Stephenie Meyer

About Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Morgan was born on December 24, 1973, in Hartford, Connecticut, and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. She attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, won a National Merit Scholarship, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Brigham Young University in 1997. She married Christian Meyer in 1994 and has three sons. Before becoming an author, her only professional work was as a receptionist at a property company.

The idea for Twilight came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003—a scene between a human girl and a vampire desperate not to harm her. Meyer wrote from that scene to the end of the novel, then backfilled the first twelve chapters, completing the book in about three months. Of the fifteen literary agencies she contacted, one said yes: Jodi Reamer of Writers House. Eight publishers bid on the manuscript. Little, Brown and Company signed her to a $750,000 three-book deal.

The Twilight Phenomenon

Twilight was published in 2005 and quickly climbed to #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Three sequels followed—New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007), and Breaking Dawn (2008)—along with the novella The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (2010), the gender-swapped retelling Life and Death (2015), and Midnight Sun (2020), a retelling of the first novel from Edward Cullen's perspective. The series has sold over 160 million copies in 37 languages.

The Twilight saga was adapted into five blockbuster films between 2008 and 2012. Meyer co-produced the final two films through her production company, Fickle Fish Films. She was the bestselling author of both 2008 and 2009 in the United States and was named to TIME's 100 Most Influential People in 2008.

Bans and Challenges

Despite—or because of—their enormous popularity, Meyer's books have appeared repeatedly on the American Library Association's lists of most challenged titles. Critics have objected to occult themes, sexual content, and the series' portrayal of romantic relationships. Breaking Dawn has drawn the most challenges, frequently cited for its depictions of violence, sexual content, and a plotline involving teenage marriage and pregnancy. Twilight books have been removed or challenged in school libraries and classrooms across multiple states.