Leigh Bardugo is an acclaimed author best known for her young adult fantasy series set in the Grishaverse. Netflix has adapted The Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, and Amazon Studios is adapting Ninth House. Bardugo's novels have been translated into over 50 languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide.
Leigh Bardugo was born in Jerusalem and grew up in Los Angeles. With a degree in English from Yale University, Bardugo worked in various creative industries, including journalism, copywriting, and makeup artistry, before embarking on her literary career.
Her debut novel, Shadow and Bone (2012), launched the Grishaverse, a fictional world heavily influenced by 19th-century Tsarist Russia. The book, the first in a trilogy, follows Alina Starkov, a seemingly ordinary orphan who discovers she is the prophesied Sun Summoner with the power to vanquish the Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness teeming with monsters.
The trilogy, including 2013's Siege and Storm and 2014's Ruin and Rising, explores power, loyalty, and self-discovery themes. Bardugo has described the series as "tsarpunk," combining fantasy with Russian-inspired settings.
The trilogy's adaptation into Netflix's hit series Shadow and Bone brought Bardugo's characters to life on screen. When she first visited the Budapest set, she described the emotional experience as follows: "I walked onto the set, and it was like walking into my own imagination. Seeing Alina and the world come to life was overwhelming."
The adaptation combines elements from the trilogy and Bardugo's Six of Crows duology, blending the narratives to expand the universe.
The Six of Crows duology (Six of Crows, 2015; Crooked Kingdom, 2016) further established Bardugo as a master storyteller. Set in the same world, the series revolves around a group of misfit criminals who embark on a daring heist. Kaz Brekker, the cunning and morally ambiguous leader of the crew, remains one of Bardugo's most popular characters. "I wanted to create a fantasy version of Ocean's Eleven," Bardugo has said, "but with a darker, grittier edge."
In 2019, Bardugo ventured into adult fiction with Ninth House, a gothic fantasy set at Yale University, where secret societies engage in dark, magical rituals. The novel won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy. Its sequel, Hell Bent (2023), continued the haunting story.
Throughout her career, Bardugo has been outspoken about her commitment to inclusivity. Reflecting on her earlier work, she admitted: "The Grisha trilogy was overwhelmingly white, and that was a failure of imagination. I've worked hard to make my later books more reflective of the real world's diversity. Her efforts are evident in the diverse cast of Six of Crows and beyond.
Despite her success, Bardugo remains deeply connected to her readers. "Writing saved me," she often says. "It's given me a way to make sense of the world, and if my books can offer that to someone else, then I've done my job."
Leigh Bardugo lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow at Yale University's Pauli Murray College.
Photo credit: www.leighbardugo.com
