Sarah Addison Allen is a bestselling American author, well-known for her family sagas, literary fiction, and romance novels. She was born in Asheville, North Carolina, a place that would later heavily influence her writing with its small-town sensibility. Raised by a journalist father and a mother with a knack for cooking, Allen developed a keen appreciation for books and good food from an early age. This upbringing would eventually become the cornerstone of her enchanting, magical realism-infused stories.
Allen pursued her passion for literature in college, majoring in the subject. She believed it was an amazing opportunity to be able to read fiction and earn a diploma for it, comparing it to getting a degree in eating chocolate. After her college education, she began writing seriously, determined to turn her love for reading into a career. Her breakthrough came in 2007 with the publication of her first mainstream novel, Garden Spells, which became a New York Times Bestseller. Garden Spells, like many of her future works, is a modern-day fairy tale infused with elements of magical realism, heartwarming romance, and a touch of the fantastical.
Since then, Sarah Addison Allen has continued to captivate readers with her unique storytelling, releasing critically acclaimed novels such as The Sugar Queen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, The Peach Keeper, Lost Lake, First Frost, and her latest work, Other Birds. Allen's writing has been translated into more than thirty languages, and she has sold millions of copies worldwide. Her stories, often set in the American South, weave together elements of magical realism and heartwarming romance, offering readers a delightful escape into the extraordinary within the ordinary.