About Holly Black

Holly Black was born in New Jersey and grew up in a Victorian house full of folklore books. That upbringing did exactly what you'd expect: she became one of the most respected writers of faerie fiction in contemporary YA. Her debut Tithe (2002) arrived when faerie fantasy in YA was not yet the dominant category it would become, and she helped build the template. The Spiderwick Chronicles (co-authored with Tony DiTerlizzi), which she began in 2003, introduced younger readers to her sensibility: faeries are not kind, magic has rules, and children can be genuinely brave.

The Folk of the Air trilogy, which began with The Cruel Prince in 2018, is where Black is at her best. Jude Duarte is an outsider human in the faerie court of Elfhame, navigating treachery and desire with cold-blooded determination. The political scheming is sharp, the romance is combative and earned, and the protagonist is the kind of ruthless, clever young woman who doesn't apologize for wanting power. It's the series that turned Black from a beloved author into a phenomenon, and deservedly so.