Stephenie Meyer (born December 24, 1973) is an American author and film producer. She is most famous for writing the Twilight vampire romance series, which has sold over 160 million copies and been translated into 37 languages. She was the most successful author in the United States in 2008 and 2009, selling more than 29 million books in 2008 and 26.5 million in 2009.

Meyer loved reading as a young person. She attended Brigham Young University, where she married at age 21 and graduated in 1997 with a degree in English literature. Without any writing experience before, she got the idea for Twilight from a dream. Inspired by the works of Jane Austen and William Shakespeare, she wrote Twilight soon after. After many rejections, Little, Brown and Company offered her a $750,000 deal for three books, which later expanded into a four-book series, two spin-off novels, a novella, and successful movie adaptations. In addition to young adult books, Meyer wrote adult novels like The Host (2008) and The Chemist (2016). She also worked in film production and co-founded Fickle Fish Films, producing both parts of Breaking Dawn, the final movie in the Twilight series, and two other book adaptations.

Meyer’s membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints influenced her writing. Themes such as free will, life and death, temptation, and eternal life appear often in her work. Some critics say her writing style is simple, but her stories have also received praise from readers.

In 2008, Meyer was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people. In 2009, Forbes named her one of the 100 most powerful celebrities. Her yearly income exceeded $50 million during that time.

Early and personal life

Stephenie Morgan was born on December 24, 1973, in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. She was the second of six children born to Stephen Morgan, a financial officer, and Candy Morgan, a homemaker. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale. In 1992, Meyer won a National Merit Scholarship, which helped pay for her college classes at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature in 1997. Although she started and completed her degree at BYU, she also took classes at Arizona State University during the fall of 1996 and the spring of 1997.

Meyer met her future husband, Christian "Pancho" Meyer, in Arizona when they were both young. The couple married in 1994 and have three sons, born in 1997, 2001, and 2003. Christian retired from his job as an auditor to stay home with their children full time.

Before writing her first novel, Twilight, Meyer considered going to law school because she felt she had no chance of becoming a writer. She later said that the birth of her oldest son, Gabe, in 1997 changed her mind: "Once I had Gabe, I just wanted to be his mom." Before becoming an author, Meyer's only professional work was as a receptionist at a property company.

TheTwilightseries

Stephenie Meyer said the idea for Twilight came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003, about a human girl and a vampire who loved her but wanted to drink her blood. Based on this dream, Meyer wrote the first version of what became chapter 13 of the book. She then wrote from chapter 13 to the end of the novel and later added the first 12 chapters. She did not write with a specific audience in mind or plan to publish the book. Meyer researched the Quileute Native Americans to include their legends and traditions in the novel. Some members of the Quileute tribe found her use of their legends offensive. Meyer joined the American Night Writers Association (ANWA), a group for aspiring Latter-day Saint female writers. She finished the novel in three months. Her sister liked the book and encouraged her to send the manuscript to literary agencies.

Out of 15 letters Meyer sent to agencies, five were not answered, nine received rejections, and the last one received a positive response from Jodi Reamer of Writers House. Eight publishers competed for the rights to publish Twilight in a 2003 auction. By November, Meyer signed a $750,000 three-book deal with Little, Brown and Company. Twilight was published in 2005 with a print run of 75,000 copies. Early in her writing career, Meyer held book signings and events at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, which helped grow her fanbase. Twilight reached No. 5 on The New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Chapter Books within a month of its release and later rose to No. 1. The novel was named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Editor's Choice. Despite its success, Twilight was one of the most challenged books of 2009 by the American Library Association for being sexually explicit, age-inappropriate, and for religious views; some schools and libraries were asked to remove the books from their shelves.

After publishing Twilight, Meyer had already planned a story for a sequel. However, her publisher wanted her to write two sequels about Bella and Edward in college. Meyer expanded the story into a series with three more books: New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007), and Breaking Dawn (2008). The original story she planned for the sequel was later published in Breaking Dawn. Meyer also wrote a short story, "Hell on Earth," about demons at a prom, which was published in April 2007 in Prom Nights from Hell, a collection of supernatural prom stories. Her fans wanted her to turn "Hell on Earth" into a full novel, but Meyer was busy finishing Eclipse.

In its first week, New Moon reached No. 5 on The New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Chapter Books and rose to No. 1, where it stayed for 11 weeks. It spent over 50 weeks on the list. In May 2007, Meyer held two promotional events at an Arizona State University gymnasium to celebrate the special edition of New Moon and the release of Eclipse. For the event, Meyer wore a blood-red evening gown and signed over 1,000 books. Her dress was later sold for $5,500 at a fundraiser for a book seller's battle with breast cancer called Project Book Babe.

After Eclipse was released, the first three Twilight books spent a combined 143 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list. The fourth book, Breaking Dawn, was released with an initial print run of 3.7 million copies. Over 1.3 million copies were sold on the first day. The novel won Meyer a British Book Award for Children's Book of the Year, even though it competed with J. K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard. In 2009, Meyer faced plagiarism accusations for Breaking Dawn. Jordan Scott, author of The Nocturne, claimed that the story of Bella's supernatural pregnancy and transformation into a vampire was similar to her novel. Meyer denied the accusation, saying she had never heard of Scott or her book. Scott could not provide a copy of The Nocturne to support her claim; the book is not available on Amazon and is listed as "temporarily sold out" on Scott's website.

The Twilight series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide in 37 languages. In 2008, the four Twilight books were in the top four spots on USA Today's year-end bestseller list. Meyer was the bestselling author of 2008 and the first author to have books in all four of the top-selling spots. The Twilight novels held the top four spots on USA Today's year-end list again in 2009. The success of the series is partly due to the Internet, which allowed Meyer to connect directly with her fans. The series is called "the first social networking bestseller." Scholar Lykke Guanio-Uluru said the Twilight series "popularized and helped redefine the paranormal romance subgenre."

In 2004, Paramount's MTV Films and Maverick Films optioned Twilight before the book was published to maximize profits. The film script was very different from the novel, but the project was put on hold. In 2006, Erik Feig, president of Summit Entertainment, promised Meyer that the film would be true to the novel and that no vampire characters would have canine or incisor teeth longer or more pronounced than those of humans. In 2007, Summit Entertainment bought the rights to the film. Catherine Hardwicke directed the film, and Melissa Rosenberg wrote the script. Kristen Stewart was cast as Bella Swan first, and Robert Pattinson was cast as Edward Cullen after he and Stewart showed good chemistry during auditions. Taylor Lautner was cast as Jacob Black. The film was released on November 21, 2008, and received favorable reviews. Roger Ebert called it "lush and beautiful," and Peter Bradshaw said it was "wildly enjoyable." The film was a box-office success and became the fourth-highest-grossing November opening weekend release

Adult fiction publications

In May 2008, Stephenie Meyer's adult science fiction novel The Host was published by the adult division of Little, Brown and Company. The story follows Melanie Stryder, a human, and Wanderer, an alien "soul," who must work together. The Host appeared first on The New York Times Best Seller list and stayed on the list for 26 weeks. Although Meyer planned to write a trilogy with the second and third books named The Soul and The Seeker, she has not released any additional books about The Host as of 2024.

In April 2009, Meyer participated in Project Book Babe, an event to help pay medical bills for her friend Faith Hochhalter after Hochhalter was diagnosed with breast cancer. Meyer gave many advance reader copies and original manuscripts to be sold in an auction.

The Host was made into a film directed by Andrew Niccol. Saoirse Ronan played Melanie Stryder, Max Irons played Jared Howe, and Jake Abel played Ian O'Shea. The film was released on March 29, 2013, and received mostly negative reviews. It did not do well financially compared to the Twilight film series.

In late 2015, it was announced that Meyer was creating a television series based on Daniel O'Malley's book The Rook. Although Meyer's production company had bought the rights to the book, she left the project after filming began due to differences in creative ideas.

In July 2016, Little, Brown and Company announced that Meyer had written an adult action thriller called The Chemist, which is about "an ex-agent on the run from her former employers." The book was released on November 8, 2016. In 2018, it was announced that Meyer's production company, Fickle Fish, would partner with Tomorrow Studios to create a television series based on The Chemist.

Reception

The reception of Meyer and her novels has been mixed. Entertainment Weekly said Meyer is "the world's most popular vampire novelist since Anne Rice." The Guardian called her an "imaginative storyteller, a prolific author, and a newly powerful figure in the publishing market." Wayne Janes of the Toronto Sun agreed, noting that Meyer's success shows a trend where young adult fiction has dominated best-seller lists in recent years. He added that, without a new Harry Potter book, teens, fantasy fans, and women (who make up most of her readers) who enjoy stories about chaste love helped make Meyer a top author. Tymon Smith of The Times called her the "superstar of young adult fiction."

Meyer was named one of MSN Lifestyle's "Most Influential Women of 2008," where she was called a "literary luminary." She was also ranked No. 49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2008" and included in their "People Who Mattered" list. Lev Grossman, an author, noted that Americans might not be ready for a Mormon president yet but are ready to celebrate a Mormon as the best-selling novelist of the year.

Meyer was ranked No. 82 on Vanity Fair's list of the "Top 100 Information Age Powers" in 2009. She was featured in an issue of the biographical comic Female Force, which highlights influential women in society and pop culture. According to Amazon, Meyer was the second bestselling author of the decade, behind J. K. Rowling.

Despite her success, Meyer's novels have faced criticism. The New York Times said the premise of Twilight was "attractive and compelling," but the review noted that the writing was "overearnest and amateurish" at times. It criticized Meyer for relying too much on describing events rather than showing them and for focusing too much on Edward's looks and Bella's emotional reactions. The Guardian called Bella "a clumsy, selfish character with no charm" and criticized Edward as "a perfect gentleman" who constantly resists Bella's romantic advances. NPR called the novel repetitive and uninteresting, saying the main character was not likeable. Entertainment Weekly said the story of Breaking Dawn was so chaotic that Meyer shifted the point of view to Jacob Black, which only temporarily reduced the confusion.

Novelist Orson Scott Card, who is also a Mormon, praised Meyer's writing as "clear and easy to understand," saying she connects readers to the story they share. Jodi Picoult, an author, said Meyer has helped people become interested in reading, which is positive. Stephen King compared Meyer to J. K. Rowling, saying Rowling is a great writer while Meyer is not. He noted that Meyer's books appeal to readers because they explore love and sex in a safe way. Jana Riess, a religious scholar, said Meyer's use of Mormon theology is "beautiful and complex" at times but called her a skilled storyteller, not a skilled writer. She pointed out technical flaws in her books and criticized outdated views about men and women in her stories.

The Quileute people have a tradition that their ancestors changed from wolves to humans, but the book and movies do not accurately describe their culture. The Quileute tribe said Meyer used their traditions in the books, films, and merchandise without permission, which they called "cultural theft."

Meyer has gained a large following among young adult readers of the Twilight series, which is set in Forks, a small town in Washington state. Forks now gets attention from fans, who celebrate "Stephenie Meyer Day" on September 13, the birthday of the character Bella Swan. Fans dress as characters from the books, write fan fiction, and attend book signings. Extreme fans are called "Twihards."

Inspired by Twilight, a music genre called "Twi-rock" has emerged, similar to "wizard rock" from the Harry Potter series. Bands like the Bella Cullen Project, Twilight Music Girls, and the Mitch Hansen Band create songs about the story. The Mitch Hansen Band wrote the song "By You" for the New Moon film soundtrack. A fan convention called TwiCon was held in Dallas, Texas, in 2009, featuring performances, events, and vendors.

The book Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James is based on the Twilight series but changes the story to explore a romantic relationship that is not celibate. The publisher said the book is original and not based on Twilight, but James did not get permission to write it. Some people say this might be a copyright violation. Meyer said the book is "too smutty" and does not interest her, but she has not taken legal action.

Style and influences

Stephenie Meyer's writing has been described as focusing more on plot than on style, with some critics saying her characters are not developed in detail. Her writing style changes between works, such as in her short story "Hell on Earth," which uses mostly dialogue, unlike the detailed descriptions in the Twilight series. Meyer often uses clear, active sentences that begin with important information. While many books focus on character development, Meyer intentionally avoids detailed descriptions of her characters, believing this helps readers imagine themselves in their place. In some books, like New Moon, she gives more insight into characters through chapter titles rather than the writing itself.

Meyer's work is often called melodrama, which means it includes dramatic and emotional stories. In Twilight, she references famous books like the Bible, Wuthering Heights, and Pride and Prejudice. Meyer said the style of each book was influenced by the type of music she listened to while writing. A study of her writing found that she often described characters' physical features, such as their eyes, faces, and expressions. Words like "black," "dark," and descriptions of warmth and cold were common. The study said her writing style is predictable and not very unique, and that her books' success may be due to marketing efforts.

Meyer has said Mormonism, a religion, influenced her writing the most. However, actor Robert Pattinson said she did not plan to include Mormon ideas in her books or movies. A professor named Angela Aleiss found clear Mormon influences in the Twilight series. Meyer explained that she unconsciously included her beliefs, such as the idea of free choice, in her stories. She also said a professor named Steven Walker helped her understand literature in a new way, which affected her writing.

Meyer has said her books were inspired by novels like Jane Eyre and Anne of Green Gables. Each book in the Twilight series was inspired by a different classic: Twilight by Pride and Prejudice, New Moon by Romeo and Juliet, Eclipse by Wuthering Heights, and Breaking Dawn by Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream. While Meyer said Twilight was based on Pride and Prejudice, a scholar named Anne Morey said it is more similar to Jane Eyre. The name "Edward" was chosen because of books by Charlotte Brontë and Jane Austen. Meyer said her writing was influenced by medieval love traditions and 19th-century manners. She also said she was not influenced by vampire books, but scholars said her characters resemble traditional vampire figures and Byronic heroes, who are intense and complex. Meyer said she was more influenced by Austen, Shakespeare, and Orson Scott Card than by authors like Anne Rice or Stephen King.

Meyer said music influenced her writing, and she shares playlists of songs that inspired her books on her website. Bands like Muse, Blue October, My Chemical Romance, Coldplay, and Linkin Park are often included. She said Muse's music, which expresses many emotions, influenced different parts of her stories.

Recurring themes

According to Jana Riess, a professor who studies American religious history, a major idea in Meyer's novels is the concept of agency, which means the ability to make choices. In The Host, the character known as the Seeker believes she is helping humans by controlling their lives, similar to a belief in the Latter-day Saint religion that Satan's plan to "save" people involved taking away their ability to choose and sin. The Seeker acts like a version of Satan in the story, showing how important it is to keep the ability to make choices. Another theme in Meyer's books is opposition, or the idea that challenges and difficulties are necessary for growth. In The Host, the character Wanda learns that beauty and happiness can only be understood after experiencing darkness and sadness, which matches a quote from the Book of Mormon: "It must needs be that there is an opposition in all things." However, the idea of "imprinting," where characters in the Twilight series form relationships without choosing them, challenges the theme of free choice. Natalie Wilson, a scholar who studies literature and women's issues, notes that the contrast between Bella's ability to choose her partner and Jacob's lack of choice has racial and cultural meanings.

Another theme in Meyer's work is overcoming the challenges of life, which the Book of Mormon calls overcoming the "natural man." This is shown through the character Edward, who is a vampire and naturally desires to drink human blood. With the help of Carlisle, Edward chooses to change his life by becoming a "vegetarian" and only drinking animal blood. Even when he meets Bella, whose blood is very tempting, Edward struggles to control his desires. Over time, Bella's trust in him helps Edward believe he can resist temptation and protect her. The idea of self-control is a major part of the Twilight series, with the word "control" appearing 125 times as characters try to manage their emotions, desires, or jealousy.

Meyer's Twilight series also explores the difference between immortality and eternal life. In the books, vampires are immortal, meaning they do not die, and have special powers. However, they often feel lonely and unable to form meaningful relationships with humans or other vampires. For example, the Cullen family cannot have children, which makes Rosalie sad because she envies Bella's ability to become a mother. According to Riess, the difference between immortality and eternal life is shown through Bella, who in Breaking Dawn achieves eternal life rather than just immortality. In Mormon beliefs, eternal life includes immortality, a perfect body, having children forever, and being married eternally. Bella gains immortality by sacrificing her life to give birth to her child, and she is later brought back to life in a perfected vampire body. In Mormonism, resurrection happens in the presence of loved ones, as seen in Bella's story, where she is reunited with her husband, child, and family. The titles of the books also support this idea. At the start of the series, Bella leaves Phoenix for Forks, saying goodbye to the sun. The titles Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse describe events where the sun is hidden. The final book, Breaking Dawn, symbolizes a new beginning and Bella's transformation into a vampire, marking the start of a new life.

Views

Stephenie Meyer is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She does not drink alcohol or coffee, smoke, or watch movies rated R. In her books, there is no drinking or smoking, except in The Host (2008), which includes drinking. Meyer refused to include explicit scenes about sex in her series, even when asked to do so. Lev Grossman of Time magazine said that the series’ popularity may be partly because it avoids explicit sex and instead highlights the value of not having sex. Meyer says her faith has influenced her writing. She explains that her characters often think about their past and future more than is typical. She does not intend for her books to promote religious ideas or encourage abstinence, but she admits her personal values shape her stories. She says her books are not graphic or dark because of who she is, and they always include a lot of light.

Meyer grew up in a family deeply involved with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her family participated in community activities, and she met her future husband at church. She read the Book of Mormon, which she says had the most significant impact on her life. However, she does not like when the media focuses too much on her religion, as it often ignores the faiths of other authors.

Meyer is mentioned in books like The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith by Matthew Bowman and LDS in the USA: Mormonism and the Making of American Culture by Lee Trepanier and Lynita K. Newswander. These books discuss how Meyer’s work has helped bring the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into the public eye.

According to an article in The Guardian, Meyer considers herself a feminist. She believes the world is better when women are in charge. She supported the success of Catherine Hardwicke, the director of Twilight, and enjoyed working with a mostly female team for Austenland. Meyer defines feminism as a woman’s right to make her own choices. She says anti-feminism is when choices are taken away from women, regardless of whether they fit traditional gender roles. She also says some modern feminists contradict their message by criticizing women who choose to stay home or have children, which she believes limits women’s freedom.

Some feminists criticize Meyer, saying her books support traditional gender roles and portray an abusive relationship. They argue that Bella’s character depends entirely on Edward for protection and safety, and that she suffers physical harm when their relationship becomes intimate. Meyer says the books focus on Bella’s choices and that her "damsel in distress" role comes from her human nature. Donna Ashcraft, a women’s studies scholar, says Meyer is not a feminist because her books encourage traditional roles, but she does not call Meyer an anti-feminist.

When asked in an interview with The Guardian if she is anti-abortion, Meyer did not answer directly. She said she prefers not to discuss politics and dislikes when celebrities use their fame to influence voters.

In popular culture

In the 2010 vampire horror film Lost Boys: The Thirst, South African actress Tanit Phoenix portrayed Gwen Lieber, a fictional character modeled after Stephenie Meyer, a writer of romantic vampire novels that were not highly praised. Gwen was later killed by Peter, the Alpha vampire, played by Felix Mosse.

Adaptations

• Twilight (2008), a film directed by Catherine Hardwicke, based on the novel Twilight
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), a film directed by Chris Weitz, based on the novel New Moon
• The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), a film directed by David Slade, based on the novel Eclipse
• The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011), a film directed by Bill Condon, based on the novel Breaking Dawn
• The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012), a film directed by Bill Condon, based on the novel Breaking Dawn
• The Host (2013), a film directed by Andrew Niccol, based on the novel The Host
• Twilight Storytellers: The Mary Alice Brandon File (2015), a short film directed by Kailey Spear and Sam Spear, based on the Twilight novel series
• Twilight Storytellers: Consumed (2015), a short film directed by Maja Fernqvist, based on the Twilight novel series
• Twilight Storytellers: The Groundskeeper (2015), a short film directed by Nicole Eckenroad, based on the Twilight novel series
• Twilight Storytellers: Masque (2015), a short film directed by Cate Carson, based on the Twilight novel series
• Twilight Storytellers: Sunrise (2015), a short film directed by Amanda Tasse, based on the Twilight novel series
• Twilight Storytellers: Turncoats (2015), a short film directed by Lindsey Hancock Williamson, based on the Twilight novel series
• Twilight Storytellers: We've Met Before! (2015), a short film directed by Yulin Kuang, based on the Twilight novel series