Meet Sarah J. Maas, author of the A Court of Thorns and Roses romantasy novels
BookTok may have criticised her for a lack of representation and problematic themes in her works, but the Jewish writer has sold 75 million copies of her books
Sarah J. Maas, author of the wildly popular A Court of Thorns and Roses novels, just recently announced not one but two new books in her bestselling romantic fantasy – aka romantasy – series.
During an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Maas told host Alex Cooper that “the story that was finally ready to come out of me was big – really, really big”. She went on to reveal details of her new books, saying the story of ACOTAR would be continued across the two new novels and a third unannounced book. Maas hasn’t launched a book in the ACOTAR series since 2021, so this is exciting news for fans.
Here’s everything you need to know about the bestselling author.
She was adopted
Sarah Janet Maas was born in March 1986, in New York City. She was adopted and raised in Manhattan by a Catholic mother and Jewish father. Growing up in an interfaith household, Maas was raised Jewish and attended Hebrew school.
Her love for fantasy and storytelling was apparent from a young age; she developed an interest in books like The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. By the time she was 16, she had started writing Harry Potter fanfiction, per Vulture, and went on to study creative writing and religious studies at Hamilton College in New York.
While she was still a teenager, Maas started writing her own book, Queen of Glass, which she posted on the fiction website FictionPress, garnering a devoted fan base. It eventually became her debut fantasy novel, Throne of Glass, published in 2012. The novel evolved into a series and now consists of eight books. She has since published over 30 books and is one of the most successful authors of the romantasy genre.
