Rainbow Rowell is an American author who writes both young adult and adult contemporary novels. She is particularly known for her novels Eleanor & Park and Fangirl.
Background
Rainbow Rowell was born on February 24, 1973, in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Her father read her The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Books were her safe haven. Her mother was very strict, there was very little on television that she was allowed to watch. But she'd let Rainbow read everything.
Education
In grade school, Rainbow would stay up all night reading. She slept on top of the bunk bed. There was a light in the bathroom, and she'd hang off the edge of the bed upside down so she could read. Rowell's first experience creating original work happened in the classroom. Her class went to the zoo and she wrote a poem about the gorillas watching soap operas. As Rainbow was a teenager, her favorite author was John Irving. In her adolescence, she was also writing fanfiction.
Rowell attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in 1995.
Career
Rainbow Rowell now writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults and sometimes about teenagers. But she always writes about people who talk a lot, who feel like they're screwing up, who fall in love. Although she became an author not right away. After the university, in 1995, she began her career as a columnist and as a copywriter at the Omaha World-Herald. She worked for more than a decade there and then became an advertising copy editor and creative director for a local ad agency.
Rowell started writing Attachments as a pastime. After Rowell's child was born, she set the manuscript aside completely for two years. The novel was finally finished and published to significant acclaim in 2011. Rowell followed up with two young adult novels, Fangirl and Eleanor and Park. The first draft of her young adult novel Fangirl was written for National Novel Writing Month. Rowell's fourth novel was another adult title, Landline, dealing with a couple going through difficulties in their marriage. Her fifth novel, Carry On (2015), is a spinoff from Rowell's novel Fangirl. A sequel to Carry On, Wayward Son, is scheduled for release in 2020.
In 2017, Rowell, a life-long fan of comic books, had the opportunity to start working in the comics industry. She and artist Kris Anka are the creative forces behind a revival of fan-favorite series Runaways at Marvel Comics. Also in 2017, it was announced that Rowell was contracted to write two graphic novels, with artist Faith Erin Hicks. The first of these is titled Pumpkinheads (2019).
Views
Rainbow Rowell finds inspiration in beautiful things - and in things that need dedication and imagination. She’s obsessed with Walt Disney World. She spends a lot of time on Tumblr.
She truly believes it’s possible to fall in love as a teen and have that last, if not forever, at least for a meaningful time to impact the rest of your life.
In her opinion, we have lost phone conversations, because talking on cell phones is no fun at all, and it's harder than texting or typing. She thinks we've lost that, but we've gained a lot with the internet. She feels like the internet has turned us all into letter writers. She feels like we've lost phones but we've gained this whole different type of correspondence that hasn't existed since the age of letter writing.
Quotations:
"A lot of people look at something popular, and they’re dismissive of it because they don’t understand it."
"The real world is a diverse world."
"It’s incredible to know that people are connecting to my books - and connecting in a way that’s inspiring them to make their own art and tell their own stories. The most wonderful thing that’s happened to me as an author is fan art. It blows my mind completely."
"Art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something."
"You don’t have to be the kind of beautiful that everyone can agree on. If the right person finds you beautiful, you win."
"Every woman wants a man who'll fall in love with her soul as well as her body."
"Even if your heart is broken and attacking you, you're still not better off without it."
Personality
Rainbow Rowell has always been someone who has extreme feelings about pop culture. Rowell doesn't think of herself as a music nerd, she admits to loving the point of discovery with new bands or songs.
The first thing she was obsessively fannish about was Star Wars.
When she's not writing, Rainbow is planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don't really matter in the big scheme of things.
Rowell is open on social media about her personal fandoms. She doesn’t shy away from her sharing her enthusiasm about her favorite things, and it’s one of the reasons so many of her fans find her enchanting and easy to connect with on Twitter.
Physical Characteristics:
Rainbow’s voice is funny, quirky, and accessible.
Quotes from others about the person
"I can honestly say that Rainbow Rowell is one of the most genuine, thoughtful, and approachable authors around. There are authors who seem more like actors. They’re best-sellers and they know it. Or they have trouble relating to fans or even journalists. But Rainbow Rowell is the kind of woman you meet and think - "you can’t possibly be this awesome" until you meet her again and again and realize it’s not an act; she really is that fabulous." - Sandie Chen
Connections
Rainbow Rowell is married to Kai. They have two children.