Audrey Niffenegger
Encyclopedia
Audrey Niffenegger is an American writer
, artist
and academic.
of Niffenegger's debut novel, The Time Traveler's Wife
(2003), starring Eric Bana
and Rachel McAdams
, was released in August 2009.
She has also written a graphic novel
, or "novel in pictures" as Niffenegger calls it, called The Three Incestuous Sisters. This book tells the story of three unusual sisters who live in a seaside house. The book has been compared to the work of Edward Gorey
.
Another graphic novel, The Adventuress, was released on September 1, 2006. The 2004 short story 'The Night Bookmobile' is currently being serialised in 'Visual Novel' format in The Guardian
.
In March 2009, Niffenegger sold her second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry
, for an advance of $5 million to Charles Scribner's Sons
, a unit of Simon & Schuster
, after a fiercely contested auction. The book was released on 1 October 2009 and is set in London
's Highgate Cemetery
where, during research for the book, Niffenegger acted as a tour guide.
She is currently working on a third novel called The Chinchilla Girl in Exile, about a girl called Lizzie Varo, who suffers from hypertrichosis
(excessive body hair).
Center for Book and Paper Arts. She is the founding member of T3 or Text 3, an artist and writer's group that also performs and exhibits in Chicago.
Niffenegger is also a Faculty member at the North Shore Art League where she teaches the Intermediate & Advanced Printmaking Seminar.
Niffenegger is an alumna of the Ragdale Foundation
, where she is also a board member. She described herself as "somewhere in the spectrum of agnosticism and atheism" and ascribed her disbelief to her Catholic background.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and academic.
Writing
A film versionThe Time Traveler's Wife (film)
The Time Traveler's Wife is a 2009 romantic film based on Audrey Niffenegger's 2003 novel of the same name. Directed by Robert Schwentke, the film stars Eric Bana as Henry DeTamble, a Chicago librarian with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel randomly as he tries to build a romantic...
of Niffenegger's debut novel, The Time Traveler's Wife
The Time Traveler's Wife
Once their timelines converge "naturally" at the library—their first meeting in his chronology—Henry starts to travel to Clare's childhood and adolescence in South Haven, Michigan, beginning in 1977 when she is six years old...
(2003), starring Eric Bana
Eric Bana
Eric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper...
and Rachel McAdams
Rachel McAdams
Rachel Anne McAdams is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre program at York University, Toronto in 2001, she worked steadily as an actress until finding fame in 2004 with starring roles in teen comedy Mean Girls and romantic drama The Notebook...
, was released in August 2009.
She has also written a graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
, or "novel in pictures" as Niffenegger calls it, called The Three Incestuous Sisters. This book tells the story of three unusual sisters who live in a seaside house. The book has been compared to the work of Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his macabre illustrated books.-Early life:...
.
Another graphic novel, The Adventuress, was released on September 1, 2006. The 2004 short story 'The Night Bookmobile' is currently being serialised in 'Visual Novel' format in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
In March 2009, Niffenegger sold her second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry
Her Fearful Symmetry
Her Fearful Symmetry is the second novel by author Audrey Niffenegger.The book was released on 1 October 2009 and is set in London's Highgate Cemetery where, during research for the book, Niffenegger acted as a tour guide.-The title:...
, for an advance of $5 million to Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
, a unit of Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
, after a fiercely contested auction. The book was released on 1 October 2009 and is set in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a cemetery located in north London, England. It is designated Grade I on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. It is divided into two parts, named the East and West cemetery....
where, during research for the book, Niffenegger acted as a tour guide.
She is currently working on a third novel called The Chinchilla Girl in Exile, about a girl called Lizzie Varo, who suffers from hypertrichosis
Hypertrichosis
Hypertrichosis is an abnormal amount of hair growth on the body; extensive cases of hypertrichosis have informally been called werewolf syndrome. There are two distinct types of hypertrichosis: generalized hypertrichosis, which occurs over the entire body, and localized hypertrichosis, which is...
(excessive body hair).
Art and academia
She is also a professor in the Interdisciplinary Book Arts MFA Program at the Columbia College ChicagoColumbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is one of the largest art colleges in the United States with nearly 12,000 students pursuing degrees within 120 undergraduate and graduate programs...
Center for Book and Paper Arts. She is the founding member of T3 or Text 3, an artist and writer's group that also performs and exhibits in Chicago.
Niffenegger is also a Faculty member at the North Shore Art League where she teaches the Intermediate & Advanced Printmaking Seminar.
Niffenegger is an alumna of the Ragdale Foundation
Ragdale
Ragdale is the summer retreat of Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, located in Lake Forest, Illinois. It is also the home of the Ragdale Foundation...
, where she is also a board member. She described herself as "somewhere in the spectrum of agnosticism and atheism" and ascribed her disbelief to her Catholic background.
Visual books
- The Spinster (1986)
- Aberrant Abecedarium (1986)
- The Murderer
- Spring
Short stories
- "The Night Bookmobile" (2004)
- "Jakob Wywialowski and the Angels" (2004)
- "Prudence: The Cautionary Tale of a Picky Eater" in the book Poisonous Plants at Table (2006)
External links
- Audrey Niffenegger, Her Site, Audrey Niffenegger's website
- Interview with Audrey Niffenegger, December 2008
- Printworks Gallery, Art gallery representing Audrey Niffenegger
- Interview with Writer Unboxed 3/06 about craft, the process of writing and editing, Time Traveler's Wife, The Three Incestuous Sisters, Her Fearful Symmetry, more.
- http://ccragg123.libsyn.com/audrey-niffenegger-talks-about-her-new-novel-her-fearful-symmetry Feature-length radio interview with KGNU Claudia Cragg discussing 'Her Fearful Symmetry'
- Audrey Niffenegger Papers at Newberry LibraryNewberry LibraryThe Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public...