Naomi Novik

 Naomi Novik, author of bestselling historical fantasy books, was born in New York in 1973, a first-generation American, and raised on Polish fairy tales, Baba Yaga and the classic fantasy novels of J.R.R. Tolkien. She studied English Literature at Brown University and did graduate work in Computer Science at Columbia University before leaving to participate in the design and development of the computer game Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide. Over the course of a brief winter sojourn working on the game in Edmonton, Canada (accompanied by a truly alarming coat that now lives brooding in the depths of her closet), she realized she preferred writing fantasy novels to programming, and, on returning to New York, decided to try her hand at writing. The first Naomi Novik book of historical fantasy fiction, His Majesty's Dragon, was published in 2006, followed by two other novels in the Temeraire series, Throne of Jade and Black Powder War, and has been translated into 23 languages. She has won several awards as a writer of historical science fiction and fantasy books, including the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel and the Locus Award for Best First Novel. Published in September 2007, Empire of Ivory was the fourth novel in her series of historical fantasy books, quickly becoming a New York Times bestseller. Naomi Novik is one of the founding board members of the Organization for Transformative Works, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the fair-use rights of fantasy creators and writers of fantasy fiction and science fiction stories and novels. Naomi lives in New York City with her husband and six eight computers. (They multiply.)