"Tamora Pierce creates epic worlds populated by girls and women of bravery, heart, and strength. Her work inspired a generation of writers and continues to inspire us."
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HOLLY BLACK, #1
New York Times bestselling author
"Few authors can slay so effectively with a single sentence--I mean fist-in-the-air, shouting-at-my-book slay--as Tamora Pierce. All these years later, I still draw strength from her words."
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MARIE LU, #1
New York Times bestselling author
"Tamora Pierce is a seminal figure in the fantasy field of writing, turning out one terrific book after another."
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TERRY BROOKS, New York Times bestselling author of the Sword of Shannara trilogy
"It's impossible to overstate Tamora Pierce's impact on children's literature. Her tough, wise, and wonderful heroines have inspired generations of readers."
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RAE CARSON,
New York Times bestselling author
"In the world of YA fantasy, there's before Tamora Pierce, and then after her female heroes started kicking down the doors (and walls, and other barriers)!"
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BRUCE COVILLE,
New York Times bestselling author
"Tamora Pierce is a trailblazer for so many fantasy writers, hacking through the old tropes with her narrative machete and showing us that girl-centered adventures are not just possible but amazing."
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RACHEL HARTMAN,
New York Times bestselling author
"Tamora Pierce's writing is like water from the swiftest, most refreshingly clear, invigorating, and revitalizing river."
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GARTH NIX,
New York Times bestselling author
"Tamora Pierce is gloriously unafraid to give her readers joy and laughter along with adventure and struggle, to let us love her characters wholeheartedly and find the best of ourselves in them."
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NAOMI NOVIK,
New York Times bestselling author
"Tamora Pierce and her brilliant heroines didn't just break down barriers; they smashed them with magical fire."
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KATHERINE ARDEN, author of
The Bear and the Nightingale "Tamora Pierce's bold, courageous heroines illuminate the journey to womanhood."
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CALLIE BATES, author of
The Waking Land "Tamora Pierce is the queen of YA fantasy, and we are all happy subjects in her court."
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JESSICA CLUESS, author of
A Shadow Bright and Burning "Tamora Pierce's novels gave me a different way of seeing the world. They were like nothing I'd encountered before. Alanna stormed her way into my thirteen-year-old heart and told me that I could write gorgeous, complicated novels about vibrantly real people in fantastic situations, and to be honest, she's never left."
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ALAYA DAWN JOHNSON, award-winning author of
Love Is the Drug
In the sixth grade, Tamora Pierce was encouraged by her father to start writing and she immediately got hooked. Once she discovered fantasy and science fiction, she tried to write the same kind of stories she read, only with teenaged girl heroines who were usually missing from the 1960s stories.
Before her junior year at the University of Pennsylvania where she studied psychology, Pierce rediscovered writing when she wrote her first original short story since tenth grade. She sold her first story a year later and then enrolled in a fiction writing course during her senior year. When her teacher suggested that she tackle a novel, her childhood ideas came back to her and she began her first sword and sorcery novel.
Pierce then worked as a housemother in an Idaho group home for teenaged girls, who loved hearing Alanna’s story from the in-progress quartet, Song of the Lioness. As Pierce continued to write and send out manuscripts, she moved to Manhattan to get her publishing career off the ground.
Pierce still lives in Manhattan with her husband, writer/filmmaker Tim, and their three cats, two parakeets, plus a floating population of rescued wildlife. She enjoys her hectic life as a full-time writer and she hopes that her books leave her readers with the feeling that they can achieve anything if they want it badly enough.
Tamora Pierce is a popular author of fantasy books for teenagers. In her latest quartet, Protector of the Small, readers follow heroine Kel as she rigorously trains for the knighthood.