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James Dashner

Biography: James Smith Dashner (born November 26, 1972) is an American writer of speculative fiction, primarily series for children or young adults, such as the Maze Runner series and the young adult fantasy series the 13th Reality. His 2008 novel The Journal of Curious Letters, first in the series, was one of the annual Borders Original Voices picks

Life and career

James Dashner was born on November 26, 1972 in Austell, Georgia, to Linda and James Dashner.^[3] One of six children, he is a graduate of Duluth High School and Brigham Young University in Utah, where he received a master's degree in accounting.^[4]Dashner and his wife Lynette have four children and are now living in Utah

Published works[edit]

Dashner's books are written for young teens. His work is typically within the adventure, survival, and science-fiction genres.

The Maze Runner, his most widely-distributed book, reached 100 weeks' standing on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Series on September 21, 2014,^[6] two days after the release of the motion picture adaptation of the book.

The Jimmy Fincher Saga

A Door in the Woods (2003)
A Gift of Ice (2004)
The Tower of Air (2004)
War of the Black Curtain (2005)

The 13th Reality series

The Maze Runner series

The Maze Runner (2009)
The Scorch Trials (2010)
The Death Cure (2011)
The Kill Order (2012)
The Fever Code (due 27 September, 2016)^[7]^[8]

The Infinity Ring series^[9]

A Mutiny in Time (Book 1) (2012)
The Iron Empire (Book 7) (2014)

The Mortality Doctrine

The Eye of Minds (2013)
The Rule of Thoughts (2014)
The Game of Lives (2015)
Gunner Skale (2014)

Awards

2008: Whitney Award, Best Youth Fiction, The 13th Reality
2011: ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults, The Maze Runner
2012: Young Reader's Choice Award, intermediate grades, The Maze Runner

Reason why we chose this author:

We chose James Dashner because we find his books fun and interesting. We chose him because we want to learn more about his life and read his other books. We also want other people to know more about him and we want to encourage or convince them to read his books or watch the movies based on his books because they are fun and interesting and filled with action and survival.

James Dashner on writing and the influences of The Maze Runner

James Dashner explained that The Maze Runner was inspired by a number of things he’d watched and read over the years.

“The idea goes way back to my childhood when I saw the Stephen King movie The Shining, he said. “At the end of that movie, there’s a creepy scene where the main character’s chasing his son through a garden maze. I was way too young to see that movie and it freaked me out, and since then I’ve always been a little scared of mazes. They creep me out and they fascinate me.”

In high school, he read Lord Of the Flies, which he said also had an obvious influence on his novel.

“It’s just the idea of all these boys trapped on an island, figuring out how to treat each other,” he said.

He also drew inspiration from Ender’s Game and the television show Lost.

“All these things were swirling in my head,” he said. “I started brainstorming and The Maze Runner came out of it.”

Though Dashner’s writing process begins with outlining and brainstorming sessions, he said that most of his ideas result when he actually sits down and write.

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