Kiera Cass
Kiera Cass (born May 19, 1981) is an American writer of young adult fiction, best known for The Selection series.[1]
Career
Cass was born and raised in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and graduated from Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach. She is of Puerto Rican descent. She attended Coastal Carolina University before transferring to Radford University.[2][3] She graduated from Radford with a degree in History and art. The first book in The Selection trilogy, The Selection, was published in 2012 by HarperTeen.[4] Television rights for the trilogy were optioned by the CW Television Network and two pilots were filmed, but neither were picked up for a full series.[5] In April 2015, movie rights for The Selection trilogy, The Selection were acquired by Warner Bros.[6] The rights were then bought by Netflix. After three years in development, the adaptation was scrapped.[7]
In May 2013, Cass announced that she would be working on an as-yet untitled series she refers to as 238 on social media, to be published by HarperCollins. The series was cancelled and Cass pursued other projects.[8]
On August 14, 2014, Kiera Cass announced that The Selection series would be expanding into more books.[9] First, The Elite, was published in 2013. "The One" followed. The Heir followed in 2015. Cass announced another book following The Heir, The Crown, which was released on 3 May 2016.
On August 20, 2015, Kiera Cass announced that her originally self-published book The Siren would be rewritten and rereleased on January 26, 2016.[10]
On October 7, 2019, Kiera Cass announced that her novel The Betrothed would be released on May 5, 2020.[11] It followed Hollis Brite, a daughter of nobility, who was courted by King Jameson of Coroa to be his queen. Hollis fell in love with an Isolten commoner named Silas, and she had to choose between two paths. The book became a #1 New York Times bestseller.[12]
The sequel to The Betrothed, titled The Betrayed, was released on June 29, 2021.
Kiera Cass' latest book, A Thousand Heartbeats, was released on November 29, 2022.[13][14]
Personal life
Cass has been married to Callaway Cass since 2004.[15] They have two children, a son and a daughter. They have lived in Los Angeles, California[16] and Blacksburg, Virginia.[17] Cass has been vocal about her love of cake.[16]
The Selection
The Selection The Elite The One The Heir The Crown | |
Author | Kiera Cass |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Young adult, Dystopian, Romance |
Publisher | HarperTeen |
Published | 24 April 2012 – 3 May 2016 |
Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) Audiobook E-book |
No. of books | 5 |
The Selection series, which is what Cass is best known for, is a series of five young adult novels set in the fictional country of Illéa, formally North and Central America. The books are about a competition known as The Selection, where citizens of Illéa compete for the current king's heir in marriage. The first three books are from the point of view of America Singer, joining the selection after bribery from her mother, who doesn't know she is in love with Aspen, who is a caste lower than her. The two sequels, The Heir and The Crown are written from the point of view of Princess Eadlyn, the firstborn daughter of Prince Maxon and Lady America Singer.
Reception
The A.V. Club commented that the first book in the series "is something of a Hunger Games rip-off, but at least it's an entertaining one".[18]
On 4 February 2015 The Guardian posted a review about Kiera Cass, saying, "Cass makes it a suspenseful read with dramatic events and romantic moments and you never know what is coming up in the next chapter".[19] On 24 October 2015, The Guardian added, "The story is also excellent for gripping people who don't generally enjoy reading".[20]
The Siren
Cass is also the author of The Siren. This book is about Kahlen, a girl who lost her family when the cruise ship they were on overturned. Then she was chosen to become a siren and needs to serve the Ocean for a hundred years. Her voice is deadly for humans. One day she meets Akinli, the boy of her dreams, and wants to be with him but she can't. She struggles with her emotions for a while as her "sisters" try to talk her out of him.
Cass originally self-published "The Siren" online in 2008. On January 26, 2016, it was released by HarperCollins after Cass rewrote it into an updated version.[21]
Controversy
On 12 January 2012 a one-star review of The Selection was posted on the book reviewing site Goodreads,[22] and on the reviewer's blog. Later on the same day, Kiera Cass' literary agent, Elana Roth, posted a series of derogatory tweets on the social networking site Twitter. In a conversation that Cass and Roth believed was private—but was, in fact, public—Roth called the reviewer names and both Roth and Cass discussed how best to bump the negative review down and boost positive reviews by manipulating the ranking system themselves.[23] The controversy sparked an article by Publishers Weekly speaking out against this practice and raised an outcry from multiple reviewers, bloggers, and publications against the cyber-bullying of non-professional reviewers by authors and agents.[24][25][26]
Bibliography
The Selection series
- The Selection (2012)
- The Elite (2013)[27][28][29][30] (ISBN 978-0-06-205997-0)
- The One (2014) (ISBN 978-0-06-205999-4)
- The Heir (2015) (ISBN 978-83-7686-368-9)
- The Crown (2016)
Novellas
- The Prince (2013)[31]
- The Guard (2014)
- The Selection Stories: The Prince & The Guard (2014)
- The Queen (2014)
- The Favorite (2015)
- The Selection Stories: The Queen & The Favorite (2015)
- Happily Ever After (contains all of the above Novellas and The Maid) (2015)
Stand-alone novels
- The Siren (2009)[32]
- A Thousand Heartbeats (2022)
The Betrothed
- The Betrothed (2020)
- The Betrayed (2021) [33]
References
- ^ "Young Adult Author Kiera Cass on The Selection". Teen Vogue. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ "About". Kiera Cass (kieracass.com). Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ Potts, Jessie (24 April 2013). "Interviews: Kiera Cass and Cornelia Funke". USA Today. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ "Should Authors and Agents Weigh in on Citizen Reviews?". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (9 May 2013). "'The Selection' Dead at the CW". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ "Warner Brothers has purchased the film rights for the selection". Kiera Cass. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ^ https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/netflix-scraps-the-selection-movie-adaptation/ [bare URL]
- ^ "Kiera Cass to Author Two New Young-Adult Novels". Children's Book Council. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ "HUGE NEWS!". Kiera Cass. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "The Siren is coming!". Kiera Cass. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "The Betrothed is coming!". Kiera Cass. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "Young Adult Hardcover Books - Best Sellers - Books - May 24, 2020 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "A Thousand Heartbeats". HarperCollins. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
- ^ "A Thousand Heartbeats". HarperCollins. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ a b "About". Kiera Cass. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "GrubStreet | NYT Bestseller Kiera Cass Talks About Her New YA…". GrubStreet. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "The Selection, a YA book and incipient CW series, looks for royal love in a post-WWIII world". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ hockey_jess (24 February 2015). "The Selection by Kiera Cass – review". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- ^ Wanderer378 (24 October 2015). "The Selection by Kiera Cass - review". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Kiera Cass Gets a Second Chance at a First Novel With The Siren". B&N Reads. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ^ "Goodreads: The Selection Review". Goodreads. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ "Goodreads: The Selection Review". Goodreads. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ "Should Authors and Agents Weigh in on Citizen Reviews?". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- ^ "Breaking the Silence: The Selection Debacle". The Midnight Garden. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
- ^ "Authors Behaving Badly". Pocketful of Books. Archived from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ^ "'The Elite': Kiera Cass talks about the sequel to 'The Selection'". EW. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ "Review: The Elite". RT Book Reviews. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ "Review: The Elite". Publishers Weekly. April 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ "Review: The Elite". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ "Read an excerpt from Kiera Cass' new novella 'The Prince' -- EXCLUSIVE". EW. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ "Books".
- ^ "The Betrayed". Goodreads.
External links
- Official website – September 2015, the only evident content is "News"
- Kiera Cass on X
- Kiera Cass at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Kiera Cass at Library of Congress, with 7 library catalog records