Background

Stephanie Garber grew up in Northern California.

Career

During college and grad school, Stephanie Garber worked as a barista, a waitress, a bartender, a customer service representative for an energy consulting company, and as a salesgirl at Bath and Bodyworks. She also worked as a counselor at a space-themed summer camp, volunteered at a school for deaf children in Mexico, and took multiple groups of college students overseas to spend their winter vacations serving at youth hostels in Amsterdam.

Though Stephanie Garber began writing her first novel as a way to unwind from her job as a college resident director, it quickly became more than just a hobby. “Part of why I eventually pursued publication was so that I would have a valid excuse to spend all my time writing,” she admits.

Garber wrote three books and got “about 200 rejections” from agents before her fourth finished novel - a space opera called Lost Stars Broken Galaxy - garnered representation. That book failed to sell, though, so Garber sat back down at the keyboard and tried again. She reminded herself that the process was supposed to be fun, and endeavored to write a book that she, as a reader, could get lost in a YA fantasy set in a bright, colorful, over-the-top world (“like a Baz Luhrmann movie”) where it was possible for a disillusioned teenager to rediscover her sense of wonder. Garber poured everything she had into this new project, even going so far as to move in with her parents so that she could work fewer hours and spend more time writing.

The end result was Caraval, a tale about two sisters who run away from home to participate in an elaborate, multi-day event that’s part performance, part treasure hunt, and the closest thing to magic that exists in this world. Unfortunately, about a week after she completed the manuscript, Garber’s agent left the business. Those around her saw this as a sign: “I started getting lots of job opportunities in my inbox from concerned friends and family members.” But Garber refused to give up. Choosing to see it as a chance for a fresh start, Garber embarked on a search for a new agent. She promptly received a number of positive responses, and about seven weeks later, signed with Jenny Bent of the Bent Agency. Bent had a large impact on the version of Caraval that was eventually shopped to publishers. Garber and Bent spent around two months doing intense revisions on the manuscript and it paid off. Caraval ultimately sold at auction to editor Sarah Dotts Barley at Flatiron, but to Garber, it was that morning when she knew the book would find a home. It was one of the best moments of her life.

Garber is now at work on a sequel to Caraval an endeavor made much easier by the fact that, late last year, she took leave from her job as a creative writing instructor. “I was working to get published, but I never dreamed that I could do this full-time. I never, ever dreamed that, and I’m really grateful,” she says. “It’s been like a dream come true."

As of today, when she's not writing young adult fantasy, she teaches creative writing at a private college in Northern California, where she's known for turning assignments into games and taking students on field trips that involve book signings.

Achievements

• Garber's major achievement is in the series of novels called the Caraval. It has sold in over thirty countries and the movie rights were picked by Twentieth Century Fox.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Finale: A Caraval Novel

    (It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a de...)

    2019
  • Legendary

    (After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Don...)

    2018
  • Caraval

    (Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her...)

    2017
  • Caraval: Chapter Sampler 2016

Personality

Stephanie Garber likes Disneyland because it's the one place on earth where she feels as if the fantastical stories she loves to write about could actually come to life.

Interests

• hiking

References

• Author Stephanie Garber's Official Website