James Dashner

{{Short description|American author (born 1972)}} {{pp|reason=Persistent [[WP:Disruptive editing|disruptive editing]] Almost all of the IP edits are disruptive and the volume exceeds what PC was intended for.|small=yes}} {{Infobox writer  | name = James Dashner | image = James Dashner (14595088277).jpg | caption = Dashner in 2014 | birth_name = James Smith Dashner | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|11|26}} | birth_place = [[Austell, Georgia]], U.S. | occupation = Novelist | notableworks = ''[[The 13th Reality]]'', ''[[The Maze Runner]]'', ''The Mortality Doctrine'' | website = {{URL|jamesdashner.com}} | genre = [[Fantasy literature|Fantasy]], [[science fiction]], [[children's literature]] | period = 2003–present | spouse = Lynette | children = 4 }} '''James Smith Dashner''' (born November 26, 1972) is an American writer known for [[speculative fiction]]. Many of his books are primarily aimed at children or young adults. He is best known for [[The Maze Runner series|''The Maze Runner'' series]] and the [[young adult fiction|young adult]] fantasy series ''[[The 13th Reality]]''. His 2008 novel ''[[The Journal of Curious Letters]]'', the first in the series, was one of the annual [[Borders (retailer)|Borders]] Original Voices picks.

In 2014, a film adaptation of ''[[The Maze Runner]]'' was released, followed by another two films in 2015 and 2018. Collectively, the three films grossed an estimated $949 million. The three films' collective box-office earnings make it the fourth-highest-grossing film series based on young-adult books, after the film series of ''Harry Potter'', ''The Twilight Saga'', and ''The Hunger Games'', respectively. In 2018, Dashner was dropped by his agent and publisher following accusations of [[sexual harassment]]; Dashner replied in a statement, "I am taking any and all criticisms and accusations very seriously, and I will seek counseling and guidance to address them."<ref name="twitter apology"/>

== Early life == James Dashner was born on November 26, 1972, in [[Austell, Georgia]], as one of six children in the family.<ref>{{cite web|title=Georgia Authors: James Dashner|url=http://www.georgiacenterforthebook.org/Georgia-Literary-Map/Georgia-Author-Detail.php?record_id=184|publisher=Georgia Center for the Book|access-date=15 October 2014|archive-date=22 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122092800/http://georgiacenterforthebook.org/Georgia-Literary-Map/Georgia-Author-Detail.php?record_id=184|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was raised a member of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]. At the age of 10, he would type on his parents' typewriter.<ref name="JDD"/> He graduated from [[Duluth High School]] in 1991.<ref name="JDD">{{cite web|url=https://jdashnerdaily.weebly.com/about.html|title=About Dashner's Life|website=jdashnerdaily.com}}</ref> He moved from [[Atlanta]], Georgia to [[Provo, Utah]]<ref name="JDD"/> to study at [[Brigham Young University]], where he received a master's degree in accounting.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stettler|first=Jeremiah|title=Quitting his day job|url=http://www.sltrib.com/valleywest/ci_8477104|access-date=15 October 2014|work=Salt Lake Tribune|date=6 Mar 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019110637/http://www.sltrib.com/valleywest/ci_8477104|archive-date=19 October 2014}}</ref>

==Career== Dashner released his first novel in 2003, titled ''A Door in the Woods''. Like many of his books, ''A Door in the Woods'' is a [[fantasy]] aimed at teenagers. The story follows Jimmy Fincher, who notices a person in the forest acting suspiciously. What he witnesses then sets off a chain of events changing Jimmy's life.<ref name=doorinthewoods>{{cite web |title=A Door in the Woods (The Jimmy Fincher Saga #1) |url=https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1013210.A_Door_in_the_Woods |publisher=[[Goodreads]]}}</ref> ''A Door in the Woods'' became part of a series of books, known as The Jimmy Fincher Saga.<ref name=doorinthewoods/> In 2004, a second and third book were released as part of The Jimmy Fincher Saga. The second instalment was ''A Gift of Ice,'' which again follows Jimmy in his journey to save the world from The Stompers.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Gift of Ice (The Jimmy Fincher Saga #2) |url=https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1013214.A_Gift_of_Ice |publisher=[[Goodreads]]}}</ref> The third instalment of the series was released later in 2004, titled ''The Tower of Air''. A fourth and final book, ''War of the Black Curtain'', was published in 2005 and concluded the series.<ref>{{cite web |title=War of the Black Curtain |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/648514.War_of_the_Black_Curtain |publisher=Goodreads}}</ref>

Following the conclusion of his Jimmy Fincher Saga series, Dashner began working on two new series, which would become ''[[The 13th Reality]]'' series and [[The Maze Runner (book series)|''The Maze Runner'' series]]. The first book of ''The 13th Reality'', ''The Journal of Curious Letters'', was published in 2008. The book became a highly acclaimed children's book, receiving a [[Whitney Award]] the same year.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.mormontimes.com/arts_entertainment/books/?id=7449 |title= Best LDS fiction named at Whitney Awards |last= De Groote |first= Michael |date= 26 April 2009 |publisher= MormonTimes.com |access-date= 30 July 2009 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="08-Whitney">{{cite news |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705300454/08-Whitney-Awards--honor-best-LDS-fiction.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121018033931/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705300454/08-Whitney-Awards--honor-best-LDS-fiction.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= October 18, 2012 |title= '08 Whitney Awards honor best LDS fiction |last= De Groote |first= Michael |date= 30 April 2009 |newspaper= [[Deseret News]] |access-date= 30 July 2009 }}</ref> In 2009, the novel was recognized again as a [[Borders (retailer)|Borders Original Voices pick]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Interview with James Dashner |url=http://theauthorhour.com/james-dashner/ |publisher=The Author Hour |date=December 10, 2009}}</ref> During 2009, Dashner released two more books: ''The Hunt for Dark Infinity,'' the second instalment in ''The 13th Reality'' series, and ''[[The Maze Runner]],'' the first book in a series of the same name. The popularity of ''The Maze Runner'' led [[20th Century Fox]] to obtain the rights in late 2010 for a film adaptation, with [[Catherine Hardwicke]] set to direct.<ref>{{cite web |first=Steven |last=Zeitchik |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/01/the-maze-runner-james-dashner-noah-oppenheim-catherine-hardwicke-movie.html |title=Young-adult sensation ''The Maze Runner'' gets ready to run the movie gantlet (Updated) |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 4, 2011 |access-date=February 5, 2012}}</ref> ''The Maze Runner'' appeared on [[the New York Times Best Seller list|the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list]] for the first time in late 2012, in the Children's category alongside dystopian novels such as ''[[The Hunger Games]]'' and ''[[Divergent (novel)|Divergent]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Children's Series Best Sellers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2014/03/23/series-books/ |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 23, 2014}}</ref> ''The Maze Runner'' remained on the list for years, making it one of the best-selling children's books of all time.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In 2013, it was announced that [[The Maze Runner (film)|''The Maze Runner'' film]] had been pushed back to a September 2014 release. During the same period, it was announced that the second instalment, ''The Scorch Trials'', had been picked up by Fox as a potential sequel to the currently unreleased first film.<ref>{{cite web |last=Langshaw |first=Mark |title=Fox Acquires Rights The Scorch Trials |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a522987/maze-runner-sequel-the-scorch-trials-optioned-by-fox/ |publisher=[[DigitalSpy]] |date=October 11, 2013}}</ref> Dashner then released ''The Eye of Minds'', which follows the life of Michael, a hacker employed by VirtNet.<ref>{{cite web |last=Scribe |first=Sophie |date=November 20, 2013 |title=Review of The Eye of Minds by James Dashner |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/20/review-eye-of-minds-james-dashner |access-date=August 30, 2023 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> The book went onto become the first instalment of ''The Mortality Doctrine'' book series. In September 2014, ''The Maze Runner'' film adaptation was released and had a worldwide [[box office]] total of $348.3{{nbsp}}million.<ref name="TheNumbers">{{cite web |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Maze-Runner-The |title=The Maze Runner (2014) |work=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] |access-date=September 8, 2015}}</ref> Fox announced that the sequel to the first film would be released nearly a year to the date in September 2015.<ref>{{cite web |last=McNary |first=Dave |title=Fox to Release 'Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials' in Multi-Screen Format |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/fox-to-release-maze-runner-the-scorch-trials-in-multi-screen-format-1201476833/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=21 April 2015 }}</ref>

A third film, ''[[The Maze Runner: The Death Cure]]'', was set to be released in 2017. Actor [[Dylan O'Brien]] was injured on the set of the film in 2015, resulting in lengthy delays to filming while he recovered.<ref>{{cite web |last=White |first=James |title=Maze Runner: The Death Cure delayed again as Dylan O'Brien recovers from his injuries |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/maze-runner-death-cure-delayed-dylan-obrien-recovers/ |publisher=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |date=May 1, 2016}}</ref> The film was released in January 2018, and like the two previous films in the trilogy, broke $250 million in box office revenue.<ref>{{cite web |title=Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Maze-Runner-The-Death-Cure |publisher=The Numbers}}</ref> In July 2018, Dashner stated that he was writing a new book from scratch, the first time he had done so in 15 years.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Canfield |first=David |title=James Dashner says he's working on his first book since being dropped by publisher |url=https://ew.com/books/2018/07/06/james-dashner-new-book/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=July 6, 2018}}</ref>

Following the release of ''Maze Runner: The Death Cure'', comments were posted anonymously on the ''[[School Library Journal]]'' website, alleging that Dashner had engaged in [[sexual harassment]].<ref name="dropped"/> Four comments claimed harassment by Dashner, and two more said that they had reported him in a [[Medium (website)|Medium]] survey about harassment. A commenter later claimed to have been one of the accusers, and said that they "made it up".<ref name="ew 20180215">{{cite magazine|url=http://ew.com/books/2018/02/15/maze-runner-james-dashner-misconduct-claims|title=Maze Runner author says he'll 'seek counseling' following misconduct claims|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|last=Romano|first=Nick|date=15 February 2018|access-date=27 March 2018}}</ref> One of those commenters claimed to have been subject to "months of manipulation, grooming and gaslighting".<ref name="dropped">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/feb/16/maze-runner-author-james-dashner-dropped-by-us-publisher-amid-harassment-claims|title=Maze Runner author James Dashner dropped by US publisher amid harassment claims|work=[[The Guardian]]|last=Flood|first=Alison|date=16 February 2018|access-date=22 February 2018}}</ref> Following this, Dashner's agent, Michael Bourret, stated that he "couldn't in good conscience continue working with [him]".<ref name="dropped"/> Dashner published a statement on [[Twitter]], which said, in part: "I didn't honor or fully understand boundaries and power dynamics. I can sincerely say that I have never intentionally hurt another person. But to those affected, I am so deeply sorry. I am taking any and all criticisms and accusations very seriously, and I will seek counseling and guidance to address them."<ref name="twitter apology">{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/jamesdashner/status/964205218979225600|title=A message from me to you...|last=Dashner|first=James|via=[[Twitter]]|date=February 15, 2018|access-date=February 22, 2018|archive-date=February 25, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225001641/https://twitter.com/jamesdashner/status/964205218979225600}}{{Primary source inline|date=May 2022}}</ref> Dashner's publisher, [[Penguin Random House]], stated that it will not publish any further books by him.<ref name="random house drops dashner">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/business/childrens-publishing-sexual-harassment.html|title=Children's Book Industry Has Its #MeToo Moment|first1=Patricia |last1=Cohen |first2=Tiffany |last2=Hsu|date=February 15, 2018|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 22, 2018|archive-date=February 23, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223051815/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/business/childrens-publishing-sexual-harassment.html}}</ref> The accusations were part of the larger [[Me Too movement]].<ref name="dropped"/>

In October 2021, Dashner released the adult [[Horror fiction|horror]] novel ''The House of Tongues'' with [[Riverdale Avenue Books]]. The storyline follows single father David Player, who is trying to raise four children while dealing and processing a childhood trauma. It follows David's recollection of events both past and present in first person. The book received mainly positive press and reviews following its release.<ref>{{cite web |title=House of Tongues – A gripping, entertaining, but sometimes uneven horror story |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/james-dashner/the-house-of-tongues/ |work=Kirkus Reviews}}</ref>

==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''

==Personal life== Dashner and his wife, Lynette Anderson, a former student of Brigham Young University,<ref name="JDD"/> have four children and are now living in Utah.<ref>{{cite news |last=Vice |first=Jeff |date=April 23, 2010 |title=James Dashner hits it big with series |work=Deseret News |url=https://www.deseret.com/2010/4/23/20375861/james-dashner-hits-it-big-with-series/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 15, 2014 |archive-date=June 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616114657/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/705377839/James-Dashner-hits-it-big-with-series.html?pg=all }}</ref>

==Published books== 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|the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list]] for Children's Series on September 21, 2014,<ref>{{cite news |date=September 21, 2014 |title=Best Sellers > Series Books |work=The New York Times Book Review |url=https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2014-09-21/series-books/list.html}}</ref> two days after the release of the [[The Maze Runner (film)|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|''The 13th Reality'' series]] *''[[The Journal of Curious Letters]]'' (2008), selected as a [[Borders (retailer)|Borders]] Original Voices pick<ref>{{cite web |url= http://jamesdashner.blogspot.com/2008/02/great-news-from-borders-bookstores.html |title= Great News from Borders Bookstores |work= jamesdashner.com |first= James |last= Dashner |date= 27 February 2008 }}</ref> *''[[The Hunt for Dark Infinity]]'' (2009) *''[[The Blade of Shattered Hope]]'' (2010) *''The Void of Mist and Thunder'' (2012)

;[[The Maze Runner series|''The Maze Runner'' series]] *''[[The Maze Runner]]'' (2009) *''[[The Scorch Trials]]'' (2010) *''[[The Death Cure]]'' (2011) *''Crank Palace'' (novella) (2020) ''The Maze Runner prequel books'' *''[[The Kill Order]]'' (2012) *''[[The Fever Code]]'' (2016) ''The Maze Cutter series'' (sequel trilogy) *''The Maze Cutter'' (2022) *''The Godhead Complex'' (2023) *''The Infinite Glade'' (2025)

;The ''[[Infinity Ring]]'' series<ref>{{cite news|last=Pavao|first=Kate|title=Q & A with James Dashner|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/53380-q-a-with-james-dashner.html|access-date=15 October 2014|work=Publishers Weekly|date=2012-08-02}}</ref> *''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) *''Gunner Skale'' (online-only short story, 2014) *''[[The Game of Lives]]'' (2015)<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.jamesdashner.com/the-mortality-doctrine-series/ |title= The Mortality Doctrine series |work= jamesdashner.com |first= James |last= Dashner }}</ref>

;''Adult/Horror'' *''The House of Tongues'' (2021)

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{Wikiquote}} * {{official website }} * {{ISFDB name|29226}} {{Portal|Children and Young Adult Literature}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dashner, James}} [[Category:1972 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American children's writers]] [[Category:American science fiction writers]] [[Category:American fantasy writers]] [[Category:Latter Day Saints from Georgia (U.S. state)]] [[Category:Brigham Young University alumni]] [[Category:Novelists from Utah]] [[Category:People from Austell, Georgia]] [[Category:American male novelists]] [[Category:Writers of young adult science fiction]]