V. E. Schwab

**V. E. Schwab** is a British-American author.

Until 2021, she wrote adult novels under **V. E. Schwab** and young adult and middle-grade novels under **Victoria Schwab**. Now, all of her books are published under "V. E. Schwab."

Schwab's pronouns are she/they.

## Personal life

Schwab originally studied Astrophysics before changing her major six times until she settled on Communication Design for her undergrad. She also has a Master in Medieval Art History, and a Minor in Creative Writing.

On May 1, 2018, Schwab held the sixth annual J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature in Pembroke College, Oxford. Her speech was titled "In Search of Doors."

## Bibliography

*Villains* series* *Vicious* (2013)
	+ *Warm Up* (2013)
	+ *Extraordinary* (2021)
* *Vengeful* (2018)
* *Victorious* (tentative title)

*Shades of Magic* trilogy* *A Darker Shade of Magic* (2015)
* *A Gathering of Shadows* (2016)
* *A Conjuring of Light* (2017)

*Threads of Power* trilogy* *The Fragile Threads of Power* (2023)
* Untitled #2
* Untitled #3

*Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince*
A comic series illustrated by Andrea Olimpieri, Budi Setiawan, and Enrica Eren Angiolini.
* *Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince* (2019)
* *Shades of Magic: Night of Knives* (2019)
* *Shades of Magic: The Rebel Army* (2020)

Standalone novels* *The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue* (2020)
* *Black Tabs*
* "Bones" (nickname)
* "Muse" (nickname; graphic novel)
*The Archived* trilogy* *The Archived* (2013)
* *The Unbound* (2014)
	+ *Leave the Window Open* (2015)
	+ *The Dark Vault* (2018, bind-up)
* *The Returned* (publication unknown)

*Monsters of Verity* duology* *This Savage Song* (2016)
* *Our Dark Duet* (2017)

Standalone novels* *The Near Witch* (2011/2019, reissue)
	+ *The Ash-Born Boy* (2012/2019, reissue)
* *Gallant* (2022)

Middle Grade books
*Everyday Angel* trilogy* *New Beginnings* (2014)
* *Second Chances* (2014)
* *Last Wishes* (2014)

*City of Ghosts* series* *City of Ghosts* (2018)
* *Tunnel of Bones* (2019)
* *Bridge of Souls* (2021)

Standalone novels* *Spirit Animals: Broken Ground* (2015)

### Other works

* "*The World on Fire*" (2010) — Parts 1-5, Finale
* *Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy*: *"Death Knell"* (2017)
* *(Don't) Call Me Crazy*: *"Black Hole"* (2018)
* *Vampires Never Get Old*: *"First Kill"* (2020)
* *Fantastic Worlds: Impossible Places*: *"A Royal Affair"* (2021) — set in the *Shades of Magic* world
* Three secret book projects
* *First Kill* TV series (writer, creator, executive producer)
* *The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue* movie (screenwriter)

## Unidentified teasers

List of teasers Schwab shared which can be from any of her upcoming books and, thus, do not necessarily belong to the *Shades of Magic* series.

### Teaser #1

This isn't the beginning, but it's a place to start.

## Trivia

* Book-related
* Others

* Her favorite scenes to write are fight scenes. She also loves describing fashion, and creates her fictional languages "from the ground up, structurally, grammatically, phonetically."
	+ Schwab focuses on movement when writing her fight scenes and less on exact details. She thinks of her fight scenes as dances and choreographs them.
* Before Schwab sold *The Near Witch*, she had written only one other book: *The Shadow Mile* which was never published, but set the foundation for the *City of Ghosts* series.
	+ She also worked on a sequel to *The Near Witch* called *The Dark Remains* before eventually shelving it.

* Her fans are officially called "Schwablins"—a term coined by the Titan Publishing Group. In turn, Schwab herself would be the "Schwablin Queen."
* One of her favorite *Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince* panels are the ones of the *Antari* drawing a blood mark as it gave her "Sandman style chills."
* She possesses a Kell Maresh body pillow.
* Some dream projects of hers are a book about Julie d'Aubigny, a super queer vampire book, and a mercenary society book.
* Her favorite font is Cochin and she writes all her drafts in it.
* Schwab used to be a pantser, but now meticulously outlines her stories; she calls her outlines, her "story skeletons."
	+ She also writes everything out of order, writing almost every line separately before puzzling together the pieces later on as she treats every sequence as its own little arc. Because of that, she can never tell how close she is to the end.
* She wholeheartedly believes in happy endings—though she should also thinks they should be earned.
* Schwab has multiple cat ears which were given to her by fans. As of December 2019, she owns more than 30 pairs.
* She is willing to sell her soul to have one of her books turned into an anime. She also thinks that, out of all her books, *This Savage Song* would make the best anime.
* She does not have a favorite book among her own.
* Schwab's favorite anime is *Cowboy Bepop*. *Vicious* is her love letter to it.
	+ *Cowboy Bepop*, *Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood*, and *Avatar: The Last Airbender* are the stories that have influenced her the most.

### FAQ (as of May 2021)

* Her favorite food items are cheddar and dark chocolate.
* Schwab's favorite tea variety is black English Breakfast in the morning. While in the evening, her favorite is darjeeling, jasmine, or mint green tea. She despises Earl Grey Tea which she calls an "impostor" or "Satan's drink." She also does not like its smell.
* She is a competitive épée fencer.
* Schwab is both a cat and a dog person.
* Her favorite place is Edinburgh, and her favorite quote is "I know nothing with any certainty but the sight of stars still makes me dream" by Vincent van Gogh.
* She has a bracelet on which "WWNGD"—"What Would Neil Gaiman Do"—is engraved.
* The title of her old Tumblr blog—"Victorialand"—is a reference to her childhood when she told her parents she "was living in Victorialand, [...] a magical, if somewhat morbid place."
* Her grandfather and great-uncles founded Schwab's Pharmacy.

## Adaptations

Information on possible future adaptations of Schwab's works that are unrelated to the *Shades of Magic* series. For information on the potential *A Darker Shade of Magic* movie, see here.

* ***Vicious*:** In 2013, the film rights were brought by Story Mining & Supply Co and Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions. In 2014, Alexander Felix was hired to write the screenplay. In 2016, Schwab stated that the movie option got renewed, there is a final script, and the process to find a director has started.
* ***This Savage Song*:** In 2016, Sony optioned the novel for a movie. The producers will be Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell of Safe House Pictures, and Palak Patel and Aimee Rivera will oversee for Sony.
	+ As of 2022, a series for Universal Television is in development. Julie Plec (*The Vampire Diaries*) will write and produce the show.
* ***City of Ghosts*:** In 2018, it was reported that CW is developing a TV series. Karen Wyscarver and Sanford Golden will be the show's writers and executive producers. A tentative synopsis was given which deviates significantly from the source material: "In the series, after a near-death experience, college grad Cassidy moves to Scotland to study paranormal psychology at the University of Edinburgh in hopes of learning more about her strange connection to the afterlife. There she meets the enigmatic Dr. Barrow and discovers that her gift is more powerful that she ever thought possible."
	+ As of 2021, the series is now in the works at ABC Signature and Searchlight Television. David Lowery and Sehaj Sethi replace Wyscarver and Golden as the show's writers. Lowery will also direct the series. Schwab is now one of the executive producers alongside Sailor Bear's Toby Halbrooks and James M. Johnston, Britt Poulton, and G-Base's Danielle Robinson, Gerard Butler, and Alan Siegel. The tentative series synopsis has also changed: "'City of Ghosts' follows a young teenage girl, Cass, who finds herself embroiled in an epic battle between ghosts and humanity as she discovers powers to see a spectral world beyond 'the Veil' and to fight the evil forces within. Cass accompanies her parents to Edinburgh, where they will host a TV show about the bloodiest chapters of history, and where she will discover her gifts in one of the most haunted places on earth."
* ***The Archived*:** In 2019, it was announced that the CW is developing a TV series based on the novels. Liz Sczudlo, Jennie Snyder Urman, Joanna Klein will be the executive producers. Sczudlo will also write the show which will not revolve around Mackenzie and Wesley, though they will definitely cameo. A tentative description of the series was provided: "In the series, the eldest child in a family of ghost hunters, Bex has trained her entire life for the day she'll take up the mantle of 'the chosen one.' But when her dad dies and her local-weather-girl sister wakes up with the familial powers instead, these night-and-day sisters will have to figure out how to work together and save the world." The series will also focus on the library of the dead.
* ***The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue*:** In 2020, Studio eOne acquired rights for the movie, and Gerard Butler's company G-Base will produce it. Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage wrote the initial draft of the screenplay before Schwab herself became the movie's screenwriter. As of 2021, Augustine Frizzell will direct the movie. She will also write the screenplay with her husband, the filmmaker David Lowery. While Schwab is not the screenwriter anymore, she is now one of the movie's producers.
* ***First Kill*:** In 2020, it was announced that Schwab's short story from the *Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite* anthology was acquired by Netflix to be adapted into a TV series which will consist of eight one-hour episodes. Emma Roberts and her studio Belletrist Productions will produce the show, and Felicia D. Henderson will be the showrunner and one of the writers. Karah Preiss, co-founder of Belletrist Productions, and Schwab are also executive producers alongside Roberts. Additionally, Schwab is the series' creator and one of its writers. On March 10, 2021, it was announced that Sarah Catherine Hook and Imani Lewis have been cast to play the main characters Juliette and Calliope. On May 27, 2021, the series' full cast was revealed.
	+ On May 5, 2022, the official poster and the release date (June 10) as well as first looks and the synopsis were revealed. On August 2, 2022, it was announced that Netflix cancelled *First Kill* after one season. The show's official description:

*When it's time for teenage vampire Juliette (Sarah Catherine Hook) to make her first kill so she can take her place among a powerful vampire family, she sets her sights on a new girl in town named Calliope (Imani Lewis). But much to Juliette's surprise, Calliope is a vampire hunter from a family of celebrated slayers. Both find that the other won't be so easy to kill and, unfortunately, way too easy to fall for.*

## External links

* V. E. Schwab's official site
* V. E. Schwab's Macmillan website
* V. E. Schwab (@veschwab) on Twitter
* V. E. Schwab (@veschwab) on Instagram
* V. E. Schwab's "Fresh air, fancy pups" gallery (@thedogsofportyprom) on Instagram
* V. E. Schwab on Goodreads
* V. E. Schwab on Pinterest
* V. E. Schwab's Wordpress blog
* V. E. Schwab on Tumblr (old account)

## References

1. ↑ "My middle name is Elizabeth"
(V. E. Schwab on Tumblr)
2. ↑ "My full name is Victoria Elizabeth, aka the most English name ever."
(V. E. Schwab on Goodreads Q&A)
3. ↑ "I was born in California"
(V. E. Schwab on Goodreads Q&A)
4. ↑ "I'm officially a dual citizen."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
5. ↑ Baker & Taylor, July 2018 Forecast (archived)
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Change — V. E. Schwab on Instagram
7. ↑ V. E. Schwab/Victoria Schwab — V. E. Schwab on Tumblr
8. ↑ File:IG Pronouns.png
9. ↑ "I originally went to school for Astrophysics. I changed my major 6 times. Graduated with an undergrad in Communication Design. Went on to get a Masters in Medieval Art History. Learned more from the things I didn't major in."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
10. ↑ "I have a Minor in Creative Writing that helped me not at all."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
11. ↑ "Video and Photos for Victoria (V.E.) Schwab's Tolkien Lecture" — The J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature
12. ↑ "In my heart of hearts (and my original plan) the Villains series has 3 volumes: VICIOUS, VENGEFUL, and VICTORIOUS."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
13. ↑ "Once the first book in Threads is drafted, I can turn my attention to the third book in the Villains series, Victorious.
(V. E. Schwab on Instagram)
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 "30 min Q+A!" — V. E. Schwab on Instagram
15. ↑ "Black Tabs" on Goodreads
16. ↑ V.E. Schwab signs $1M deal with Tor Books — EW
17. ↑ "BLACK TABS is the standalone female Blade Runner"
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 The Visible Life of V.E. Schwab — January 2023
19. ↑ File:IG The Returned and Black Tabs.png, 2021
20. ↑ "I didn't ask for this series to go unfinished. I didn't ask for the publisher to not buy the third book. It took years for me to emotionally recover and move on. But now that I have, I'm not all that eager to go back."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter, 2019)
21. ↑ Thread on THE RETURNED — V. E. Schwab on Twitter, 2017
22. ↑ "I do still plan on releasing [THE RETURNED]. But no, it's not ready. Publishing is complicated, and I will probably wait until the rights for THE ARCHIVED and THE UNBOUND revert to me so I can release all three together."
(V. E. Schwab on Goodreads Q&A, 2017)
23. ↑ "The Returned will be released in one format or another when it's ready."
(V. E. Schwab on Tumblr, 2016)
24. ↑ "And because I just got an actual flurry of asks about TA3–I made a promise and I will keep it; THE RETURNED will be made available, in one format or another, whether through a publisher or online, when it's ready."
(V. E. Schwab on Tumblr, 2016)
25. ↑ "On the third book in the ARCHIVED series" — V. E. Schwab on Tumblr, 2014
26. ↑ Contracted books — V. E. Schwab on Twitter
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Emma Roberts To Produce YA Vampire Series 'First Kill' At Netflix" — Deadline
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "V.E. Schwab's Novel 'Invisible Life of Addie LaRue' Getting Film Adaptation at eOne (EXCLUSIVE)" — Variety
29. ↑ "Favorite types of scenes to write?" — "Fight scenes."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
30. ↑ "Is there any object or thing (doesn't have to be physical) that you especially enjoy describing in your writing?" — "FASHION."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
31. ↑ "I built each language from the ground up, structurally, grammatically, phonetically."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
32. ↑ "One, a very strange book called The Shadow Mile."
(V. E. Schwab on Goodreads Q&A)
33. ↑ "And that first novel, which was called THE SHADOW MILE, is my only trunked book to date. It got an agent, but after going to acquisitions 4 times, never sold."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
34. ↑ "The seed that became CITY OF GHOSTS first came from a book that never saw shelves."
(V. E. Schwab Twitter)
35. ↑ "Only one—the unpublished sequel to The Near Witch, called The Dark Remains, about the children who were buried, and what they became."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
36. ↑ "Right after The Near Witch, I wrote a draft of a sequel, set ten years later and following Wren and the other children as they realize that they're time in the woods changed them."
(V. E. Schwab on Goodreads Q&A)
37. ↑ "SCHWABLINS, according to my UK publisher :p"
(V. E. Schwab on Tumblr)
38. ↑ "The brilliant folks at Titan have named my readers for me: SCHWABLINS. Making me the SCHWABLIN QUEEN."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
39. ↑ "This will forever be one of my favorite panels in THE STEEL PRINCE. It’s one of the very first I saw, and it gave me Sandman style chills."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
40. ↑ "OMG I GOT A KELL BODY PILLOW."
(V. E. Schwab on Tumblr)
41. ↑ "The Kell body pillow my friend Becky gave me"
(V. E. Schwab on Instagram)
42. ↑ "#FourDreamProjects
1. A book about Julie d'Aubigny.
2. A super queer vampire book.
3. A mercenary society book.
4. A month off."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
43. ↑ "What's your favourite font?" — "Cochin."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
44. ↑ "I use Cochin for all my books while drafting :)"
(V. E. Schwab on Tumblr)
45. ↑ "To clarify: I write everything out of order. BUT I outline it first. So I have a skeleton, and then I put muscle and skin on each of the joints, and then the rest, depending on my mood."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
46. ↑ "When I tell people I write out of order, they don't seem to realise I mean almost every line. I open a blank doc, dump in 20-30 lines, then assemble them into a page."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
47. ↑ "Not really, bc I write out of order. I treat every sequence as its own set piece, complete with small arc, so I get a sense of satisfaction."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
48. ↑ "I'm sure it doesn't help that I write everything out of order, so even if I WERE closer to the end, I wouldn't know it."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
49. ↑ "TITAN COMICS THE STEEL PRINCE: 10 MINUTES WITH V.E. SCHWAB" — Book Riot
50. ↑ "People ask me where I get my cat-ear headbands, but the truth is, every single pair has been a gift from a reader. That's what makes them so special."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
51. ↑ Thread on the cat ears — V. E. Schwab on Twitter
52. ↑ "How many pairs of cat ears do you currently own?" — "30+"
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
53. ↑ "I don't know which deity I have to sell my soul to in order to see one of my books as an anime, but I would like the universe to know I'm willing."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
54. ↑ "Which series/world do you think would make the best Anime?" — "Honestly? This Savage Song."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
55. ↑ "Believe it or not, no. VICIOUS was in many more ways a love letter to the dynamics in Cowboy Bebop."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
56. ↑ "If you ever doubted VICIOUS was based on Cowboy Bebop—this is LITERALLY A THING VICTOR DOES IN VENGEFUL."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
57. ↑ "What are your favourite foods? :)" — "Sharp cheddar and very dark chocolate."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
58. ↑ "Give us tea recs to cry into as we read your books, V" — "Harney & Sons. Tetley. Eteaket. I prefer a strong black breakfast tea for AM, a darjeeling for afternoon, a mint tea for evening."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
59. ↑ "What's your favorite type of tea?" — "Darjeeling and good English Breakfast."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
60. ↑ "Favorite kind of tea?" — "English Breakfast in the AM, jasmine or mint green in the evening. But I'll try almost anything so long as it's not that VILE EARL GREY."
(V. E. Schwab on Tumblr)
61. ↑ "Resist the vile temptation of the impostor tea [Earl Grey]."
(V. E. Schwab on Tumblr)
62. ↑ "Q: What are a few of your favorite things?
A: Black breakfast tea (not Earl Grey, that is Satan's drink, it tastes like my grandmother's old clothes steeped in warm water), very dark chocolate, cake, animals (especially if I can pet them), whisky, steep hills."
(V. E. Schwab on her official website)
63. ↑ "I can't stand the smell of earl grey tea"
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
64. ↑ "I was--and still am--a competitive épée fencer!"
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
65. ↑ "And Related Subjects: Discovering a Passion for Fencing" — Tor
66. ↑ "I am both a dog and a cat person."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
67. ↑ "What's your favourite place and what's your favourite quote" — "Edinburgh, and 'I know nothing with any certainty but the sight of stars still makes me dream.'"
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
68. ↑ "For those who don't know, 10 years ago I bought myself a bracelet that said WWNGD — What Would Neil Gaiman Do — as a reminder to make good art."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
69. ↑ "I'm an only child, and growing up, whenever I made up stories to entertain myself, especially if I made up stories in which I was a character–and usually got what I wanted–my family would say I was living in Victorialand. Victorialand is a magical, if somewhat morbid place."
(V. E. Schwab on Tumblr)
70. ↑ "my grandfather owned Schwab's Pharmacy with his three brothers."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
71. ↑ Thread on Schwab's Pharmacy — V. E. Schwab on Twitter
72. ↑ "Ridley Scott's Scott Free Teams With Story Mining & Supply On 'Vicious' Deal" — Deadline
73. ↑ "{TB EXCLUSIVE} HIT LIST SCRIBE ALEXANDER FELIX TO ADAPT 'VICIOUS' FOR SCOTT FREE AND STORY MINING & SUPPLY CO." — Tracking Board
74. ↑ "Yaaaaaaaay!!! The VICIOUS movie option just got renewed!!!! Which is great, bc we've got a final script, and are starting the director hunt."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
75. ↑ "Sony Options Victoria Schwab's *This Savage Song* for Film" — Tor
76. ↑ "Sony Options Hot YA Novel 'This Savage Song' (Exclusive)" — Hollywood Reporter
77. ↑ "Books By Victoria Schwab and Margaret Peterson Haddix Are In Development from The Vampire Diaries' Co-Creator" — Tor
78. ↑ "CW to Develop Victoria Schwab Novel 'City of Ghosts' as Drama Series (EXCLUSIVE)" — Variety
79. ↑ "'City of Ghosts' Series Adaptation in the Works at ABC Signature, Searchlight Television (EXCLUSIVE)" — Variety
80. ↑ 80.0 80.1 "Here's the FASCINATING thing about this project: if you read the pitch, you'll notice it doesn't follow Wes and Mackenzie. They will definitely cameo, but it’s the library of the dead Liz and her team are focusing on, with a new set of Keepers."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
81. ↑ "'Jane the Virgin' Team to Develop Female Ghost Hunter Series for The CW (EXCLUSIVE)" — Variety
82. ↑ "Augustine Frizzell to Direct 'The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue' Film Adaptation for eOne (EXCLUSIVE)" — Variety
83. ↑ Corrections — V. E. Schwab on Instagram
84. ↑ "Sarah Catherine Hook & Imani Lewis To Headline Netflix's YA Vampire Series 'First Kill'" — Deadline
85. ↑ "'First Kill': Netflix's YA Vampire Drama Series Sets Full Cast" — Deadline
86. ↑ "3 years ago I wrote a short story.
2 years ago I finished the pilot.
1 year ago we started filming.
And now, it's real.
First Kill arrives June 10, only on @Netflix."
(V. E. Schwab on Instagram)
87. ↑ "Netflix goes for the throat in first look at new YA vampire series *First Kill*" — EW
88. ↑ "'First Kill' Canceled By Netflix After One Season" — Deadline
89. ↑ "I accidentally locked myself out of my original Tumblr account and can't get back in :((((("
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)

1. ↑ This article, and the rest of the wiki, uses *she*/*her* for consistency.