Sarah J. Maas

Sarah Janet Maas (born March 5, 1986) is an American fantasy author known for her series Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City. As of 2024, she has sold nearly 40 million copies of her books and her work has been translated into 38 languages.
Maas was born on March 5, 1986, in New York City. She was adopted by a Catholic mother and a Jewish father, and they lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Sarah grew up Jewish.
In 2008, Sarah Maas graduated magna cum laude from Hamilton College in Kirkland, New York west of Utica, where she majored in creative writing and minored in religious studies.
Maas began writing what would become her debut novel, Throne of Glass, at age sixteen. She posted several chapters of the novel then titled Queen of Glass on FictionPress.com, where it became one of the most popular stories on the site. It was later removed from the site when she decided to publish the novel. The story line of the series is based on the story of Cinderella, with the premise of "What if Cinderella was not a servant, but an assassin?... what if she didn't attend the ball to meet the prince, but to kill him, instead?"
In 2008, Maas sent the novel to agents before signing with Tamar Rydzinski of The Laura Dial Literary Agency in 2009. Throne of Glass was purchased in March 2010 by Bloomsbury Publishing, who later purchased two additional books in the series. The series is available in 15 countries and 35 languages. Four prequel novellas set two years before the first novel were published and later condensed into a book, The Assassin's Blade as well as an original novella. The second book of the series, Crown of Midnight was a New York Times young adult best-seller. The final book in the series, Kingdom of Ash, was released on October 23, 2018; the finished series comprised seven books plus the novella collection. A Court of Thorns and Roses, Maas' second fantasy series, is a loose retelling of "Beauty and the Beast". The first book of the trilogy was written in 2009, but was not published until 2015. Due to the success and popularity of the original series, it was extended, and a spin-off series was announced, featuring stories of other popular characters. The fifth book in the series and the first of the spin-offs, A Court of Silver Flames, was published on February 16, 2021. The series was optioned for a television adaptation in 2021 by Hulu, but as of February 2024, the television series is no longer in active development.
On May 16, 2018, Maas announced her first adult fantasy series, Crescent City. The first book, titled House of Earth and Blood, was released by Bloomsbury on March 3, 2020. It was ranked one of the top twenty Science Fiction & Fantasy books of 2020 on Kobo. The sequel, House of Sky and Breath, was released on February 15, 2022 and won the Best Fantasy award for Goodreads Choice Awards in 2022. The third installation of the series, House of Flame and Shadow, was released on January 30, 2024.
Maas' character development, particularly of morally grey characters, has been lauded as one of her best qualities, as well as her world building. The Independent compared Maas's success to that of J. K. Rowling, noting their shared ability to inspire passionate fans, drive huge numbers of book sales, and create complex worlds with complicated caste systems. It also noted how Maas "was ahead of the game when it came to the rising appetite for empowering female heroines," acknowledging that her books "are notable for a [unique] defining factor: female agency."
Vox has described Maas as Romantasy's "reigning queen," praising both her writing for being "pleasingly familiar, with a gentle touch of surprise" and her deftness in working homages and references to classic Fantasy works into her worldbuilding.
In August 2024, the Utah State Board of Education released its first list of banned books which all public and charter schools in the state were required to dispose of under a new law, House Bill 29. Of the thirteen books on the list, six were written by Maas.
Maas attributed her love of reading and writing fantasy to Garth Nix's novel Sabriel and Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown. She has also named movie scores, classical music, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Sailor Moon as influences.
In 2020, Maas said, "The sense of discovery is why I love writing so much. It's a total thrill for me." Her books are known for their themes of romance and sexuality, and Maas noted that she was surprised A Court of Thorns and Roses had been classified as young adult.
Maas met Josh Wasserman at Hamilton College in Kirkland, New York. At the time, she was a freshman and he was a resident assistant in her dorm building. They got married on May 30, 2010. Maas and Wasserman have two children, a son born in 2018 and a daughter born in 2022. The family have a home in New York City.