennifer Niven: Life is too short to be closed off to possibility". The Guardian. January 26, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  2. ^ "RHS grad returns to 'bright place' to sign new book". Pal Item. April 26, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Jennifer Niven". www.panmacmillan.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  4. ^ Niven, Jennifer (2001). "The ice master : the doomed 1913 voyage of the Karluk". National Library of Australia. London : Pan. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  5. ^ Niven, Jennifer (2004). "Ada Blackjack : a true story of survival in the Arctic". National Library of Australia. New York : Hyperion. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "The Aqua Net Diaries: Big Hair, Big Dreams, Small Town". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  7. ^ "Velva Jean Series". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  8. ^ "All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven – review". The Guardian. January 23, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  9. ^ "'Go Set a Watchman' among Goodreads' best books of 2015". CNN. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  10. ^ Drabble, Emily (July 10, 2015). "The Guardian children's fiction award 2015 longlist". The Guardian. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  11. ^ Shiner, Fionn (October 4, 2018). "All the Bright Places casts Keegan-Michael Key, Luke Wilson and Alexandra Shipp". mirror. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  12. ^ "Netflix Film "All The Bright Places" Begins Production". New On Netflix: NEWS. October 4, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  13. ^ "All the Bright Places review – teen charm can't lift maudlin Netflix drama". the Guardian. February 28, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  14. ^ Wilson, Teri (October 14, 2016). "'The Fault in Our Stars' Fans Are Going to Be Obsessed with This New Book". Teen Vogue. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  15. ^ "Breathless by Jennifer Niven: 9781524701963 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020.